Artwork by Anna Keen
Urgent Official Statement on behalf of the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust 17/03/2020
The Dimbola Museum & Galleries team has been closely monitoring advice from the government on the current Covid 19 outbreak, and in line with that, we have made the painful but necessary decision to close the museum to visitors from tomorrow, Wednesday 18/03/2020 until further notice.
We feel this is a necessary step to safeguard the wellbeing of our volunteers, staff and visitors, to all of whom we have a duty of care.
We are entering unchartered waters, but rest assure that the house is now almost fully renovated, and we will use the closed period, if allowed, to finish work on a complete kitchen and tearoom overhaul and landscaping the gardens.
This is particularly sad as we were hugely looking forward to the Cross Currents exhibition curated by Griselda Bear, and tracing links between Mrs Cameron, India, and Sri Lanka, and a full programme of talks, workshops and events.
We have now postponed the exhibition until this time next year. We are also going to have to rearrange forthcoming exhibitions as listed in our Winter Newsletter.
We intend to re-open as soon as we are told that it is safe to do so. For further information and updates visit our website, sign up to our mailing list or check our facebook page.
Julia Margaret Cameron nursed the sick and raised funds for the Irish famine – she was a woman of great kindness and resilience.
We greatly look forward to welcoming you back to her home and workplace, so beautifully restored over the winter, as soon as becomes practical.
Let us, as Julia always did, accentuate the positive.
The celebrated painter, art historian and teacher Julian Bell has kindly agreed to become our President. Julian is also a direct descendant of Julia’s sister Mia, and his mother Anne Olivier Bell made us a wonderful bequest of original photographs by both Julia and her son HHH Cameron, which had come down through the Clive Bell estate.
Dr Brian Hinton MBE Chairman
Julia Margaret Cameron Trust
Registered Charity No: 1026339