A new £4.5 million gallery, showcasing the National Photography Collection from the National Media Museum, opens at the Science Museum in London today.

Called Media Space, the gallery will display the collection through a series of major exhibitions.

Only in England: Photographs by Tony Ray-Jones and Martin Parr is the first major exhibition there, running until March 16, 2014, then at the National Media Museum from March 22 to June 22.

Ian Blatchford, director and chief executive of Science Museum Group, said: “We're very excited about opening Media Space as a showcase for the astonishing National Photography Collection.”

Jo Quinton-Tulloch, head of the National Media Museum, said: “The collections are some of the most significant in the world and I am delighted that we will now be able to share them with many more people.”