The British Museum’s series of Spotlight loans and tours across the UK form an integral part of the Museum’s strategy and approach to sharing its collection with the nation. The programme gives UK museums the opportunity to borrow objects free of charge and it is an excellent opportunity for the BM to display its objects in different contexts, which can bring out new approaches and interpretations, as well as drawing on other museums’ collections, experiences and expertise.
The ITP team have been delighted to partner with colleagues around the British Museum and UK to bring our global network into this programme.
From Temple to Home: Celebrating Ganesha
The British Museum Asahi Shimbun Room 3 exhibition, From Temple to Home: Celebrating Ganesha, was co-curated by Manisha Nene (India, ITP Fellow 2011) Assistant Gallery Director, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS). Following a three month show at the British Museum, the exhibition toured to seven venues in the UK as part of the British Museum’s National Programmes and was seen by over 650,000 visitors.
See the exhibit on Google Arts & Culture
“Visions of Ganesha” primarily focused on the story of Ganesha and popular legends associated with the god, depicitions of Ganesha in different art forms, Ganesha’s influence in Hindu religion and how he is celebrated in the public and the domestic space.
Rodin: rethinking the fragment
A British Museum spotlight loan exhibition was co-curated by Barbara Vujanovic, Senior Curator at The Ivan Meštrović Museums – the Meštrović Atelier, (Croatia, ITP 2016). The exhibition, Rodin: rethinking the fragment, toured to Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendall (August – October 2018), the Holburne Museum, Bath (November 2018 – January 2019) and the New Art Gallery, Walsall (February – April 2019). As part of the programme Barbara gave a curator’s talk at each venue and delivered a public lecture at the British Museum on Rodin’s The Thinker.
Read the report on Rodin: rethinking the fragment
Tutankhamun: reimagined
Working with colleagues in the Department of Egypt and Sudan, Heba Khairy (Egypt, ITP Fellow 2017) came to the British Museum for a project to work on a co-curated display in the British Museum.
This project, to enable the British Museum to commemorate the centenary of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun (opened in November 1922), saw Heba co-curate a small display in Room 4, the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery, through objects from the Museum’s collection. The display forms the last stop on a short Tutankhamun trail which focusses on the political and religious background of Tutankhamun’s reign. The theme of the case is the ‘legacy’ of Tutankhamun and how he is viewed by Egyptians today.
Heba has also been able to support the British Museum’s current Asahi Shimbun display in Room 3. The exhibition, Tutankhamun: reimagined, seeks to explore both ancient and modern Egyptian relationships with the image of Tutankhamun, by placing both ancient and contemporary objects alongside each other.
