Imperial War Museum London is set to open the UK’s first art, film and photography galleries on war and conflict in late 2023, using a multimillion-pound donation from the Blavatnik Family Foundation.
The Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries will showcase how artists, photographers and filmmakers document conflict, from the First World War to the present day. New acquisitions will be exhibited alongside works from the existing collection.
These include ‘Gassed’ by John Singer Sargent, Peter Jackson’s award-winning 2018 film ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’, and ‘Queen and Country’ by Steve McQueen. Images by Cecil Beaton, Olive Edis and Tim Hetherington will also be on display.
“Art, film and photography provide unique insight into conflict, and the interpretation of artists, filmmakers and photographers,” said Dame Diane Lees, director general of IWM. “They can drastically enhance our understanding of war and conflict and also radically challenge it.”
Multimillion-pound Blavatnik donation
Visitors will see IWM London’s “fantastic visual media collections in greater depth and consider how these works and their creators have the power not only to shape our understanding of war and its wide-reaching impact, but to deeply move us”, Lees said.
The Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries will cover up to 1,000 square metres of the museum’s third floor. They will be free to enter, making more of IWM’s world-class collection available and accessible to all.
“I have long taken a special personal interest in the history of conflict, and the experience of war,” said Sir Len Blavatnik, founder of the Blavatnik Family Foundation. “I am delighted that my family foundation has been able to support this historic new development at the IWM, which confirms its importance as a world leader in this field.”
The development is the third phase of IWM London’s transformation. The first phase concluded with the launch of the First World War Galleries in 2014. The second phase involved last year’s opening of the Second World War and Holocaust Galleries.
Images: IWM
