Shows that Go On

In this episode, Malika Browne talks to John-Paul Stonard about the subject of his new book, The Worst Exhibition in the World, Degenerate Art, 1937 (Old Street, 2026) Organised in three weeks at Adolf Hitler’s instigation, the exhibition became one of the most visited exhibitions of all time, and it has gone down in history as one of the most notorious and ironic shows ever. A must-listen for any...

In this episode Malika Browne talks to curator and art historian Dr Alison Smith, head of collections at the Wallace Collection, about the Wallace’s biggest exhibition ever, in 1942. It was organised by Clementine Churchill and the wife of the Russian Ambassador to London, Agnia Maisky. It was one of several “solidarity exhibitions” that took place in Britain during WW2. A must-listen for anyone i...

In this episode Malika Browne talks to writer and journalist Andrew Finkel about Constantinople in Olympia, a grand spectacle that took place in London in 1893. The spectacle had a cast of thousands, and featured real boats (caiques) on a fake Golden Horn, a real Turkish bazaar, rug factories and two shows a day…. Andrew’s novel: The Adventure of the Second Wife is published by Even Keel Press. ht...

In this episode Malika Browne talks to former Country Life editor, architectural writer and podcaster Clive Aslet, about the Edwin Lutyens exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London in 1981. The exhibition was huge, immersive, and led to a reappraisal of Sir Edwin Lutyens as a great English architect. Its success also led to the founding of the Lutyens Trust. www.lutyenstrust.org.uk www. lutyenst...

Note: explicit content! In this episode, Malika Browne talks to Harriet Vyner, co-founder of Cheerio Publishing and author of Groovy Bob: The Life and Times of Robert Fraser, about an exhibition at the Robert Fraser Gallery in Duke Street, London in 1966. The show was of prints by Jim Dine, on which he collaborated with Eduardo Paolozzi, and it was shut down by the police on grounds of obscenity....

In this episode Malika Browne talks to writer and broadcaster Muriel Zagha about the spectacular Exposition Universelle that transformed Paris in 1900, and discusses how it created the image of Paris as the City of Lights. A must-listen for anyone who loves Paris, who is interested in French culture, and anyone who is fascinated by world expos! Further Reading: Paul Morand, 1900 Albert Robida, Le...

King George VI opening the exhibition : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRkHfgP9gRQ Harriet Atkinson is AHRC Leadership Fellow and Senior Lecturer in History of Art and Design at University of Brighton Her latest book is Showing resistance: Propaganda and Modernist exhibitions in Britain, 1933–53 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Malika Browne talks to art historian, author and museum director Will Gompertz about Olafur Eliasson’s unforgettable installation in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern in 2003. Was it an exhibition in the strictest sense of the word? Or was it an installation, a happening or even an ‘environment’? It was certainly a landmark event in London that decade. Will worked at Tate at the time...

In this episode Malika Browne talks to Melanie Lenz, digital curator at the V&A about the groundbreaking exhibition Cybernetic Serendipity at the ICA in `London in 1968 in a discussion that explores the origins and the military uses of cybernetics, the difference between cybernetics and AI, and the effect this show had on its visitors in the pre-computer age. DO NOT MISS Electric Dreams at Tat...

In this episode Malika Browne talks to art historian and author Dr Ben Street about the shocking exhibition Sensation at the Royal Academy in London in 1997, and describes the rise of the YBAs (Young British Artists) and what a pivotal moment it was for British art in the decade when the UK was dubbed Cool Britannia. Further Reading: Lucky Kunst by Gregor Muir This is a Froody Music production. Th...

In this episode Malika Browne talks to journalist, novelist and biographer A N Wilson about the Great Exhibition of 1851, which took place in Hyde Park over six months and attracted over 6 million visitors. The profit from the wildly popular international commercial exhibition led to the founding of London’s now famous South Kensington museums, and the area known as Albertopolis. The Royal Commiss...

In this episode, art historian and curator David Boyd Haycock describes Roger Fry’’s legendary exhibition, Manet and the Post Impressionists held at the Grafton Galleries in 1910. In her essay Mr Bennett and Mrs Brown, Virginia Woolf wrote that on or about 1910, “human character changed”, a statement generally accepted to be a reference to the Post Impressionists show. Further Reading: A Crisis of...

In this episode, art historian Irene Walsh describes the now legendary Armory Show of 1913 in New York City. Irene wrote her PhD on art collector Lillie P Bliss, and she tells us about the groundbreaking show's shock value, the mockery that surrounded some of the paintings in it, and their unexpected effects on the American public and the art market. She tells us how the show led to the founding o...

In this episode, guest Dr Xavier Bray, director of the Wallace Collection, describes the surprise hit exhibition in London in 2000: Seeing Salvation, Image of Christ, at the National Gallery. He shares his memories of being an assistant (and very junior) curator of the show and explains why images of Christ still resonate and matter. He talks about the impact of art on us and suggests what sort of...

In this episode, guest Susanna Brown explains why the Cecil Beaton show of 1968 was groundbreaking, both for photography as an art, as well as for the National Portrait Gallery. Both its content and its design changed the museum, exhibitions, and photograph in Britain forever. Further Reading: Cecil Beaton's diaries in 6 parts in particular The Parting Years: 1963-74, Sapere Books, 2018 The Roy St...

Malika Browne talks to former art critic Ian Dunlop about the landmark art show for Swinging London at the Tate, in 1964 for which the museum's Duveen Galleries were turned into a claustrophobic labyrinth of new art from America and Europe, putting London firmly on the art map. Further reading: The Shock of the New: Seven Historic Exhibitions of Modern Art by Ian Dunlop, 1972 This is an Ictus...

In this episode, guest Sir Simon Jenkins explains how a simple yet powerful exhibition of black and white photographs shamed and shocked the government and the public, and brought about a change in policy towards country houses. Further Reading: England's 1000 best Houses (2003) by Simon Jenkins Life in the English Country House: A Social and Architectural History  (1978) by Marc Girouard Thi...

Malika Browne talks to James Birch about Francis Bacon's exhibition at the Union of Artists in Moscow in 1988, the first by a foreign artist in the USSR since 1917. Why did Francis Bacon agree to it? How hard was it to organise a Western art show in the USSR in 1988? Find out by listening! Further reading: Bacon in Moscow by James Birch, Cheerio 2022 With Gilbert and George in Moscow by Dan Farson...

This is an Ictus Media production, edited by Leo Hornak Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.