Museum of the Moving Image

The Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) was a museum dedicated to the history of cinema technology and media, located below Waterloo Bridge on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. Opened on 15 September 1988 by Prince Charles, it was at that time the world's largest museum devoted entirely to cinema and television. Operated by the British Film Institute and funded mainly by private subscription, MOMI formed part of London's cultural complex along the Thames. Despite its innovative approach and international significance, the museum closed in 1999 on a supposedly temporary basis, with permanent closure announced in 2002.

MOMI was conceived by Leslie Hardcastle, then Controller of the National Film Theatre, and realised through the fundraising efforts of Anthony Smith, Director of the British Film Institute. Smith raised the museum's £15 million project costs entirely from private sources. The development team included David Francis, David Robinson, Charles Beddow (1929-2012), Chief Technical Officer of the National Film Theatre, and designer Neal Potter. The museum opened in 1988 and operated for eleven years before closing in 1999, initially with plans to relocate to nearby Jubilee Gardens. When these plans failed, the BFI announced in October 2002 that it no longer planned to host MOMI. The programme was discontinued and the site was eventually redeveloped. In 2002, a scaled-down touring version called Moving Pictures ran at the Sheffield Millennium Galleries from 14 February to 19 May, using actors and items from the original collection, but it was poorly received and the tour was cancelled. The site reopened as BFI Southbank on 14 March 2007. In 2018, David Francis, a lead member of the original MOMI team, opened the Kent Museum of the Moving Image in Deal, Kent, with his wife Jocelyn Marsh.

MOMI's collection and interpretation covered the full history of the moving image, from early optical devices through cinema, television, and video to contemporary media. The museum employed a highly interactive and theatrical approach to interpretation, using graphics, recreated environments, models, and numerous film and video projections. Technical facilities included six 35 mm film projections using endless loop platters, two 16 mm film projections, two 70 mm projectors, and over 70 LaserDisc players for video playback. A distinctive feature was a troupe of six actors in period costume, such as a Victorian magic lanternist and a Hollywood director, who demonstrated objects and interacted with visitors. Animation was a particular strength, with Channel Four funding an animator-in-residence scheme in which competition winners developed short films in a three-metre square glass box known as the 'goldfish bowl,' allowing the public to observe the animation process. Over forty films were produced through this scheme, winning awards worldwide.

Among MOMI's notable acquisitions was Marilyn Monroe's black dress from the 1959 film Some Like It Hot, purchased for £19,800 prior to opening, an event that featured on the front pages of many UK newspapers. The museum also commissioned animator Chuck Jones to create a chase sequence directly onto the high walls of the building several months before opening; Jones worked on high scaffolding for several days, and even added a smaller trial drawing on a door at the lowest level to test his pens. The galleries encompassed a wide range of subjects including shadow puppets, magic lanterns, the Lumière Brothers, Méliès, Charlie Chaplin, German Expressionism, the coming of sound film, British film, and television heritage. There was also a significant Doctor Who exhibit that was subsequently used in several documentaries about the early years of the show. Temporary exhibitions included The World of Jim Henson, Ray Harryhausen: Creatures of Fantasy, Charlie Chaplin's Centenary, Catching the Action: Muybridge and the Chronophotographers, and Behind the Sofa: Doctor Who at MoMI.

MOMI was housed in a glass-sided, steel-framed, metal-clad building designed by Bryan Avery of Avery Associates Architects, with distinctive red roofs running along each side of Waterloo Bridge. The building formed part of the cultural complex on the South Bank of the River Thames. After MOMI's closure, the building was redeveloped and became the entrance complex for BFI Southbank, which opened on 14 March 2007. The new complex incorporated three existing cinemas, a mediatheque of British film and television, and a bookshop, along with the annual London Film Festival programme. A contemporary art gallery dedicated to the moving image, the BFI Gallery, was established as part of the redevelopment but was replaced in 2012 by the BFI Reuben Library.

When operational, MOMI was situated on the South Bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Lambeth, below Waterloo Bridge. The museum was available for private hire for corporate events or parties and maintained a busy education department with two education rooms and a small cinema for special events. Since its closure, London has remained without a publicly funded film museum, though the London Film Museum and the Cinema Museum in London are related institutions. The original MOMI site is now occupied by BFI Southbank, which continues to serve as a major centre for film culture in London, hosting screenings, festivals, and archival access through the BFI Reuben Library.