The National Media Museum (NMM) in Bradford – whose trustees include Bond film producer Michael G Wilson ? will open a base at London?s Science Museum, according to an informed industry source.
?It will be based in part of the Science Museum and will have its own separate entrance so that it can operate outside of the museum?s usual opening hours if required,? said the source.
The West Yorkshire-based museum (pictured) is Britain?s flagship photography institution.
It houses the historic collection of the Royal Photographic Society which includes the earliest surviving negative created by British photography inventor William Henry Fox Talbot.
Until last year it was known as the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television.
Asked whether the NMM would be moving in, a spokesman for the Science Museum told AP this morning: ?It is certainly something we are looking at.?
We understand that as part of the conditions of the move, the Science Museum will insist that the NMM does not purely display photographs on its walls, but it must also showcase equipment.
In a statement the NMM said: ?We have long-held ambitions to establish a presence in London, something we reaffirmed when we announced our forward plan last November when we became the National Media Museum.?
The NMM adds: ?A lot of work has been done on the project and we have a range of options to present to our trustees shortly. No decisions have been made as yet but we hope to be making an announcement once this process has been completed.?
As we reported in January, for the five years to November 2006, the NMM suffered a 25% drop in visitors, after which time – the museum told us – numbers improved.
