EVENTS

Utopia to Outer Space: Cold War Weekend

Friday 5 December 2008, 18.30-22.00
Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 December 2008, 11.00-16.00
Sackler Centre and throughout the V&A
Free except talk (£8, concessions available) and film screenings (£4, no concessions)

Be inspired by the classic American science fiction movies of the 1950s and create your own 30 second B-movie in the V&A's galleries or explore some of the new frontiers of the period in science and the arts through performances, talks, films and creative activities.

Friday 5 December 2008

It Came From the V&A… B Movie Shorts
18.30-21.00
Digital Studio, Sackler Centre
The Space Race and fear of nuclear war with the Soviet Union inspired a whole range of classic American science fiction and horror B-Movies. Take inspiration from these films and shoot your own 30 second B-movie in the V&A galleries before editing your movie back in our digital studio. This digital drop-in event is suitable for adults and young people 11 years +.
Free, drop-in

Build a Future City
18.30-21.30
Art Studio, Sackler Centre
Draw and construct a huge future cityscape with postgraduate students from the Royal College of Art.
In collaboration with DRAW at the Royal College of Art
Free, drop-in

‘Piece of Me’ – a second helping
18.00–19.30, 20.30–21.30
Grand Entrance and Sackler Centre
Performance installation by Johan Bjorgvinsson and Serena .Bobowski with Imogen Knight and Lorraine Smith.
Free

Jean-Pierre Haigneré & Alastair Reynolds - Space Frontiers
19.00-20.00
Lecture Theatre
The Celebrated European Space Agency Astronaut, Jean-Pierre Haignere and award-winning science fiction author Alastair Reynolds discuss the experience of space travel and the far reaching, inspiring effects it has had on design and the arts.  From new language to new ideologies, space exploration has shaped a whole new vision for creative thought.
In collaboration with the European Space  Agency.
£8, concessions available
Book online

Propaganda from the State of Love
19.00-20.00
Raphael, Room 48a
London band The Real Tuesday Weld and guests Beskydy
re-score selections from rarely seen US and Russian propaganda
animations and film in a theatrical performance featuring David Piper. Editing by Clive Painter with original film and art direction by
Catherine Anyango.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available from 18.00 from the Information Desk.

James Bond Quiz
20.30- 21.15
V&A Café
Test your knowledge of 007 and his espionage heroics.
Thanks to Ajay Chowdhury of the James Bond International Fan Club www.007.info
Free

The Clerkenwell Kid + Beta Tank
20.45-22.00
Lunchroom 1, Sackler Centre
The Clerkenwell Kid and Beta Tank deliver a DJ/VJ set of hot, hot tunes from a cold, cold war.
Free, drop-in

Looking at the Big Sky
20.45-22.00
Lunchroom 1, Sackler Centre
Watch projections of a series of drawings exploring our relationship with the unfathomable universe.
In collaboration with DRAW at the Royal College of Art
Free, drop-in

Saturday 6 December 2008

It Came From the V&A… B Movie Shorts
11.00-16.30
Digital Studio, Sackler Centre
The Space Race and fear of nuclear war with the Soviet Union inspired a whole range of classic American science fiction and horror B-Movies. Take inspiration from these films and shoot your own 30 second B-movie in the V&A galleries before editing your movie back in our digital studio. This digital drop-in event is suitable for adults and young people 11 years +.
Free, drop-in

Jeremy Isaacs and Taylor Downing - The Cold War
13.00-14.00
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
Jeremy Isaacs, executive producer of the BBC2 documentary, and Taylor Downing, co-authors of a new book Cold War (Littlebrown 2008) discuss the great events and confrontations of the Cold War. These include the Berlin Blockade, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the tanks in the streets of Warsaw, Budapest and Prague, and spies, student riots and encounters in space.
£4, £3 concessions
Book online

World Cities: Berlin
13.30-16.30
Seminar Room 1, Sackler Centre
Berlin, a European powerhouse has a significant place in Cold War history.  This seminar explores Berlin's past and present, including the growth of art and design movements and the thriving cultural scene today.  Part of a series introducing the arts, history and culture of world cities, speakers include curators, travel writers, authors and historians.
£20, concessions available
Book online

Czech Style
14.00-16.00
Seminar Room 3
The Czechoslovak Pavilion at Expo 58 in Brussels was an overwhelming success and became a symbol of modernity and success in communist Czechoslovakia. The so-called 'Brussels style', a fusion of abstract elements and folk-inspired decorativism, was brought home so that the nation's citizens could share this success.  Daniela Kramerova, curator of The Brussels Dream, The Czechoslovak Presence at Expo 1958, discusses this event and how it came to set the style for brightly coloured products and environments.
£12 (includes exhibition entry)
In association with the Czech Centre
Book online

The Blob, dir. Irvin S. Yeaworth Jnr, 1958 (12)
14.00-15.20
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
One of the great cult classics, The Blob melds '50s schlock sci-fi and teen delinquency films with strong performances and ingenious special effects. Made by a maverick film distributor, a crew experienced in religious and educational shorts, and a collection of theatrical talent from Philadelphia and New York, The Blob helped launch the careers of Steve McQueen and composer Burt Bacharach.
Free, no ticket required

Sunday 7 December 2008

It Came From the V&A… B Movie Shorts
11.00-16.30
Digital Studio , Sackler Centre,
The Space Race and fear of nuclear war with the Soviet Union inspired a whole range of classic American science fiction and horror B-Movies. Take inspiration from these films and shoot your own 30 second B-movie in the V&A galleries before editing your movie back in our digital studio. This digital drop-in event is suitable for adults and young people 11 years +.
Free, drop-in

Invasion of the Body Snatchers, dir. Don Siegel, 1956 (PG)
14.00-15.40
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
Considered one of the best science fiction films of the 1950s and '60s, this classic paranoid thriller remains a milestone movie in its genre. It exploded within America's 1950s subconscious, tapping into fears of Cold War-era communism and a decreasing sense of community. Despite a lack of major special effects it became one of the most influential horror films ever made. See why as a small town doctor discovers that the people of his community are being replaced by duplicates spawned by a strange plant-like alien lifeform.
Free, no ticket required

All Weekend

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Void
Sackler Centre
Entirely accurate, photo-realistic drawings of the beginning of time and other unfathomable occurrences, by Hannah Barton & Xavier Bon CAAD students at the Royal College of Art.
Free, drop-in