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Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture
July 24, 2026
Upstairs, Downstairs, in a House Full of Spies

A New York Times feature examines the remarkable wartime history preserved at Trent Park House of Secrets, now open to the public as a museum. During the Second World War, British intelligence secretly monitored captured senior German officers at the North London estate, gathering critical information about Nazi weapons programs, military strategy, and the Holocaust. The operation relied on approximately 40 listeners, many of them German Jewish refugees, who recorded and transcribed conversations from concealed rooms beneath the mansion. The museum brings this history to life by recreating both Trent Park’s elegant reception rooms and the discreet underground spaces where the intelligence team worked. Its opening follows a decade-long effort to save the house and ensure that the contributions of the listeners receive wider recognition. The Blavatnik Family Foundation is proud to support Trent Park House of Secrets in preserving this important history and making it accessible to future generations.

Arts & Culture
July 18, 2026
Trent Park, Where Nazi Officers Relaxed — and Let Vital Information Slip

A Financial Times article explores the little-known wartime history of Trent Park, the North London estate where British intelligence secretly monitored captured senior German officers. Their unguarded conversations yielded vital intelligence about the Holocaust, the Wehrmacht’s involvement in mass murder, the development of V2 rockets, and divisions within the German military. The operation depended on teams of German-speaking listeners, many of them Jewish refugees, who recorded and transcribed discussions from concealed rooms beneath the house. Now opening to the public as the House of Secrets museum, Trent Park brings this history to life through restored interiors, archival materials, and exhibitions focused on those who carried out the intelligence work. The museum also preserves the stories of individuals whose contributions remained classified for decades. The Blavatnik Family Foundation is proud to support this important institution and its work to deepen public understanding of wartime intelligence, courage, and remembrance.

Arts & Culture
July 16, 2026
Noga Erez Turns Turmoil Into Art

The documentary Noga, which premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Festival, follows Israeli musician Noga Erez at a defining moment in her life and career. Directed by Jono and Benji Bergmann, the film traces Erez’s work and relationship with her partner and collaborator, Ori Rousso, as they record, tour, and build an international audience. The October 7 attacks and the war in Gaza transform the course of the film, bringing grief, uncertainty, online abuse, cultural boycotts, and pressure to take public positions into their creative and personal lives. Even as those pressures intensify, Erez and Rousso continue making music and performing, using their work to process events around them while sustaining a demanding partnership. Supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation, with Leonard Blavatnik serving as Executive Producer, Noga examines the intertwined questions of art, politics, identity, and responsibility.

Arts & Culture
July 15, 2026
Brian Cox and UK’s Third-Richest Man Back Exiled Russian’s Edinburgh Fringe Crime Thriller

The Blavatnik Family Foundation is supporting DRONE, a new multimedia crime thriller appearing at the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Written and directed by Dmitry Melkin and performed by Gladstone Mahib, the one-person production explores artificial intelligence, desire, betrayal, and the changing boundary between people and machines. The Foundation’s support is helping Melkin, who left Russia because of his opposition to the war in Ukraine, return to the Fringe for the first time since presenting the critically acclaimed The Forest in 2019. The production also reflects longstanding connections within the international theatre community. Mahib trained at the Moscow Art Theatre, where actor Brian Cox taught exchange students, and his son, Alan Cox, will make a guest appearance.

Arts & Culture
July 9, 2026
William Boyd Wins Give a Book: The Pleasure of Reading Prize 2026

Novelist William Boyd has been named the winner of the 2026 Give a Book: The Pleasure of Reading Prize, which is sponsored by Bloomsbury Publishing and supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. The annual prize recognizes an English-language author whose work brings pleasure to readers and celebrates the wider value of reading in public life. Boyd, the author of nineteen novels as well as short stories and screenplays, was selected by a panel of judges that included guest judge Esther Freud. The prize includes £10,000, shared between the winning author and a charitable Give a Book project chosen by the recipient, often supporting reading in prisons, schools, or other community settings. By linking literary recognition with direct support for reading access, the prize reflects Give a Book’s mission to use books to teach, inspire, and change lives. The Foundation’s support helps advance the role of literature in widening opportunity, strengthening imagination, and fostering a lifelong love of reading.

Arts & Culture
July 4, 2026
Ken Burns Discusses The American Revolution on TODAY for America’s 250th Anniversary

Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns joined TODAY to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States and reflect on the enduring significance of the American Revolution. In the segment, Burns discussed his PBS documentary series The American Revolution, directed with Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, which explores the people, events, and ideas that shaped the nation’s founding. Supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation, the six-part series presents the Revolution as a complex human story, drawing on extensive historical research and voices often underrepresented in traditional accounts, including African Americans, Native Americans, women, and others whose lives were profoundly affected by the founding era. Through its support, the Foundation helps advance public understanding of history and expand access to high-quality educational storytelling.

Arts & Culture
July 2, 2026
Ken Burns Reflects on America’s 250th Anniversary on POLITICO’s The Conversation

Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns joined POLITICO’s The Conversation with Dasha Burns for a wide-ranging discussion on America’s 250th anniversary and the enduring questions raised by the nation’s founding. In the interview, Burns reflected on the importance of engaging with American history in its full complexity, including the ideals, divisions, and responsibilities that have shaped the country’s democratic experiment. The conversation builds on themes central to The American Revolution, the six-part PBS documentary series directed by Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt and supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. The series invites audiences to revisit the people, events, and ideas of the founding era, offering a nuanced account of the Revolution and its lasting significance.

Arts & Culture
July 1, 2026
David Bowie’s V&A Archive to Head on Tour Across the UK

The V&A will take highlights from the David Bowie Archive on a national tour, expanding public access to one of the most significant collections related to the artist’s life and work. The archive, now housed permanently at the David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse, was acquired with support from Warner Music Group and the Blavatnik Family Foundation. More than 100 objects will travel to venues in Dundee, Blackpool, County Durham, Hull, and Bristol between 2026 and 2028, marking the first opportunity to see these materials outside London on this scale. The touring exhibition will include costumes, instruments, photography, and previously unseen items that illuminate Bowie’s creative process across music, performance, film, television, and visual identity. Organized in thematic sections, David Bowie: On Tour reflects the V&A’s commitment to sharing national collections with audiences across the UK.

Arts & Culture
June 23, 2026
Justin Peck World Premiere and More Set for New York City Ballet Fall Fashion Gala

New York City Ballet’s 2026 Fall Fashion Gala will take place on October 1, continuing the Company’s annual celebration of new choreography and costume design. The program will feature world premieres by Jennifer Archibald, Alysa Pires, and NYCB Resident Choreographer Justin Peck, pairing leading choreographers with designers Robert Wun, Viktor&Rolf, and Simone Rocha. Since its founding in 2012, the Fall Fashion Gala has raised more than $37 million for New York City Ballet, supporting the Company’s artistic work and future programming. The 2026 event will be chaired by a distinguished group including Founding Chair Sarah Jessica Parker, Visionary Chair Emily Blavatnik, and Event Chairs including Laila Blavatnik, Georgina Bloomberg, Andy Cohen, Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy, and others. Justin Peck’s world premiere, with costumes by Simone Rocha, is made possible by Emily Blavatnik and the Blavatnik Family Foundation.

Arts & Culture
June 22, 2026
‘The Last Musician of Auschwitz’ wins the Arts & Culture Documentary Category at Banff 2026 Rockies Awards

The Last Musician of Auschwitz has won the Documentary & Factual: Arts & Culture category at the 2026 Banff Rockie Awards, which recognize excellence in international screen and audio content. Backed by Access Entertainment and co-executive produced by Danny Cohen and Emily Blavatnik, the film examines the role of music in Auschwitz and the lives of those who performed, composed, and preserved it under unimaginable conditions. The recognition highlights the documentary’s contribution to cultural memory, historical understanding, and the responsible telling of Holocaust history. Produced with partners including Two Rivers Media, BBC, Access Entertainment, and Sphere Abacus, the film brings a deeply researched and human-centered story to broad international audiences.

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The Foundation contributes to renowned institutions that showcase the breadth of arts and culture, including performance, exhibition and education.

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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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