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History
Founded in 1983, the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television quickly became the most visited national museum outside London, attracting an average of 700,000 visitors each year.
In 1996 the Museum embarked on an ambitious £16m expansion programme which resulted in the striking curved glass frontage that has made it a well-known Yorkshire landmark. It also allowed the Museum to meet the expectations of its visitors – having reopened in 1999, it attracted over 1 million visitors the following year.
Currently the Museum’s third floor is closed as it is transformed into Experience TV, a new £3 million interactive gallery exploring the world of television, which will open on 21 July 2006. As well as allowing the Museum to display a substantial part of its world class television collection – in some cases for the first time – Experience TV will allow visitors to walk into a replica studio and find out how television is made, as well as trying their hand at reading the news or presenting the weather.
Collections
The Museum’s renowned collection includes more than three million items of historical, social and cultural value, over 95% of which are held on site. These include three key ‘firsts’: the world’s oldest surviving negative created by WHF Talbot, John Logie Baird’s original television apparatus and what is regarded as the world’s first example of moving pictures – Louis Le Prince’s 1888 film of Leeds Bridge – and the cameras he used to create his films. Obviously not everything can be on show, but what objects and images not on a gallery are accessible in the Museum’s unique Insight facility – visitors can take a lunchtime tour or make an appointment to see something they’re particularly interested in.
Facilities
From its outset the Museum has set new standards in display and interactivity. Visitors can obtain a hands-on experience of the media, learning how television cameras work or trying their hand at animation among other activities. Alongside this you will find Europe’s longest-established IMAX cinema and the only publicly accessible Cinerama cinema in the world.
A range of annual film festivals and special events bring leading photographers, stars and programme makers face to face with the public – Malcolm McDowell, Michael Palin and Eric Sykes have all been recent guests.
Above all, the Museum invites you explore the media, the world it presents and to think again.
> Explore Photography
> Explore Film
> Explore Television
> Special Exhibitions
Festivals
Bradford Film Festival. Every year in March.
Fantastic Films Weekend. Every year in June.
Bite the Mango World Cinema Film Festival. Every year in September.
Bradford Animation Festival. Every Year in November.
For
more information about the museum, a souvenir publication is available.
 
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