Wellcome Collection

The Wellcome Collection stands on Euston Road in London’s Borough of Camden. It is a museum and library that mixes medical objects with artworks examining links between medicine, life and art. Over half a million people visit each year. The building also contains a café, bookshop and conference rooms. A website offers original articles and archived images on health topics. The Wellcome Trust, which owns the site, was created by Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome in the 19th century.

The collection grew from Henry Wellcome’s worldwide travels in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He gathered books, paintings and objects about medicine’s history. Later, the Wellcome Trust moved into a new building next door, freeing the old Wellcome Building for public use. In 2015 extra public spaces were added. The organisation now works with communities to examine how some items were acquired during the colonial era. Some objects have since been returned.

Visitors find several galleries and research spaces inside. Being Human, a permanent exhibition since 2019, explores what it means to be human today. It includes work by artists such as Yinka Shonibare and Kia LaBeija. The Wellcome Library holds books, manuscripts and films on medicine’s history. The Hub on the fifth floor hosts researchers working on topics like dementia and the arts. The Reading Room, refurbished in 2015, is open to the public. Changing exhibitions fill the main space, often featuring contemporary artists.