Blavatnik Family Foundation supports the Imperial War Museum London presentation of the UK’s first art, film and photography galleries on war and conflict
Thanks to significant support from the Blavatnik Family Foundation, The Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries at the Imperial War Museum (IWM) will be the UK’s first to explore how artists, photographers and filmmakers together bear witness to, document and tell the story of conflict, and demonstrate how artistic interpretation can uniquely shape our understanding of war.
Spanning the First World War to the present day, new acquisitions will be exhibited alongside renowned works from IWM’s existing collection, including Gassed by John Singer Sargent, They Shall Not Grow Old by Peter Jackson and Steve McQueen’s Queen and Country.
Dame Diane Lees, Director General of Imperial War Museums, said: “Art, film and photography provide unique insight into conflict, and the interpretation of artists, filmmakers and photographers. They can dramatically enhance our understanding of war and conflict and also radically challenge it.
“Through our new Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries, visitors will be able to explore our fantastic visual media collections in greater depth and consider how these works and their creators have the power not only to shape our understanding of war and its wide-reaching impact, but to deeply move us. We are grateful to our supporters, in particular the Blavatnik Family Foundation, for helping us to make these visionary Galleries a reality.”
Covering up to 1000m2 of IWM London’s third floor, the Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries will reflect IWM’s expansive remit of global conflict from 1914 to the present day and include a broad range of works from diverse artists, filmmakers and photographers.
The development of these Galleries is the third phase in the dynamic transformation of IWM London and will enable IWM to share works from its exceptional art collection, one of the most important representations of twentieth century British art in the world. They will also showcase some of IWM’s vast and era-defining film and photography collections, which include over 23,000 hours of footage and over 11 million photographs.
The exhibitions will be open in 2023 and, like previous developments at IWM London, the Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries will be free to enter, making more of IWM’s world-class collection available and accessible to all.