When it comes to museums, there is no better city than London, which boasts half-a-dozen institutions that are world leaders in their field. These six - the British Museum, the South Kensington trio of the V&A, Science Museum and Natural History Museum, the British Library and the National Maritime Museum - collectively attract more than 20 million annual visitors to see their landmark collections as well as the innovative temporary exhibitions drawn from their huge number of items and curators' specialist knowledge. All six have programmed special exhibitions for the first half of 2015.
The British Museum's spring blockbuster in the Sainsbury's Exhibition Gallery is Defining Beauty: The Body In Ancient Greek Art (6th March-22nd June 2015). This looks at how Greek art represented the human body and includes world-famous sculptures alongside amazing frescoes and pottery. The exhibition examines how Greeks explored the body's sexual and social identity, including the way they venerated the toned male body of athletes, as well as how they depict gods and other beings of myth and the supernatural. Two smaller exhibitions will also take place: Indigenous Australia: Enduring Civilisation (23rd April-2nd August 2015) presents a history of Australian native people through objects, highlighting the continuous culture of Indigenous Australia dating back 55,000 years. 2015 marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo and Bonaparte And The British: Prints And Propaganda In The Age Of Napoleon (5th February-16th August 2015) is one of several exhibitions to look at aspects of Britain's relationship with Napoleonic France. This exhibition focuses on the printed propaganda that either reviled or glorified Napoleon Bonaparte on both sides of the Channel. It explores how his formidable career coincided with the peak of political satire as an art form.