#100London - August Update

Another bad month but that's hardly a surprise now.Started the month on a good foot by visiting the South London Gallery in Camberwell followed by the Sassoon Gallery in Peckham which is small and random. I'm also including Frank's Cafe and Campari Bar as they had a huge installation in the car park. Also popped along to the GX Gallery in Camberwell the same weekend which is another small one.

Later in the month I visited the Hayward Gallery which I have been to before this year but one of the exhibitions was 'The Museum of Everything' which is a moving museum so I'm counting it as an extra entry. This may be cheating but at this stage I need all the help I can get. I also paid Beanotown a visit which was silly and full of kids but sort of enjoyable. It was part of the Southbank's summer festival and is now over unfortuantely.

At the end of the month I also caught the Zandra Rhodes exhibition at the Fashion and Textiles Museum which was fantastic and whilst I was in the neighbourhood I also popped into the Bermondsey branch of the White Cube.

Now my total stands at 35, eek I still have a long way to go. Can't believe I'm not even half way yet!

What museums are on your must see list x

Follow @hansyhobs

    

#100London - July Update

Oops, this post is a little late! July was a terrible month for museum visiting anyway so you'll be happy to know you haven't really missed anything. I went to the Wellcome Collection to visit the Medicine Man exhibition which I've actually seen before so that was a little pointless but I had time to kill in Euston and the exhibition is really insightful anyway so I didn't mind having a second look around. The same day I checked out the Propaganda: Power and Persuasion at the British Library. The exhibition provided a basic overview to numerous aspects of propaganda including war, health and even the Olympics. My boyfriend wrote a review on his blog 'The May Day Review' so go and check that out if you're interested. The exhibition finishes this week so if you haven't already been I urge you to check it out. Whilst you're at the British Library it's always worth visiting the treasures exhibition which is a permanent display of old manuscripts, the Magma Carter, Beatles memorabilia and other literary works.

I also popped into the Guardian, Gagosian, Pangolin and Kings Place Gallery the same day to have a look at their current exhibitions. All these galleries change their displays quite regularly so it's always worth popping in when you're in the area to see what's on.

That was it for July, a pretty poor attempt and because I have already been to the Wellcome Collectin this year I can only add 5 to the list which brings me to the grand and pathetic total of 31. I have a lot of work cut out for me!

What exhibitions have you visited recently x

Follow @hansyhobs

    

#100London - June Update

Oh dear another terrible month for me, I'm not doing well at this challenge at all. I only managed to visit one place in June and that was Proud Camden to check out the Withnail and I photography exhibition. The exhibition was small but I really enjoyed all the black and white photography. Withnail and I is a film I haven't watched for years so it was nice to rediscover some of the images. I think I'll watch it again soon.

July is already looking to be lots better so at the end of this month I will have a decent update but for now I'm on a total 27 which is really really bad, oops!

Follow @hansyhobs

    

#100London - May Update

Oops, this post is a little late coming especially as I managed to make great progress to my museum list in May.

So my first port of call for the month was the V&A to visit the David Bowie is exhibition. Considering I have a V&A membership I'm surprised I hadn't already visited this year. The exhibition was incredible and I totally recommend visiting whether you're a Bowie fan or not. You walk around with headphones which automatically change at each section so you can hear a variety of music and interviews. I loved how interactive it was!

On the May Day bank holiday Monday I rose early to queue for the final day of Light Show at the Hayward Gallery. Advanced tickets had sold out so my only option to see this exhibition was to arrive early and hope the the line outside the gallery wouldn't be too long. I was lucky and got a ticket and thank goodness I did because this was probably my favourite exhibition of the year so far. The gallery was full of different light installations, from neon signs to interactive mood altering rooms.

After the sensory delight that was Light Show I hot footed it over Waterloo Bridge to check out Becoming Picasso at the Courtauld Gallery. I get in free with my art fund pass which is always a winner but it was a nice little exhibition regardless focusing on the artists early years but alas it is over now. I then stumbled across the London Film Museum in Covent Garden so thought I'd quickly pop in. This museum is free and thankfully so because I really wasn't that blown away by it. I enjoy film but I am far from being a movie buff so a lot of the content I didn't find too appealing. Each area was a different theme with movie clips and a few props and even though it took up quite a large space I came away thinking I hadn't really learnt that much. I then met a couple of friends and after lunch at the new Bills in Covent Garden we went back to Somerset House to check out the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition. I was not impressed by this exhibition at all, I love photography but I was shocked by the quality of the photos and couldn't understand how some of them came to be such highly regarded. Anyway, the exhibition was more of an overpriced platform to advertise Sony's new products and I'm not sure I'll be returning in subsequent years. My final stop for the day was the National Portrait Gallery (yes I've already been this year so it doesn't count) to check out the Man Ray exhibition. I loved all the portraits on display but sadly this is another one that's over now.

The following weekend I had a busy day with a friend checking out all the little galleries around London Bridge. After a delicious lunch in Borough Market we managed to visit the Menier Gallery, Ceri Hand Gallery, the Wapping Project and Bankside Gallery before checking out the Lichtenstein exhibition at the Tate Modern. I'd only been to the Wapping Project before so it was nice to discover some new places and see work by less famous artists. On the walk back to Waterloo we popped into the National Theatre to see a photography exhibition. I hadn't originally included the theatre on my list when I visited earlier this year but I've decided now that I've visited twice for 2 different photography exhibitions it should count.

My final port of call for the month was the Frued Museum during Museums at Night. I went with a couple of friends to see a talk by Martin Creed. The museum was fascinating and the talk was bonkers, Creed spent an hour being awkward, playing music and chatting about his new work, it was a very interesting evening.

My count is now up to 26 which is better than the previous month but I still have a long way to go. I should be on 50 by the end of June but I know this won't happen but with summer approaching I'm going to do my best to take advantage of the nice weather and spend my weekends more wisely.

What great museums have you visited recently x

Follow @hansyhobs

    

#100London - April Update

I'm going to keep this short and sweet because April has been an appalling month in terms of museum visiting. I actually only made it to the Science Museum and that was for their April lates session last Wednesday. I'd been meaning to check out one of the lates for a really long time now but something always came up, however last Wednesday I made sure I kept the evening free. Because the theme was Climate Change it meant the museum wasn't actually that busy which is a good thing as there's more space to explore and less queues. I loved the fact there weren't any screaming kids around and there were bars all over the place, being able to drink in a museum definitely makes up for the fact the drinks are crazily overpriced. I went to a talk in the IMAX cinema, the venue was cool but the subject matter of the talk was a little on the tedious side. I am really interested in climate change and was looking forward to hearing about how we can make a difference in our lives but the talk was more about stupid jokes than hard facts, still it was an enjoyable 40 minutes. There was tons of other stuff going on as well so I would definitely like to go back again and get more involved, maybe try the pub quiz.

So that bring my grand total to 15 museums which considering it is April that is appalling. I’m determined to make up for it over the next couple of months though. I’m checking at the Bowie exhibition at the V&A on Saturday and I’m going to pop into the Hayward Gallery to see the Light Show before it closes on Monday. I also need to pop into the British Library, Courtald Gallery and lots of smaller museums as some stage as well.

Where have you been this past month x

Follow @hansyhobs

    

#100London - March Update

March has been a bit of a rubbish month for me in terms of museum visiting as I've been away on holiday for half of it (I'm back from Norway tomorrow FYI). However I did make it to a couple of new places at the beginning of the month.

After intending to visit for years I finally made it to the Horniman Museum in south east London. This place is full of fantastic natural history and I'm so glad I finally managed to visit plus the gardens are so beautiful and come summer they will be lovely to walk around. On the same day I popped into the Clink Prison Museum on my way from London Bridge to the Tate Modern. I'd never heard of this place but I happened to stumble across the entrance so thought I'd pop in. At £7 entry I think this place is a little over priced, the clink prison dates back to 1114 and whilst there are tones of interesting facts in the museum about this place and what happened in the prison days there isn't really anything to look at in terms of artefacts. However, it was interesting to read all about the torture devices (morbid much?) and the different prisoners.

I went back to the Tate Modern to check out A Bigger Splash and Lichtenstein A Retrospective. Both excellent exhibitions and definitely worth checking out. I actually want to go back for Lichtenstein as I didn't have time to look around properly. I can't believe how often I've been to the Tate Modern this year, I think this must be my third visit and it's only March. I am definitely making the most out of my membership.

So those 2 news places bring my count to 14 which is a little disappointing as I was hoping to be on 30 by the end of March but I know I can catch up with myself come the summer months.

Where have you been this months x

Follow @hansyhobs

    

#100London - February Update

Can't believe how quickly this month has gone by, I'm off to Paris tomorrow and before I know it it'll be the middle of March and I'll be travelling around Norway for 2 and a bit glorious (but cold) weeks. I can't even remember off the top of my head which museums I've visited this month, not because I did so many but because the beginning of the month feels like such a long time ago which doesn't really make sense as I thought this month had gone by quickly but alas I digress.

I started the month of really well by visiting a bunch of museum in the Bloomsbury area including the UCL Grant Museum of Zoology, the UCL Petrie Museum of Egyptian Architecture and the SOAS Brunei Gallery. I even made it to the Wellcome Collection to see the Death exhibition on the same day as well! All 4 places were really interesting, especially the first 3 which I've never visited before. I particularly like the jars of dead animals in the Grant Museum, creepy but fascinating. The Death exhibition is unfortunately over now which is a shame as it was really enjoyable. It's not at all morbid but really gets you thinking about the role death plays in different cultures and how it has such an impact on the lives of many people.

After a few lazy weeks I made it to the Natural History Museum to catch the Wildlife Photography and Extinction exhibitions. The Wildlife Photography exhibition is a must see but it finishes this weekend so if you can make it I'd definitely recommend popping along, some of the photos on display are amazing. I wasn't too impressed with the Extinction exhibition overall, there really isn't much in terms of objects to look at and the information of display is really aimed at children. On the same day I popped over to Leighton House Museum which is another new place to me. It's the home of the famous artist Frederic Leighton and is a really beautiful building filled with a mix of original and replica works of art. A lot of the artwork is from the renaissance era which isn't really my cup of tea but because I managed to catch the 3pm free tour I learnt a lot about the different painting and how the house came to be such a treasure trove of art. The museum is free to Art Fund members so if you're ever in the Kensington area and have a spare hour I would definitely recommend visiting.

Last Friday I popped over to the Royal Academy of Art to catch the Manet exhibition. I love Manet and the impressionist era but the exhibition was missing the wow factor, it's on until 14th April so if you are a fan you have a little while left to visit.

So that was 7 museums visited this month bring my total count to 12 out of 100. I'm really behind target and I know for sure I won't be able to catch up during March as I'm away for half of it but once it gets warmer I will venture out more for sure.

What museums have you been to this month x

Follow @hansyhobs

 

#100London - January Update

In my ever growing quest to explore London and know all it's little secrets, dirty or otherwise, I've set myself a wee challenge this year, I'm going to see if I can visit 100 different museums and galleries. Now some of you might not even think there are 100 museums in London but earlier today I made a (some what) quick list of places I want to visit and came up with 80, after a little more digging around I'm pretty confident I can make that 100. I've decided to call this challenge #100London and will update you each month with my progress. If I visit 9 different museums a month (2 a week) I'll be laughing and considering some of the places on my list are pretty small I think this challenge should be achievable. Saying that I'm not off to a very good start as I only managed to visit 5 places this month. My only rule is as of 1st January 2013 my score was 0 so all the museums I've visited in the past don't count, that means I have to visit EVERY WHERE this year!

So the first place I visited this year was the Barbican to see the Random International: Rain Room. Now this is probably a controversial starting point as I'm not sure the Barbican actually counts as a museum or gallery but for the time being I'm going to allow it as it does showcase many wonderful exhibitions. Despite the 2 hour queue, Rain Room is a must see installation! Feeling like you control the weather and have the rain actually stop around you as you walk through it is quite a phenomenal feeling. Open until 3rd March, you must see this!

Take a coat, you might get a 'little' wet

The second place I hit up was the Tate Britain to see the Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant Garde exhibition. Unfortunately this exhibition is over now but to be honest it wasn't really my cup of tea, I just wanted to make use out of my Tate membership and catch it before it closed.

A couple of weeks ago went to the National Gallery to see Seduced by Art: Photography Past and Present which again is over now (sorry about that) but I did enjoy seeing how old paintings inspired contemporary photography. On the same day I popped into the National Portrait Gallery to see the first official portrait of HRH The Duchess of Cambridge. Might as well leave my two cent here and say I think it ages her terribly but go an make up your own mind as you have until 1st September to see the painting.

The last gallery I visited this month was the Tate Modern to see another exhibition that is now over, William Klein and David Moriyama. I love the Tate Modern and will definitely be back several more times this year as there are some great exhibitions coming up.

Strictly speaking this entry doesn't count but I wanted to tell you all about the Take a View: Landscape Photographer of the Year exhibition at the National Theatre as it really is worth visiting. So many incredible scenes from across the UK plus it's free and on until 1oth February.

So that's 5 down and 95 in 11 months to go, totes doable! As for February I definitely want to visit the Wellcome Collection to catch the Death exhibition, the Natural History Museum to catch the Wildlife Photography of the Year exhibition and the Royal Academy of Arts to catch a couple of exhibitions before they close. I'm also going to visit plenty of smaller galleries and museums and come the end of the month I'll let you know all about my happenings.

What's your favourite museum x

Follow with Twitter Tumblr