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Frida Kahlo: Her Art, Life and Times
Short course
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
The Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) is regarded as one of the great artists of the 20th century. Her celebrity status, achieved after her death, owes much to her turbulent life. The daughter of a German photographer and a Mexican mother, she survived polio at the age of six and a devastating road accident at the age of eighteen. Her indomitable courage and her powerful sense of self found expression in vibrant clothing and outré accessories.
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Course Director
Chloë Sayer
Chloë Sayer is an independent scholar and curator, specializing in Mexican art and culture. Based in London, she is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain. She lectures extensively, leads cultural tours to Mexico, and has made ethnographic collections in Mexico and Belize for the British Museum.
I have taken many Short Courses at the V&A and I come away each week feeling inspired, stimulated by the facts, and wishing to know even more. 2015/2016 Short Course Student
Course overview
Kahlo's private life and personal possessions will be shown for the first time outside Mexico in the upcoming exhibition Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up, which inspired this course.
This course offers a deep dive into Kahlo's life, work in post-Revolutionary Mexico and legacy. An explosion of creativity followed the Mexican Revolution, as intellectuals, artists and photographers rejected European values and espoused mexicanidad. Kahlo and Diego Rivera were inspired by pre-Columbian art and by contemporary indigenous cultures. They collected pottery, toys, lacquerware and other forms of folk art. They also respected festive traditions like the Mexican Day of the Dead. In photographs and self-portraits, Frida was often flamboyantly dressed in Mexican or Guatemalan garments. Through her clothing, Kahlo expressed her boundless admiration for her Mexican heritage. Her inimitable style continues to inspire designers and fashionistas the world over.
Photograph © Chloë Sayer
Painting by Miriam Schapiro
Further information
• This course has a Half Term break on 25 October • Refreshments served • Price reductions available for Seniors (60+), jobseekers (ES40 holders) and registered disabled people
Enrol now
Short course: Frida Kahlo: Her Art, Life and Times
13 September 2018 - 8 November 2018
£325.00 - £378.00
Call to book +44 (0)20 7942 2000
Need help enrolling? Talk to the admissions team:
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Open 10.00 - 13.00, Monday to Sunday (closed 24-26 December)
