Eight great museums you can see but can’t touch

Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum shutterstock

Source: Shutterstock

Ike Ijeh’s guide to museums to put on your bucket list for when normality returns

One of the many innovations we have seen in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdown has been the proliferation of virtual museum tours. Some of the greatest art institutions in the world offer this including the British Museum, the Louvre, the National Gallery, the V&A, the Vatican Museums, the Van Gogh, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the John Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Although the museum buildings may be closed, the tours offer free virtual access to their wealth of artworks and artefacts and enable would-be visitors to tour their exhibits from the social distancing comfort of their own homes.

But what of the actual museum buildings? There has long been intense curatorial and cultural debate about whether museum architecture should defer to the exhibits within or vie with them as architectural works of art in their own right. 

This is premium content. 

Only logged in subscribers have access to it.

Login or SUBSCRIBE to view this story

Gated access promo

Existing subscriber? LOGIN

A subscription to Building Design will provide:

  • Unlimited architecture news from around the UK
  • Reviews of the latest buildings from all corners of the world
  • Full access to all our online archives
  • PLUS you will receive a digital copy of WA100 worth over £45.

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

Alternatively REGISTER for free access on selected stories and sign up for email alerts