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Arts & Culture
May 2, 2025
Ken Burns’s The American Revolution Seeks to Unite Americans During 250th Anniversary of Brutal Conflict for Independence

With the 250th anniversary of our nation’s battle for independence soon to commence, planners of the American Revolution 250 Commission were discussing how to reignite common cause in Americans through the mechanism of our fight for nationhood. It would be no mean feat. Much like our forefathers, who plotted the course for independence from vastly divergent ideological viewpoints, the assembled men and women had to unify people at increasing loggerheads over the country’s future.

Arts & Culture
April 3, 2025
The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence

The Burlington Magazine reviews the Foundation-supported exhibition at the V&A, The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulance. A once-in-a-lifetime event, this exhibition spans the century of the greatest grandeur enjoyed by the Mughal Empire, from 1560 to 1660. One of the largest centralised states in Early Modern history, it encompassed most of subcontinental India, far outstripping in size and resources both the contemporary Islamic empires of the Safavids and Ottomans, and in global terms it was rivalled only by Ming China. 

Arts & Culture
March 27, 2025
Ken Burns Gives Sneak Peek of New Documentary on American Revolution: ‘No Story More Important . . . Than This One’

As America prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, a new documentary is shedding light on the stories of those who shaped the time period. Ten years in the making, “The American Revolution,” a six-part documentary series by famed filmmaker Ken Burns, along with Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, will debut in November on PBS. The public had the opportunity to enjoy a sneak peek during an outdoor screening on Tuesday in Colonial Williamsburg as part of the third annual “A Common Cause to All” conference.

Arts & Culture
March 26, 2025
Ken Burns, Martin Sheen headlining Gettysburg Film Festival

The Gettysburg Film Festival is set to return Thursday, May 8, through Sunday, May 11, bringing together filmmakers, actors, historians and authors to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, according to an announcement. The festival will be headlined by Ken Burns, the award-winning documentarian behind "The Civil War," "Baseball," "The War," "The U.S. and the Holocaust" and the upcoming "The American Revolution." Burns will lead a special discussion on World War II’s lasting impact.

Arts & Culture
March 13, 2025
‘The Calling: A Medical School Journey’ Review: Developing Doctors on PBS

None of the three shows recently admitted into the crowded field of hospital drama—the electrifying “Berlin ER,” the more mainstream “The Pitt” and the do-not-resuscitate “Watson”—are what one would call “feel good.” But “The Calling” is: Nonfiction, no-frills and nothing less than inspiring, it follows a group of students at New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine who may not represent the entire future of American medicine, but are devoted and grateful. And their happiness is contagious. Major funding for "The Calling: A Medical School Journey" was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, with additional funding from Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Blavatnik Family Foundation.

Arts & Culture
March 12, 2025
In London, Palace Dress Codes Are the Theme of a New Display

Glamorous dresses, tailored suits and other outfits, all part of the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, are going on display this week at Kensington Palace in London. The exhibition, “Dress Codes,” showcases 34 pieces worn by royals such as Queen Victoria and Diana, Princess of Wales, along with clothing worn at court by debutantes, diplomats and others “to show the breadth of the collection,” said Matthew Storey, the exhibition’s curator. The exhibition is supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation.

Arts & Culture
March 10, 2025
New Ken Burns Film “The American Revolution” to Be Used in Classrooms Around the Country

On March 12, 2025, PBS LearningMedia, PBS’s online destination for PreK-12 teachers and students, will join filmmakers Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein, and iCivics at a virtual event for Civic Learning Week. They will discuss the extensive learning materials and experiences that will be created and curated for upper elementary through high school teachers and students around themes featured in the upcoming film, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, co-directed by Burns and his long-time colleagues Botstein and David Schmidt. The virtual event conversation will also be a broader discussion of civic education and student engagement around America’s 250th. Major funding was provided by The Better Angels Society and its members Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine with the Crimson Lion Foundation; and the Blavatnik Family Foundation.

Arts & Culture
February 15, 2025
Berlinale Embraces Israeli Hostage Documentary ‘A Letter To David’

Tom Shoval’s documentary A Letter To David, which is playing in Berlinale Special, marks a return to the festival for the Israeli filmmaker - but not in a circumstance he could have imagined when his first feature, Youth, played in Panorama back in 2013. Shoval described A Letter To David as a “multi-layered cinematic letter” to his friend David Cunio, who was taken hostage by Hamas with his brother Ariel from the Nir Oz kibbutz on October 7, 2023. A Letter To David is produced by Alona Refua, Maya Fischer and Roy Bareket of Israel’s Green Productions and Nancy Spielberg of US-based Playmount Productions. It was financed by Israeli broadcaster Hot8, Israeli fund The New Fund For Cinema And Television, as well as Jewish focused philanthropic organisations The Blavatnik Family Foundation, Boston Rose and Jewish Story Partners.

Arts & Culture
February 12, 2025
The Calling: A Medical School Journey Premieres Monday, March 17 on PBS

The Calling: A Medical School Journey, a new documentary directed by Asako Gladsjo, follows the intellectual and emotional journey of a group of students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. Captured through verité scenes and personal video diaries, the film offers a rare inside look at America’s health care system through the eyes of these aspiring practitioners as they learn what it takes to become a doctor in one of the country’s most underserved communities. Major funding for The Calling: A Medical School Journey was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, with additional funding from Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Blavatnik Family Foundation.

Arts & Culture
February 4, 2025
NYO Partners with Blavatnik Family Foundation to Reach More Young People Through NYO Inspire Programme

The Foundation's support over the next five years will help the National Youth Orchestra reach more young people through NYO Inspire, building on the success of the programme to date. This will significantly increase the number of opportunities for teenage musicians who need them by continuing to champion orchestral music as a powerful agent for teenage development.

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The Blavatnik Archive is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to preserving and disseminating materials that contribute to the study of 20th-century Jewish and world history, with a special emphasis on World War I, World War II, and Soviet Russia.

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