'Share Croppers' by Robert Gwathmey at the British Museum
Going off-piste to discover lesser-known museums is what we live for, but the behemoths of the museum scene keep coming up with compelling reasons to draw us back to familiar territory. Several big openings coincide in the coming week, starting in South Ken...
'Share Croppers' by Robert Gwathmey at the British Museum
The Natural History Museum moves outdoors with the arrival of a maze, butterfly house and an easy pun in 'Amazing Butterflies', which opens on April 5. The labyrinth, with puzzles and a zip slide, is geared towards kids, while grown-ups will probably be more enthralled by the tropical butterfly house swarming with hundreds of free-flying American, African and Asian specimens.
Another family-friendly attraction, 'The Science of Survival', opens at the Science Museum on the same day. Aimed at children aged eight and over, this hands-on exhibition explores the ways in which climate change and dwindling resources could affect the way we eat, drink, move, build and live in 2050.
At the British Museum, in a departure from its usual scope, opening on April 10 is 'The American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollock'. Usually restricted to displaying a few pieces in the Prints and Drawings room, the BM actually holds the most significant collection of American prints from the late nineteenth century to 1960 of any museum outside the United States. For the first time in three decades, 147 of these works are being released from storage, ranging from early avant-garde artists John Sloan and George Bellows to 1950s abstract expressionists Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning and Joan Mitchell.
‘Amazing Butterflies’ runs Apr 5-Aug 17 at the Natural History Museum (£5, concs £3.50, family ticket £14); ‘The Science of Survival’ runs Apr 5-Nov 2 at the Science Museum (£6); ‘American Scenes’ runs Apr 10-Sept 7 at the British Museum (adm free).
Still on...
'China Design Now' is at the V&A, 'Ice Station Antarctica' (until Apr 20) and 'Wildlife Photographer of the Year' (until Apr 27) at the Natural History Museum, 'Weapons of Mass Communication' (until Apr 17) at the Imperial War Museum, 'Plasticity' is at the Science Museum
Elsewhere, 'Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs' continues at the O2 and the 'Doctor Who' exhibition occupies Earl's Court.
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Coming to London in May:
Fragments - Bronze sculpture exhibition to help fund landmine clearance
Fragments is a collection of nineteen quarter life-size bronze sculptures by Canadian artist Blake. The proceeds from the entire collection of Fragments are being donated to fund landmine clearance through the United Nations Association program No-More-Landmines.
Blake’s shocking, yet hauntingly beautiful sculptures were inspired by his experiences in post-war Vietnam where he witnessed the tragedy of landmines. The exhibition’s broken bodies speak of the tragic effect of military waste on society.
Landmines and unexploded ordnance are a global problem and our generations’ legacy. Fragments sculptures are a part of the solution and have already cleared landmines, cluster bombs and other unexploded weapons from communities and villages in Vietnam. In Angola, Fragments sculptures have funded equipment to map the location of mine fields.
The Fragments Exhibition will be in London from May 19th to May 31st.
The public is welcome to view the sculpture daily from 11am, including weekends and holidays at:
Saint Ethelburga’s
78, Bishopsgate
EC2N 4AG
London
Everyday, at 4 pm during the Fragments show in London, the sculptor Blake will speak of the social responsibility of the artist and the remnants of war that are his inspiration.
A closing party will be held on 29th May from 5pm to 9pm.
Entrance is free and everyone is welcome.
For more information please go to: www.blakefragments.com
Thank you.