I first visited Kent Museum of the Moving Image back in 2019. This museum in Deal has a fascinating, and extensive, collection of material relating to the moving image. I remember I was particularly struck by a beautifully detailed reconstruction of Googie Withers’ dressing table as well as a gorgeous set of magic lanterns, dioramas and other pre-cinema treasures. Now, the big news is that Kent MOMI is about to relaunch in grand style, this week.
Continue reading Buster goes to the seaside: Kent MOMI relaunches this weekTag Archives: Deal
A daytrip to Deal: visiting Kent Momi
London is great, but sometimes it does a soul good to get away from the big smoke to breathe some sea air. Less than 90 minutes away from the capital by train is Deal, a very elegant seaside resort in Kent. Attractions include a smart pier, a pebbly beach, the intriguing Time-Ball Tower, fish’n’chips and all the ozone you can fill your lungs with.
There’s a new reason to visit Deal though, for those film-historically inclined. A small but very welcoming museum called Kent Momi, or the Kent Museum of the Moving Image, if you haven’t been introduced yet.
A pebble-dashed house, just a couple of minutes stroll from the train station and the seafront, is now home to something between a collection and an exhibition of cinema artefacts. In fact it is full to bursting with cameras, pre-cinema devices, posters, pressbooks, and other memorabilia. Even a reconstruction of Googie Withers’ dressing table. And crucially, this film museum goes back further than most – to magic lanterns, dioramas and all the predecessors of the cinema as we know it.
Silent London 