Victoria and Albert Museum

EXHIBITION: Wedding Dresses 1775-2014

• 3 May 2014 — 15 March 2015 *on now

EXHIBITION: This exhibition will trace the development of the fashionable white wedding dress and its treatment by key fashion designers such as Charles Frederick Worth, Norman Hartnell, Charles James, John Galliano, Christian Lacroix, Vivienne Westwood and Vera Wang offering a panorama of fashion over the last two centuries.

On display will be the most romantic, glamorous and extravagant wedding dresses from the V&A’s superb collection and will include some important new acquisitions as well as loans including the purple dress worn by Dita Von Teese for her marriage to Marilyn Manson and the outfits worn by Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale on their wedding day.

The exhibition will highlight the histories of the dresses, revealing fascinating details about the lives of the wearers and offering an intimate insight into their circumstances and fashion choices.

Suitable for

• Family friendly
• Any age

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/weddingdresses

DISPLAY: The Lost Art of Writing

• 13 August 2014 — 19 April 2015 *on now

DISPLAY: 'Beautiful Writing pleases everyone, it makes one sought after,' explained the French writer Père Gregoire Martin in 1761. Having a fine writing hand was not only a useful skill but the sign of an educated and genteel person

This small display in the Metalware gallery explores some of the objects used in writing, from a medieval penner to an ingenious 18th century globe inkstand and a pen rest designed by the architect Alfred Waterhouse. These objects, made to serve the art of writing, have been displaced by the new virtual world of icons and toolbars.

Displays complement our permanent collections, there are many free temporary displays around the V&A. They range in size from a single case to a room.

Metalware, Room 116

Suitable for

• Any age

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/2885/the-lost-art-of-writing-4256/

DISPLAY: This display features a variety of powerful graphic images from the 1960s to the present – prints, posters, books and ephemera – by notable artists as well as anonymous activists. Some works address social and political issues head on, others reflect their time and place more subtly, but they all confirm print as a vital medium for personal expression, protest, and cultural exchange.

Suitable for

• Any age

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3339/in-black-and-white-prints-from-africa-and-the-diaspora-4770/

DISPLAY: Architects as Artists

• 15 November 2014 — 15 March 2015 *on now

Drawing was also considered an important tool to educate students in their knowledge of historic buildings, and necessary to prepare presentation drawings for clients.
Yet some architects go further, imbuing their drawings with beauty and imagination. This display examines how making art has contributed to architects’ practice, and how architects’ training has informed their art.

Architecture, Room 128a

Suitable for

• Any age

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3550/architects-as-artists-5063/

DISPLAY: Exhibition Road Building

• 27 November 2014 — 15 October 2016 *on now

The V&A Exhibition Road Building Project will create a beautifully designed new entrance, gallery, courtyard, shop and café. The display includes models, visualisations, sketches and mock ups that trace the process of this innovative scheme from the early history of the 'boiler house yard' site, through the design competition and the development of AL_A’s winning scheme, to the build itself.
Displays complement our permanent collections; there are many free temporary displays around the V&A. They range in size from a single case to a room.

Room 20

Suitable for

• Any age

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3817/exhibition-road-building-5353/

DISPLAY: In Black and White: Prints from Africa and the Diaspora

• 29 November 2014 — 6 July 2015 *on now

DISPLAY: This display features a variety of powerful graphic images from the 1960s to the present – prints, posters, books and ephemera – by notable artists as well as anonymous activists.

Some works address social and political issues head on, others reflect their time and place more subtly, but they all confirm print as a vital medium for personal expression, protest, and cultural exchange.

Displays complement our permanent collections, there are many free temporary displays around the V&A. They range in size from a single case to a room.

Paintings, Room 88a and The Julie and Robert Breckman Gallery

Suitable for

• Any age

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3339/in-black-and-white-prints-from-africa-and-the-diaspora-4770/

DISPLAY: Print of the Month WW1

• 14 January — 30 December 2015 *on now

Frieder Nake (born 1938) was one of the first people to exhibit computer drawings as works of art. This work was produced using an algorithm written by the artist. He introduced random variables into the process, which meant he could not fully predict the outcome.

6 – 31 January 2015, monthly changing

National Art Library opening times
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday: 10.00 - 17.30, Friday: 10.00 - 18.30

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4217/print-of-the-month-ww1-324506854/

DISPLAY: The Curious Neoclassical Vision of Ennemond-Alexandre Petitot

• 1 February — 25 October 2015 *on now

Petitot was responsible for some of the most captivating and eccentric neoclassical ornamental designs ever produced.

Petitot received a classical training in Lyons, Paris and Rome and won the prestigious post of court architect to the Duke of Parma in 1753. He executed a diverse range of commissions for the ducal palace and other important interiors, bringing a distinctly French aesthetic to the
architecture and gardens of Parma. In two famous suites of ornament prints published in the 1770s Petitot gave full reign to his imagination and ensured his legacy as one of the most original exponents of Neoclassicism. These prints and a number of Petitot’s drawings and works by other influential architects and designers form the focus of this display.

Displays complement our permanent collections; there are many free temporary displays around the V&A. They range in size from a single case to a room.

Gallery 102

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3821/the-curious-neoclassical-vision-of-ennemond-alexandre-petitot-5359/

DISPLAY: Nursery Classics: Frederick Warne's Fine Art Picture Books

• 3 February — 11 May 2015 *on now

By the end of the century Warne's catalogues included such illustrators as Edward Lear, Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway and Leslie Brooke. In 1901 a little known illustrator, Beatrix Potter, approached the firm with a story of a naughty little rabbit; The tale of Peter Rabbit (1902) was an immediate success and assured Warne’s presence in children’s publishing to date.

Displays complement our permanent collections; there are many free temporary displays around the V&A. They range in size from a single case to a room.

Displays complement our permanent collections; there are many free temporary displays around the V&A. They range in size from a single case to a room.

The National Art Library

Suitable for

• Family friendly

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3819/nursery-classics-frederick-warnes-fine-art-picture-books-5357/

DISPLAY: Staying Power: Photographs of Black British Experience 1950s-1990s

• 16 February — 24 May 2015 *on now

All of the photographs are from the V&A Collection and were acquired as part of the project Staying Power: Photographs of Black British Experience 1950s-1990s, a collaboration with Black Cultural Archives funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The aim is to increase the number of black British photographers and images of black Britain in the V&A. The photographs collected, together with oral histories gathered by Black Cultural Archives, will raise awareness of the contribution of black Britons to British culture, society, and the art of photography.

Black Cultural Archives promotes education about the cultural identity and history of people of African and African-Caribbean descent in Britain. A concurrent exhibition, also drawn from the V&A’s Staying Power collection, will be on view at the organisation’s heritage centre from 15 January 2015.

Find out more about the Staying Power project and Black Cultural Archives exhibition by following the link on the left.

Displays complement our permanent collections; there are many free temporary displays around the V&A. They range in size from a single case to a room.

Gallery 100

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3826/staying-power-photographs-of-black-british-experience-1950s-199-5364/

EXHIBITION: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

• 14 March — 2 August 2015

EXHIBITION: Celebrating the extraordinary creative talent of one of the most innovative designers of recent times, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty will be the first and largest retrospective of McQueen's work to be presented in Europe.

The V&A is delighted to announce that it will present Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty in London in spring 2015. The first and largest retrospective of the late designer’s work to be presented in Europe, the exhibition will showcase McQueen’s visionary body of work. Spanning his 1992 MA graduate collection to his unfinished A/W 2010 collection, McQueen’s designs will be presented with the dramatic staging and sense of spectacle synonymous with his runway shows.

The original version of Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York in 2011 was organised by the Costume Institute and became one of the Museum's top 10 most visited exhibitions.

Suitable for

• Family friendly

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/savagebeauty

At a time when Britain is engaged in the democratic process of an election, the V&A examines the role of public institutions in contemporary life and what it means to be responsible for a national collection.

A series of specially commissioned interventions around the Museum raise questions about the opportunities, obligations and limits to participation in this national institution.

The exhibition acts as a laboratory for public life and explore the role of design and architecture in defining civic identity, technology, security, citizenship, democracy, the public realm and urban experience.

Suitable for

• Family friendly

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/all-of-this-belongs-to-you/all-of-this-belongs-to-you/

What is Luxury? will interrogate ideas of luxury today. It will address how luxury is made and understood in a physical, conceptual and cultural capacity.

Extraordinary works of craftsmanship will be on display including a couture gown by fashion designer Iris van Herpen and fine examples of haute horlogerie by British watchmaker George Daniels, alongside more unexpected projects which explore the cultural value of materials such as gold, diamonds and plastic.

The future of luxury will be explored, asking questions about the role that time, space, privacy, well-being, social inclusivity and access to resources and skill may play in determining our choices and aspirations.

Suitable for

• Family friendly

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/what-is-luxury/visitor-information/

Shoes: Pleasure and Pain

• 13 June 2015 — 31 January 2016

This exhibition looks at the extremes of footwear from around the globe, presenting around 200 pairs of shoes ranging from a sandal decorated in pure gold leaf originating from ancient Egypt to the most elaborate designs by contemporary makers.

It considers the cultural significance and transformative capacity of shoes and examines the latest developments in footwear technology creating the possibility of ever higher heels and dramatic shapes.

Examples from famous shoe wearers and collectors are shown alongside a dazzling range of historic shoes, many of which have not been displayed before.

Suitable for

• Family friendly

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/shoes-pleasure-and-pain/

This display features some of the earliest and most striking views of the landscape and architecture of India and Burma, by a pioneering British photographer.

While on leave from his post as an officer in the Madras Infantry, Linnaeus Tripe mastered photography and was commissioned as 'Photographer to the Madras Government'.

His images combine the eye of a surveyor with the sensibilities of an artist. The display is a collaboration between the V&A, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Suitable for

• Family friendly

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/captain-linneaus-tripe-photographer-of-india-and-burma,-1854-1860/captain-linneaus-tripe-photographer-of-india-and-burma,-1854-1860/

Isa Genzken is one of the most important and influential artists of the last forty years. Since the early 1970s, Genzken has developed an extraordinary practice as evidenced through museum shows such as her recent retrospective at MoMA, New York in 2014. Increasingly ambitious displays of the artist’s work have tended toward a focus on large-scale sculptures, installations and impressive wall mounted panel works. Lesser known are her paintings.

Having experimented with a variety of different materials and art forms, to include assemblage and photography, film and video, Genzken also produced two prominent series of paintings spanning the late-80s and early 90s. This included her MLR (More Light Research) works from the early 90s, and the Basic Research paintings produced between 1989 and 1991. The latter have rarely been shown in isolation, or in the context of a freestanding painting show.

The Basic Research paintings are compelling in that they invite scrutiny from the micro to the macro, revealing themselves as close-up impressions of urban architecture, or aerial views of alien landscapes. By dint of their being a married couple at the time, these works are sometimes compared to the abstract paintings of Gerhard Richter. By contrast, Genzken’s approach to abstract painting is emboldened through a more straightforward and direct method, using a limited palette that rarely strays from a range of naturalistic hues such as dark green or brown.

Suitable for

Admission

Website

http://www.ica.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions

The highlight of the V&A’s India Season, this is the first major exhibition to explore the dynamic and multifaceted world of handmade textiles from India. It includes a spectacular 18th-century tent belonging to Tipu Sultan, a stunning range of historic costume, highly prized textiles made for international trade, and cutting-edge fashion by celebrated Indian designers.

Showcasing the best of the V&A’s world-renowned collection together with masterpieces from international partners, the exhibition will feature over 200 objects ranging from the 3rd to the 21st century. Objects on display for the first time will be shown alongside renowned masterworks and the very latest in Indian contemporary design. The astonishing skills and variety evident in this incomparably rich tradition will surprise and inform even those with prior knowledge of the subject, and is sure to delight visitors.

Suitable for

• Family friendly

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/the-fabric-of-india/about-the-exhibition/

Spectacular objects, drawn from a single private collection, explore the broad themes of tradition and modernity in Indian jewellery.

Highlights include Mughal jades, a rare jewelled gold finial from the throne of Tipu Sultan, and pieces that reveal the dramatic changes that took place in Indian jewellery design during the early 20th century.

The exhibition examines the influence that India had on avant-garde European jewellery made by Cartier and other leading houses and will conclude with contemporary pieces made by JAR and Bhagat, which are inspired by a creative fusion of Mughal motifs and Art Deco ‘Indian’ designs.

Suitable for

• Family friendly

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/exhibition-bejewelled-treasures-the-al-thani-collection/about-the-exhibition/

Supported by The Bernard Lee Schwartz Foundation
This donation was made possible by the American Friends of the V&A

To mark the bicentenary of the birth of Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879), one of the most important and experimental photographers of the 19th century, the V&A presents 100 of her photographs from the Museum’s collection.

The exhibition will examine her relationship with the V&A’s founding director, Sir Henry Cole, who presented the first museum exhibition of her work (and the only one during her lifetime).

It includes a number of works given and sold directly by Cameron to the Museum, letters written by Cameron to Cole that reveal her questions on technical and practical matters, and Sir Henry Cole’s diary which describes sitting for a portrait by Cameron.

The works on display show Cameron’s technical experiments in striving to make highly artistic photographs which she expected would ‘electrify you with delight and startle the world’.

Suitable for

• Family friendly

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/julia-margaret-cameron/about-the-exhibition/

Arts of South and Southeast Asia and the Islamic Middle East

• 22 September 2014 — 6 July 2015 *on now

Discover the art and archaeology of Asia, from the Himalayas and the Indian Subcontinent to the island nations of Southeast Asia.

The origins of the ancient religions of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism will be explored and their subsequent impact across the region. Temple architecture and sculpture, paintings and manuscripts give an insight to ritual practice and belief in different settings. Artistic innovations in ceramics, textiles, metalwork and lacquer display distinct regional characteristics as well as shared features transmitted through cultural exchange and commerce. The advent of Islam across the Middle East and later to the Mughal courts of India and Southeast Asia introduced a new set of artistic stimuli.

Islamic art will be examined in religious and secular contexts in a range of media up to the modern period. Finally, the impact of trade, diplomacy and colonialism will be explored, and the lasting artistic legacy of social and political developments which shaped the early modern era.

Suitable for

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3461/arts-of-south-and-southeast-asia-and-the-islamic-middle-east-1-4929/

NEW COURSE: Art and the City, Ancient to Modern

• 22 September 2014 — 13 July 2015 *on now

(3 terms) 11.00-15.30

Many celebrated artists have been closely associated with major European and American cities, often making the city itself a subject of their work. From ancient Athens and Rome to New York, via Renaissance Florence, late 19th century Paris and interwar Berlin, cities have long been centres for artistic communities and movements.

The course will examine case studies on ancient Athens and Rome, medieval visions of the city, Renaissance Florence, Rome and the Baroque, Paris and Impressionism, Berlin and the inter-war period, New York and the Abstract Expressionists, as well as considering the development of the art world and artistic communities in cities such as London and Barcelona. Major figures like Raphael, Titian, Manet, Picasso, Dali, Pollock and Warhol will be considered as well as critics, dealers, patrons and lesser-known artists, designers and architects.

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3453/art-and-the-city-ancient-to-modern-4921/

Scandinavian Art and Design: 1850 - 1950

• 23 September 2014 — 18 November 2015 *on now

Discover some of the highlights of a period during which painters, sculptors and designers in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland achieved a leading place in European art.

The late 19th-century saw an upsurge in artistic creativity across the Nordic region. With painters like Edvard Munch and Vilhelm Hammershøi winning international prominence and notoriety, Scandinavian artists and designers were also in the vanguard of a movement to revive the traditional crafts and raise their status as objects of aesthetic value.

In the process they achieved international acclaim: from the silverware of Georg Jensen in Denmark to the furniture of Alvar Aalto in Finland, Scandinavia won a place at the vanguard of modern design, and moved from the periphery to the centre of the European art world.

Led by Dr. Kathy McLauchlan, V&A Course Director Rococo to Art Nouveau

8 weeks, Tuesdays, 23 September – 18 November (half term: 28 October)

10.30-13.00

Suitable for

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3428/scandinavian-art-and-design-1850-1950-4887/

Late Medieval to Early Renaissance 1250–1500

• 23 September 2014 — 7 July 2015 *on now

(over 3 terms), 11.10-15.30

Examine the visual arts in an era of profound cultural, intellectual and social change. Chart important stylistic developments from High Gothic to the renaissance revival of classical antiquity, the rise of realistic representation and the emergence of artistic personalities.

Consider patterns of patronage: the collective enterprise of the great gothic cathedrals, the magnificence of princes and popes, and the growing spending power of the middle classes. Discover how the arts were affected by devotional practices and by humanist scholarship, and investigate the materials and techniques involved in artistic production. Study the work of well-known painters, sculptors and
architects from Giotto to Leonardo da Vinci alongside the decorative arts, including tapestry, stained glass, goldsmiths’ work and maiolica, all superbly represented in the V&A’s acclaimed Medieval and Renaissance Galleries.

Course Director: Dr Paula Nuttall

Suitable for

• 18+

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3458/late-medieval-and-early-renaissance-1250-1500-1415-4926/

High Renaissance to Baroque: 1500 – 1720

• 24 September 2014 — 8 July 2015 *on now

(over 3 terms), 11.10-15.30

Explore the art, architecture and decorative arts of Europe from the High Renaissance to Baroque, focusing on Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands and England. It will include the work of some of Europe’s most celebrated artists and architects, such as Michelangelo, Bernini, Wren, Rembrandt and van Dyck. During this period the Renaissance filtered through from Italy, affecting all the arts.

The invention of printing meant that books and prints reached a new and wider audience, and quickly popularised new styles. At the same time the Reformation wrought havoc with the established order and a century of war and revolution followed. In some parts of Europe iconoclasm meant the destruction of religious art, and by the mid 17th century Europe was divided into Roman Catholic and Protestant states.

The course examines changes in patronage, with the rise of a prosperous middle class wanting portraits and genre paintings as well as consumer goods such as maiolica and textiles; it considers the effect of wars and economic policies on the production of art, metalwork and furniture, and the influence of trading voyages on imports of luxury goods from the East.

Course Director: Dr Kathy McLauchlan

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3459/high-renaissance-to-baroque-1500-1750-1415-4927/

From Rococo to Art Nouveau: 1720-1900

• 25 September 2014 — 9 July 2015 *on now

Gain a unique perspective on one of the most dynamic periods in the history of European art.

Consider the relationship between the visual arts and the wider political and cultural context of the period and explore themes such as taste, patronage and the art market. This course encompasses Rococo, Romanticism, Impressionism and Art Nouveau. It not only covers the fine arts, such as painting and sculpture, but also design, architecture and popular visual culture.

The programme of lectures, together with close examination of important objects in the V&A’s collections, demonstrate the complex changes taking place in various branches of the visual arts over a 200-year period.

Course Director: Dr Kathy McLauchlan

Suitable for

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3460/from-rococo-to-art-nouveau-1720-1900-1415-4928/

The Twentieth Century: Masters of Modern Architecture and Design

• 25 September 2014 — 26 March 2015 *on now

From Alvar Aalto to Frank Lloyd Wright, from Art Deco to Post-Modernism, this new, two-term course explores the major movements and practitioners associated with 20th-century design.

It examines architecture and design against the backdrop of the myriad manifestations of social, economic and technological change. Beginning with the origins of the Modern Movement in the years prior to WW1, it provides a chronological and contextual survey of the century's principal styles - including Art Deco, Surrealism, Bauhaus, Scandinavian Modern, Pop, Contemporary and Post-Modernism.

The course also highlights the contribution and influence of key practitioners such as Victor Horta, J-E Ruhlman, Le Corbusier, and Eileen Gray, and considers the impact of new materials and technology on furniture, textiles, architecture and decoration. Additional themes include retail and advertising, international exhibitions, and fashion and identity.

Led by Christine Lalumia, Design Historian and CEO, Contemporary Applied Art.

Suitable for

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3434/the-twentieth-century-masters-of-modern-architecture-and-design-4889/

Early Medieval: 300 – 1250

• 26 September 2014 — 17 July 2015 *on now

Celebrate the Museum’s world-class early medieval collection. Spanning the period from the fourth to the mid 13th century, the course covers the rise of Christianity in the East and West, and demonstrates how patrons and artists of the early Middle Ages transformed Classical principles to meet the aspirations of the new world order.

Buildings and artefacts as diverse as Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the Gloucester Candlestick, the Gospels of Henry the Lion and the Alfred Jewel, will be set within their historical context, and interpreted in terms of their patronage, materials and techniques, function and original setting.

Course Director: Dr Sally Dormer

Suitable for

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3457/early-medieval-300-1250-1415-4925/

Italian Villas: Ancient Rome to The Renaissance

• 14 October 2014 — 3 March 2015 *on now

This two-term course will trace the development of villas and villeggiatura – the ruling classes’ ‘good life’ in the country from Ancient Rome to the end of the Renaissance.

The first term will lay out the historical and literary foundations of villa culture in Antiquity and will consider archaeological evidence, such as Nero’s Golden House and Hadrian’s villa in Tivoli. Then with the disintegration of the Roman Empire villa culture disappeared, only to re-emerge in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, with the Medici in Florence leading the revival of villa building, garden design and country living in a Classical spirit.

The second term will study villeggiatura in the sixteenth-century, focusing on the Veneto and on the Roman Campagna. Many of the huge agricultural estates of the former are dominated by the elegant mansions of star architect Andrea Palladio, while the papal summer retreats of the latter are characterised by stunning gardens, such as Villa d’Este at Tivoli or Villa Lante at Bagnaia.

Part I: 4 weeks, Tuesdays, 14 October – 4 November 14
Part II: 4 weeks, Tuesdays, 3 February – 3 March 15
(Half term: 17 February)
Course Leader: Dr Joachim Strupp, Art Historian

Suitable for

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3476/italian-villas-ancient-rome-to-the-renaissance-4959/

The Shock of the New: The History of the Avant-Garde in Art and Design

• 13 January — 24 March 2015 *on now

Originally used to describe the vanguard of an advancing army, the term Avant-Garde now defines a group of artists or writers whose work is innovative and ahead of its time.

It is most often associated with figures such as Picasso, Duchamp and Dali, the pioneers of Cubism and Dada, who not only developed revolutionary approaches to art, but who were also strongly anti-establishment. Today, however, the term has become ubiquitous and virtually anyone, from pop-stars to hair-dressers can be described as avantgarde.

This course investigates the origins and history of the principal movements and individuals associated with the avant-garde. From Impressionism to Surrealism, Modernism to Abstract Expressionism and Futurism to Conceptual Art, it examines key works and ideas in art, design and architecture. It also includes the work of the Russian constructivists in theatre and film to coincide with the V&A’s major display Russian Avant-Garde Theatre: War Revolution and Design.

14.00-16.30

£365, £300 concessions

10 weeks, Tuesdays, 13 January – 24 March 2015
(Half term: 17 February)

Various tutors including Justine Hopkins, freelance lecturer and writer, and Sylvia Lahav, lecturer, Goldsmiths, University of London

Suitable for

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3464/the-shock-of-the-new-the-history-of-the-avant-garde-in-art-and-4941/

The Classical World and Classical Revivals

• 13 January — 24 March 2015 *on now

The civilisations of Ancient Greece and Rome have provided a seemingly inexhaustible source of inspiration for European art, design and architecture from the 15th-century right up to the present day. This course celebrates the opening of the V&A’s outstanding new galleries – Europe 1600-1800 – by exploring the key elements of Classicism, and their re-interpretation and revival in later times.

The first part of the course examines the cultural highlights of the Classical world, including Homeric myths and their representation in sculpture and vase-painting, the architecture of Athens and Rome, and the rich decoration and furnishings revealed at Herculaneum and Pompeii.

In the second half we investigate the ways in which classical themes, motifs, architecture and styles have been re-discovered - first in Italy in the 1500s, and later in France, Britain and Germany in the 18th and 19th-centuries - and have been re-worked in painting, decoration, architecture and design in Renaissance, Baroque and Neo-Classical styles.

10.30-13.00

10 weeks, Tuesdays, 13 January – 24 March 2015
(Half term: 17 February)

£365, £300 concessions

Course Leader: Dr. Kathy McLauchlan, V&A Year Course Director

Suitable for

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3463/the-classical-world-and-classical-revivals-4940/

OPEN STUDIO: Matthew Raw: Ceramics Resident

• 14 January — 11 March 2015 *on now

Find out more about his residency, see work in progress and learn about his practice and techniques as an early-career ceramicist.

13.00-16.00

January 10, 14, 28
February 18, 25
March 11, 14

Free, drop in

Supported by Margaret and Jeremy Strachan

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4016/open-studios-matthew-raw-ceramics-1962880799/

Land of Hope and Glory: Culture, Conflict and the Edwardians

• 14 January — 11 March 2015 *on now

Following the success of last year’s course we are offering an extended and more detailed review of the Edwardian period, an era that witnessed wild extravagance alongside severe poverty, and radical changes in politics, culture and society.

Often perceived as a golden age of long summer afternoons and elegant entertainments and parties, the period was also strongly marked by modernity and the avant-garde. Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau dominated modern design and architecture, Post-Impressionism led the field in modern art, and aeroplanes, ships, and trains brought goods from all over the world.

The course explores the work of the main artists, designers and architects – including Charles Rennie Mackintosh, John Singer Sargent, Edwin Lutyens, Walter Sickert and the Bloomsbury Group - within this brief but brilliant age. And incorporates new topics including sessions on Empire, sculpture, department stores, music, eminent public figures and women, and the forces leading up to WW1.

10.30-13.00
8 weeks, Wednesdays, 14 January – 11 March 2015
(Half term: 18 February)

Course Leader: Dr Justine Hopkins, freelance lecturer and writer.

Suitable for

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3467/land-of-hope-and-glory-culture-conflict-and-the-edwardians-4949/

Iconic Houses: 1850-2000

• 14 January — 25 March 2015 *on now

Explore 20 of the most innovative houses of the 19th and 20th centuries.

From classic works by William Morris, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Antoni Gaudi and Frank Lloyd Wright, to modernist masterpieces by Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Charles Eames, to contemporary gems by Richard Rogers, Frank Gehry and Herzog & de Meuron, this course examines the interiors and exteriors of houses that have come to define modern architecture and design. Individual sessions will consider the history and progress of each project, the planning and materials, the relationship with the client, and the furniture and decorations.

They will also ask what makes each building so groundbreaking and radical for its time, and consider the case for preserving them, unchanged, for posterity. Speakers include historians, curators and architects.

14.00-16.30

10 weeks, Wednesdays, 14 January – 25 March 2015
(Half term: 18 February)

£365, £300 concessions

Course Leader: Dr Gregory Votolato, architect, curator, teacher and writer.

Suitable for

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3465/iconic-houses-1850-2000-4942/

OPEN STUDIO: Liam O'Connnor: Exhibition Rd Drawing Resident

• 17 January — 7 March 2015 *on now

Saturday 17 January
Saturday 7 February
Saturday 7 March

11:00 & 14:00

Free, drop in on first come, first served basis

Meet at the Meeting Point

Supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4023/open-studios-liam-oconnor-exhibition-rd-drawing-resident-736749181/

PRACTICAL COURSE: Digital Photography Level 1

• 26 January — 23 March 2015 *on now

Hone your photography skills and move from ‘taking’ to ‘making’ photographs.

Led by Nigel Wilson

Mondays
26 January, 9, 23 February, 2, 9th, 16, 23 March (except 16 February)

10.30 – 13.00

£320, £264 concessions

DSLR camera required

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4235/digital-photography-level-1-399995067/

PRACTICAL COURSE: Digital Black and White Photography

• 5 February — 19 March 2015 *on now

Although it is easier than ever to take colour images, black and white photography remains a creative medium which has been reinvigorated by digital technology.

Led by Jasprit Singh

6 weeks, Thursdays, 5 February – 19 March (excluding 19 February), 10.30 – 13.00

£240, £192 concessions

Suitable for beginners. DSLR camera required

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4093/digital-black-and-white-photography-1657785519/

PRACTICAL COURSE: Bespoke Silk Scarves

• 6 — 27 February 2015 *on now

Using digital and practical craft processes, explore how to produce evocative designs using Photoshop and learn how to prepare your design to be digitally printed. Complete your scarf using hand and machine sewing skills.

3 weeks, Fridays, 6 – 27 February (excluding 20 February), 10.30 – 17.00

Led by Emma Neuberg and Melanie Bowles Co-founders of The People’s Print

£240, £192 concessions

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4077/bespoke-silk-scarves-1980562627/

V&A Museum Skills

• 17 February — 19 May 2015 *on now

12 WEEK COURSE: Are you considering a career in galleries and museums? This new course draws on the expertise of key V&A staff and provides an insight into the skills required for working within the museum industry.

Topics include the planning and delivery of Learning, Interpretation, Press and Marketing, Visitor Engagement, Curating, Fundraising and Publishing.

10.30-16.00

12 weeks, Tuesdays, 17 February – 19 May 2015
(Half term: 31 March & 7 April)

Course Leader: Jo Banham, Head of Adult Learning, V&A

Suitable for

• 18+

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3477/va-museum-skills-4960/

Europe 1600 - 1800: The Making of the Galleries

• 25 February — 18 March 2015 *on now

11.00-15.00

FOUR WEEK COURSE: Gain a unique insight into the creation of the V&A’s stunning new galleries of European art and design. The magnificently refurbished galleries tell the story of art and design from 1600 – 1800 and contain some of the most beautiful and elaborate works in the V&A’s collections.

Explore the history of the period, curatorial themes, the design and presentation of the galleries and the interpretation of displays.

4 Weeks, Wednesdays, 25 February – 18 March

Suitable for

• 18+

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3474/europe-1600-1800-the-making-of-the-galleries-4957/

From the fringes of the underground to the drag divas taking over the mainstream, this is a world where pretty much anything can be 'queered'. Join us as we turn a queer eye on the Museum
challenging traditional gender roles and exploring the diverse worlds of alternative history, art, design, performance and politics.

All events are free and places are designated on a first come, first served basis, unless stated otherwise. Filming and photography will be taking place at this event.

Please note, if the Museum reaches capacity we will allow access on a one-in, one-out basis.

Suitable for

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/f/friday-late/

SPECIAL EVENT: LGBT History Month Event

• 28 February 2015

Discover queer histories and consider how sexual identity can inform how we interpret the past.

Saturday 28 February, 12.00 – 17.30

Booking information coming soon.

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4105/lgbt-history-month-event-681819465/

YOUNG PEOPLE'S WORKSHOP: Create! Product Design and 3D Printing

• 28 February — 1 March 2015

Llearn how to create ideas for products, turn them into digital models and take the next steps to fabricating them yourselves.

For ages 16 – 19

Saturday 28 February

Sunday 1 March

11.00-16.00

£30, no concessions

Led by Makerversity

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4246/create-product-design-and-3d-printing-1134345930/

13.00-13.45

Free, drop in

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4051/lunchtime-lectures-russian-country-houses-497141556/

STUDY DAY: Introducing art techniques: Medieval to 20th Century: Print and Drawing Techniques

• 6 March 2015 11am-3:30pm

Look at the different effects artists such as Rubens, Rembrandt or Seurat produced when drawing and how drawings were used as preparatory works or finished works of art.
Engraving, etching and woodcut techniques were also experimented with by artists such as Durer, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Callot. Explore how to identify the techniques of early great print makers to C20th printmakers such as Picasso and Otto Dix.

11.00 – 15.30

£45, £35 concessions, £15 students

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4053/introducing-art-techniques-medieval-to-20th-century-part-3-pri-1674008624/

EVENING EVENT: Richard Long

• 6 March 2015 5:30-7:30pm

His art is about mobility, lightness and freedom and the simple creative acts of walking and marking about place, locality, time, and measurement. This is the inaugural Pamela Rawnsley Memorial lecture, celebrating her life and work.

17.30-19.30

£9, £7 concession

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4054/richard-long-1772165793/

PRACTICAL WORKSHOP: Documentary Photography

• 6 — 7 March 2015

Explore the impact of documentary photography, studying examples from the collection before putting everything you have learnt into practice to tell your own stories through images.

Friday 6 – Saturday 7 March, 10.30 – 17.00

Led by Faye Parish

£160, £128 concessions

Suitable for those who have completed our Level 1 photography course or who have a good understanding of DSLR photography. DSLR camera required.

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4107/documentary-photography-738980171/

Versailles

• 6 — 27 March 2015

11.00-15.30

FOUR WEEK COURSE: Explore the fascinating and complex history behind Europe’s most iconic palace, this course will offer a lavish and evocative visual narrative of Versailles’ history over three centuries.

It will examine the architectural and stylistic development of Versailles as well as how Versailles was created and used by the kings, queens and royal mistresses who inhabited it.

Course Leader: Dr Barbara Lasic, Art History lecturer, University of Buckingham

4 weeks, Fridays 6 March – 27 March 2015

Suitable for

• 18+

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3473/versailles-4955/

Here they present the work they created during their residencies; a dynamic mix of typography, performance, sculpture, artists’ books, photography, textile printing and animation from young and upcoming practitioners. Artists include: Alix Marie, Noemi Niederhauser, Rudy Hartt, Thom Swann and Vincent Larkin.

Saturday 7 - Sunday 8 March, 10.00-17.00

Free, drop in

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4055/speed-residents-810499753/

LUNCHTIME LECTURE: Architects as Artists

• 11 March 2015 1-1:45pm

This lunchtime lecture relates to the display Architects as Artists.

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4058/lunchtime-lectures-architects-as-artists-229534467/

EVENING EVENT: Margaret Attwood: Fashion and Fiction

• 13 March 2015

A dressmaker who has also been photographed by Vogue, Attwood has always attributed great significance to dress in her novels, including The Handmaid’s Tale, and The Blind Assassin. She discusses her passion with Rosie Goldsmith.

18.30-19.30

£9, £7 concessions

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4061/margaret-attwood-fact-and-fiction-398140206/

EVENING EVENT: While Design Culture Salon 10 looked at the concept of movement in urban culture, this salon focuses on spaces of immobility to reveal some of the inconsistencies and resistances in contemporary design culture.

Bodies of the disabled, ill and elderly are difficult to find in design history, while contemporary design is often more eager to engage in idealized forms of engineering the urban mobile citizen. So, how can the enabling capacities of design be improved? What are the challenges and obstacles here? How can they be overcome? What can designers learn from cultural theories and histories of the representation of the body and from a wider reading of disability studies?

Chair: Rob Imrie, Professor of Sociology, Goldsmiths, London
Panel:
Ana Carden-Coyne, Co-Director of Cultural History of War, University of Manchester and author of Reconstructing the Body
James Grant, Senior Communications Manager, Transport for London
Graham Pullin, Course Director of Interaction Design at the Duncan Jordanstone College of Art, University of Dundee and author of Design Meets Disability
Alison Thomson, PhD Candidate, Goldsmiths, London
V&A and Adam Reynolds Memorial Resident, in partnership with Shape

18.30-20.30

Free, booking essential

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3727/design-culture-salon-15-how-does-design-address-immobility-in-o-5253/

This exciting blend of music, movement, imagery and storytelling will weave together unique characters and fictional lives inspired by the V&A’s magnificent collections.
PIP (Pursuing Independent Paths) is a charity which supports adults with learning disabilities to achieve their potential.

15.00 – 16.00

£10, £7 concessions

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4063/pip-presents-1533050147/

SHORT COURSE: Introducing Louis Comfort Tiffany

• 14 March 2015 2-5pm

Renowned for his stained glass windows, his lighting, his favrile glass and his exquisite jewellery, his career also encompassed enamels, mosaics, metalwork and interiors. This event, led by the historian Justine Hopkins, explores the history, appearance and context for his work.

14.00 - 17.00

£25, £15 concessions, £10 students

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4062/introducing-louis-comfort-tiffany-1194908170/

TOUCH TOUR: Architects as Artists

• 17 March 2015 11am-12pm

11.00-12.00

Free, advanced booking essential

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4064/touch-tour-architects-as-artists-1436271108/

Hailed as the most magnificent examples of modern metalwork in 1860s, spectacular creations designed by George Gilbert Scott and made by Francis Skidmore, including the Albert Memorial, were totally out of favour 100 years later. Alicia Robinson, Senior Curator of Sculpture, Ceramics, Metalwork and Gladd, tells of the collaboration between these men and the changes of taste which dictated the contrasting fates of two splendid, innovative, massive screens they made.

13.00-13.45

Free, drop in

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4066/lunchtime-lectures-victorian-gothic-glory-1617196380/

YOUNG PEOPLE'S EVENT: Createtours: Photography

• 20 March 2015

Join the CreateVoice members at their monthly tour to discover a new gallery and hear a fresh perspective on the Museum’s collection. This month’s theme is Photography.

For ages 16-24

20.00-20.30

Free, drop in

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4121/createtours-photography-878037264/

YOUNG PEOPLE'S EVENT: Createinsights: Working in Film Production

• 20 March 2015

Go behind the scenes with members of CreateVoice.

For ages 16-24.

18.30-20.00

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4118/createinsights-working-in-film-production-241642430/

CONFERENCE: International connections: Renaissance sculptors and their impact abroad

• 20 — 21 March 2015

The conference will also explore the role played by those who commissioned or sought sculptural works of art from foreign artists.
The speakers are Jens Burk, Thierry Crépin-Leblond, Kelley Helmstutler Di Dio, Péter Farbaky, Robert van Langh, Alison Luchs, Eckart Marchand, Peta Motture, Paula Nuttall, Arie Pappot, Kent Rawlinson, Johannes Röll, Cinzia Sicca and Kim Woods.

10.00-17.30 20 March
10.00 -16.30 21 March

Free, booking essential

This conference is part of the Robert H. Smith Renaissance Sculpture Programme

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3799/international-connections-renaissance-sculptors-and-their-impac-5332/

EVENING EVENT: Yinka Shonibare

• 20 March 2015 7-8pm

Since Yinka Shonibare’s ship in a bottle commission in Trafalgar Square, his work has expanded into the public realm. In this talk,the artist will discuss the different ways in which he works, from his early paintings in the 1990s to his use of costume, photography and performance in film and his most recent series of public sculptures –Wind Sculptures.

19.00 – 20.00 talk
20.00 – 20.45 refreshments

£15, no concessions, includes wine reception

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3788/yinka-shonibare-5320/

PRACTICAL WORKSHOP: Solo Disco Scarf

• 21 March 2015

By interacting with the fabric sensors on the scarf you can manipulate music playing through the garment. We will go through a complete design process taking designs from paper to breadboard to sewing machine.
This workshop is particularly suited to those who have some experience sewing. No previous electronics experience is needed.

Saturday 21 March, 10.30 – 17.00

Led by Codasign

£80, £64 concessions

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4122/solo-disco-scarf-893870136/

Acquaint yourself with the distinctive components of the Mid-Century style and explore their manifestation in furniture, textiles, products and interiors.

Saturday 21 March, 11.00 – 17.00

£45, £35 concessions, £15 students

In collaboration with Thames & Hudson

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4123/introducing-mid-century-modern-12756254/

FAMILY EVENT: Norouz: Celebrating Spring at Persian New Year

• 22 March 2015

Come and listen to traditional songs, storytelling, sound art and poetry and watch dance performances.
Help make a giant pop-up paper carpet for a Persian picnic, create designs for tiles and find out all about the animals, plants and objects that represent spring.

12.00-17.00

Free, drop in

Suitable for

• Family friendly
• Especially for children

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4124/norouz-celebrating-spring-at-persian-new-year-1746583466/

EVENING EVENT: Christopher Frayling

• 24 March 2015

In his latest book, Frayling explores the powerful role popular culture plays in creating 19th and 20th century images of the Chinese.

He examines the Fu Manchu stories, Charles Dickens’ tales of London’s opium dens, and the role of music hall and film in reinforcing stereotypes and assumptions.

18.30-19.30

£9, £7 concessions
In collaboration with Thames & Hudson

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4127/christoper-frayling-the-yellow-peril-464476141/

LUNCHTIME LECTURE: Peter Brook: Process to Production

• 25 March 2015

Brook's career spanned more than six decades, three art forms and three continents. He is as renowned for his emphasis on exploration and experimentation outlined in a number of books as he is for producing landmark films, plays and operas.

He has collaborated with a range of leading literary, theatrical and cultural figures from novelist William Golding, poet Ted Hughes, anthropologist Colin Turnbull and neurologist Oliver Sacks to Tennessee Williams, Vivien Leigh and Glenda Jackson In this lecture, Kate Dorney discusses highlights from the recently acquired PB collection and the insights it reveals into the work and life of one of the world's leading directors.

13.00-13.45

Free, drop in

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4139/lunchtime-lectures-peter-brook-process-to-production-1082977389/

March’s Friday Late celebrates the V&A’s Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition. From cocoons in gestation to birds in flight, the natural world was fashion designer Alexander McQueen’s most prominent source of inspiration. Join us for an evening of skeletal armoury, skins, scales and crystals as we explore the natural elements that were intrinsic to McQueen’s vision.

Suitable for

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/f/friday-late/

PRACTICAL WORKSHOP: Beginning to Blog

• 28 — 29 March 2015

This course will show you how to set up your own site for blogging where you can share your interests, promote your work or create a space for collecting your ideas.

The course is led by web designer Wen Sheng Hong, who will show you how to design your blog, create new posts, tag your content and tips for successful blogging.

Mondays, 27 January – 10 February, 10.30-17.00

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3035/beginning-to-blog-4423/

FILM SCREENING: Different From The Others (Anders Als Die Andern)

• 29 March 2015

Featuring an introduction by curators, exploring links between the film’s subject matter and the V&A’s collections, and a Q&A with special guests.

Organised by the V&A’s LGBTQ Working Group, as part of the BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival.

13.00-15.30 pm

£4, £3 concessions

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4143/different-from-the-others-anders-als-die-andern-1279032512/

: Notions of the consumer and the citizen have become curiously entangled in recent years. In many cases, design has been the culprit in delivering this entanglement.

Advertisements, branding and luxury lifestyle products increasingly conflate buying and consuming with individual agency on a variety of public issues, from climate change to online privacy. But how meaningful is this association? If design has been a powerful tool in merging notions of consumerism and citizenship, then how might it be used as a tool to reverse this? What other forms of citizenship are available to design with?

Chair: Guy Julier, Professor of Design Culture, University of Brighton and Victoria and Albert Museum.
Panel:
Jon Alexander, Founder of New Citizenship Project
Gordon Hush, Head of Product Design, Glasgow School of Art
Noortje Marres, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Goldsmiths
Barry Quirk, Chief Executive of Lewisham Council
Leanne Wierzba, Winchester School of Art/V&A Research Fellow in Craft/Luxury

18.30-20.30

Free, booking essential (includes drink)

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3728/design-culture-salon-16-what-does-design-do-for-citizenship-in-5254/

Bedazzled: A History of Jewellery

• 15 April — 24 June 2015

Trace the history of Western jewellery over the past 800 years by studying the comprehensive collection of over 3,500 jewels presented in the V&A’s William and Judith Bollinger Jewellery Gallery.

Explore how fashions in dress determined what jewellery was worn, the influence of international styles and art movements on designs, and how jewels have reflected political or economic changes and major cultural events.

While adornment is a function of jewellery, it also conveys messages and marks special occasions - christening, marriage, childbirth and death. From the cradle to the grave, jewels may express hope, sorrow, devotion, and ambition. Explore the symbolism of jewels, the ingenuity of goldsmiths, and how the trade in precious metals and gemstones led to new designs and ideas.

10.30-13.00

10 weeks, Wednesdays, 15 April – 24 June 2015
(Half term: 27 May)

£365, £300 concessions

Course Leader: Dr. Beatriz Chadour-Sampson, Jewellery Historian

Suitable for

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3466/bedazzled-a-history-of-jewellery-4943/

The Dutch Golden Age: 17th Century Art and Design

• 16 April — 25 June 2015

This course explores Dutch art and society in the Golden Age – the time of Vermeer, Hals and Rembrandt.

This young Dutch Republic emerged as a global power during the Eighty Years War with Spain. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was founded in 1602, followed by the West India Company (WIC) in 1621. Global trade brought unprecedented riches to local merchants whose portraits show them in all their finery, often in lavish domestic settings. It also brought a wealth of exotic imports to the country, which we find back in interior genre scenes painted by De Hooch, Metsu and Steen. Imported porcelain inspired the development of local tin-glazed pottery known as Delftware, while the design of oriental ceramics was in turn influenced by European taste.

In a period also noted for its sculpture, tapestries and carved tables, this course investigates the artists and practitioners associated with this great cultural flowering.

11.00-15.30

10 Weeks, Thursdays, 16 April – 25 June 2015
(Half term: 28 May)

£530, £450 concessions

Course Leader: Dr Sophie Oosterwijk, FSA

Suitable for

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3482/the-dutch-golden-age-17th-century-art-and-design-4948/

From Word to Image and Back Again: Iconography and Symbolism in Medieval Art

• 20 April — 22 June 2015

10.30-13.00

8 WEEK COURSE: Through the long period of the Middle Ages a repertory of images developed. Drawn from Christian and Romantic texts, they were formulated in response to the conceptual significance of each text.

In the process, for example, wise men became kings, Christ came to be crucified on a tree, and the serpent in Eden was endowed with the face of a woman. The process was continuous and protean, reflecting changing preoccupations in contemporary society, but always underpinned by key biblical, liturgical, devotional and hagiographic texts on the one hand and widely circulated tales from chivalric romance on the other. This course will explore these developments thematically.

We will work closely with key texts, and will consider the contexts which had a bearing on iconographic development. Although we can never fully understand the significance of medieval imagery, the course will attempt to move a little closer to the mindsets of the Middle Ages.

Course Leaders: Dr Cathy Oakes, Art Historian with Dr. Sally Dormer, V&A Year Course Director, Early Medieval

Suitable for

• 18+

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3470/from-word-to-image-and-back-again-iconographyand-symbolism-in-m-4952/

Travel in Style: Art Deco Ocean Liners, Grand Victorian Hotels and Edwardian Trains

• 29 April — 24 June 2015

14.00-16.30

Rapidly advancing technology has enabled us to reach ever more places across the planet at high speeds and in greater comfort and safety. Whether for work or pleasure the experience of getting from A to B is of more interest than ever.

Explore two centuries of travelling in its complexity and variety. The course is organised around three themes, water, land and air, with an additional session devoted to personal transportation. Study a wide range of vehicles, from the thrilling pomp of the Pullman car and the glamorous but formidable world of the ocean liner to the confining tubular space of the airliner fuselage. Chart the evolving design of these and other transportation types against the backdrop of international politics, economics and style.

Consider too the innovative hotels, terminals and other transport architecture that provided the infrastructure for great vehicles and vessels throughout our age of expanding mass travel, along the way examining such issues as changing tastes, new patterns of leisure, and evolving notions of comfort. Learn how pioneers and entrepreneurs employed science and art in buildings, vehicles, vessels, and even fashion to enhance and to rationalise the traveller’s experience.
Course Leader: Dr Gregory Votolato, architect, curator, teacher and writer

Suitable for

• 18+

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3468/travel-in-style-art-deco-ocean-liners-grand-victorian-hotels-a-4950/

STUDY DAY: Introducing Art Techniques: Medieval to 20th Century Part 4: Oil Techniques

• 8 May 2015

From Jan Eyck to the Impressionists look at the exciting variety of ways in which oil paint has been applied to surfaces and manipulated in all genres of art.

Friday 8 May, 11.00 – 15.30

£45, £35 concessions, £15 students

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/4150/introducing-art-techniques-medieval-to-20th-century-part-4-oil-1071786543/

From Coco Chanel to Alexander McQueen: Geniuses of Modern Fashion

• 12 May — 7 July 2015

10.30-13.00

8 WEEK COURSE: Explore the careers of the 20 greatest names in modern fashion whose amazing creativity has changed not only the way that people look and dress but also their entire attitude to clothes.

From the classic tailoring of Coco Chanel, whose easy to wear suits freed women from the constraints of corsets and tight skirts, to the magnificently eccentric Elsa Schiaparelli who made dresses covered with trompe l’oeil images and hats in the shape of shoes , this course examines the designs, lives and legacies of fashion’s most original talents. It includes sessions on masters of tailoring such as Balenciaga, Christian Dior, and Givenchy, as well as talks on contemporary visionaries like Vivienne Westwood, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Alexandra McQueen. Learn about the fascinating stories of the most iconic designers and their extraordinary impact on the fashion industry.

Speakers include V&A curators and fashion historians Judith Watt, Linda Watson and Charlotte Sinclair.

Suitable for

• 18+

Admission

Website

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3469/from-coco-chanel-to-alexander-mcqueen-geniuses-of-modern-fashio-4951/