my brand new interview feature is here!
newsletter 9: August 2019
happy August! we're in peak summer holiday season so it's apt that I'm kicking off my brand new newsletter feature 'listen up' by chatting to the host of one of the best travel podcasts out there. Lisa Francesca Nand presents the chart-topping The Big Travel Podcast - which I absolutely LOVE - and I spoke to her to get top tips and down-low on all things museums. scroll down to read it and please let me know what you think either at @maxwellmuseums or replying to this email. enjoy!
catch up: all the news
80 years after it's spectacular Anglo-Saxon treasures were discovered, Sutton Hoo in Suffolk has had a £4million transformation. East Anglian Daily Times
Stunning artworks by Yinka Shonibare CBE - with an anti-Trump message - have gone on show at the British Museum. Evening Standard
Tee off at church. Rochester Cathedral has installed a mini-golf course to attract new worshippers. ITV News
The V&A have made a series of new acquisitions exploring the design identity of the global activist group Extinction Rebellion. CNN
Hmmm, I think this is a shame. The Louvre in Paris - the most visited in the world - is going to make reservations compulsory by the end of the year. France 24
More trouble at the long-delayed Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. It's director is leaving before the Oscars museum has even set an opening date. Variety
A 1967 Victoria Line tube carriage will be brought back to life as an "immersive venue" as part of London Design Festival 2019. Design Week
Yinka Shonibare: Cowboy Angels at the British Museum. © Reproduced by permission of the artist
weigh up: review roundup
DÓRA MAURER at Tate Modern, London. Website
"it’s a joy to see this optimistic art. You could almost come away with the idea that the world has got better, not worse, in recent decades" The Guardian
"Only occasionally does Maurer achieve a balance of idea and image. So while it’s timely and beautifully installed, this show mostly underwhelms" Evening Standard
listen up: this week's chat
Lisa Francesca Nand is a broadcast journalist and travel expert. On The Big Travel Podcast she speaks to well known people about their lives through travel. The podcast frequently tops the charts in the UK and many of the 140 countries it has listeners.
what’s a great city for culture lovers that's under the radar?
Malaga in Southern Spain is often bypassed on the way to the beach. I grew up nearby and have proudly watched the city blossom to rival Granada and Seville for culture and history. The Museo Picasso in Plaza de La Merced is wonderful. Malaga also boasts the only Pompidou Centre outside France; El Cubo, its colourful cuboid glass structure, is a welcome addition to the rejuvenated port area.
what's the last exhibition you saw?
I live very close to Greenwich in London and am always in the National Maritime Museum or taking my children to the Planetarium, both brilliant for the kids. Not so long ago the Maritime Museum had a fascinating exhibition about Emma Hamilton who rose from poverty to become an artist’s muse, cultural icon and eventually Nelson’s mistress. A powerful woman in a man’s world.
art hotels. any favourites?
As a travel journalist I’ve been lucky enough to review hotels all over the world. The Viceroy Sugar Beach in St Lucia has white sands, dark seas, lush green vegetation and an old plantation house owned by the one-time accountant for the Rolling Stones who has spent his cash on stunning pieces of art; wall-size canvases by local Caribbean artists hang alongside a Matisse print and a quirky Vivienne Westwood photo project and numerous sculptures grace the airy halls and balconies. It's one of the best places I’ve ever stayed.
any tips for visiting museums while travelling?
Be pregnant! I was overjoyed to be ushered to the front of a very long queue at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence when heavily pregnant with my first child. Oh and always get something from the shop.
Follow @bigtravelpod. Listen here https://thebigtravelpodcast.com/
Centre Pompidou Málaga Photo: @maxwellmuseums
get up: what's new
it's summer so new openings are few and far between, but there are still a few exciting new things you should try and catch.
ARTIST ROOMS: Ed Ruscha at Tate Modern - the fantastic ARTISTS ROOMS initiative sees the full range of Ruscha’s practice
At home: Royal etchings by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at the British Museum - scenes of domestic life drawn by Her Majesty herself
Nordic by nature: modern design and prints at Old Gala House in the Scottish Borders - the British Museum partnership exhibition highlights post-war design and prints from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.
thanks for reading. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE by clicking below