As the debate about the future of Europe continues, the Victoria and Albert Museum will showcase twelve contemporary art installations which imagines what Europe will look like in 2000 years time.
All of the installations on display have been commissioned by the Goethe-Institut London and the V&A, exhibited as part of the free week-long festival Collecting Europe.
As well as the installations, the festival also includes a range of talks discussions, live performances and workshops to encourage debate around what Europe and European identity means to people today, following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.
All of the works on display across the museum have been created in a variety of media including digital and interactive installations to film, sugar sculpture, tapestry, live performance, musical interventions and pocket-sized publications.
Visitors can discover all of the pieces in places such as the Europe 1600-1815 Galleries, the British Galleries, the Dorothy and Michael Hintze Sculpture Galleries, and the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries.
Each of the artists who were commissioned to take part in this festival offer a new perspective of Europe both from within and on the outside of it. The artists and their work taking part are:
Rosa Barba, Let Me See It, Italy (based in Germany)
Thibaut de Ruyter, A Song for Europe, France (based in Germany)
Constant Dullaart, The European Classes, The Netherlands
Fru*Fru, Eurasic Bath, Spain
IC-98 in collaboration with Kustaa Saksi, A World in Waiting, Finland
IF in collaboration with 00, Europa, UK
Jasleen Kaur, Yoorop, Scotland (based in London)
Onkar Kular and Common Initiative, 4017 Enacted, UK
Tasha Marks – AVM Curiosities, Alabaster Ruins, UK
Raqs Media Collective, The Return of Tipu’s Tiger, India
Remco Torenbosch, EU, 2017, The Netherlands
Tu Wei-Cheng, Enfolded World: Mysteries of Lost Civilisations, Taiwan
Tim Reeve, Acting Director of the V&A, said: “As major global events continue to unfold, citizens are inevitably questioning what Europe stands for and how they see their place within it, the arts have a unique and important role to play in encouraging debate around the big questions of the day. Collecting Europe is a responsive and thought-provoking project, tackling these issues through the lens of art and design.”
Collecting Europe is a free festival which runs at the Victoria and Albert Museum from the 1st February until the 7th February. For more information visit: https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/collecting-europe.