Cathy's Art Diary

Excellent clear and fun online lecture from the British Museum introducing the tapestry and the forthcoming exhibition. Curators Michael Lewis and Sue Brunning led us through ideas about how, why and for whom it was made then Lewis took us through a basic outline of the story. I have since done a more detailed dive with him in another lecture. I have heard him talk before and he makes the story come alive. Brunning then explained how they only had one year to prepare the show when an exhibition of this type would usually take about five. She led us through the structure of the exhibition giving a good idea of what to expect when you go. As an exhibition nerd I found details like the fact the display case is the longest ever made fascinating. I have yet to get to the show as I am currently away but have my two free member trips in the diary for my return and I can’t wait!

Fascinating online lecture from the British Museum explaining their current exhibition on the Silk Roads. I’d enjoyed the exhibition but it was useful to learn a bit more about how it was structured. I had spotted that the show was in geographical zones which roughly made it chronological but had missed that within this were six case studies looking at a topic in more detail. Sue Brunning and Yu Ping Luk, the curators, took us on a whistle stop tour of the show pointing out the star exhibits and explaining why they were chosen. They also explained how the show goes beyond the norms of the museum by drawing objects from all departments as well as borrowing items from 29 international lenders, many of whom had never lent to the British Museum before.