What do the critics think are the best exhibitions of 2018?

art // architecture // culture // design // lifestyle // travel

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You beauties are getting another maxwell museums newsletter, bringing together everything that's brilliant about museums: from art and architecture, to lifestyle and travel. All in joyful, manageable chunks. Don't forget to share with your museum-loving mates. Thanks for subscribing! Let's dive in.

catch up
all the news

Female artists take centre stage at Tate Britain. Next year the gallery will temporarily rehang the last 60 years of its displays with only women artists as part of their attempts to increase female representation. Simple but effective move from Tate. Bravo Read more at the Guardian.

Dali's lobster telephone has been saved for Scotland. One of the world's most famous Surrealist art works has now been bought by the National Galleries of Scotland meaning that it saved for the nation in perpetuity. I love these stories. Read more on the BBC.

Shameless plug! I worked on this story for the British Museum: a 2,000 year old Roman statue of the goddess Minerva has been found in a margarine tub. It was unveiled as part of the annual report launch of the Portable Antiquities Scheme which revealed that there were a record number of treasure finds by members of the public in 2017. Read more on CNN.

Manga is coming to the British Museum. The biggest exhibition on Japanese manga ever held outside of Japan will open at the British Museum in May 2019. There'll be everything about the global phenomenon, from cosplay to Pokemon. It's gonna be a riot! Read more at Evening Standard.

They do museums differently down under! Australia's Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Tasmania has unveiled the plans for a $400-million hotel complex. There'll be a library, a theatre and a Marina Abramović-designed spa. All reached by boat. Original name? HoMo. You can't make this up. Read more at ABC News Australia.

My photo from Instagram taken at the press announcement of The Citi exhibition Manga at the British Museum. Follow me at @maxwellmuseums

gen up
in depth

The V&A museum has reopened some of their most spectacular galleries, the Cast Courts. Casts were the 3D-printing of their day and these rooms are full of them. In many ways casts have been seen to be inferior to the 'real thing' but Jonathan Jones at the Guardian examines what we can learn from them today. Read the article at the Guardian.

Relations between Britain and Russia are as frosty as they have been since the Cold War. But can museums bring our two nations together? The Telegraph Travel ponders the way the great Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg has been one of the most outgoing of the world’s museums in extending cultural bridges across nations. Interesting read. Read the article at the Telegraph Travel.

weigh up
review roundup

It's that time of year again, when media outlets and art critics look back on the year that was. I'll be revealing my favourites in due course (so look out on Twitter! SPOILER: Picasso has nothing to worry about) but for now pour over the professionals' picks. Adrian Searle at the Guardian has picked his top 10 from around the world and it's great to see Elmgreen & Dragset: This Is How We Bite Our Tongue make an appearance. Eddy Frankel at Time Out plumps for 14, including the excellent Gursky at the Hayward Gallery and Jacko at the NPG. (Also worth a look at his tweet about the worst of the year). Finally, Mark Hudson at the Telegraph reviews the year with the question 'When did artists become so bland and boring?' (paywall). Well worth a read.

Tell me your best and worst of 2018 over email and I'll try and include some in the next newsletter

One of my - and the Guardian's - top 10 shows of the year: Elmgreen & Dragset at the Whitechapel Gallery

get up
don't miss

The Christmas holiday is the best time to try and catch up on all the shows you've not quite managed to get to yet. TIP: it's usually much quieter. My picks for a festive museum-fix? Try and catch Shape Shifters at the Hayward Gallery before it closes on 6 January. Here's a five star review from the Evening Standard to tempt you. And it's final weeks for my PR highlight of the year I object: Ian Hislop's search for dissent at the British Museum. Whet your appetite by watching an interview with the man himself on London Live. If those don't do it for you (WHY?!) then the Londonist has done a much better job than I ever could and rounded up all the best shows this Winter in London. READ IT HERE AND HAPPY VISITING.

Thanks for reading and merry Christmas. PLEASE SHARE! Till next time.