V&A Rotunda Chandelier by Dave Chihuly
To help me think of a topic for my blogs I have decided to start #AlphabeticallyMe, where I’ll go through the alphabet from A to Z and find a word to write about that begins with the letter of the day. The idea is to gather all these entries under this link.
So, the letter M today is for one of the things I miss most about this lockdown – Museums!
As befits a former (well, my license is still valid, but I haven’t used it for ages) licensed tourist guide exploring museums is one of my favourite pastimes, regardless if I am at home in London or out travelling somewhere. The habit/addiction to museums was probably cultivated during all the years I lived in Stockholm as a qualified tourist guide – as in Stockholm, qualified tourist guide to for free to every single museum in town!
Thus, without further ado, here are some of my favourite museums (disclaimer: they’re not necessarily the museums I would recommend for someone who visits a city for the first time, but rather my personal favourites), sorted by location. Also, most of those will be closed during the Coronavirus pandemic, but will show their collections online. With this post, I am simply hoping to give you some ideas for museums to visit once the pandemic is over. Stay Home – Save Lives!
Stockholm
Fotografiska, Stadsgårdshamnen 22. The Museum for Photography in Stockholm is one of a few commercial museums in the Swedish capital. They have been very brave, hosting exhibitions like one by famous photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The museum shop is one of the most interesting in Sweden (IMHO) and, while the restaurant is a bit too hip for my taste, this museum is a gem in a city with many good museums! It also has branches in Tallinn and NYC.
Stadsmuseum, Ryssgården. Situated in a building that has been everything from the main courthouse for the prosecution of witches in Sweden to a Russian Orthodox Church, the Stockholm City Museum, recently refurbished, is a fine example of public service. It has always been interesting (and the bookshop is a true find for local tourist guides), but since the recent refurbishment it is absolutely amazing. It tells the story of the Venice of the North in a captivating way and this free museum is a must see for all first-time visitors to Stockholm.
Skansen, Djurgårdsslätten 49-51. Supposedly the oldest outdoor museum in the world, this Sweden in miniature was founded by Dr Hazelius, a researcher in Nordic languages, who, on his research trips, found that with the increasing industrialisation of Sweden, many old buildings were disappearing. Today, apart from being the place for the traditional New Year’s Eve celebrations in Stockholm, you can find rural farms, small town high streets, peacocks and ponies here, alongside many artisan shops – and even one of the oldest Co-Op shops in Sweden. Well worth a visit, but bring good walking shoes!
ABBA The Museum, Djurgårdsvägen 68. The youngest, and possibly also most expensive, museum in Stockholm is none the less a must-see. If you say Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid everyone will know about Sweden’s most successful musical export ever. This museum takes us through the history of this world-known band, with some excursions into modern musical history in Sweden. (Pro tip: On a warm summers day, the hotel on top of the museum has an outside bar that is a lovely place to enjoy a cool, crisp, glass of rose in the Swedish summer sun!)
London
The Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Rd, SW7. Before Charles and Lady Di, there were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. This museum, usually known as just “V&A”, is one of the largest museums of applied and decorative arts, with almost 2.5 MILLION objects. I think this is my absolute favourite museum in the world, where you can see everything from the amazing chandelier that is the photo for this post to a pectoral cross made of Coca Cola bottle tops. Recent temporary exhibitions include Tim Walker, Cars, Mary Quant and Kimonos. A must see when (well, in my mind, every time) you come to London.
London Transport Museum, Covent Garden piazza, WC2E. Celebrating 40 years in 2020, this is a museum I would have visited far more if it hadn’t been for the fact that it is almost always full of school kids. A high amount of very interesting objects (especially for those who, like me, have a slight interest in public transport) and, even if you don’t want to see all the exhibitions, the museum shop is worth a visit for its multitude of London-themed gifts, and can be visited without paying the entrance fee to the museum.
The Fan Museum, 12 Crooms Hill, SE10. Probably one of the quirkiest museums in London, this museum, in an early 18th century house near central Greenwich, houses fans from 1271 until today. One of those museums which I will claim “could only exist in Britain”, is fun, well worth the small amount (£5 at the time of writing) it costs to go in, and will leave you with a smile.
The Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Rd, SW3. The last time I lived in London, I used to work only a hop, a skip and a jump away from this amazing art gallery. Most exhibitions are free, and the museum shop is rare among London museums in that it actually sells proper art works, artists editions etc.
Elsewhere
Jamtli, Museiplan 2, Östersund, Sweden. Yet another Swedish open air museum, this one has been around since 1912 and shows rural and town scenes from the county of Jämtland. Home of one of the most popular Christmas markets in the county, it also has a branch of the National Museum of Sweden.
Schwules Museum, Lützowstraße 73, Berlin, Germany. A rather rare museum, specialising in the history of lesbians and gay men, it has been around since 1984. Given the history of Berlin as a gay Mecca in the time between the two wars, this museum was a must for me when I went to Berlin a few years ago. I seem to recall that the labels were mainly in German, so make sure you bring your mental Wörterbuch!
DDR Museum, Karl-Liebknecthstraße 1, Berlin. Ostalgia – the nostalgia for the German Democratic Republic, is the raison d’etre for this museum. As someone who has a great interest in modern European history as well as a certain devotion to mid-century design, this museum almost left me drooling. Who wouldn’t want to spend a day of their holiday touring some lovely orange interiors and finish off a museum visit with driving a Trabant?
NY Transit Museum, 98 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NYC. A museum you properly descend on (it is in a disused subway station), my visit here a few years ago was great fun. I was lucky enough to be there when it wasn’t too crowded, and while the NYC public transit system is slightly younger than the London one, it is still a museum rife with local history. (Just be careful when leaving so you don’t bang something…..sensitive on the turnstiles. I was hungry so left in a rush. Ouch!)
Leslie Lohman, 26 Wooster Street, SoHo, NYC. The foundations of this museum, dedicated to LGBT art, were the collections of Charles Leslie and Fritz Lohman, avid collectors of somewhat racy art focussed on the male nude. Since receiving museum status from the state of New York, the focus is slightly broader, looking at art from and by the entire LGBT+ community.
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