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Exhibitions and events

19 events

Pieces of paper laid out on the floor on top of each other.

Artists making books: poetry to politics
. Free .

This intriguing new show explores the history of artists taking on the medium of books.

Watercolour in pale green, red and brown with view of camp with huts, watchtower and telegraph poles, vegetation and mounds.

Klaus Friedeberger: drawings from an Australian Internment
. Free .

The drawings and watercolours in this display record daily life in an internment camp in outback Australia in the 1940s.

Black and white print showing map of Venice with chreub-like heads in clouds and boats in the water surrounding Venice.

Venice 1500: Jacopo de’ Barbari and the rise of printmaking
. Free .

This display showcases the innovation and variety of printmaking in Venice during the High Renaissance.

Japanese festival float model teaser 1

Japan’s Festival Floats
. Free .

For centuries, summertime in Japan has centred around spectacular local festivals with costumes, singing, dancing and incredible floats.

A close up photograph of a silver griffin. The griffin has curled horns, a beak and gold details including its wings.

Luxury and power: Persia to Greece
. Book now .

Drawing on dazzling objects, this exhibition explores how luxury shaped the political landscape of Eurasia in the first millennium BC.

Ink and colour picture showing the head and shoulders of an elderly Chinese woman with her hair tied back. She is wearing green earings and a blue jacket decorated with gold leaves around the neck.

China’s hidden century
. Book now .

In a global first, the resilience and innovation of 19th-century China is revealed through the stories of its remarkable individuals.

Clay tablet with cuneiform script etched on it.

Study days & courses

£129
2 Jun 2023

Old Persian cuneiform for beginners
. Book now .

An introduction to the basics of the Cuneiform script and the Old Persian language.

Close up of painting depicting woman wearing ear muffs, a figure standing behind facing away and a third figure wearing grey.

Lectures & discussions / Study days & courses / Research event

£40
8 Jun 2023–9 Jun 2023

China's 1800s: material and visual culture
. Book now .

A two-day conference about the material and visual culture of the last century of imperial China.

Kathy Hall in the costume of The Imperial Concubine Intoxicated. © G. Guifei.

£12
9 Jun 2023

The Imperial Concubine Intoxicated
. Book now .

Come and be beguiled at this rare and special performance of Part one of this Jingju opera classic, featuring Kathy Lee Hall.

A close up photograph of a woman wearing a blue dress underwater, with the sun on her face and her eyes closed.

£10
11 Jun 2023

Dauntless – Grace O'Malley, Pirate Queen
. Book now .

Debs Newbold gleefully delivers the boisterous, remarkable and inspirational story of her hero: Grainne ni Mhaille – Grace O'Malley.

Bust of Ramesses the Great in Room 4

Online events / Lectures & discussions / Members' exclusive

£16 (Members)
12 Jun 2023

Ramesses the Great: Egypt's king of kings
. Book now .

Join acclaimed Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson to explore the life, dramatic reign and enduring legacy of the pharaoh Ramesses the Great.

Colourful kimono-like informal gown with a swooping phoenix on the front. Colours are mainly brown, pink, purple and blue.

Accessible event

15 Jun 2023

Audio-described tour of China’s hidden century exhibition
. Book now .

VocalEyes' Timna Fibert leads this audio-described event, which provides evocative visual descriptions with a guided tour of the exhibition.