Last chances and new beginnings
This month is your last chance to see South Africa: the art of a nation – the 5-star exhibition charting the fascinating history of a nation closes on 26 February. The curators have written a blog about how they managed the task of mixing archaeology and contemporary art. There are many other interesting articles, videos and podcasts on our new blog – things you (probably) didn’t know about the Museum, objects in focus, the latest research and more. Have a read – we’d love to hear what you think!
With all eyes on America at the moment, we’re gearing up for a landmark exhibition charting how US artists have responded to the last 60 years of history. Opening on 9 March, The American Dream will feature prints by some of the biggest names in art – Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Kara Walker – and will examine the confidence and conflict of a superpower.
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Explore an incredible 100,000 years of history in our South Africa exhibition, ending 26 February.
Be amazed by some of the world’s oldest art, be moved by powerful anti-apartheid pieces, and be inspired by cutting-edge contemporary works. See the history of a nation from a new perspective and celebrate the diverse art created by the many people who have helped shape South Africa’s story.
★★★★★ ‘dazzling... a journey to the heart of our common humanity’ The Guardian
Sponsored by Betsy and Jack Ryan
Logistics partner IAG Cargo
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To celebrate the South Africa exhibition we are offering the chance to win a spectacular holiday for two to South Africa, courtesy of adventure travel experts Exodus Travels.
The 17-day South African adventure will include hiking in some of the country’s most beautiful and iconic landscapes and discovering its amazing wildlife.
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America. Land of the free. Home of the brave...
Artists have always responded to changing times. In our major exhibition, opening in March, we look back at the American Dream over the past six extraordinary decades.
You’ll discover how the most celebrated American artists, from Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg to Ed Ruscha and Kara Walker, have all boldly experimented with printmaking, bringing their work to a much wider and more diverse audience.
The sheer inventiveness and technical ingenuity of their prints reflects America’s power and influence during this period. Many of these works also address the deep divisions in society that continue to resonate with us today – there are as many American dreams as there are Americans.
9 March – 18 June 2017
Sponsored by Morgan Stanley
Supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art
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25 May – 13 August 2017
In January we announced this very exciting exhibition that will open in May. The exhibition will be a rare opportunity to experience the beautiful and sublime work of one of Japan’s greatest artists.
Hokusai produced works of astonishing quality right up until his death at the age of 90. This special exhibition will lead you on an artistic journey through the last 30 years of Hokusai’s life – when Hokusai produced some of his most famous masterpieces.
Supported by Mitsubishi Corporation
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The Asahi Shimbun Displays
Until 19 Feb 2017
Come face to face with the oldest portrait in the Museum – a human skull that was decorated with plaster about 9,500 years ago.
Supported by The Asahi Shimbun
Until May 2017
A display of works by Iranian artists including Bahman Mohassess, Parviz Tanavoli and Mitra Tabrizian.
Until 7 May 2017
Featuring coins that were defaced to condemn the memory of Roman emperors or undermine living ones.
Supported by Stephen and Julie Fitzgerald.
Research funded by The Leverhulme Trust.
23 Feb – 27 Aug 2017
Follow how artists responded to cultural and social upheavals in two halves of very different centuries.
23 Feb – 27 Aug 2017
Discover the cultural traditions of the Northwest Coast Peoples, incluing stunning art, regalia and tools from the past and present.
Supported by the High Commission of Canada in the UK.
Additional support by Steven Larcombe and Sonya Leydecker.
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Fri 3 Feb, 18.00
A lecture by Dr Ridha Moumni, Curator, Institut de Recherches sur le Maghreb Contemporain (IRMC-Tunis), presented with the Embassy of Tunisia in London.
Free, booking essential
Thu 9 Feb, 13.30
Exhibition Curator Christopher Spring gives a 45-minute illustrated introduction to our special exhibition.
Free, booking essential
Sat 11 Feb, 14.00
Bizet’s opera Carmen, a classic tale of doomed love, has inspired myriad interpretations and adaptations the world over. Here the love triangle is relocated to contemporary Khayelitsha, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town
£3, Members/concessions £2
Sun 19 Feb, 11.00–16.00
Enjoy talks and creative family activities focused on objects with LGBTQ stories.
Free, just drop in
Thu 23 Feb, 13.30
Hilary Williams, British Museum, discusses a gilded age in the history of connoisseurship.
Free, booking essential
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