London 2015: Major Museums (January - June)

 
 
 

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

Paul Vicente/AFP/Alexander McQueen RTW A/W 1998/Getty Images

 

Naked Greeks, coral reefs and wartime boffins are among the subjects to be explored in exhibitions in London's major museums in 2015. Here Peter Watts explores what's lined up. Click here for July to December.

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The British Museum

 

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.

 
 
 

The Natural History Museum and Science Museum

 

In South Kensington, the three grand museums of Exhibition Road will all hold tantalising temporary exhibitions. The Natural History Museum's offering is Coral Reefs: Secret Cities of the Sea (27th March-13th September 2015), examining the spectacular seascapes and richness of life beneath the waves. This exhibition is sure to be a hit with families and features a live coral reef, a virtual dive and more than 200 specimens of corals, fish and fossils. At the Science Museum, they are asking Cravings: Can Your Food Control You? (12th February-January 2016), in an exhibition that explores flavour and appetite, and the power food has over our bodies, brains and behaviour. It will explain how the brain, gut and bacteria work together to control our desire for food. The museum's major exhibition, though, will be Churchill's Scientists (23rd January 2015-January 2016), which will celebrate the boffins who helped Britain to victory in the Second World War and launched a post-war science renaissance. This will be the first exhibition dedicated to Churchill and the scientific breakthroughs that took place under his direction as Prime Minister. These included Robert Watson-Watt's invention of the radar and Dorothy Hodgkin's advancement of X-ray crystallography. It will feature unique objects from the Science Museum's collections together with original archive film footage, letters and photographs. Visitors will also see a number of personal items belonging to Churchill including the cigar he was smoking when he heard he was re-elected as Prime Minister in 1951.

 
 
 

The V&A

 

The V&A is one of London's most prolific exhibitors. Their big attraction for 2015 is Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (14th March-19th July 2015), is a major retrospective of the late designer, showcasing McQueen's visionary body of work from his 1992 MA graduate collection to his unfinished 2010 collection. When held in New York, the exhibition drew record numbers. Smaller exhibitions at the V&A include All of this Belongs to You (1st April-19th July 2015) which will examine the role of public institutions - such as the V&A - in contemporary life and explore what it means to be responsible for a national collection. What is Luxury? (25th April-27th September 2015) will study the concept of luxury, featuring extraordinary works of craftsmanship including clothes and watches, while Shoes: Pleasure and Pain (13th June 2015-31st January 2016) covers extremes of footwear from around the globe, from a sandal decorated in pure gold leaf from ancient Egypt to the most elaborate designs by contemporary makers. Finally, Captain Linneaus Tripe: Photographer of India and Burma, 1854-1860 (24th June - 11th October 2015) will feature some of the earliest and most striking views of the landscape and architecture of India and Burma by a pioneering British photographer. The V&A will also be unveiling seven refurbished galleries covering Europe 1600-1800 (from 2nd May 2015). These will continue the story begun in the Medieval & Renaissance Galleries, and will complete the restoration of the entire front wing of the museum. The displays will present 1,100 spectacular examples of textiles and fashion, painting and sculpture, ceramics and glass, furniture and metalwork, prints and books, including a number of important new acquisitions.

 
 
 

National Maritime Museum and British Library

 

The National Maritime Museum is the principle attraction in the tourist-rich town of Greenwich. In 2015, it hosts a pioneering piece of interactive theatrical in collaboration with London's most innovative company. Created by Punchdrunk, Against Captain's Orders: A Journey into the Uncharted (28th March-August 2015) is aimed at six to twelve year olds and their families and offers a new way to experience the museum's collections via the medium of immersive theatre. Finally, the British Library at Euston can usually be relied upon to produce London's most intelligent and thought-provoking exhibitions. In 2015, the big questions will be raised in Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy (13th March-1st Sept 2015), held to mark the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta. This once-in-a-lifetime show will bring together an incredible line-up of loans, including Thomas Jefferson's handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence and a copy of the US Bill Of Rights, as well as four original surviving manuscripts of Magna Carta itself. A complementary exhibition in the Front Hall Gallery will be Cornelia Parker: Magna Carta (An Embroidery) (15th May-24th July 2015), a 13-metre piece of embroidery that will replicate the Magna Carta's Wikipedia article, stitched by 200 people, including prisoners, lawyers and MPs. The British Library will also hold Anthony Trollope (3rd March-7th June 2015), a small exhibition marking the bicentenary of the birth of Victorian author Anthony Trollope.

 
 
 

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