Horsham Museum’s new exhibition Cabinet of Curiosity: Museums Past, Present and Future is now open.
The display explores how the concept of the museum has developed from the time when cabinets of curiosity gained popularity in the 16th century, to the modern day. The exhibition features rarely seen artefacts from the Horsham Museum collection including jewellery made from human hair, a taxidermy piglet and technology used to manage the Museum in the early 2000s.
As well as creating an opportunity to showcase objects from the Museum’s stores, the exhibition looks at how museums can better represent the communities that they serve.
One section of the show, the Community Collection, invites people to submit their own objects to be considered for display within the exhibition. The aim is for this section to expand throughout the exhibition’s duration as new objects are added. It is not necessarily about showcasing historically significant artefacts, but to be an exploration of the everyday items that people consider to be of importance to themselves.
Horsham Museum Curator, Nikki Caxton said: “Horsham Museum was formed in 1893 and much has changed here since that date. It has been fantastic to have had an opportunity to explore what the Museum’s purpose is and what it can be.”
Horsham District Council Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, Culture and Green Spaces Cllr David Skipp added: “I hope as many of you as possible will come along to our new exhibition, telling the story of our museum’s development throughout the years. I am particularly excited by the Community Collection element of the exhibition, inviting local people to get involved by lending exhibits of their own. I hope that many of you will be inspired to bring personal artefacts along which represent your own experiences of living and working in the Horsham District, so that we can create an evolving installation which will have a real sense of connection to our local community.”
The museum and gallery are inviting individuals, groups, clubs and societies to submit objects for consideration to be included in the Community Collection.
The exhibition is open during normal museum opening hours from now until Saturday 9 May 2026 with free entry to the Museum and exhibition.
For more information on the exhibition and how to take part in the Community Collection, please visit: https://horshammuseum.org/collections/blog/posts/cabinet-of-curiosity-exhibition
