Australian Season at The British Museum

From the end of spring The British Museum will be opening an Australian Season to showcase the diversity of Australia. With such a unique indigenous population and the history of the Western discovery of the island in 1606 by dutch explorers, and subsequent British rule, there’s more than enough to make the Australian season interesting.

The Australian Season starts off on the 21st April 2011 with Australian Landscape exhibition on the Museum Forecourt, running through until 16th October 2011. The area, which will represent the biodiversity in Australia, is a collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, exhibiting a number of exclusive Australian works.

The Australian Season continues from 26th May until 11th September in the Out of Australia exhibition. Featuring Australian prints and drawing in Room 90, the exhibition will contain the works of both Sidney Nolan (1917-1992), one of Australia’s most celebrated painters and printmakers, and Rover Thomas (1926-1998), the indigenous Australian artist.

Baskets and Belongings completes the Australian Season from 26th May to 1th September 2011 in Room 91. Featuring around 60 indigenous Australian containers from The British Museum’s collection, the exhibition shows the craft skills that been born out of at least 40,000 years of ancestry on Australian soil.

All of the exhibitions that are a part of the Australian Season at The British Museum are free.