It was wonderful to see all the new students at the induction evenings over the past 2 weeks – there was a great buzz at the drinks receptions, and it was gratifying to have to eject people from the Keynes at 9pm. I hope the conversations continued elsewhere! I hope too that everyone’s first classes went well last week.
I promised more info on how we’re marking the department’s 50th anniversary over the course of 2017-18. Full details are now available here. You’ll see we have two very prominent museum directors giving public talks: Gabriele Finaldi and Tristram Hunt. Our academics have also organised a series of four workshops under the banner ‘Forward Looking’ which will confront topical and indeed fraught issues facing art history and museums, such as austerity and the relevance of ‘old art’.
The anniversary celebrations have the motto ‘Opening Up Art History’, taking inspiration from Birkbeck’s historic role in radically redefining an elite and esoteric discipline. At the same time, we want to use the occasion to look forward, scope out and have an impact on the future. You may have already seen the posters featuring the 18th-century engraving of a woman – her dress connects her with the servant class – reaching for a book by lamplight, seeking out intellectual stimulation after a day’s work (a cropped version is on the website). We chose it from the British Museum’s open-access databank – an image, itself openly available, which conjures up the pleasures and risks of breaching the boundaries that traditionally surround knowledge.
Étude nocturne, mezzotint by Philip Dawe, after John Foldsone, 1772 © Trustees of the British Museum.
Speaking of women, art and the 18th century, there’s a fascinating-sounding symposium coming up here at Birkbeck on 20 November, organised by our own Kate Retford with Jacqueline Riding, who is an honorary research fellow in the department. Basic Instincts: Art, Women & Sexuality in the Eighteenth Century draws out themes explored in current exhibition Basic Instincts at the Foundling Museum (until 7 January), curated by Jacqueline Riding. Speakers include Kate and Birkbeck PhD student Kirsten Tambling and a great roster of visiting speakers. The symposium is ticketed (£30 for students) and you need to book in advance.
The two research centres based in History of Art, the Architecture Space and Society Centre and the History and Theory of Photography Research Centre have recently announced their events for the term. Please check out their websites for details and booking links. And the Murray Seminar, featuring talks on new research in medieval and Renaissance art, has also announced its programme, which kicks off on 18 October 5pm in the Keynes with Kim Woods on ‘Speaking Sculptures’. All events are free and open to the public.
Do make sure to take some time out from racing around to class, library, tutors’ offices, etc., to spend some time in the Peltz Gallery, with the very beautiful and thought-provoking exhibition Sunil Gupta: In Pursuit of Love, curated by our own Annie Coombes and featuring contemporary photographs with strong art historical echoes.
Sunil Gupta, Untitled #5, ‘The new Pre-Raphaelites’ 2008, ink-jet print
Finally, if you’re interested or think you might be interested in the world of tech, Birkbeck has organised a new series of events with employers from the tech sector called UpSkill – looks like interesting stuff, and is open to all students no matter what they’re studying.
