#MuseumPassion Live

Summary

As part of a week-long BBC celebration, BBC Arts dedicated a full day to bringing the UK's fantastic museums to a global audience. Live stream hosts Dan Vo and Sacha Coward interviewed curators and other museum professionals across the day.
For our morning live stream, Dan and Sacha spoke to guests from Birmingham Museums, the Wellcome Collection and Pitt Rivers Museum for Who'd Be A Museum Director Today? Watch at the top of the page.
At lunchtime we heard from professionals at Museum of Croydon, Cynon Valley Museum and Glasgow Women's Library, for What Do Museums Do For Us?
Our afternoon live stream centred on Curator Battle does #BestPartyObject. Get ready for the weird, the wonderful and the uplifting from the wonderful world of museums - Catch up at the top of the page.
#MuseumPassion is a partnership with the Museums Association, Art Fund and the National Museum Directors' Council (NMDC).

Live Reporting

One more thing...published at 17:06 BST 15 October 2020
Just one more thing before we go - the fourth of our Inside Museums specials is on BBC Four at 7pm this evening. Please join us for this special-access tour of the Artemisia Gentileschi blockbuster exhibition - billed as Tarantino meets Caravaggio, a bloody tale of tragedy and triumph with a twist.
- Five-star reviews for 'the Beyoncé of art history'
- Artemisia Gentileschi: brilliant Baroque icon | Art UK Stories, external
Quote Message
Has there ever been a better, bolder painter of human drama?
Will Gompertz on Gentileschi
Image caption,
A special-access tour of the Artemisia Gentileschi exhibition at London's National Gallery. Watch on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer.
It's closing timepublished at 16:57 BST 15 October 2020
Thanks for joining us on our great day in
We're going to bring this live page to a close now.
Thanks to Dan and Sacha for hosting our live events, and to all our panelists for providing such fascinating discussions.
However, the biggest thank you of all has to go to all our curators up and down the country, who have worked tirelessly to help us stay connected to our museums - even when they've had to close the doors.
We love your #MuseumPassion.
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Escape to the Countrysidepublished at 16:51 BST 15 October 2020
Autumn Views at Art UK
Getting out into the countryside has kept many of us sane during lockdown. If you don't have acres of green space on your doorstep, why not take a virtual stroll through the nation's art collection.
We've chosen a few of our favourite autumn views, external.
Image source, Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC) / Art UK (CC BY-NC-ND)
Image caption,
An Autumn Day by Alexander Brownlie Docharty (1862–1940)
Image source, Museum of Croydon / Art UK (CC BY-NC)
Image caption,
Addington Hills, Croydon, Surrey, William Henry Hope (1835–1917)
Image source, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust / Art UK (CC BY-NC-ND)
Image caption,
Autumn Series No. 5 Balmungo, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912–2004)
- There are plenty more Autumn landscapes to enjoy at Art UK, external.
Stand by for Mary Beardpublished at 16:44 BST 15 October 2020
Inside Culture - tonight on BBC Two at 7.30pm
Inside Culture is BBC Two's topical arts series. This week Mary is marking #MuseumPassion, and ventures out of her study to the British Museum to take on the role of museum guide.
Image caption,
Inside Culture is a topical arts series hosted by Mary Beard.
Mary has already given us a preview of the programme:
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"I've paced this labyrinth of hallways since I was a small girlpublished at 16:40 BST 15 October 2020
Art Historian Dr Janina Ramirez takes us on a personal tour of the British Musem in our last offering from the Museums in Quarantine team
More stories from behind the scenespublished at 16:36 BST 15 October 2020
Here are some more views of everyday life in museums:
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Christmas Zebrapublished at 16:29 BST 15 October 2020
This zebra at a children's Christmas party in a hospital caught Dan's eye
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Dan's a fan fanpublished at 16:24 BST 15 October 2020
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Dr Sushma Jansari's party outfitpublished at 16:22 BST 15 October 2020
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Bobby Dazzlerpublished at 16:17 BST 15 October 2020
And this is the glitzy helmet Sacha was celebrating...
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Sacha's mermaidpublished at 16:15 BST 15 October 2020
Sacha likes mermaids. Even creepy creepy ones like this...
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Dangerous sporranpublished at 16:14 BST 15 October 2020
Dan says he likes the sporran. An unusually dangerous sporran..
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'A stick, made of wood'published at 16:08 BST 15 October 2020
Dr Sushma Jansari's pick
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#CuratorBattle does #BestPartyObjectpublished at 16:01 BST 15 October 2020
There have been so many amazing objects entering the #CuratorBattle arena today - here are just a few of the highlights we've spotted
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Starting Now: Curator Battlepublished at 15:57 BST 15 October 2020
Click on the play button at the top of the page to watch our final live session of the day.
We've been asking museums and visitors to share their #BestPartyObject.
Dan and Sasha are here to discuss the results. They are joined by:
- Jo Killeya is Head of Public Engagement, Collections and Curatorial at York Museums Trust.
- Dr Sushma Jansari is a curator and podcaster. She currently works at the British Museum.
Image caption,
Jo Killeya and Sushma Jansari
Get Ready for Curator Battlepublished at 15:43 BST 15 October 2020
Our next live session starts at 4pm
For 19 weeks while the UK was in lockdown, York Museums Trust's Curator Battle entertained millions of people around the world. The idea was simple: Use Twitter to share the Trust's objects under a given theme and then challenge other museums to do the same.
The phenomenon saw museums from Russia to Australia taking part, generating news coverage on CNN, the Chinese Global Television Network and BBC One's Have I Got News For You. The most popular themes during lockdown were #creepiestobject, external and #bestmuseumbum, external!
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As a result, the Trust's objects were seen by 5.4 million people. Now Curator Battle is back as part of #MuseumPassion. We've been asking you to share the #BestPartyObject. You can see the results in our live session at 4pm.
Curious contraptionspublished at 15:38 BST 15 October 2020
Here are some of the more unusual inventions that museums have been sharing today
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Size isn't everythingpublished at 15:22 BST 15 October 2020
We're celebrating museums of all sizes today, so we thought we'd share a couple of the nation's smallest destinations. The Ferryman's Hut Museum in Alnmouth was used by a boatman until the 1960s, and now houses local maps and memorabilia. It can accommodate around four people at a time.
Image source, Peter ReedFollow / Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Image caption,
Ferryman's Hut in Alnmouth - now one of Britain's smallest museums
However, even that is large compared to a museum in Pembrokeshire dedicated to photographer Tom Mathias. Housed inside a single phone box, it claims to the be the smallest museum in Wales.
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Congratulations to the Gairloch Museumpublished at 15:14 BST 15 October 2020
This venue in Ross-shire is an Art Fund Museum of the Year winner
As well as the amazing Iron Age excavation they're streaming live right now, external, Gairloch Museum has a fascinating story of its own to tell.
Opening in 1977 to house a growing collection of local objects, it was forced to relocate in 2011, when it took up its new home in a cold war Anti-aircraft Operations Room. Local residents helped fund the move.
As well as permanent galleries the museum has space for temporary exhibitions: current visitors can see paintings by award-winning artist Kittie Jones.
And this week they were named one of the five winners of the Art Fund Museum of the Year prize.
Image source, Marc Atkins
Image caption,
Gairloch Museum
Quote Message
I love the affection which the museum holds with the local community
Karen Buchanan, Gairloch Museum
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Beautiful for some, abhorrent for otherspublished at 15:01 BST 15 October 2020
The tattoo is an art form that divides opinion, even as it unites cultures and social classes.
Just before lockdown began, the Historic Dockyard Chatham launched a new exhibition on the history of the British Tattoo, with the largest gathering of tattoo objects and artwork ever assembled in the UK. The BBC's Museums in Quarantine was able to pay a visit.
Find out more about Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed, external on the exhibition website. You can also see the exhibition on tour - it will be opening at Tullie House in Carlisle, external on 17 October.