V&A

Ken Adam is the most distinguished living production designer in the world - his work includes revolutionary designs for the first seven James Bond movies. He discusses his career with Christopher Frayling, writer, critic and Rector of the Royal College of Art. This talk is BSL interpreted.

The celebrated European Space Agency Astronaut, Jean-Pierre Haigneré, 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

Curator Jane Pavitt leads this BSL interpreted tour of the exhibition.

Curator Jane Pavitt talks about the exhibition.

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.

An examination of the architecture and sites associated with the Cold War in London. The day begins with talks at the V&A and continues with a routemaster bus tour of significant buildings and locations. Led by Joe Kerr, Royal College of Art.

Observer film critic Philip French explores the role art played in spreading political propaganda during the cold war, with particular focus on US film in the 1950s. V&A curator Jana Scholze discusses art and propaganda in relation to the exhibition, Cold War Modern.

Learn how to write a spy thriller in the style of John Le Carré and Ian Fleming. With Cold War Modern setting the scene, author Robert Collins will show film clips and give a presentation of his work before guiding you through the nail-biting task of creating the synopsis for a thriller.

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.

Berlin, a European powerhouse, has a significant place in Cold War history. This event explores Berlin's life 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.

• 13:30
  Turning Points in the History of Berlin: 1871 - 1989
  Dr. Rudolph Muhs
  Royal Holloway
  University of London
• 14:15
  Berlin 1900–2008: World City, Divided City, Design City
  Professor Jeremy Aynsley
  Royal College of Art
• 15:30
  Explorers’ Berlin: Hidden Corners of the German Metropolis
  Duncan J D Smith
  Travel Writer and Photohistorian

This event takes influences and techniques from the exhibition to create a poster advertising an event or object that participants have designed.

Design and make your own garment inspired by space and the future. Includes a visit to the exhibition Cold War Modern.

Experiment with digital moving image, computer generated sound and graphic techniques, taking inspiration from the exhibition Cold War Modern. Over the two day mash–up you will create a back-drop to a VJ set that will be shown as part of the Utopia to Outer Space: Cold War Weekend on the 6th December.

Experiment with typefaces, different lo-fi graphic design techniques and Photoshop CS3 to design your own poster with a message. Includes a visit to the exhibition Cold War Modern.

Take on the role of Cold War secret agent and design and create your own spy themed photo-story based in and around the V&A galleries.

This major conference brings together some of the most exciting thinkers on art, design and architecture in the post-1945 period to reflect on the ways in which Cold War politics shaped art and design. Organised in conjunction with the V&A's landmark exhibition, it offers new perspectives on a period which continues to grip the imagination today. The conference is chaired by David Crowley and Jane Pavitt, curators of the Cold War Modern exhibition.

The two-day programme includes the following speakers and themes:

• Richard Barbrook, University of Westminster, London, on Cybernetic Communism
• David Crowley, Royal College of Art, London, on 'Double Agents', the symmetries of modernist design in East and West
• Branko Dimitrijevic, associate curator of the Centre of Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, on Americanisation, Art and Consumerism in Yugoslavia in the 1950s
• Vit Havránek, Prague-based curator, on the utopianism in visionary art in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s
• Frédéric Migayrou, head of the Architecture Department, Centre Pompidou, on 'Radical seats'.
• Michelle Provoost, architectural historian, curator and consultant on urban planning and architecture affairs, on 'New Towns on the Cold War Frontier; urban planning as an instrument in cold war politics'
• Felicity Scott, University of Columbia, on the radical design group Ant Farm and its appropriation of military and space technology in the USA around 1970
• Eric Schuldenfrei, New York-based designer and filmmaker, on experimental film presentations in the period, particularly the work of Charles and Ray Eames, in a paper titled 'The Vision Politic'
• Jean-Louis Cohen, New York University, Post-War Soviet Americanisation
• Simone Hain, University of Graz, Planning and Utopia: Functionalism and Social Realism as Design Strategies

Supported by the Council of Europe and the University of Brighton

Explore the visionary and critical design practices of this period, reflecting on their relevance today. Debating themes such as materials, technologies, politics and environment, the symposium brings together architects and artists working in the 1960s with a new generation of architects, critics and curators. Speakers include Hans Hollein, Sam Hardingham, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Krzysztof Wodiczko and Gunter Zamp Kelp.

Celebrate the mind-expanding visions of the hi-tech sixties. French Connection Friday Late invites you to 'turn on, tune in and drop out' with an evening of music, film, talks, games and happenings devoted to the Cold War Modern exhibition.

Explore new frontiers and interpretations of art and design from the period. Create your own 30-second B-movie in the V&A galleries and build a future city. Highlights include Propaganda From The State of Love performed by The Real Tuesday Weld with David Piper, art directed by Catherine Anyango; the celebrated European Space Agency astronaut Jean-Pierre Haigneré and award-winning science fiction author Alastair Reynolds in conversation; plus films, seminars, VJs and more.

A great cult classic, The Blob melds ‘5os schlock sci-fi and teen delinquency films with strong performances and ingenious special effects.

Considered one of the best science fiction films of the ‘50s and ‘60s this classic paranoid thriller remains a milestone movie in this genre.

Stanley Kubrick's masterly interpretation of Arthur C. Clarke's classic sci-fi tale.

A display examining one of Le Corbusier's final projects, the unbuilt sports stadium in Baghdad.

International modern-furniture company, Vitsœ, exhibits the pioneering plastic furniture of its legendary German designer, Dieter Rams.