The British Museum's Mission: Cultural Ambassador to the World

If art can be considered a language, the British Museum can reasonably claim to be polyglot, thanks to its large and eclectic collection and its practiced interpretation of global cultures. It was with just such a mandate — to present the world to the world in the spirit of the Enlightenment — that it was founded in 1753.

In the two centuries that followed, it profited handsomely from Britain's imperial reach and trading links, although it always emphasized the scientific and educational nature of its work. And to this day, visitors flocking to view its Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Greek treasures are charged no entrance fee.

Now, under Neil MacGregor, its director since 2002, the museum has embarked on a new mission of communication with the modern world, not only presenting parts of its collection in countries where it once gathered art and artifacts, but also taking into its galleries art from regions undergoing rapid, unpredictable change.

In another sense, by exploiting its historic openness to the world, the British Museum is engaged in an innovative and subtle form of cultural diplomacy, one inspired less by a desire to promote Britain's image than by a belief in the political importance of spreading awareness of cultural diversity.