4 Cool museum exhibitions

Charlotte Davy, Te Papa’s Head of Art lists some of her favourite museums around the world

1 STAR WARS IDENTITIES Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Until June 10 maas.museum

Journey to a galaxy far, far away and discover the world of

Star Wars at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum. The Australian premier of Star Wars Identities, which has toured Canada, the UK and Europe, features 200 original objects used in the making of the legendary movies, as well as interactive elements designed in consultation with neuropsychologists, psychologists and biochemists. Plus, you get to find out which Star Wars character you most resemble — and every visitor leaves with their own unique character inspired by the films.

2 TERRACOTTA WARRIORS

Te Papa, Wellington. December 15-April 22 tepapa.govt.nz

At Te Papa this summer, Kiwis can have a rare encounter with the some of the ancient terracotta warriors that secretly guarded the tomb of Qin Shihuang, China’s First Emperor for 2000 years, and were discovered by chance, in 1974. Regarded by some as an eighth wonder of the world, this landmark exhibition will feature eight warriors standing 180cm high, as well as two half-size replica bronze horsedrawn chariots. A selection of 160 works of ancient Chinese art will also be on display.

3 MANDELA MY LIFE Melbourne Museum. Until March 3 museumsvictoria.com.au

Delve into Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary life at the Melbourne Museum. This new, world-class exhibition is curated from the extensive collections of the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, with many objects on display for the first time outside South Africa. A selection of rare personal artefacts, film footage and documents will be on display to help commemorate, illuminate and share Mandela’s legacy with the world.

4 ASIA PACIFIC TRIENNIAL OF CONTEMPORARY ART GOMA, Queensland. November 24-April 28 qagoma.qld.gov.au

Featuring more than 80 artists and groups from over 30 countries around the Asia-Pacific region, this ambitious exhibition series returns to the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art this summer — and it’s free. On display will be a number of never-seen-before installations, paintings, sculptures, photographs and video from emerging and established artists, and leading works from Australian Indigenous communities and artists. There’s also a dedicated gallery space for kids, with interactive installations and programmes that are bound to spark some creativity.

Here is my Ato Z of fabulous museums gleaned from 20 years of travelling in Australasia, Asia, Europe and the US. This isn’t a list of the big encyclopaedic museums that have become household names around the world — although museums such as the V&A, MoMA, the Prado, and the Centre Pompidou are a must on any art lover’s itinerary — but rather my recommendations for smaller stunning museums that are worth going to see.

ADAM Brussels Design Museum

Trade Mart Brussels, Belgieplein 1, 1020 Brussels, Belgium — adamuseum.be On the edge of Brussels, this museum complex comprises the extraordinary Atomium structure, built for the World Fair Expo 1958. It now houses a mixture of social history exhibits and contemporary art installations, and a design museum t focusing on plastic. I found my heart beating faster at the sight of 1950s balustrades inspired by atom structures, and experienced utter joy viewing the swathes of 60s and 70s plastic design.

Fortuny Museum

San Marco, 3958, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy — fortuny.visitmuve.it This museum and former home of fashion designer Mariano Fortuny can be found in large Gothic palazzo in Campo San Beneto in Venice. Fortuny, although world famous for his work in fashion and textiles design, also worked with photography, lighting and stage design, and painting.

For me the defining spaces in this museum are those where Fortuny lived and worked, surrounded by his own work and objects that inspired him. Although small, it is eclectic, dense and deeply satisfying.

Kimbell Art Museum

3333 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, Texas, US — kimbellart.org The Louis I Kahn building of this art museum is a genuinely profound space where I am happy to float for hours.

It’s the kind of architecture that changes you. That may sound like a big claim but it’s true. Not only is the architecture sublime but the small art collection is high quality, including the first known painting by Michaelangelo, painted when he was only 12 or 13.

Han Yan Ling Museum

Airport Hwy, Weicheng Qu, Xianyang Shi, Shaanxi Sheng, China I am lucky to have visited Xi’an many times and this is the museum I return to each time I visit. I love tea almost as much as air, and this museum has the oldest archaeological find of tea leaves in the world.

For those of you less tea-inclined, it’s better known for the most remarkable smaller-scale terracotta armies from the Han dynasty, several of which Te Papa is borrowing for the upcoming Terracotta Warriors exhibition.

Hermitage

9 Palace Square, 2, Sankt-Peterburg, Russia, 190000 — hermitagemuseum.org This is the only large-scale museum on this list and I have included it because it really is worth going to St Petersburg if you are in Eastern Europe or Scandinavia, with an easy high-speed train link from Helsinki. The museum is breathtaking in the quality of its collections; the charm of looking at rooms full of Matisse paintings on a summer’s day with the warm wind blowing through the often open windows is pure and unparalleled museum magic. But make sure you spend time in the Russian collections too, you will never see anything like it outside Russia.