British Museum

Organised with Museo del Oro, Bogota, this exhibition explores the rich and diverse cultures of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th Century. It features more than 250 astonishing objects made from gold and other precious metals.

Suitable for

Admission

This small exhibition will explain Zoroastrianism, an ancient but living religion named after the Prophet Zarathustra, through objects and coins from Persia (Iran) and beyond.

The display will feature a variety of ancient and modern objects and coins, and will highlight the importance of Zoroastrian traditions in other religions. It will touch on the concept and imagery of the Three Kings of the Christian tradition, who are described in the New Testament (Matthew 2.2) as Magi from the east – Zoroastrian priests in the Persian tradition. Magnificent Islamic coins from Mughal India which follow the Iranian Zoroastrian calendar adopted by the emperor Akbar (1556–1605) will also be on display.

Modern objects will show the ongoing legacy of this ancient Iranian religion and its significance as a symbol of national identity for Zoroastrian and non-Zoroastrian Iranians in modern Persia and beyond.

Website

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/wise_men_from_the_east.aspx

Germany divided: Baselitz and his generation

• 6 February — 31 August 2014 *on now

This exhibition will feature over 90 works on paper by some of the leading names in modern German art, drawn from the private collection of Count Christian Duerckheim. It will explore six key artists – Georg Baselitz, Gerhard Richter, A.R. Penck, Markus Lüpertz, Blinky Palermo and Sigmar Polke – all of whom migrated from East to West and redefined art in Germany in the 1960s and 70s and negotiated with the past on both sides of the Wall.

Half of the works on display are by Georg Baselitz (b. 1938), and 34 of the works in the exhibition, including 17 by Baselitz, have been generously donated to the British Museum by Count Duerckheim.

Suitable for

• Any age

Website

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on.aspx

Vikings: life and legend

• 6 March — 22 June 2014 *on now

Swords and axes, coins and jewellery, hoards, amulets and religious images show how Vikings created an international network connecting cultures over four continents.

At the centre of the exhibition will be the surviving timbers of a 37-metre-long Viking warship, the longest ever found.

Admission

Website

http://www.britishmuseumshoponline.org/exhibition-tickets/vikings-life-and-legend/invt/mexviking

This exhibition will introduce you to eight people from ancient Egypt and Sudan whose bodies have been preserved, either naturally or by deliberate embalming. Using the latest technology, the exhibition will unlock hidden secrets to build up a picture of their lives in the Nile Valley over a remarkable 4,000 years – from prehistoric Egypt to Christian Sudan

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

British and Chinese sculptors David Nash and Zhan Wang will talk with Philip Dodd, former Director of the ICA, about artists living and being creative in an increasingly globalised world.

Works by both Nash and Zhan are in the Museum's collection and have been shown in London and the UK.

This is the first in a series of artist dialogues organised by the British Museum in cooperation with the China Art Foundation aiming to foster a better understanding of Chinese art and culture and its impact in the West

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

A gallery talk by Paul Craddock, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A free demonstration of the Japanese tea ceremony in the Mitsubishi Corporation Japanese Galleries, given by members of the Urasenke Foundation London Branch.

The demonstration will be accompanied by a brief explanation (in English) of the history of tea drinking and gathering in Japan. 2pm-3pm and 3pm-4pm

Suitable for

• Any age

Create a crazy comic strip inspired by the Vikings to print and take home.

Activity takes 30–40 mins.

Age: 7+, limited spaces

Suitable for

• 7-10
• 14-15
• 16-17
• 11-13

A gallery talk by Elizabeth Baquedano, independent speaker

Suitable for

• Any age

Use stop-motion software and digital cameras to bring Ice Age animals to life through animation.

Sessions last 120 mins. 11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm

Age: 7+

Suitable for

• 7-10
• 14-15
• 16-17
• 11-13

Admission

A gallery talk by Heechung Yang, National Museum of Korea

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Sushma Jansari, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Susan La Niece, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Susan Woodford, independent speaker

Suitable for

• Any age

How did the Vikings relate to other societies and what was their geographical reach?

Was Viking culture different across different parts of Europe? How are the Vikings remembered across Europe?

This panel discussion, chaired by Jimmy Moncrieff, Shetland Amenity Trust, brings together experts from across northern Europe, featuring author Ben Baillie, Gísli Sigurðsson, University of Iceland, Paula Wilson, Rosala Viking Centre, Finland, and Edmund Southworth, Manx National Heritage, Isle of Man.

It will chart the Vikings' journeys and culture through their countries and will reflect on the cultural memory they left behind

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

Learn about the techniques used to explore Neolithic sites and be inspired by a reconstruction from Skara Brae.

Then work with archaeologists to create your own piece of Neolithic art using digital technology.

Sessions last 150 mins.

Age: 7+. 11am-1.30pm and 2.30pm-5pm

Suitable for

• 7-10
• 14-15
• 16-17
• 11-13

Admission

A gallery talk by Barrie Cook, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Birger Helgestad, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

Exhibition designer and architect Alan Farlie gives a 45-minute illustrated introduction to the exhibition Vikings: life and legend.

Farlie will be discussing its concepts and the development of the design

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Sarah Longair, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

Is there a language of peace? Palestinian lawyer, award-winning writer and political activist Raja Shehadeh asks the question in this year's lecture in memory of Edward Said.

He will reflect on the categories and modes of representation – legal and cultural – that confine today's Palestinians and the steps that need to be taken to move from the language of suffering and oppression to a new one of liberation and peace.

A Q&A session will follow the lecture

Suitable for

• 18+

Admission

A gallery talk by Daniel Godfrey, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

Is there a language of peace? That is the question Palestinian lawyer, award-winning writer and political activist Raja Shehadeh asks in this year's lecture in memory of Edward Said.

He will reflect on the categories and modes of representation – legal and cultural – that confine today's Palestinians and the steps that need to be taken to move from the language of suffering and oppression to a new one of liberation and peace.

A Q&A session will follow the lecture.

This series is supported by the A M Qattan Foundation and London Review of Books.

Admission

Transform an exciting story from ancient Mexico into a comic strip using pictures from the Museum.

Print your colourful comic to take home.

Age: 7+

Suitable for

• 7-10
• 14-15
• 16-17
• 11-13

Admission

A gallery talk by David Stuttard, independent speaker

Suitable for

• Any age

Explore objects from around the Museum, then build your own interactive version using the cutting-edge Arduino toolkit to bring your project to life.

This workshop is run in collaboration with Codasign and includes 60 mins for lunch (not provided).

13–18 participants must bring a signed permission form. This can be downloaded from the website.

This workshop is suitable for ages 13–15

Suitable for

• 14-15

Admission

Writing Mesopotamia is a series of three creative workshops, based on the unique achievements of this influential civilisation.

They can be enjoyed separately or as part of a series. There is an opportunity to showcase work produced in these workshops at a reading event connected to the project at the Museum on 27 April.

The workshops are run by Iraqi poet Adnan al Sayegh and British poet Jenny Lewis.

This workshop explores the history and culture of Mesopotamia and Iraq. Set your imagination free to produce responses to objects through poetry and creative writing

Suitable for

• 18+

Admission

A gallery talk by Ralph Jackson, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Bridget Leach, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Sue Brunning, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

Pierre de Miroschedji, Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique Paris, presents the discoveries made from the excavations at Tell es-Sakan in the Gaza Strip

He will discuss how they relate to the wider context of the southern Levant and its relations with early Egypt.

This lecture is jointly organised by the British Museum, Palestine Exploration Fund and Egypt Exploration Society

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

This lecture is with Exhibition Curator Gareth Williams, British Museum.

Williams compares society in England in the age of Sutton Hoo and after the Viking settlements of the 9th and 10th centuries

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

A gallery talk by Paul Roberts, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

With Dr Irving Finkel, British Museum.

A cuneiform tablet brought to the Museum by a member of the public for identification has turned out to be a major treasure.

Dating to about 1750 BC, it contains part of the ancient Babylonian Story of the Flood, including detailed instructions for building the life-saving Ark.

Hear Dr Finkel reflect on this extraordinary document and the discoveries he has made that cast a new light on the Biblical story of Noah.

Copies of Irving’s The Ark before Noah will be on sale after the talk

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

Project Curator Thomas Williams gives a 45-minute illustrated introduction to the exhibition Vikings: life and legend

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

Use a green screen and Photoshop to create a picture of yourself interacting with some of the Museum’s most fascinating objects.

Activity takes 30–40 mins.

Age: 7+

Suitable for

• 7-10
• 14-15
• 18+
• 16-17
• 11-13

Admission

A gallery talk by Carolyn Perry, independent speaker

Suitable for

• Any age

Learn about the ancient tradition of shadow-puppetry in Java and then decorate your own beautiful puppets.

Use voice recording software and video cameras to then bring your characters to life through film.

Sessions last 120 mins.

Age: 7+. 11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm

Admission

A rarely-seen collective response from 1978 by 11 German filmmakers to the political violence of the previous year by members of the Red Army Faction, which includes an eloquent, highly personal statement by Fassbinder, involving his lover and mother.

Directors: Alf Brustellin, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Alexander Kluge, Maximiliane Mainka, Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus, Peter Schubert, Bernhard Sinkel, Hans Peter Cloos, Edgar Reitz, Katja Rupé, Volker Schlöndorff.

West Germany, 1978, 123 mins, Cert. 15

Part of a film season exploring life in post-war Germany to accompany the exhibition Germany divided: Baselitz and his generation.

Curated and introduced by Ian Christie, Professor of Film and Media History at Birkbeck College.

Age: 15

Suitable for

• 16-17
• 18+

Admission

A gallery talk by Noriko Tsuchiya, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Ben Burt, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Nigel Tallis, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

With Jonathan Taylor, British Museum.

Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria (668–c. 630 BC), was a scholar as well as a supremely powerful ruler.

His Library was the most important collection of writings before the Library of Alexandria.

A collaborative research project based at the British Museum is now making it freely available in digital form.

Taylor discusses the significance of the Library's collections and the aims behind bringing it back together

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

Curator and art historian Sir Norman Rosenthal discusses the work of Georg Baselitz with art historian John-Paul Stonard.

Rosenthal was instrumental in introducing Baselitz’s work to a wider public by organising the first major UK retrospective of his work at the Royal Academy in 2007, and in 2012 he curated an exhibition of his recent paintings for Villa Schöningen in Berlin.

John-Paul Stonard, author of the publication accompanying the exhibition Germany divided: Baselitz and his generation, currently on in Room 90, will lead a conversation on Baselitz’s work from the key period covered in the show, 1960s to the early 1980s, when the German artist’s trademark fracturing and inversion of motifs evolved

Suitable for

• 18+

Admission

A gallery talk by Emma Morris, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Margaret O'Brien, independent speaker

Suitable for

• Any age

Narrated by Orson Welles and stars Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis as the Viking half-brothers Einar and Eric who compete for the throne of Northumbria and the princess Morgana, played by Janet Leigh. Certificate PG

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

Become a journalist for the day and follow clues around the galleries using mobile phones.

Then create your own news report to share on the web.

Sessions last 120 mins. 1pm-3pm and 2pm-4pm

Age: 7+

Suitable for

• 7-10
• 11-13
• 14-15

Admission

Archaeologist and expert in Roman arms and armour Mike Bishop delivers a lecture on the Crosby Garrett Helmet which is currently on display in Room 37

Suitable for

• 18+

Admission

A gallery talk by Janet Ambers, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Sushma Jansari, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Elizabeth Baquedano, independent speaker

Suitable for

• Any age

Become an ancient Greek Olympian using a green screen. Edit your portrait in Photoshop to print and take home. Age: 7+. 11.30am-3.30pm

Suitable for

• 7-10
• 14-15
• 11-13

Admission

A gallery talk by George Hart, independent speaker

Suitable for

• Any age

Join screenwriter and internationally acclaimed children’s novelist Damian Dibben (author of the popular History Keepers series) to write your own stories inspired by mysterious objects from the Museum’s collection.

Sessions last 120 mins.

Age: 9+. 11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm

Suitable for

• 11-13
• 7-10
• 14-15

Admission

A gallery talk by Rosie Weetch, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Jan Stuart, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Ben Alsop, British Museum

Suitable for

• Any age

A gallery talk by Roberta Marin, independent speaker

Suitable for

• Any age

This panel discussion, chaired by historian and writer Michael Wood, will consider these regional histories and how they have shaped the cultural memory of the Vikings across Britain and Ireland.

From raiding to full-scale invasion, the development of urban trade to involvement in destructive power struggles, the experience of the Viking Age in Britain and Ireland was varied across regions.

Panellists include Stephen Harrison, Trinity College Dublin, James Moncrieff, Shetland Amenity Trust, and Marc Scully, University of Leicester

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

Ming: 50 years that changed China

• 18 September 2014 — 5 January 2015

This major exhibition will explore a golden age in China’s history.

Between AD 1400 and 1450, China was a global superpower run by one family – the Ming dynasty – who established Beijing as the capital and built the Forbidden City. During this period, Ming China was thoroughly connected with the outside world. Chinese artists absorbed many fascinating influences, and created some of the most beautiful objects and paintings ever made.

The exhibition will feature a range of these spectacular objects – including exquisite porcelain, gold, jewellery, furniture, paintings, sculptures and textiles – from museums across China and the rest of the world. Many of them have only been very recently discovered and have never been seen outside China.

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

Website

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/ming.aspx