Art Theory: Artists and Ethnographic Objects in Post-War London

Wednesdays, 16, 23 & 30 August, 6.30 – 9.00pm

This course examines the ways that ethnographic objects have been interpreted in gallery spaces and uses Jennifer Tee’s exhibition Let It Come Down as a starting point. Over the three weeks participants will look in detail at a series of experimental exhibition projects in London from the post-war period through to the early 1980s. These will be used to draw out changing attitudes towards materiality, participation and cultural identity in this period.

As a group, participants will discuss the relevance of these historical contexts to the approaches taken by contemporary practitioners and the enthusiasm for assemblage amongst artists in London in the 1950s.

Week 1: Artists, Ethnography and Display
The first session will focus on assemblage, exhibitions and post-war London in a broader context of ideas about the relationship between artists, ethnography and display.

Week 2: Experimental Exhibitions: Part 1 – Possibilities
This session will look in detail at a series of exhibitions that attempted to reconfigure the relevance of ethnographic objects for contemporary practitioners in the post-war period. 

Week 3: Experimental Exhibitions: Part 2 – Resistance
The concluding session will consider some of the new attitudes towards materiality, participation and cultural identity that emerged in the 1970s in London.

Lisa Maddigan Newby has a PhD in Art History from the University of East Anglia. The title of her doctoral thesis is Assemblage in Practice: Artists, Ethnography and Display in Post-War London (1948-85).  She has worked as an associate tutor at UEA, as a museum curator and as a project manager for artist-led galleries and studios. Recent projects include an archival display and catalogue essay for the Eduardo Paolozzi retrospective at the Whitechapel Gallery (2017), which introduce Paolozzi’s Museum of Mankind exhibition ‘Lost Magic Kingdoms’ (1985).

Please book a place online. Completing the booking for the course signifies your agreement to the Learning Agreement which includes policies around refunds and cancellations, health and safety and conduct in addition to general information about the Centre.

Eligible Concessions
Concessionary fees are available to attendees who are in receipt of housing and council tax benefits, income support, job seekers allowance or a state pension; full time students with NUS cards or those who are registered disabled. Please bring evidence of your concessionary status and show it to the ticketing staff on the day of the event.

Refund Policy
Please note that bookings are non-transferable and non-refundable unless the event is cancelled by the Centre.

Access
The space is wheelchair accessible. Please contact us if you have any additional access requirements.