VALUE our great collections while they are still there. If Edvard Munch’s The Scream can be plucked off the walls of an Oslo art gallery in broad daylight, then any day someone could steal Van Gogh’s Sunflowers from the National Gallery or help himself to Damien Hirst’s pickled shark at County Hall. And even while some might not regret the losses, this week we pick out the special attractions — including music, film, and craft — laid on by our finest museums to entice you in.
As usual the National Gallery leads the way with a great start to September’s season of Wednesday Lates. As well as half-price exhibition tickets — which apply for the fascinating Russian Landscapes in the Age of Tolstoy — there’s a surfeit of Russian pleasures to be had, including icon and ceramic painting, live Russian music and even vodka cocktails. Film buffs, however, will be drawn to the gallery on Saturday, when there will be a special showing of Aleksandr Sokurov’s mesmeric film Russian Ark, an evocative journey through the Hermitage Museum of St Petersburg — all caught in one continuous shot (National Gallery, WC2, 020-7747 2885).
For those still taking in the attractions of Edinburgh (or reeling from the Fringe) Scotland’s own national galleries present some pretty stiff competition. This week, to coincide with the sumptuous Age of Titian exhibition, including Titian’s Allegory of Prudence, there’s Italian Baroque music playing on Thursday evening. It includes such exotic sounding instruments as viols, dulcian and chittarone. And there’s an Italian-themed film, although the connection with Titian is at best tangential: Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western A Fistful of Dollars plays on Sunday (Royal Scottish Academy Building, Edinburgh, 0131-624 6200).
In the same city, visitors to Treasures from Tuscany can get their hands dirty from next Monday to Wednesday when the Edinburgh College of Art presents a workshop on Granulation Jewellery — a technique showcased in the exhibition (Sept 6-8, Royal Museum, 0131-247 4422).
In contemporary art, two Tates have intriguing fare. On Friday, join the flower power crowd in Tate Britain as the cult singer and poet Billy Childish entertains the audience of Art and the 60s (also half price). The more academic among his crowd will also want to hear a talk by Michael Bracewell on the exhibition and its wider cultural context (Tate Britain, SW1, 020-7887 8008). At Tate St Ives, a host of scholarly and musical events should appeal to anyone interested in British modernism with performances that connect the composers Ravel and Stravinsky with the artists Nash and Klee (01736 796226).
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Then you could simply take the week to seek out gems residing permanently in the UK. In Hereford Cathedral, get a 13th-century perspective on the world with the awesome Mappa Mundi, and combine it with a choral evensong — or the opulence of the Sutton Hoo treasures (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 01394 389700).
Even the most museum-proof blokes might not be able to resist an event at the National Football Museum. Among the memorabilia, you can get your own collection valued next Monday, with Sir Tom Finney in attendance (NFM, Preston, 01772 908442).