Museum of the Moon to land at Durham Cathedral

The first of Durham Cathedral's new contemporary art programme has been announced, part of Durham's Year of Pilgrimage celebrations. 

The first installation will be the ever-popular touring artwork #MuseumofTheMoon, by UK artist Luke Jerram. 

Museum of the Moon is a breathtaking seven-metre-wide moon sculpture, which brings together detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface, with moonlight and surround sound composition by BAFTA and Ivor Novello award winning composer Dan Jones. 

At an approximate scale of 1:500,000, each centimetre of the internally lit spherical sculpture represents 5km of the moon’s surface. 

The Moon will be suspended in the air in the unrivalled setting of Durham Cathedral from 12 September until 6 November 2020, giving visitors plenty of opportunity to marvel at the stellar display. 

Families visiting the cathedral can also enjoy 'out-of-this-world' activities including stellar storytelling session, make and launch your own rocket from the historic cloisters and even sleeping over inside the cathedral, under the moonlight. Booking details to be announced soon. 

Over its lifetime, the Museum of the Moon will be presented in several different ways both indoors and outdoors, altering the experience and interpretation of the artwork.

Having previously taken pride of place at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia’s Gold Coast and most recently at Glastonbury Festival 2019, Durham Cathedral is in good company as a host location for the Moon. 

As it travels from place to place, it will gather new musical compositions and an ongoing collection of personal responses, stories and mythologies, as well as highlighting the latest moon science. 

© James Billings 

The Moon’s arrival at Durham Cathedral will form part of the Association of English Cathedral’s national celebration for 2020: Year of Cathedrals, Year of Pilgrimage. And an important part of the celebrations taking place in Durham will be the launch of six new Northern Saints Trails, which all lead to Durham Cathedral and are due to be launched in the spring.   

The walking trails and contemporary art installations are part of an exciting programme of special services, exhibitions and events at Durham Cathedral to mark #Pilgrimage2020 - Durham's Year of Pilgrimage. 

The Museum of the Moon is just one of the exiting events, festivals and exhibitions taking place throughout 2020 - Durham's Year of Pilgrimage.

With so much to see, do and explore - what will your pilgrimage to Durham be? 

Click here to find out more about Durham's Year of Pilgrimage >>