British Museum - What's on in August

Summer at the Museum
This summer you can enjoy a host of free exhibitions and displays at the Museum, from Napoleonic prints and Louis XIV medals to modern art from the Arab World and contemporary African sculptures in the Great Court. There are also free family events and activities throughout the school holidays. The major exhibition Celts: art and identity opens next month – find out about some of the amazing objects in the show and book your tickets now. Plus there’s a summer weekend of outdoor cinema presented by the BFI at the end of August, with classic films about summer love. You can even see wonderful Museum objects around the UK in our touring exhibitions and spotlight loans.

Major autumn exhibition

Exhibition coming soon Drawing in silver and gold: Leonardo to Jasper Johns 10 Sep – 6 Dec 2015 This exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see around 100 exceptional drawings created using the exquisite metalpoint technique. It features works by some of the greatest artists working from the late 14th century to the present including Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein the Elder, Rembrandt, Otto Dix and Jasper Johns. Explore the development of the artistic technique of metalpoint from the Renaissance to the present, and discover how the technical challenge of the medium has inspired generations of artists. Organised by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with the British Museum #metalpoint Book now › Free exhibitions and displays Bonaparte and the British: prints and propaganda in the age of Napoleon Until 16 Aug 2015 Printed propaganda that either reviled or glorified Napoleon. Music, celebration and healing: the Sudanese lyre Until 16 Aug 2015 A magnificent 19th-century lyre from Nubia. The Asahi Shimbun Displays Zak Ové’s Moko Jumbie sculptures in the Great Court Until 13 Sep 2015 Spectacular 7-metre-high carnival figures, part of our Africa season. From the figurative to the abstract: modern art from the Arab World Until 8 Nov 2015 Works on paper recently acquired by the Museum by eight artists. Triumph and disaster: medals of the Sun King Until 15 Nov 2015 Explore the extraordinary medallic history of Louis XIV of France. Shifting patterns: Pacific barkcloth clothing Until 6 Dec 2015 Discover a selection of clothing from the Pacific made of barkcloth.