I spent some time wandering around the Southbank Centre at the weekend. Very enjoyable getting close up with the various Brutalist / Modernist buildings there – the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, the British Film Institute etc.
While there, I visited the Terrace Cafe on Level 1 and, just around the corner, between the cafe and the shop I came across an excellent little display. It shows the history of the 1951 Festival of Britain and has a detailed model of the festival on which you can even see some of the lost murals and sculptures.
I found it fascinating and spent a good hour looking around the photographs, memorabilia and information boards making up the exhibit. I’m posting some photos – but I didn’t take many as I assumed there would be some information online somewhere I could link to. After searching for a while, though, I can’t find any information at all about the exhibit (unless I’m missing something obvious).
Anyway – hope the photos at least give you a sense of what’s there and I urge you to go and find it if you’re in the Southbank Centre at any time. Really good stuff.
Artwork of the week 