THE WARBURG INSTITUTE

Welcome to the Warburg Renaissance

Thanks to our incredible supporters, September 2024 saw years of continued generosity and dedication culminate in the successful reopening of the Warburg Institute’s striking, stunning and unique home on Woburn Square. The Warburg Institute is dedicated to the study of global cultural history and the role of images in society. It examines the movement of culture across barriers – of time, space and discipline – to inspire, inform and connect.

Blending preservation with innovation

The Warburg Renaissance project has driven the restoration of the Institute, focusing on recreating and enhancing the original blend of discovery, display, and debate. Through the project, the Institute has also opened its unique resources and academic expertise to a new and much wider audience. Transforming the Institute’s academic resources and teaching spaces, the £15million renovation has created new facilities for special collections, exhibitions, and events.

Designed by Stirling Prize-winning architects Haworth Tompkins and fully open to the public from October 2024, the project has carefully preserved the historic fabric of the building while creating stunning new environments, such as its light-filled entrance, first ever public gallery and dramatic 110-seat Hinrich Reemtsma Auditorium, built for lectures, performances, film screenings, and much more.

A history of philanthropy

For more than a century, the Warburg Institute has brought a unique perspective to the study of art and history, and its very survival has been intertwined with philanthropy. It exists only thanks to supporters such as the Warburg family, industrialist and art collector Samuel Courtauld, and many others.

Exiled to England in 1933, the Warburg Institute is the only institution saved from Nazi Germany to survive intact in Britain today. It became a permanent part of the University of London in 1944 and, since 1958, has been housed in the last building designed by Charles Holden as part of the University of London’s original Bloomsbury Masterplan. In 2016, the University committed £9.5million for its refurbishment and much-needed repair.

In 2018, the Warburg Renaissance project was launched, reframing what could have been a historic obligation and standard maintenance project into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for creative renewal. In only six years, fuelled by ongoing philanthropic support, the vision for the Institute has become a reality.

An institute for humanities, humans and the public realm

Following a launch celebration dinner for donors to the project on 30 September 2024, a reception was held on 1 October, where we hosted a record number of guests. Vice-Chancellor Professor Wendy Thomson CBE 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.

“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. ”

Professor Wendy Thomson CBE
Vice-Chancellor

New spaces, new life

The rebirth of the Warburg Institute is an important signifier in the continual development of the University’s estate, as we celebrate our heritage and embrace future innovations. The success of this project shows the impact we can make, and has added significance, as we look towards the transformation of Senate House Library. We have a stunning reminder that, with the generosity of our supporters, this landmark building and all it holds will continue to inspire, acting as a beacon of knowledge and learning within Bloomsbury, and around the world.

Other new spaces in the Institute include a new reading room dedicated to the study of the special collections, rare books and manuscripts, and a teaching suite designed to support seminars, workshops and other academic programmes. They sit alongside the Kythera Gallery, the first gallery in the Institute, and now home to a permanent exhibition of Edmund de Waal’s ’library of exile’, a remarkable work of art created to represent repression, migration, and celebrate the responses of displaced people. Each element of the building’s development was intricately planned and considered. The building’s new form honours the Institute‘s bold, historic character, and provides modern, accessible environments for scholars, students and visitors to participate in a fresh programme of public displays, events and residencies.

Warburg’s generous donors

The redevelopment of the Warburg Institute has been made possible by foundational support from the University of London and the generous contributions of the following donors:

Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung

Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust

Kythera Kultur-Stiftung

Wolfson Foundation

Wohl Legacy

Garfield Weston Foundation

Foyle Foundation

Sika

American Friends of the Warburg Institute

Friends of the Warburg Institute

The Warburg Charitable Trust

Marco and Francesca Assetto

Axel and Christiane Hansing

Elizabeth and Daniel Peltz OBE

Erck Rickmers

Roden Family

Mark Storey

Edmund De Waal

One anonymous donor

We are grateful to the extended Warburg family for their ongoing support and commitment to this transformational project.

If you would like to find out how you can support the people, places and programmes that make the Warburg Institute so unique, or our other funding opportunities including supporting the transformation of Senate House Library, please contact the Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement team.