Viral covid tweets acquired
Museum of London collects 13 viral tweets. Plus: Uniqlo teams up with Louvre
maxwell museums friday briefing
Happy Friday once again.
We’ve almost made it through January - and month 1 of lockyD 3 - which I think is an achievement for us all. I recommend that you celebrate by having a movie night as today sees the long-awaited release of Netflix film the Dig. It charts the dramatic discovery of the remarkable historical artefacts at Sutton Hoo in the 1930s, which are now part of the British Museum collection. It’s got great reviews, with the Daily Mail saying it’s “a film of enormous, completely enveloping charm.” Perfect pandemic escapism.
For me the month ended on a high. My day job is press for the British Museum and I’m managing the media campaign for our Thomas Becket exhibition. We had a hugely successful press launch this week, which you can read more about below. I was thrilled that the news appeared across many of the national newspapers. Lots more exciting stories to come from that show so stay tuned.
Now let’s get stuck in to this week’s news!
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A glass act. An extraordinary loan of an entire 800-year-old stained glass window from Canterbury Cathedral will form the centrepiece of the British Museum’s upcoming major exhibition on Thomas Becket. And it turns out that the glass has been in the wrong order for centuries. The i paper
Miracle window, Canterbury Cathedral, early 1200s .© The Chapter, Canterbury Cathedral
Mon Dieu. Paris’ Centre Pompidou will close for 4 whole years from 2023 to allow for extensive renovations of the 1970s building. Let’s hope we all get to visit one final time beforehand. The Guardian
Great news. Edmund de Waal’s wonderful library of exile has unfortunately now closed at the British Museum, but the books it contained have been given a second life. All 2,000 of them will be donated to the University of Mosul, whose library was destroyed by IS. Yahoo News
Going viral. Tweets from Londoners in lockdown have been immortalised by the Museum of London. The 13 tweets have been acquired to “capture how a sense of humour” helped people cope. Mail Online. Here’s my favourite which still makes me chuckle…
“timely transformation.” Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum will be expanded as part of a 10-year project to redevelop the city’s waterfront. The Guardian
Great Big Art Exhibition. Museums and galleries are closed (have I mentioned that?) so Sir Antony Gormley and Colchester’s Firstsite gallery are inviting the public to take part in what they hope will be the biggest art exhibition ever mounted. BBC News
Field for the British Isles. Meanwhile, 40,000 Gormley figures will be going on show in Sunderland later this year. BBC News
Boost for Brum. Ngl, I cannot wait for the next Commonwealth Games, which in 2022 will be in Birmingham. The accompanying cultural festival has been award £6m to support 200 creative projects and new artistic commissions. BBC News
Staying in the UK. The earliest surviving maps to chart the defeat of the Spanish Armada have been saved for the nation thanks to an urgent £600,000 fundraising campaign by the National Museum of the Royal Navy. Evening Standard
Hammer time. One of the last privately owned Botticelli portraits has just sold for over $92 million, a record for the artist. Blimey. CNN
Looking good and feeling fine. The Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo will appear on t-shirts designed by Peter Saville as part of the Musée du Louvre’s new 4-year partnership with Uniqlo. I am available for brand partnerships Uniqlo if you’re reading. WWD
Don’t judge me. Kara Walker’s epic Turbine Hall commission Fons Americanus at Tate Modern takes a staring role in FKA Twigs’ new video. British Vogue. Watch the video below…
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