The Warburg Institute reopens with a stunning refurbishment and commitment to public accessibility

Earlier this week, the Warburg Institute officially opened its doors to its newly renovated spaces including its first gallery and new auditorium. The Warburg Institute has undergone a £14.5 million renovation since July 2022 to enhance its teaching facilities and resources—a project known as the 'Warburg Renaissance.''

The Warburg was originally founded at the end of the 19th Century in Hamburg by historian Aby Warburg to trace the roots of the Renaissance in ancient civilisations. Building on Warburg’s belief the memory of the past activates the present, the Institute’s courses, programmes, and collections – of antiquity, wonder, and the esoteric – examine the movement of culture across time, space and discipline.  

The Warburg Institute owes its mission to the open movement of people, collections and ideas. Sent into exile when the Nazis came to power, the Institute was transferred to England in 1933 and became part of the University of London in 1944.  

Since 1958, the Warburg has been housed in the last building designed by Charles Holden as part of the University’s original Bloomsbury Masterplan. In 2016, the University allocated £9.5m for refurbishment and agreed a basic plan for repairing the building. In 2018, the Warburg Renaissance project was launched, turning a historic obligation for restoration into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for transformation. 

The building project aimed to restore the Institute’s original mixture of discovery, display and debate, while opening its holdings and expertise to new audiences. Designed by Stirling Prize-winning architects Haworth Tompkins, the newly revamped Warburg Institute boasts its first ever public gallery, and a 110-seat auditorium specially built for lectures, performances, film screenings and much more.  

Other new spaces include a new reading room dedicated to the study of the Institute’s special collections, including rare books and manuscripts, as well as a teaching suite designed to support seminars, workshops and other academic programmes. The building’s transformation has been carefully considered to honour its historic character while providing a modern, accessible environment for scholars, students and visitors.  

A celebratory launch reception was held on 1 October, at which University of London Vice Chancellor Wendy Thomson spoke of the vital contribution the Institute makes to the study of the arts and humanities, and its integral role as part of the School of Advanced Study: 

“Described by Oliver Wainwright in his excellent Guardian article last week as being home ‘to one of the most important an unusual collections of visual, scientific and occult material in the world’ the Warburg occupies an important and unique place in the arts and humanities landscape.  

“Today, with the help of many in this room – we’ve ensured the vital preservation of the Warburg’s valuable collections, while creating new spaces for public engagement and artistic engagement programmes for the very first time. In addition, the Institute now occupies a vital place in the public realm, creating a new shop window for the University at the heart of our campus in Bloomsbury. 

“The completion of the Warburg Renaissance heralds the upcoming transformation of Senate House Library, a multi-year project to showcase its importance as a national research and teaching library for the arts, humanities, and social sciences.  

“Thank you for joining us to celebrate this new chapter for the Warburg Institute. I look forward to continuing our partnership with you all as we forge a new future for our University.”  

To find out more about the Warburg Institute and its exciting programme of events and exhibitions, please visit the website.