Barbican Centre
art center / organization
A world-class arts and learning organization, the Barbican pushes the boundaries of all major art forms including dance, film, music, theatre and visual arts.
We attract new arts audiences and participants, creating inspiring arts experiences for all. From first encounters to higher education programmes, we develop interests, skills, confidence and careers.
We work with outstanding artists to create an innovative international programme that crosses art forms, collaborating with organisations from around the globe to give audiences opportunities to experience outstanding work by acclaimed international companies and artists.
We celebrate the artists of today and invest in those of tomorrow. We work with artists at every stage of their career, supporting and fostering opportunities for exciting new talent as well as promoting the work of world-class artists. Our ambitious cultural partnerships will offer outstanding creative opportunities for every young person across eight east London boroughs.
The Barbican Redevelopment Scheme was a project of staggering scale and complexity. It took nearly three decades to design and build; involved the design of over 2,000 flats, two schools and an arts centre; it required the realignment of an Underground line and the excavation of 190,000 m³ of soil and at its peak employed a thousand workers. The Centre took over a decade to build and was opened by The Queen in 1982, who declared it ‘one of the modern wonders of the world’ with the building seen as a landmark in terms of its scale, cohesion and ambition. Its stunning spaces and unique location at the heart of the Barbican Estate have made it an internationally recognized venue, set within an urban landscape acknowledged as one of the most significant architectural achievements of the 20th century.
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Barbican Centre
art center / organization
A world-class arts and learning organization, the Barbican pushes the boundaries of all major art forms including dance, film, music, theatre and visual arts.
We attract new arts audiences and participants, creating inspiring arts experiences for all. From first encounters to higher education programmes, we develop interests, skills, confidence and careers.
We work with outstanding artists to create an innovative international programme that crosses art forms, collaborating with organisations from around the globe to give audiences opportunities to experience outstanding work by acclaimed international companies and artists.
We celebrate the artists of today and invest in those of tomorrow. We work with artists at every stage of their career, supporting and fostering opportunities for exciting new talent as well as promoting the work of world-class artists. Our ambitious cultural partnerships will offer outstanding creative opportunities for every young person across eight east London boroughs.
The Barbican Redevelopment Scheme was a project of staggering scale and complexity. It took nearly three decades to design and build; involved the design of over 2,000 flats, two schools and an arts centre; it required the realignment of an Underground line and the excavation of 190,000 m³ of soil and at its peak employed a thousand workers. The Centre took over a decade to build and was opened by The Queen in 1982, who declared it ‘one of the modern wonders of the world’ with the building seen as a landmark in terms of its scale, cohesion and ambition. Its stunning spaces and unique location at the heart of the Barbican Estate have made it an internationally recognized venue, set within an urban landscape acknowledged as one of the most significant architectural achievements of the 20th century.
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Authored Articles
RELATED ARTICLES
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Luther Konadu: No FurtherSep 23, 2023 – Jan 14, 2024There is determination in rejection. Luther Konadu’s latest exhibition, No Further, continues the artist’s ongoing exploration of portraiture photography, which began in 2015. Departing from conventional depictions of human subjects, Konadu directs his attention to the medium of photography itself and the compositional elements inherent to the genre. (more…)
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Elemental ConstellationsNov 5, 2023 – Feb 5, 2024As we all know, elements are the fundamental units of the world, serving as the basis of all things and life. However, they have also come to symbolize an intangible “nature”, or a certain kind of mythological and magical “science”. Elements may be seen as a “medium” from such perspective, constantly shaping the culture and the technology (more…)
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SclavanieUnwanted, Forgotten Promised LandI re-discover parts of my cultural heritage, portraying the different facets of the life of mountain villages in between the Italian and Slovenian borders. What I found was a community of survivors. (more…)
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Doug Aitkenartist / filmmakerDoug Aitken is an American artist and filmmaker. Defying definitions of genre, he explores every medium, from film and installations to architectural interventions. (more…)
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The Post-War DreamJourney into the AnthropoceneIn the late summer of 2016, I spent six weeks in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region where I documented the transformation of some of the most influential cities in the region: Ordos, Hohhot, and Baotou. While looking back on the images I had taken, I was unexpectedly reminded of post-war Italian cinema (more…)
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LOVE: Still Not the LesserAug 16 – Dec 22, 2023“Has everyone been in love? Not on the basis of the evidence. If they have, they’ve forgotten it. If everyone had been in love, they’d treat their children differently. They’d treat each other differently.” –James Baldwin, from “Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris,” 1970 (more…)
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Ulrike Rosenbach: Today Is TomorrowJun 24, 2023 – Jan 7, 2024To mark her 80th birthday, the ZKM Karlsruhe is presenting a major exhibition on the work of media artist Ulrike Rosenbach. Ulrike Rosenbach was one of the first artists in Germany to use the medium of video – as early as the beginning of the 1970s. (more…)
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Dorothea Lange: Tales of Life and WorkPrescription .143“I was following instinct, not reason; I drove into that wet and soggy camp and parked my car like a homing pigeon. I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions.”
–Dorothea Lange / February 1960 (more…)
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Nan Goldin / This Will Not End WellPublicationThis is the first book to present a comprehensive overview of Nan Goldin’s work as a filmmaker. Accompanying the retrospective show and tour of the same name, organized by Moderna Museet, Stockholm, the book draws from the nearly dozen slideshows and films (more…)
