Museum of the Moving Image
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- For the museum of the same name in New York, see under its previous name, American Museum of the Moving Image.
The Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) was a museum of the history of technology and media, including cinema and its forerunners, opened in 1988 and sited below Waterloo Bridge and forming part of the cultural complex on the South Bank of the River Thames, London, England. MOMI was mainly funded by private subscription and operated by the British Film Institute. MOMI won many awards and despite its world-wide appeal, after the retirement of its founders, the British Film Institute simply lost interest in its popular appeal. MOMI was closed "temporarily" in 1999, the closure becoming permanent in the following year. Many saw this a cultural vandalism by the BFI.
MOMI was the brain child of BFI South Bank Controller Leslie Hardcastle. The vision became real when the then Director of the BFI, Anthony Smith raised all the money to pay for the production. Hardcastle was assisted in his interpretation by historians David Francis and David Robinson and transformed into environmental reality by designer Neal Potter [1]. MOMI helped to change the concept of how entertainment and education can sit comfortably together in a museum context. MOMI was never about collections for collections' sake. Its objective was to tell the story of the moving image using collections as punctuation on that journey.
MOMI was housed in a glass-sided steel framed metal-clad building, with distinctive red roofs running along each side of Waterloo Bridge. The playful hybrid of high-tech and post-modern style in the design of the MOMI building makes a vigorous contrast with the Brutalist architecture of much of the neighbouring South Bank Centre and National Theatre and the Art Deco Waterloo Bridge.
However, in 2007/8, Bradford's National Media Museum plans to open a London venue, and the MOMI site is reopening as BFI Southbank on March 14th, 2007, providing a new entrance to the National Film Theatre complex. In addition to the existing three cinemas showcasing the best historical and contemporary film from around the world, the rest of the site will create a number of exciting new spaces, resources, services and free activities.
