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Showing posts with label Take a Trip to London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Take a Trip to London. Show all posts

Monday, February 11, 2019

#FashionAlert #LondonPeachy #WhomYouKnow @BFC #BritishFashionCouncil LONDON FASHION WEEK FEBRUARY 2019 – A CELEBRATION OF FASHION, CULTURE AND ART FOR EVERYONE Our Coverage Sponsored by Hallak Cleaners the Couture Cleaner @hallakcleaners

Fyodor Golan London Fashion Week
FYODOR GOLAN
FYODOR GOLAN’s approach to design represents Positive Intellectualism; a movement of passionate self-expression, which is instantly recognisable through use of vivid colours merged with elevated sportswear aesthetics.

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This February, London Fashion Week returns to showcase some of the most creative and innovative fashion designers in the world and ignites a city-wide celebration of the creative industries. London Fashion Week celebrates the intersection of fashion, music, art, design and tech with London, one of the most multicultural, vibrant and diverse cities, as a backdrop.



London Fashion Week encourages designer businesses, global brands and creative institutions to celebrate and encourage the public to get involved and celebrate the creative industries. From exhibitions to in-store activation, digital engagement and events throughout the month of February, all the below activities and events are open to the public.



London Fashion Week Festival

Saturday 16th Feb – Sunday 17th Feb 2019

The Store X, 180 Strand, London WC2R 1EA


London Fashion Week Festival presents London Fashion Week: Insiders jam-packed schedule will take place over two days during LFW on the 16th and 17th of February at The Store X, 180 Strand. There will be see-now, buy-now catwalk shows, industry talks, retail space and consumer experiences.



The BFC are delighted to be working with BBC Earth and ‘No Frills’ sustainable fashion designer Amy Powney of Mother of Pearl in a partnership to discuss Positive Fashion. In the first event of its kind, this collaboration brings together the global reach of the BBC, the pioneering sustainability strategy of Mother of Pearl and the fashion influence of the BFC to host a talk series on Saturday the 16th of February.



The focus of the talks will be centred on the impact the fashion industry has on the planet while highlighting the positive tangible opportunity for sustainable fashion choices and mindful consumer behaviour. The event will be filmed by BBC Earth and content will be published across digital and social platforms ensuring global consumer reach across the BBC and BFC communities. Speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.



The two-day runway preview will see SS19 collections on Sunday from Fyodor Golan who will present their Lost & Found collection which mixes sporty, surfer details with soft silks and embroidery while also delving into the past with influences from SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog used to create your favourite childhood pyjamas contemporarily reimagined. OSMAN refines his signature cuts and silhouettes with new colours and textures, playing with exuberant layers of ruffles and draping of fabrics on the body, as always, he will showcase cuts that flatter the female form and make a woman feel powerful. A further two designer catwalks for Saturday will be announced in the coming weeks. The talks schedule for Sunday will be led by fashion industry insiders and full schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.Ticket: Insider (£135) and Front Row (£245).

Tickets are available to purchase here.





International Fashion Showcase 2019 – ‘Brave New Worlds: The Changing Landscape of Fashion’

11th February – 25th February 2019

Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA

The International Fashion Showcase (IFS) nurtures and presents work from the most exciting fashion talent from around the world. Working in partnership, the British Council, British Fashion Council, London College of Fashion and Somerset House provide a tailored programme for 16 emerging international designers from 16 countries around the world, including a business development programme lead by London College of Fashion and a creative residency within Somerset House Studios in London. IFS will culminate with a free public exhibition during London Fashion Week at Somerset House, entitled ‘Brave New Worlds’ and showcasing the work developed by the designers in a compelling series of installations exploring urgent issues and new ideas that are shaping fashion globally. For more information please clickhere.





Artfully Walls x Anthropologie Pop-up

31st February – 3rd March 2019

Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA

Homeware emporium Anthropologie has launched their latest exhibition at the Kings Road Gallery.

A collaboration with Artfully Walls (a curated online shopping destination), the exhibition aims to connect quality, affordable pieces with art lovers. The portfolio of artists has been handpicked by the Anthropologie team: all prints sold are museum quality fine-art prints made with archival inks and premium paper, canvas, resulting in vivid and stunning pieces. Artists on show include Charlotte Ager, Charlotte Taylor, Francesca Iannaccone, Laura Gee and Rosie Harbottle. For more information please click here.





Another Space London

w/c 18th February 2019

4-10 Tower Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9NP

Another_Space are hosting a post London Fashion Week themed cycle class. Follow @another_spacelondon to book a bike. For more information please click here.



Anya Hindmarch – ‘Weave Project’ Installation

16th February – 19th February 2019

Brewer Street Car Park, 32 Brewer St, Soho, London W1F 0LA

Dubbed the “Weave Project,” the four-day event will centre around an art installation — a giant and interactive neon-blue, hand-netted tube housed in the top floor of Brewer Street Car Park in London’s Soho — created by artist collective Numen/For Use to coincide with the global relaunch of the woven Neeson bag for Spring/Summer 2019. In addition to the installation, there will also be a themed Weave Project café and a pop-up shop stocking the Neeson collection and special edition merch, while bags can be personalised on-site by crafts people who specialise in weaving. Tickets available here.





Bill Viola/Michelangelo

26th January 2019 – 31st March 2019

Royal Academy, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD



15 exquisite drawings by Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo are shown alongside video installations by contemporary artist Bill Viola in a major Royal Academy exhibition. Juxtaposing Viola and his ancient forebear, for the first time, The Royal Academy explores the unexpected affinities between the two artists. For more information please click here.



Celebrating China: A Pop-up Boutique by Susie Bubble

29th January 2019 – 17th February 2019

Bicester Village, Pingle Dr, Bicester OX26 6WD



The event 'Celebrating China' includes a pop-up boutique curated by fashion influencer Susie Bubble which includes a slew of rising stars, allowing consumers to shop alternative brands including Ryan Lo, Mukzin, I Am Chen, Marie Yat, Xu Zhi and Matter Matter. For more information please click here.





Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams

2nd February 2019 – 14th July 2019

Victoria and Albert Museum, Sainsbury’s Gallery, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL



Spanning 1947 to the present day, this exhibition will trace the history and impact of one of the 20th century’s most influential couturiers, exploring the enduring influence of the fashion house, and Dior’s relationship with Britain. More information and ticket purchase availablehere.





Date Night or Mate Night with Moët & Chandon by Selfridges

8th and 13th February 2019

The Fount Bar on G, Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street, London W1A 1AB



Whoever you’re celebrating with, join us at The Fount Bar to enjoy an exclusive Rose Champagne tasting with Moët & Chandon brand ambassador, Marion Baudet and Ethan Boroian, UK Champagne Ambassador. Plus, enjoy a delicious food pairing board, designed to accompany your Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial. You’ll be schooled in the art of bubbly and be presented with a personalised mini bottle of Moët to take away. We’ll toast to that. More information and ticket purchase available here.





David Bailey – The Sixties

14th February - 30th March 2019

Gagosian Gallery, 17-19 Davies Street, London W1K 3DE



Gagosian is pleased to present selected photographs by David Bailey.

Bailey’s bold and iconoclastic style has made him one of the world’s most renowned living portrait photographers, and earned him as much fame as his stellar subjects. Discarding the rigid rules of a previous generation of portrait and fashion photographers, he channelled and immortalised the energies of London in the 1960s and beyond. For more information please click here.





Diana: Her Fashion Story at Kensington Palace

24th February 2017 – 17th February 2019

Kensington Palace State Apartments, Kensington Gardens, London, W8 4PX



To celebrate the success of the Diana: Her Fashion Story exhibition, outfits from some of Diana's most iconic moments have been added to the display for 2018. In this elegant exhibition at Diana's former London home, her relationship with her favourite designers will be explored through a display of some of their original fashion sketches, created for her during the design process. For more information please clickhere.







Diane Arbus Exhibition: In The Beginning

13th February – 6th May 2019

Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX



Diane Arbus was a genius. She was an early mover and shaker in the world of photography whose ripples can still be seen fifty years after her death. In 2019, The Hayward Gallery showcases her earliest work from a prolific but fledgling period, from 1956-1962. Tickets available for purchase here.



Fyodor Golan Pop-Up at Liberty

1st February – 28th February 2019

Liberty London, Regent St, Soho, London W1B 5AH



Liberty London is excited to announce the launch of an exclusive pop-up with British fashion brand Fyodor Golan. Known for their vibrant colours, tech fabrics and sportswear aesthetics, the brand will recreate their Spring/Summer 19 runway set design in womenswear on Level 1.



The duo, Fyodor Podgorny and Golan Frydman teamed up with Plastic Oceans U.K to raise awareness around one of the largest dangers to marine life: plastic pollution. Their runway backdrop set is made from abandoned fishing nets and emulates coral covered driftwood, highlighting the damaging impact plastic waste has on our oceans. The ‘Lost & Found’ collection has been designed for both genders and features washed out hues in recycled denims and cottons. Taking inspiration from the ocean, sporty silhouettes are

embellished with castaway elements; from seashells to pearls and plastic waste. To add iconic nostalgia, the duo collaborated with SEGA’s ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’, focusing on early pixelated imagery that showcased raw silks in bold fuchsia, and cyan blue tones. For more information please see click here.





Grace Wales Bonner: A Time For New Dreams

19th January – 16th February 2019

Serpentine Sackler Gallery, West Carriage Drive, London W2 2AR



Grace Wales Bonner presents the first in a new series of unique projects in the fields of music, fashion, art and design Featuring Chino Amobi, Black Audio Film Collective, David Hammons, Rotimi Fani Kayode, Michael-John Harper, Liz Johnson Artur, Rashid Johnson, Kapwani Kiwanga, Klein, Laraaji, Eric N. Mack, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Ben Okri, Ishmael Reed, Sahel Sound.

This exhibition focuses on Wales Bonner’s rigorous research into multiple geographies and temporalities, culminating in the presentation of her forthcoming Autumn/Winter 2019 collection, Mumbo Jumbo, a title taken from writer and exhibition booklet contributor Ishmael Reed’s seminal text of 1972. Conjuring and exploring various characters, their dress, and the worlds and spaces they inhabit, the collection features certain protagonists, such as the artist-shaman, a West African spiritual healer, and a gathering of Howard University intellectuals. At its close, the exhibition becomes an environment for the characters to inhabit. For more information please click here.



Koibird goes Skiing

62 Marylebone Lane, Marylebone, London W1U 2PB



Koibird is an innovative concept store born out of the desire to capture the exoticism of travel in a retail experience. The brainchild of Belma Gaudio, Koibird is designed by set designer Anna Burns.

New for this season the store covers all facets of Alpine dressing, cold weather essentials, ski-wear, clothing, footwear and accessories from brands including Lingua Franca, Natasha Zinko and Perfect Moment with exclusive designs and one-off pieces available in-store. For more information please click here.



London Jewellery Showroom

18th February – 29th February 2019

John Pye Auctions, 5 Old Bond Street, London W1S 4PQ

The London Jewellery Showroom is back on Bond Street for 2019 to bring you two days of the best designer jewellery during LFW. A chance to discover and buy exclusive new fine and demi fine jewellery pieces from international contemporary jewellery brands such as Sian Evans, Sarah Zhuang and Dainty London. Also discover the secrets of the jewellery industry with a range of insightful industry talks including ‘How to launch your own jewellery brand’, ‘A beginners guide to gemmology’ and 'Jewels that catch an expert’s eye' with Joanna Hardy. For more information please click here.



MATCHES FASHION – The Innovators Cocktail Reception

16th February 2019 5:30pm – 7:30pm

Matches Fashion, 5 Carlos Place, Mayfair, London W1K 3AP



To celebrate the SS19 instalment of MATCHESFASHION.COM’S The Innovators, join our three pioneering new designers – Harris Reed, Marta Ferri and John-Paul Pietrus of Francis de Lara – for an evening of cocktails, and be among the first to shop the pieces, exclusive toMATCHESFASHION.COM. For more information please click here.



sloggi

8th February - July 2019

2-10 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6GY



Iconic underwear brand sloggi are launching at Boxpark Shoreditch on the 8th February. The Boxpark pop-up will be their first UK retail store, a landmark opening for the best-selling brief brand. 

Their six-month pop-up at Boxpark Shoreditch will tell their story and show off their full product range including S by sloggi which is their premium line and the official lingerie supplier of LFW. For more information please click here.



‘State of the Arts’ - Selfridges

January 2019 - March 2019

Selfridges, 400 Oxford St, Marylebone, London W1A 1AB



From January 2019, the display spaces in Selfridges, including the London flagship and stores in Birmingham and Manchester, offer shoppers and passers-by something unexpected. State of the Arts is a daring campaign from the famous department store home to numerous art installations, performances and workshops. The drive aims to promote an accessible and unfettered appreciation of creativity and continues the brand’s long-standing championing of artistic practice, asking, “Where do the lines between fashion and art fall?”



The art on show is not only available for browsing. An eclectic range of pieces including a new series of Kusama’s now iconic pumpkin, Carsten Höller’s enigmatic animals and an exclusive neon piece by Douglas Gordon are available for purchase from the Art Store, housed in London’s Corner Shop. The space combines retail, customer interaction and artist participation and will also feature major installations by Tyrrell Winston, John Margaritis, and Paola Pivi’s fluorescent feathered Polar Bears. For more information please click here.







Swinging London: A Lifestyle Revolution/Terence Conran – Mary Quant

8th February - 2nd June 2019

Fashion and Textiles Museum, 83 Bermondsey St, London SE1 3XF



Swinging London: A Lifestyle Revolution will present the fashion, design and art of the Chelsea Set; a group of radical young architects, designers, photographers and artists who were redefining the concept of youth and challenging the established order in 1950s London. At the forefront of this group of young revolutionaries were Mary Quant and Terence Conran. For more information please click here.





The Dior Collection

7th February – 7th April 2019

Proud Central, 32 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6BP

Proud Galleries is pleased to present The Dior Collection, an exhibition of fashion photography showcasing the legendary designs of Christian Dior and its enduring impact on the fashion world. The House of Dior is renowned for revitalising both haute couture and ready-to-wear fashion in the 20th Century and its legacy continues to inspire modern style. Documenting this remarkable brand throughout its first two decades, the exhibition displays the iconic works of Mark Shaw, Norman Parkinson, Jerry Schatzberg, Bert Stern and Horst P. Horst. From the polished editorial shots capturing well-known figures for Life magazine, to behind-the-scenes studio snapshots, The Dior Collection explores the creation of this revolutionary luxury brand and its reinvention of the female silhouette. Entry for the exhibition is free and is open daily Monday to Saturday, 10am till 7pm and on Sundays from 10am till 6pm. For more information please click here.





The Jewellery Cut Live

18th February – 19th February 2019

The Hoxton Holborn, 199-206 High Holborn, London WC1V 7BD

Over two days, The Jewellery Cut Live – which is being run in partnership with Push PR – will give shoppers, retail buyers and press the chance to meet jewellery designers, place orders, browse and buy jewellery.

The designers on show will offer visitors a mix of styles, from trend-led silver jewels to bespoke fine jewellery, and are a mix of international brands, global players and emerging talent. There will also be a series of talks held during the two days from prominent players in the industry, including influencers Katerina Perez, Kelly Seymour of Cult of Youth and Beanie Major of InDetail. Sessions will also be led by The Telegraph jewellery and watches editor Sarah Royce-Greensill, The Jewellery Cut editorial director Rachael Taylor and Push PR founder Emma Hart.



The Jewellery Cut Live will be open from 10am -9pm on Monday, 18th February and 10am – 6pm on Tuesday, 19th February. There will be complementary refreshments offered to all guests throughout the days, including an after-work shopping event from 6pm to 9pm on the 18th, with free drinks for shoppers. There will also be a piercer and manicurist at the event, offering complementary treatments for guests throughout the days. Tickets to attend The Jewellery Cut Live are free, but guests must register on Eventbrite here.



The May Fair Hotel

2nd February – 16th March 2019

The Mayfair Hotel, Stratton Street, London W1J 8LT



In honour of the V&A’s remarkable ‘Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams’ exhibition, the May Fair will present a bespoke range of Dior-inspired cocktails.



Fashion and cocktail lovers are invited to taste 'The Dior Collection,' based on the exhibition's most celebrated dresses. After immersing yourself in one of the 20th century’s most influential couturiers, experience the delightful ‘Écarlate', ‘Pérou' and ‘Soirée de décember’ in the Official Hotel of London Fashion Week. Cocktails are priced at £16 and The Dior Collection Flight at £45. For more information please clickhere.



The generosity and commitment of our sponsors, suppliers and supporters is more vital than ever. Please help us by acknowledging their support for London Fashion Week September 2018: Official Sponsors Code 8, Evening Standard, JD.com, Inc., Lavazza, The May Fair Hotel, Mercedes-Benz, Nivea, The Store X, TONI&GUY; Official Suppliers Bags of Ethics, DHL, evian, Fashion & Beauty Monitor, The Gel Bottle, Getty Images, Lärabar, Launchmetrics, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, PROPERCORN, Propress, Scavi & Ray Prosecco, S by Sloggi; Official Supporters: The Department for International Trade, The European Regional Development Fund and The Mayor of London.





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Thursday, May 31, 2018

#CulturedPeachy @NationalGallery #LondonPeachy #EnglandPeachy THE NATIONAL GALLERY 2019 SPRING EXHIBITIONS Sainsbury Wing SOROLLA: SPANISH MASTER OF LIGHT 18 March – 7 July 2019 Room 1 BOILLY: SCENES OF PARISIAN LIFE 28 February –19 May 2019

THE NATIONAL GALLERY

2019 SPRING EXHIBITIONS


Sainsbury Wing

SOROLLA: SPANISH MASTER OF LIGHT 

18 March – 7 July 2019


Room 1

BOILLY: SCENES OF PARISIAN LIFE

28 February –19 May 2019


Joaquín Sorolla, The Pink Robe (La bata rosa), 1916 © Museo Sorolla, Madrid 

SOROLLA: SPANISH MASTER OF LIGHT 
18 March – 7 July 2019 

Sainsbury Wing
Admission charge

In spring 2019 the National Gallery will stage the first exhibition in the United Kingdom for over a century of the work of the Spanish artist Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923). The most complete exhibition of the artist’s paintings outside Spain, Sorolla: Spanish Master of Light will include portraits, landscapes and the seascapes, garden views and bather scenes for which he is most renowned, and genre scenes of Spanish life.

Sorolla: Spanish Master of Light will provide a rare opportunity for visitors to see more than sixty works spanning the artist’s career, including important masterpieces on loan from public and private collections in Spain and the United States. It features the monumental canvases on social themes which the artist strategically sent to major exhibitions around the world in the 1890s and with which he established his reputation. The last exhibition dedicated to the artist in the UK was in 1908 when Sorolla himself, then among the most famous living artists, mounted a major exhibition at London’s Grafton Galleries.

There are few works by Sorolla in UK public collections, yet the work of this spirited and technically-gifted painter, sometimes referred to as Spain's Impressionist, resonates with the National Gallery's collection of Spanish Old Masters, Velázquez and Goya, and the work of Sorolla's contemporaries across Europe, including Sargent and Monet. 

Exhibition organised by the National Gallery and the National Gallery of Ireland. 


Louis-Léopold Boilly, A Carnival on the Boulevard du Crime, 1832 © The Ramsbury Manor Foundation 
Photo © courtesy the Trustees

BOILLY: SCENES OF PARISIAN LIFE 
28 February – 19 May 2019 

Room 1
Free entry

Paintings from a British private collection, never previously displayed or published, will be shown at the National Gallery in spring 2019, in the first exhibition in the United Kingdom devoted to Louis Léopold Boilly (1761–1845), one of the most important artists of revolutionary France. 

Forming the core of the exhibition, these 20 works represent the highlights of Boilly’s long career in Paris, from 1785 to the 1830s, where he witnessed the French Revolution, the rise and fall of Napoleon, and the Restoration of the French Monarchy.

The exhibition will show, through meticulously executed, detail-rich paintings and drawings, Boilly’s daring responses to the changing political environment and art market and his acute powers of observation and wry sense of humour.

Having painted intimate and controversially seductive interior scenes for an elite audience which saw the artist get into trouble with the authorities Boilly’s art changed considerably with the Revolution. The interior views for private patrons, with simple compositions containing one or two figures, gave way to pieces intended for public exhibition, including ambitious urban vistas. In these street scenes, Boilly became the first French artist to paint views of everyday life on Paris’s streets and boulevards.

The exhibition will include drawn and painted portraits, both of private clients and of his own family, and will look at Boilly’s engaging contribution to trompe l’oeil (a term that he himself invented for his submission to the Salon of 1800 whereby he used the art technique to "deceive the eye" through realistic imagery that creates the illusion that depicted objects exist in three dimensions). These works emphasise the revolutionary aspect of Boilly’s work: that he was not only working in a politically turbulent period, but also that he was actively involved in turning representation – and especially the relationship between different media – on its head.

The exhibition will introduce an artist who is little known in Britain, and will provide unparalleled context for the one painting by Boilly in the National Gallery’s collection.

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Monday, May 21, 2018

#CulturedPeachy #TakeaTriptoLondon @NationalGallery #WhomYouKnow THOMAS COLE: Eden to Empire 11 June – 7 October 2018 Ground Floor Galleries

This summer at the National Gallery, see the American wilderness through the eyes of British-born Thomas Cole (1801–1848). 

Known for epic vistas, dramatic natural settings, and imaginative landscapes, Thomas Cole’s work depicts nature at its most powerful and vulnerable. His paintings glory in the unique terrain of the American Northeast – largely still unspoiled in his time - while serving as a cautionary tale about the use of natural resources in an increasingly industrial age. 

The exhibition includes 58 works, the majority on loan from North American collections. It includes Cole’s iconic painting cycle, The Course of Empire (1834–6, New-York Historical Society) and the masterpiece that secured his career and reputation – and which has never been seen in the UK before - View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm - The Oxbow (1836, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Cole’s paintings are shown alongside works by British artists with whom he was personally acquainted, as well as those who influenced him most, including Joseph Mallord William Turner and John Constable. 

A self-taught artist from Bolton, Cole is recognised as the father of landscape painting in the US. His career was shaped by his formative years labouring in the textile mills north of Manchester, and by his later study of the European masters whose works he travelled to see in London, Paris, and Rome.

Christopher Riopelle, The Neil Westreich Curator of Post-1800 Painting at the National Gallery, says “Cole is not as well-known here as in America, where his works are hugely admired. The story this exhibition tells, however, is a fascinating and novel lesson in international artistic exchange. A young émigré returns to Britain and travels on to the Continent to learn about contemporary European landscape painting and then carries the lessons home where, almost single-handedly, he forges the American landscape tradition. “

At the age of 28, Thomas Cole and his American patron, Luman Reed - a successful businessman and one of the earliest collectors of European and American art in the US - agreed it was time for him to take a study trip to Europe, beginning with London. Just a decade after leaving England to pursue a better life, he would return as a professional artist seeking to refine his technique and broaden his horizons though the great collections, and by associating with the most celebrated artists working at the time. At the National Gallery, which he visited, Cole was particularly enraptured with the work of Claude, especially Seaport with the Embarkation with Saint Ursula (1641), which is included in this exhibition. 

Not long after arriving in London, the young artist saw Hadleigh Castle, The Mouth of the Thames - Morning after a Stormy Night (1829, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven) by Constable, with whom he developed a friendship and exchanged letters and sketches. An admirer of Turner, Cole visited his studio, but was somewhat confounded by the image the artist presented of himself. A bit rough around the edges and artistically experimental, Turner did not resemble the image Cole had of an artist of international repute.

Cole had hoped to make a successful debut for himself exhibiting his paintings of American landscapes in London, but was met with a frustrating indifference from the city’s art elite, and so decided to move on to the Continent.

Arriving in Florence in 1831, Cole spent a productive eight months studying the figure and honing his plein-air sketching skills in the company of a small community of American artists. Drawn to the countryside favoured by Claude, he later spent several months in and around Rome. Working outdoors, he sketched an aqueduct in the campagna and the picturesque town of Tivoli, both of which feature in paintings he completed back in his Florentine studio including A View near Tivoli (Morning) (1832, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) and Aqueduct near Rome (1832, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington). The landscape, antiquity, and likely the camaraderie he found, were a rich source of inspiration for the rest of Cole’s life. 

In the five years following his return to New York late in 1832, Cole painted his greatest works in response to his time abroad. Working from drawings and oil studies, he completed his epic painting cycle The Course of Empire and The Oxbow almost simultaneously in this period - both of which may be seen as the culmination of what he took away from his experiences in London, Florence, and Rome. The Course of Empire depicts the rise and fall of an imaginary civilisation in an ancient style, but was intended to highlight the dangers of politics and commerce. It could not have been made but for those months in Italy. The Oxbow was a challenge to the American public to consider its place in the natural world, and to keep in check the seemingly inevitable drive toward destruction.

Before his untimely death in 1848 at the age of 47, Cole launched the first American school of landscape art by addressing the subject of a new country’s development with respect to its relationship with nature. Ultimately, generations of artists were influenced by Cole’s vision and resonance with the natural world, although they went in different philosophical directions with the changing of the times. Frederic Edwin Church, a key figure in the Hudson River School of painting, and Asher Brown Durand were devoted students of Cole, both of whom created works in homage to their mentor – Church’s Above the Clouds at Sunrise (1849, Private Collection) and Durand’s Kindred Spirits (1849, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art) both specifically reference Cole’s passing and are seen in the exhibition.

In Room 1, a concurrent exhibition Ed Ruscha: Course of Empire displays a cycle of ten paintings by the renowned Los Angeles artist (b. 1937), which responds to Cole’s The Course of Empire. More than 150 years later, Ruscha offers a contemporary answer to the questions Cole first raised about the fate of a society out of balance with nature.

Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, said “Thomas Cole’s passionate engagement with the landscape of the recently established United States marks a new beginning in American painting. Inspired by the European tradition of Claude, Turner, and Constable, Cole depicted the unspoilt beauty of the American landscape but he also prophesied the dangers of an encroaching urban and industrialised society on it. His concerns remain highly topical today.” 

Exhibition organised by the National Gallery, London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.


Exhibition sponsored by international law firm, White & Case LLP

This exhibition is made possible through support from the Terra Foundation for American Art and other donors.


Image: Thomas Cole, View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm - The Oxbow, 1836. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage, 1908, (08.228) © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, photo by Juan Trujillo

Open to public: 11 June –7 October 2018
Daily 10am–6pm (last admission 5pm) 
Fridays 10am–9pm (last admission 8.15pm) 

Admission charge: 
Members and under-12s FREE (ticket required)

Booking tickets: For advance tickets to Thomas Cole: Eden to Empire please visit nationalgallery.org.uk or call 0800 912 6958 (booking fee). You can also book tickets in person from the Gallery. Overseas customers can contact us by dialling +44 020 7126 5573. 

Book online and save. 

The Terra Foundation for American Art:
The Terra Foundation for American Art is dedicated to fostering exploration, understanding, and enjoyment of the visual arts of the United States for national and international audiences. Recognising the importance of experiencing original works of art, the foundation provides opportunities for interaction and study, beginning with the presentation and growth of its own art collection in Chicago. To further cross-cultural dialogue on American art, the foundation supports and collaborates on innovative exhibitions, research, and educational programs. Implicit in such activities is the belief that art has the potential both to distinguish cultures and to unite them.

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Saturday, May 12, 2018

#MovietimeinManhattan @WBPictures #WhomYouKnow HELEN MIRREN AND IAN MCKELLEN HEADLINE DIRECTOR BILL CONDON’S DRAMA “THE GOOD LIAR,” STARTING PRODUCTION APRIL 23 IN LONDON

Principal photography begins today on location in London, on the New Line Cinema drama “The Good Liar,” pairing Oscar winner Helen Mirren (“The Queen”) and two-time Oscar nominee Ian McKellen (“Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” “Gods and Monsters”) on the big screen for the first time. Bill Condon, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Gods and Monsters” will direct and produce from a screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher (“Mr. Holmes”), based on the widely acclaimed book by Nicholas Searle. Career con artist Roy Courtnay (McKellen) can hardly believe his luck when he meets well-to-do widow Betty McLeish (Mirren) online. As Betty opens her home and life to him, Roy is surprised to find himself caring about her, turning what should be a cut-and-dry swindle into the most treacherous tightrope walk of his life. “The Good Liar” also stars Russell Tovey (TV’s “Quantico”) and Jim Carter (TV’s “Downton Abbey”). Condon produces alongside producer Greg Yolen. Serving as executive producers are Jack Morrissey, Nick O’Hagan, Aaron L. Gilbert, and Jason Cloth. The creative filmmaking team includes director of photography Tobias A. Schliessler (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Mr. Holmes”), production designer John Stevenson (BAFTA nominee, “Burton and Taylor”), editor Virginia Katz (“Mr. Holmes,” ACE Award winner for “Dreamgirls”) and costume designer Keith Madden (miniseries “Patrick Melrose,” “Mr. Holmes”). “The Good Liar” will film on location in London and Berlin. It is set for a 2019 release. A New Line Cinema presentation, in association with BRON Creative, “The Good Liar” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Entertainment Company.



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Monday, April 30, 2018

#CulturedPeachy #TakeaTriptoLondon @NationalGallery Tells #WhomYouKnow : Two new paintings now on display at the National Gallery The first-ever painting by Juan de Zurbarán to enter a UK public collection and a teenage landscape by renowned portraitist John Singer Sargent have both gone on display in Trafalgar Square today (25 April 2018), after being acquired by the National Gallery


Still Life with Lemons, Lilies, Carnations, Roses and a Lemon Blossom in a Wicker Basket, together with a Goldfinch perched on a Porcelain Bowl of Water, on top of a Silver Dish, arranged upon a Stone Ledge was painted in about 1643-49 by Spanish Baroque artist Juan de Zurbarán.

Long overshadowed by his more famous father, Francisco, Juan de Zurbarán (1620-1649) is one of the greatest still-life painters of 17th-century Spain. His works are extremely rare: barely a dozen paintings survive, all of them still lifes. Having trained with his father in Seville, Juan’s career was cruelly cut short in 1649 by the plague that halved the city's population. He was just 29 years old.

In this monumental canvas, gorgeous outsize lemons fill the basket and sprigs of red lilies, blue delphiniums, red carnations and a delicate lemon blossom lean out from among them. A goldfinch perches on the lip of a Chinese imported ceramic bowl filled with water. Previously unknown and unpublished, this work was recently discovered in a Spanish private collection by Sotheby's, who negotiated its sale to the National Gallery.

Still Life with Lemons in a Wicker Basket has been acquired thanks to the support of individuals who have given money through the National Gallery Trust, a charity which exists to further the aims of the Gallery, and the American Friends of the National Gallery.

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was born in Florence to American parents and was astoundingly precocious. At the age of 19 he painted Wineglasses – a study of a sun-dappled veranda, probably at St-Enogat in Brittany where he spent the summer of 1875 – shortly after seeing the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris. He gave the painting to his teacher, the French painter Carolus-Duran. The swirls of blue pigment on the surface of the wine, the effects of mottled sunlight on the tablecloth and floor, and the sensation of leisurely ease the picture conveys, all show how attentive he was to the artistic innovations of Monet and Renoir.

Wineglasses has been allocated to the National Gallery in accordance with the wishes of its last owner under the Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) scheme, which enables taxpayers to transfer works of art and important heritage objects into public ownership while paying tax.

National Gallery Director, Dr Gabriele Finaldi, says “New pictures help to expand our understanding of the European painting tradition and enrich the story the Gallery tells, so we are delighted that both these extraordinary pictures now belong to everyone, including future generations, and from today can be enjoyed by all for free in Trafalgar Square.”

He added “The National Gallery is fortunate to have one of the strongest collections of Spanish Golden Age paintings in the world. This exceptional Juan de Zurbarán acquisition – which has been cleaned at the Gallery, revealing its rich colours and superb state of conservation – not only enables us to tell a much richer story about the development of Spanish still-life painting, but also reunites the work of father and son. We currently only have one work by John Singer Sargent in the National Gallery Collection – his portrait of Lord Ribblesdale – so we are very pleased to have been allocated one of his landscapes, which also allows us to demonstrate more fully on the walls of the National Gallery, the effect the Impressionists had on their fellow artists.”

Still Life with Lemons in a Wicker Basket can now be seen in Room 30 alongside masterpieces of Spanish 17th-century painting by Velázquez, Zurbarán, and Murillo. Wineglasses is on display in Room 44, together with works by Monet, Renoir, and other Impressionists.

 Juan de Zurbarán was born in Llerena, north of Seville, in 1620. Around 1629 the family moved to Seville, where Juan trained in his father’s workshop and where, in 1641, he made a spectacular marriage to Mariana de Quadros, the wealthy daughter of a procurator in the Real Audiencia of Seville. This marriage brought him a considerable dowry of 50,000 realesand resulted in two children, but it was short-lived. Juan died in 1649 at the age of just 29 as a result of a plague epidemic. By the time of his death, much of the money had been squandered. Since his rediscovery in 1938, Juan de Zurbarán has joined the pantheon of great Spanish still-life painters. Long overshadowed by the fame of his father, the artist Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664), Juan’s paintings are now recognised for their powerful creativity and original contribution to the still-life or bodegón tradition of the Spanish Golden Age. The National Gallery currently has four works by Francisco de Zurbarán in its collection, including one still life, A Cup of Water and a Rose (about 1630, currently on display in the National Gallery exhibition Tacita Dean: STILL LIFE).

John Singer Sargent was born in Florence in 1856 to American parents. His childhood was spent touring Europe, mainly in Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany. In 1874 he entered the Paris studio of Carolus-Duran, where he stayed as student and assistant until 1878. He visited America in 1876, and the following year exhibited his first portrait at the Paris Salon. He travelled to Spain and Morocco (1879-80), Haarlem (1880) where he copied works by Velázquez and Frans Hals. He lived in Paris until 1884 and then settled in London in 1885. Sargent's international reputation as a portraitist reached its peak in the 1890s and early 1900s, and he painted many of the distinguished personalities of his day. Many of his clients were Americans: Roosevelt, Rockefeller and Lady Randolph Churchill. By 1910 he had given up painting all but the occasional portrait, devoting himself to landscapes and murals. The National Gallery currently has one other work by Sargent in its collection – the 1902 portrait of Lord Ribblesdale.



IMAGES

Juan de Zurbarán (1620–1649)
Still Life with Lemons, Lilies, Carnations, Roses and a Lemon Blossom in a Wicker Basket, together with a Goldfinch perched on a Porcelain Bowl of Water, on top of a Silver Dish, arranged upon a Stone Ledge
Short title: Still Life with Lemons in a Wicker Basket
About 1643–49
Oil on canvas
81 x 109 cm
© The National Gallery, London



John Singer Sargent, RA (1856-1925)
Wineglasses
Probably 1875
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the National Gallery, 2018
Oil on canvas
45 x 37.5 cm
© The National Gallery, London

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#CulturedPeachy @NationalGallery #TakeaTriptoLondon #WhomYouKnow TAKE ONE PICTURE Pintoricchio’s Penelope with the Suitors (about 1509) 9 May-12 August 2018 Sunley Room


TAKE ONE PICTURE
Pintoricchio’s Penelope with the Suitors (about 1509)

9 May-12 August 2018

Sunley Room

Admission free

This summer, the National Gallery will showcase the work of children from across the UK in the 23rd annual Take One Picture exhibition.

Each year the Gallery invites primary schools nationwide to focus on one of its paintings and respond creatively to its themes and subject matter, historical context, or composition. 

With the aim of promoting the visual arts across the curriculum and inspiring a lifelong love of art, this year the National Gallery selected Pintoricchio’s Penelope with the Suitors (about 1509) as the source of inspiration. 

From studies in portraiture and printmaking to flag designs and depictions of voyages, the exhibition will feature a diverse range of works reflecting the richness of creative responses to the story of Odysseus and Penelope, which the children discovered through Pintoricchio’s painting.

Penelope with the Suitors is one of a series of works painted in around 1509 for a room in the Petrucci Palace in Siena. The woman at the loom is Penelope, wife of Odysseus, the hero of Homer's Odyssey. During Odysseus’ long absence after the Trojan War she is besieged by suitors but refuses to consider their advances until she has finished weaving her father-in-law's shroud. Reluctant to remarry, she unpicks by night what she weaves by day. 

Year 5 pupils from Carterhatch Junior School, London, recognised that Penelope, with all her suitors, had choices and so was in a position of power. The children researched female role models and considered how they would wish to be depicted and remembered. 

“We did a practice painting before we painted on our canvas. I’m really glad that we did because painting on the canvas was trickier than I thought, it’s not like painting on paper,” said Emil aged 10.

Years 4, 5, and 6 pupils from Limespring School, London started their project with a visit to the National Gallery where a guide introduced them to the painting. Limespring is a school for children with specific learning differences such as dyslexia and dyspraxia. The children read the Adventures of Odysseus in their literacy lessons and were fascinated by mythical creatures in the stories and in the painting. Throughout the project the pupils used a wide variety of materials and a range of new techniques to create the mythical creatures through drawings, sculpture, bookmaking, and printing.

“I loved making monsters,” said Atticus aged 7.

Year 4 pupils from the Paragon Junior School, Somerset focused on the theme of voyages. Inspired by the work of St Ives painter Alfred Wallis, the children created seascapes, drew sailing boats, and experimented with a range of blue paints for the sea, while using maps of Cornwall for their backgrounds. The idea of connecting locations across the maps with woven and sewn lines came from a discussion about the journey lines found in indigenous Australian art. 

“We learnt about the importance of the colour blue in the painting and experimented in our art lessons. I loved creating a stormy sea using a range of blue shades. I also liked drawing from the model boats my teacher had. The best part was stitching journeys from one place on the map to another,” said Eve aged 8.

Other episodes from The Odyssey can be seen in Penelope with the Suitors; looking through the window we see Odysseus strapped to the mast of his ship to endure the enchanting song of the sirens. The story inspired literacy-based responses, from research into famous explorers to writing letters to Odysseus. Other cross-curricular links included digital animation, junk-modelling, and colour mixing, to support practical skills development in art and design.

Gill Hart, Head of Education at the National Gallery, says, “Once again we're surprised and delighted by the many ways in which pupils, their teachers, and their communities have used cross-curricular links to respond to our paintings. This year's exhibition will take all our visitors on a magical odyssey of creativity, encountering women of power, and mythical and magical sea creatures along the way.”

Take One Picture is generously supported by The Dorset Foundation.

Image: Pintoricchio, Penelope with the Suitors, about 1509 © The National Gallery, London 

About Take One Picture
Launched in 1995, Take One Picture is the National Gallery’s countrywide scheme for primary schools. Each year the Gallery focuses on one painting from the collection to inspire cross-curricular work in primary classrooms. As part of a one-day Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course at the Gallery, teachers are given a print of a painting and a soundscape that the National Gallery has put together. The challenge is then for schools to use the image imaginatively in the classroom, both as a stimulus for artwork, and for work in more unexpected curriculum areas.


Each year a display of work produced by schools based on the painting is shown at the National Gallery, and a selection is published on the National Gallery website. In order to be considered for the display, schools submit examples of how a whole class or school has used the picture in a cross-curricular way to the Gallery’s Education Department by a set date.


Further information about the programme, related CPD courses for teachers, and the annual Take One Picture exhibition at the National Gallery can be found at nationalgallery.org.uk/learning/teachers-and-schools

About Pintoricchio
Bernardino di Betto of Perugia (active 1481; died 1513), called Pintoricchio (or Sordicchio), mainly worked in Siena, but also in Rome and Perugia. Many authenticated works by him exist. His most important works are in the Borgia Apartments in the Vatican and in the Piccolomini Library in Siena Cathedral. His painting of Penelope with the Suitors in the collection is from the Petrucci Palace in Siena.

The schools represented in the 2018 display are:
Baring Primary School, London
Bilton Church of England Junior School, Rugby
Caroline Chisholm School, Northamptonshire
Carterhatch Junior School, London
Cleveland Road Primary School, Ilford
Farringtons School, Chislehurst
Glendower Prep School, London
Grafton School, London
King's Meadow Primary School, Bicester
Kingswood Primary School, Gloucestershire
Limespring School, London
Little Hallingbury C of E Primary School, Essex
Maple Walk School, London 
Parsonage Farm Nursery and Infant School, Hampshire
Rhodes Avenue Primary School, London 
Sacred Heart RC Primary School, Teddington
Southern Road Primary School, London
St Benedict's School, Ealing
St Christopher's School, London
St. Faith’s C.E Primary School, Hampshire
St Martin de Porres Catholic Primary School, Bedfordshire
The Paragon Junior School, Somerset 
The St. Christopher School Academy Trust, Essex
Towers Infant School, Essex
Wells Cathedral Junior School, Somerset
Wyke Regis Primary Federation, Dorset
Ysgol Gynradd Creigiau Primary School, Cardiff

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Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Event highlights for spring 2018 at the British Library


The British Library will celebrate its first Food Season with a series of events based on the Library’s collections and all things food
Accompanying the Library’s next major exhibition, James Cook: The Voyages, a programme of discussions, lectures and film screenings will explore the contemporary significance and legacy of the voyages
With the Library’s free Entrance Hall Gallery exhibition, Windrush: Songs in a Strange Land, will come a Caribbean Comedy Week and a performance of gospel music in the Piazza Pavilion for Make Music day
Margaret Atwood will be visiting the Library as the headline speaker for “Under Her Eye: Women and Climate Change”
The annual Jaipur Literature Festival, commemorating South Asia’s literary heritage, will return to the British Library
A Treasures Gallery display and events mark the bicentenary of Karl Marx’s birth


Spring sees a plethora of events connected to the British Library’s new major exhibition James Cook: The Voyages and new Entrance Hall Gallery exhibition, Windrush: Songs in a Strange Land. Other events complement occasions such as 200 years since Karl Marx’s birth (joining a Treasures Gallery display) and the 200th anniversary of the first edition of Frankenstein, as well as the Jaipur Literature Festival, and the continuation of the Library’s European Literature talks and Boring Talks.

Events include the likes of lectures on the legacies and controversies of James Cook with Dame Anne Salmond, a Caribbean Comedy Week showcasing comedic talents from a spectrum of the UK’s Caribbean community, an international conference on climate change and the arts with headline speaker Margaret Atwood, and Nina Power, Martin Rowson and Mark Steel taking an irreverent look at The Communist Manifesto.



All events, further information and full listings are available through the British Library’s website. Tickets are on sale to Members from 1 March and on general sale from 8 March.



Event highlights include:





Nicholas Thomas: The Voyages of James Cook

Thursday 3 May, 19.00-20.30

£12 / £10 / £8, Knowledge Centre Theatre (keynote lecture)

Captain James Cook was one of the greatest sea explorers of all time. In this keynote lecture, Professor Nicholas Thomas, Director of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, reimagines Cook's journeys to describe what he and his associates experienced and what the societies he encountered experienced when their divergent worlds came together.

James Cook: Travelling Worlds

Tuesday 12 June 19.00-20.30

£12 / £10 / £8, Knowledge Centre Theatre (keynote lecture)



In a keynote lecture, Anne Salmond, author of The Trial of the Cannibal Dog and Aphrodite’s Island, examines the differences between the wooden world of Endeavour and the Pacific Islands James Cook visited, discusses some of the artefacts collected during the voyage, and contrasts our contemporary world with the world of Cook, Joseph Banks and their companions.

James Cook: Legacies and Controversies

Friday 15 June, 19.15-20.30

£12 / £10 / £8, Piazza Pavilion (panel discussion)

In August 2017, a statue of James Cook in Sydney’s Hyde Park was defaced amid demands that its inscription should be changed, prompting intense debate about celebration and dispossession. Why is Cook such a controversial figure? Anne Salmond and Ahilapalapa Rands discuss Cook’s social, environmental and cultural legacy. Chaired by Nicholas Thomas.




Caribbean Comedy Week

Monday 18-Friday 22 June, 19.00-21.00

£15 / £12 / £10, Piazza Pavilion (performance)

Join us as we showcase and celebrate the best comedic talents of established, and emerging artists, from the UK’s Caribbean community in this week-long mini-festival. Our exciting line-up includes appearances from Annette Fagan, Dane Baptist, Slim and Glenda Jaxon. Our comedy fest is hosted by the cool, charming and conscious, Mr Cee. Equally skilled at hosting and as a stand-up comedian, Mr Cee has performed at various venues from The Hackney Empire and The Comedy Store to Jongleurs and Highlight.



Windrush Women Past and Present

Monday 25 June 2018, 19.00-20.30

£10 / £8 / £7, Knowledge Centre Theatre

Seventy years ago 492 Caribbean passengers travelled to Britain on the HMS Windrush. The overriding myth of this historic journey is of young Jamaican men travelling to the ‘motherland’, with the promise of jobs awaiting them on their arrival. Yet 257 passengers were women, and 188 of them were travelling alone, and not everyone was from Jamaica – they came from all over the Caribbean. There are many stories missing from the Windrush narrative. Not least those of bold and pioneering women, leaving everything behind, journeying to a cold and unwelcoming country to better their own – and their family’s lives.




Carlo Rovelli: The Order of Time

Wednesday 25 April, 19.00-20.30

£21 / £19.50 / £18 (with book), £15 / £12 / £10 (ticket only), Knowledge Centre Theatre



Discover the latest work by theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli, whose Seven Brief Lessons on Physics became one of the fastest-selling science book ever. In this latest work, Rovelli explores the problem that has driven a lifetime of research: what is time?



Madeline Miller in Conversation with Kate Mosse

Monday 30 April, 19.00-20.30

£12 / £10 / £8, Knowledge Centre Theatre (in conversation)

On a rare visit from the US, Madeline Miller, author of the 2012 Orange Prize-winning best-selling novel The Song of Achilles, comes to the British Library to celebrate the UK publication of her new novel Circe, the powerful story of the mythological witch Circe, inspired by Homer’s Odyssey. Madeline Miller will be in conversation with Kate Mosse, co-founder of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, formerly the Orange Prize, and the author of The Burning Chambers.



The Taste of Honey at 60

Friday 25 May, 19.00-20.30

£15 / £12 / £10, Knowledge Centre Theatre (talks and discussions)



A Taste of Honey, written by the 19-year-old Shelagh Delaney, was first performed in May 1958 at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, directed by Joan Littlewood. On the eve of its sixtieth anniversary join us for a celebration of this remarkable production in conversation, readings and music. Special guests include original cast members Murray Melvin and Joan Plowright, Shelagh’s daughter Charlotte Delaney and the academic and Delaney biographer, Selina Todd.

The W G Sebald Lecture 2018: Arundhati Roy

Tuesday 5 June, 19.00-20.30

£15 / £12 / £10, Knowledge Centre Theatre (talks and discussions)



Arundhati Roy is best known for her novel The God of Small Things, which won the Booker Prize in 1997 and has been translated into more than 40 languages. Since then she has especially devoted her time to social and environmental activism and works of non-fiction including The Algebra of Infinite Justice, Listening to Grasshoppers and Broken Republic. Her second novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2017 and described by the judges as “a rich and vital book” that has “remarkable scale” and “extraordinary style and intelligence”.

Jaipur Literature Festival

Saturday 9 – Sunday 10 June

£30 / £27 / £25 (Weekend pass) £20 / £16 / £14 (Saturday/Sunday pass), various venues around the British Library

The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival returns to the British Library for the second time, and its fifth London edition, as a two-day taster of ‘the greatest literary show on Earth’, the extraordinary free festival which takes place in the Pink City of Jaipur, India, every January. Directed by writers Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple, it was founded in 2006, and attracts some of the world’s leading authors, thinkers and performers, and huge crowds. A packed programme of talks, dialogues and performances animate four venues at the Library, celebrating South Asia’s literary heritage, oral and performing arts, books and ideas.





The Communist Manifesto: Martin Rowson, Nina Power and Mark Steel

Friday 4 May, 19.00-20.30

£15 / £12 / £10, Knowledge Centre Theatre



Comedian and broadcaster Mark Steel and political philosopher Nina Power join The Guardiancartoonist Martin Rowson, creator of a new graphic novel version of the seminary text, The Communist Manifesto, that forms the backdrop to the event.

Eleanor and Karl Marx in London: Rachel Holmes and Gareth Stedman-Jones

Wednesday 16 May, 19.00-20.30

£12 / £10 / £8, Knowledge Centre Theatre (talks and discussions)

Karl Marx and his youngest daughter Eleanor were both leading figures on London’s intellectual and activist scenes in the nineteenth century. Marx and his family arrived in England as refugees in 1849. London became his permanent home for the rest of his life, from where he produced his most iconic writings and began to build the political movement of international socialism. 






Late at the Library: Superjam – 50 Years of Radical Words featuring The Last Poets

Friday 18 May, 19.30-23.00

£10 / £8 / £7, Entrance Hall (standing event)

An extraordinary night of performance poetry and music to celebrate 50 years of US pioneers The Last Poets, featuring special guests from the worlds of poetry and music

Under Her Eye: Women and Climate Change

Friday 1 June, 9.00-18.00

£45 / £37.50 / £30, Knowledge Centre and Piazza Pavilion

Booker-prize winning author Margaret Atwood is the headline speaker and ambassador of this international Summit and Art Festival that will explore and celebrate the role of women taking action on climate change, as part of the 2018 Suffrage Centenary. A key area of focus is climate’s link to health, wellbeing and social justice – all tied together by the role the arts can play in influencing thinking and sparking debate.

Boring Talks

Tuesday 26 June, 19.00-20.30

£12 / £10 / £8, Knowledge Centre Theatre (lecture)

The world is full of events and conferences that promise to change your life. Boring Talks won’t do that. It’s an evening celebrating the mundane, the ordinary, the obvious and the overlooked; subjects often considered trivial and pointless, but when examined more closely reveal themselves to be deeply fascinating.

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Launching spring 2018 is the British Library’s Food Season, which will include events ranging from tastings and talks to presentations and panels aiming to explore food as a lens through which we see the world.

Featuring award-winning food writers, Michelin-starred chefs, seasoned food campaigners and expert food makers, all appetites will be catered for in this vibrant and engaging series. The season will welcome a menu of food industry extraordinaires, including Jack Monroe, Ruby Tandoh, Francisco Migoya, Samin Nosrat, Jenny Linford, and numerous others.

British Library curator and food historian Polly Russell said:

“Whether it is handwritten manuscripts of printed cookery books, letters and diaries revealing the intimate details of eating habits, historical patents of cooking technology or in-depth oral histories of food producers, food is present in the British Library’s collections. This year’s Food Season provides visitors a wonderful opportunity to discover some of these unique collections and join in a lively conversation about food past, present and future.”

Food Season event highlights include:

Cooking on a Bootstrap: Jack Monroe in Conversation

Monday 9 April, 19.00-21.00

£12 / £10 / £8, Knowledge Centre Theatre (in conversation)

Is it really possible to cook cheaply and responsibly? Food writer, journalist and activist Jack Monroe knows first-hand what it's like to live in food poverty. Join Jack in conversation with investigative food journalist and food poverty campaigner Joanna Blythman as they explore questions of food and social responsibility today.

Victoria’s Kitchen with Annie Gray, Ashley Palmer-Watts and Marcus Wareing

Friday 20 April, 19.00-20.30

£15 / £12 / £10, Knowledge Centre Theatre



Annie Gray, author of The Greedy Queen: Eating with Victoria, sheds light on the real history of Victoria’s notorious appetite and how it was fed. She is joined by Anthony Palmer-Watts of Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck, who has worked extensively with original Victorian recipes, and Marcus Wareing of The Gilbert Scott, who works in Victorian Grade 1-listed building: the spectacular St Pancras Renaissance Hotel just next door to the British Library.

Ingredients: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat with Samin Nosrat

Tuesday 24 April, 19.00-20.30

£12 / £10 / £8, Knowledge Centre Theatre



While cooking at Chez Panisse at the start of her career, Samin Nosrat noticed that amid the chaos of the kitchen there were four key principles that her fellow chefs would always fall back on to make their food better: Salt, Fat, Acid and Heat. By mastering these four variables, Samin found the confidence to trust her instincts in the kitchen and cook delicious meals with any ingredients. Samin will be in conversation with chef Jeremy Lee and Evening Standard restaurant critic Fay Maschler.

Francisco Migoya: Modernist Bread

Friday 4 May, 19.00-20.30

£12 / £10 / £8, Piazza Pavilion

In a rare UK appearance, Francisco Migoya, head chef of Modernist Cuisine (Bellevue, WA) and co-author of Modernist Bread: The Art and Science presents a revolutionary new understanding of one of the most important staples of human diet in this talk.

A Book and a Bottle Salon with Amy Bloom

Friday 25 May, 19:30-21.30

£30 / £29 / £28, Piazza Pavilion

Join Amy Bloom and Damian Barr as they attempt to find the perfect bottle to match Amy Bloom's new book White Houses, filled with back-room politics, secrets, scandals and love.

Appetite

Thursday 31 May, 19.00-20.30

£12 / £10 / £8, Knowledge Centre Theatre (panel discussion)



Save your appetites for this exploration of what it means to be hungry, and why we eat the things we do with our panel, including, professional chef, blogger and food myth-buster Anthony Warner, and Laura Freeman, author of The Reading Cure. This event will be chaired by BBC's Food Programme presenter Sheila Dillon.



At The Crossroads: Microclimate Sensory Banquet

Saturday 2 June, 19.30-21.00

£10 / £8 / £7, Knowledge Centre Theatre (banquet)



Taste locally produced food, explore sensory rituals and enjoy a range of creative activities in a Banquet hosted by artist Gayle Chong Kwan, in partnership with the Skip Garden. Inspired by the artist’s research into the politics of food at the British Library, and the historic role played by the site of Kings Cross in UK consumption habits, this very special event invites audiences to consider their environment through the lens of food.

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