“We are devastated to hear of the tragic death of our much-loved and respected colleague of many years, Moira Gemmill. During her 13-year career at the V&A as the Director of Design before leaving for the Royal Collection Trust in January this year, she made an extraordinary impact in transforming the Museum’s galleries and facilities with the FuturePlan programme of restoration, refurbishment and redesign. Major projects included the Medieval & Renaissance Galleries and most recently the Weston Cast Court. I cannot overstate Moira’s remarkable contribution in making the V&A the global leader in museum design that it is today. She will be greatly missed and our thoughts are with her family at this very sad time.”
Martin Roth, Director of the V&A
I am deeply saddened by this news. Moira was a highly respected colleague who helped transform the V&A including making it more open and inclusive. This is a real tragedy not only for her family, colleagues and friends but to the arts and heritage sector as a whole.
I got to know Moira during my time at Kensington and Chelsea Council where I was the lead officer for the Exhibition Road Project. She was incredibly supportive during some quite difficult times in helping to deliver the scheme but, most of all, I’ll always remember her warmth towards her colleagues, her loyalty and her passion for her work. A major talent.