Led by V&A staff as well as independent researchers, the Lunchtime Lecture programme explores varied aspects of the V&A’s collection and displays in more detail. Lectures take place in the Museum on Wednesdays during term time, 13.00 – 13.45. 

To see the upcoming programme please visit: vam.ac.uk/whatson/programmes/lunchtime-event

V&A Lunchtime Lectures

Songs which reflected the heartbreak and pain of love were extremely popular in the 14th and 15th centuries. This song describes courtly love, a formalised secret passion between aristocrats that was both erotic and spiritual, even morally uplifting.

The music for O Rosa bella was written around 1400 by Johannes Ciconia, a Franco-Flemish composer, who worked mainly in Italy. In this recording the piece is performed with two male voices accompanied by a lute.

This recordings was made by the Royal College of Music especially for the Medieval & Renaissance Galleries thanks to an award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

V&A Audios

O Rosa bella (O Lovely Rose)

Jesu Corona Virginum was sung by an order of nuns from Florence, Italy, known as the Poor Clares. Although the Poor Clares took a vow of silence, their prayers were often sung during Mass and many nuns were also accomplished musicians.

This hymn praises a virgin, revelling in her spiritual marriage to Jesus and praying for her continued guidance. The hymn is dedicated to virgin martyrs, and is still sung in the Catholic Church.

This recordings was made by the Royal College of Music especially for the Medieval & Renaissance Galleries thanks to an award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Jesu Corona Virginum (Jesus thou Crown of Virgins)

D'où vient cela, belle is a sad lament of a jilted lover written by Claudin de Sermisy, one of the greatest masters of the Renaissance chanson (a lyrical song with French words).

Sermisy composed for several French monarchs in the early 16th century, including François I and Henri II. His chansons were performed on a variety of instruments, but in this recording, four singers are accompanied only by a lute, a typical set-up of the time. Music like this, involving only a few performers, was probably heard in the private quarters of the palace, an intimate and exclusive experience.

This recordings was made by the Royal College of Music especially for the Medieval & Renaissance Galleries thanks to an award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

D'où vient cela, belle (How is it, my love)

Fine Knacks for Ladies is a madrigal – a poetic song. In it the singer presents himself as a humble pedlar travelling from town to town, selling combs, ribbons, knives, and other small objects. This pedlar sings in elegant language that reflects his status as an educated member of court circles. Through his words he argues eloquently that although his wares might seem superficially precious, they're worthless compared to the honesty and loyalty of his heart.

The piece was written in about 1600 by John Dowland, one of the most famous English composers of his day. He was known for his witty songs that could be performed with a variety of different voices and instruments. This one is performed to the accompaniment of a lute.

This recordings was made by the Royal College of Music especially for the Medieval & Renaissance Galleries thanks to an award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Fine Knacks for Ladies

Se mai per maraviglia is one of the most famous and moving compositions written by Franciscus Bossinensis, or Francis of Bosnia. The song focuses on the intense emotions surrounding the death of Jesus and focuses upon the body of Christ hanging on the cross.

This recordings was made by the Royal College of Music especially for the Medieval & Renaissance Galleries thanks to an award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Se Mai per Maraviglia (If ever in wonder)

Trionfo di Bacco was is one of the best examples of Florentine festival music written before 1500 to have survived. The words for Trionfo di Bacco were written by Lorenzo de' Medici, the de-facto ruler of the Florentine Republic between 1469 – 92. 

Latin was the language used for music written for the church but  
songs such as this were sung in the Italian vernacular and would have been understood by all. Composers took great care to insure the proper accentuation of the text, as the words had to be heard above the commotion of an outdoor festival. In this recording, three voices sing to the accompaniment of a lute.

This recordings was made by the Royal College of Music especially for the Medieval & Renaissance Galleries thanks to an award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Trionfo di Bacco (The Triumph of Bacchus)

At the end of 2014, the Europe 1600 to 1800 gallery will open at the V&A. In this episode, the importance of gallery interpretation is considered: How do we give meaning and context to the objects on display for gallery visitors? Glenn Adamson is joined by Lucy Trench and Evelyn Welch. Lucy is Head of Interpretation for the European Galleries and Evelyn is Professor of Renaissance Studies at Kings College London and a V&A Trustee.Together they discuss some intriguing objects, technology in exhibition spaces and how it's possible to display two centuries of European history in a gallery setting.

V&A Podcast - Europe Galleries

Join  curators Livia Turnbull and Melanie Lenz as they discuss the 'Patric Prince: Digital Art Visionary' display at the V&A (14 August 2023 – 15 September 2024). Follow along as they talk about each artwork, bringing out their favourite anecdotes.

Image: Inkjet print, being part of portfolio of a documentation of the event/exhibition, 'Portrait Virus', curated by Patric Prince for CyberArts, Pasadena Convention Centre, 1992. Museum no. E.987:4-2008. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O239554/portrait-virus-print-prince-patric-d/

Patric Prince: Digital Art Visionary – Display audio tour

Julia Margaret Cameron (1815 – 79) was the most innovative and influential photographer of her generation. 

In 1874, she wrote a description of her first ten years as a photographer, entitled 'Annals of my Glass House'. Peppered with literary quotations, humorous stories and celebrity name-dropping, this unfinished autobiography offers valuable insights into Cameron's character and ambition as a photographer.

Listen to the 'Annals of my Glass House', as read by Julia M Cameron, great great great grandaughter of Julia Margaret Cameron.


Read all 21 handwritten pages of 'Annals of my Glass House'
https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/annals-of-my-glass-house-by-julia-margaret-cameron

Find out more about Julia Margaret Cameron
https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/julia-margaret-cameron

'Annals of my Glass House': Julia Margaret Cameron's unfinished autobiography

Jennie Baptiste discusses the background to her photography.

Jennie Baptiste

Touch object: Head of a bodhisattva, China Gallery, Room 44

Transcription: The long exterior facade of the museum on Cromwell Road, combines both Classic and Gothic elements in its design.  A broad flight of seven shallow steps leads up from the pavement to a central archway of Portland stone, ornamented with columns, intricate sculptures and statues. There are stone ramps leading up to the entrance, to the left and right.  The archway contains two sets of revolving glass doors, with a conventional glass door between them. 

Above the doors is a slightly larger than life statue of Prince Albert. He is portrayed in middle age with receding hair, mutton chop whiskers and a luxuriant drooping moustache. In his right hand he holds a book, in his left a scroll. The prince wears robes of the Order of the Garter: a doublet and hose and a heavy cloak falling in folds around his feet.  His stockings wrinkle slightly around his knees, and he wears a garter below his left knee.  

Above his head, around the curve of the arch, are 9 reliefs of women in classical drapery, each accompanied by small children. They're all portrayed kneeling or crouching, to fit the rectangular frames that confine them. Frame by frame the words of the artist Sir Joshua Reynolds spell out the museum's motto: The excellence of every art must consist in the complete accomplishment of its purpose.

On top of the arch, directly above her husband Prince Albert, is a statue of a young Queen Victoria. She is flanked by St George, and a winged St Michael, each wearing a gilded halo, and holding a gilded sword. 

Above the entrance is a two storey octagonal tower. Four arches curve up from the second level, to meet in the centre of the tower, like the arches of a crown. This feature is based on cathedral towers in Edinburgh and Newcastle. The tower is topped by a statue of Fame, depicted as a woman in flowing robes, her head framed by a sunburst. Her nose, sadly, is missing.
Flanking the central grand entrance are figures in niches, with the words, Inspiration and Knowledge carved under them. The red brick and Portland stone wings of the building extend out to either side, with two levels of windows, arched at ground level, square above.  Between the windows on the upper level, are niches containing life-sized stone statues of artists, architects and sculptors.  Artists like Hogarth and Gainsborough, hold palettes.  Sculptors like Chantrey and Bacon hold mallets and chisels. In a pleasing symmetry, Grinling Gibbons, in frock coat and shoulder length curly wig, holds a carving of a drooping, full-blown tulip, to demonstrate his skill as master woodcarver, whilst the sculptor William Frith has matched Gibbons' skill in his mastery of a stone tulip.

Aston Webb Facade

Transcription: The Grand Entrance hall is square, light and airy, with a black and white marble floor. In the centre is a circular information desk, its brightly illuminated yellow panels providing a modern contrast to the classical architecture all around. Pairs of black, grey and white marble columns on each side of the square support a first floor walkway that runs round all four sides. Arches above it allow the light to flood in, from the windows and roof lanterns of the lofty galleries and spaces, which stretch out in all directions. Over the centre of the hall sits a huge dome, giving this space its name. The dome is decorated with pale grey and white plaster panels and ornamental swags. The top section is made of glass panels, throwing more light down into the Grand Entrance. 

On the South side of the Dome is another slightly smaller square hall and the large arched Cromwell Road entrance to the museum. Opposite, to the North side of the Dome, is the museum shop. The Porter gallery to the west contains temporary exhibitions.  To the east are the Medieval and Renaissance galleries, filled with natural light.  There are benches, without backs, placed at intervals around the space.  

Hanging from the dome over the circular information desk is a unique chandelier. Called The Rotunda Chandelier it is a glass sculpture by American artist Dale Chihuly (pron: chi-HOO-lee, with the stress on the second syllable)  Over 8 metres high, and nearly four metres at its widest point, it's a wild, interwoven mass of 1300 moulded blown pale blue and lime green glass shapes -  tendrils, globes and tubes, some perfectly spherical, some long and curved.  The surfaces are ribbed and the whole sculpture has a sense of movement, resembling some kind of organism, perhaps a writhing sea creature.

The mass is widest at the top, narrowing to a point about a third of the way down before swelling out again. It narrows again into a column, and bulges at the base, as if it were about to drip onto the floor some 4 metres below. Although it’s known as a chandelier, the sculpture has no direct light source.  Instead, the light from the glass dome and the space itself plays over its coils and tentacles, making them shimmer. The chandelier was installed in 2001 and the whole sculpture weighs nearly 2 metric tons.

Dome And Grand Entrance

Transcription: The three opulently decorated refreshment rooms stand side by side, known as the Morris, Gamble and Poynter Rooms, named after their designers, notably the great Arts & Crafts designer William Morris. The Gamble, in the centre, is the largest. To the east, or to the right as you face them, is the Poynter and to the west, or the left, the Morris. They opened in 1868, to replace the first, temporary, refreshment room – the first in any museum in the world. Today, the tables and chairs are modern, but complimenting the period décor around them.  
The Gamble Room is about 12 metres wide, lavishly decorated in colourful Minton ceramic tiles, stained glass and enamelled metal ceiling panels. It's roughly square, although the back half of the room has a curved wall, containing five large stained glass windows, each about 8 metres high.  This curved section of the room is divided from the rest by three high archways, supported by two pairs of pillars which dominate the centre of the room.  They are decorated with gold diamond-shaped tiles, each with a gleaming white ceramic flower, in relief.  
The colours of the room are predominantly yellow and cream, although the ceiling also features rich blues, and the cornicing and capitals are gold. A tiled frieze runs around the top of the walls, reading:
"There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour".
Four huge modern spherical chandeliers hang overhead, made of a tangle of silver wire, through which small white lights sparkle.  The Gamble room has no doors to the corridor outside, just two large entrances, each about 4 metres wide.  Inside the room, between the two openings, is a tall white and grey marble mantelpiece, supported by life-sized carved figures, with a mirrored wall above it.
The Morris Room is darker, its colour scheme more subdued, yet still ornate. It has stained-glass windows with medieval figures.  The green walls are wood panelled up to shoulder height where there is a frieze of rectangular panels of gold, depicting fruit, foliage and robed figures. Above this the wall is covered with a painted plaster relief of olive branches and around the top is another frieze of gold, green and red, depicting racing hounds and hares. The cream and gold ceiling is painted with patterns of foliage, and four relatively modest metal and crystal chandeliers hang down from long chains.
The walls of the Poynter room are covered with mainly blue and white tiles, framed in dark polished wood. From the floor, up to almost head height, there are tiles decorated with either a figure or stylised fruit and flowers.  Above this are tall tiled panels, depicting elegant ladies in long gowns, reading, gathering fruit or making garlands. There are also peacocks and sunflowers. One wall is dominated by a large cast iron range, about 3 metres square, with an open grill.  Here chops and steaks would have been cooked by an attendant chef.  
The Morris and Poynter rooms are accessed either through openings on either side of the Gamble room, or from the wide corridor outside, where there are glazed doors.  Food is purchased from a number of counters in the corridor, and payment made at tills on either side of the Gamble room.
It was intended that this part of the building would form the original entrance from Cromwell Road, and so these refreshment rooms would have been the first thing that visitors encountered.

Refreshment Rooms

Transcription: The John Madejski Garden is about 70 metres by 40 metres, enclosed by red brick buildings on all four sides, which are three or four storeys high. The facades have lavish details in a North Italian style including terracotta balustrades and pilasters, (pil-ASS-ters, stress on second syllable) which are rectangular columns projecting from the walls. The facades are decorated with leaves, garlands, roundels and cherubs.  

The first floor windows are arched, flanked with twisted terracotta columns  topped with ornate capitals.  Rectangular panels of mosaic decorate the upper facades of the north and south wings. These depict figures in cream against a dark red-brown background.  They are artists, artisans, architects and builders. One panel features the bearded figure of Henry Cole, the museum's first director. 

In the centre of the garden is an ankle deep oval pool, designed in 2005 by Kim Wilkie. It has three shallow stone steps, the lowest submerged in the water. Along each of the longer sides, to the North and South, the steps merge into a ramp, sloping down into the pool. At this point, where the steps end and the ramp starts, three small jets of water bubble up . The bottom of the pool is a dark red-brown stone contrasting with the cream stone steps. These colour contrasts reflect the terracotta and brick facades.

The garden has a wide paved pathway around the edge which lead directly to the entrances into the museum to the North and South. Tables and chairs are set out, close to the buildings. There's a small refreshment kiosk in the south-west corner. To the south side of the pool, there are two neat sections of lawn. These are edged with large square planters containing bay trees, or sometimes lemon trees in summer.  

The building on this side of the garden contains the sculpture gallery, which runs the full length of the ground floor. It has large floor to ceiling windows, looking out onto the garden.

The building opposite, to the North, is the tallest of the facades, with a central section jutting out, topped with a triangular pediment decorated with mosaic figures, commemorating the Great Exhibition of 1851. This was the first inspiration for the V&A.  Below the pediment, the first floor has a grand loggia with three arches. At ground level, in the centre, is a large set of bronze double doors, with 6 panels of named figures in relief., such as 'Sculpture - M. Angelo' and 'Astronomy - Newton.' This doorway was intended to be the original entrance to the museum.

The John Madejski Garden

Transcription: The rear of the Henry Cole Wing, on the East side of the building, is decorated with sgraffito work, now the only example at the museum. This is the name given to the technique of scraping through layers of contrasting coloured plaster to make decorative panels in relief. 

The term ‘Sgraffito’ comes from the Italian word graffiare, 'to scratch'. Sgraffito on walls has been used in Europe since classical times, and was popularized in Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries. It can also be found in African art. The panels on the Henry Cole Wing have been fully revealed using laser cleaning following conservation in 2012.

Some of the panels are rectangular, others are shaped to frame the curved tops of the windows. They are covered with an elaborate design of intertwining nude figures, men and women, swags, scrolls and cascading ribbon. The figures are a cream colour, set against a soft pale brown.  Some have wings, there are cherubs, mermaids, some have horns protruding from their heads. The patterns they form are symmetrical, one half of each panel a mirror image of the other half.  

Between the levels of the windows, a horizontal band of further sgraffito work, runs the full width of the building's facade.  This has roundels at regular intervals, each containing a head, some in profile, and some are wearing laurel wreaths. Between the roundels are elaborate swags of leaves and foliage, and above, a series of rectangular plaques, each with a different word.  They include nobilas, potentia and solaria, meaning noble, power and skill.

The sgraffito work was created by Frank W. Moody and four pupils at the School of Art in the early 1870s.  The area was used to try out different mixes of plaster, as well as other techniques, such as fresco, which is above the first floor windows. The art of fresco involves painting on walls which have been recently plastered, so that with the setting of the plaster the painting becomes an integral part of the wall. The panels between the ground floor windows have figures carved from projecting slabs.

Henry Cole Wing East Facade - Sgraffito Work

Transcription: The courtyard entrance to the museum from Exhibition Road is a fusion of historical and modern. The white ceramic Sackler courtyard, opened in 2017, contains a modern glass fronted cafe.  Enclosing the courtyard to the North is the five storey, red brick and terracotta Henry Cole Wing, designed in the 1870s.  To the South is Aston Webb's grand 1909 building in brick and Portland stone.       

The Aston Webb screen to the West forms the entrance to The Sackler Courtyard.  Also built in 1909, it's about 25 metres long, linking the two buildings.  Made of white Portland stone, it's over 10 metres high.  It has a central archway, flanked by 5 pillars and a cornicerunning across the top of the full width.  In contrast to the ornate buildings either side, the screen has simple clean lines with minimal decoration. The central archway has silver letters around the top, reading Victoria and Albert Museum, and each square pillar has a scrolled capital. 

The stonework of the screen is pock-marked, with small chunks missing in places. This is from the bomb damage of the Second World War. Originally solid, the lower wall of the screen hid the museum's Victorian boilers, but now new iron gates are in place designed to recall the shrapnel damage.
The open expanse of courtyard is covered with handmade white porcelain tiles.  They have an asymmetrical ridged design, with the occasional tile featuring thin yellow, red or blue stripes.  

On the North side is a cafe. It's an angular, contemporary shape and, like the courtyard floor, the roof of the cafe is clad in white porcelain tiles. It's highest at the front, sloping down towards the back of the courtyard, then sloping back up again, creating a sharp, yet elegant outline, contrasting with the height and verticality of the surrounding buildings.  There are tables and chairs outside. 

The Sackler Courtyard reaches back about 30 metres, to a 15 metre wide flight of descending white steps. There are 14 steps, with a handrail towards the right. These lead to the newly created glass entrance of The Blavatnik Hall, The Sainsbury Gallery, a shop and access to other parts of the museum. 
To the right of the courtyard a waist high barrier runs from front to back. It's solid, made of gleaming steel, slightly wider at the bottom, with a gently rounded top. This marks the left hand edge of a wide ramp which slopes down the south side of the courtyard. About half way down on the left, glass panels set in the floor give light down into The Sainsbury Gallery.

V&A Exhibition Road Quarter

Created for the Norfolk House Music Room, this multi-layered soundscape transports you back to the 1750s with sounds of classical and performance music combined with echoes of festive entertaining.

This soundscape was produced as part of Sounds Like Christmas at the V&A.

vam.ac.uk/christmas
 vam.ac.uk/articles/sounds-like…llations-by-gold-fir

Reconstruct by Gold Fir

Find out more: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O101867/manhood-from-the-life-of-tapestry-squilli-benedetto-di/

Amanti, io vo' pur dir (Lovers, I Can Tell You)

Find out more: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O70293/a-slave-model-michelangelo/

Transcription:
Female narrator:
How exactly did sculptors make wax models? V& A curator Peta Motture explains:

Peta Motture:
What artists would do is to take the wax and add into it some animal fat, which would make it malleable, and a little bit of turpentine that would enable it to just give it a little bit of strength. And if they then wanted to work in a colour, like this one is red, they would add something like red earth or vermillion and they'd grind this up, put it in the molten wax, then when the wax had cooled down they made little rods and from those they were able to pick off pieces of the wax and add bit by bit to the model. In some cases you would work the wax around an armature, a central support that could be wood - in this case it's metal, it's just a metal rod. You didn't have to do that, but that's what Michelangelo did in this particular case and that way it gave it some kind of strength and stability. And the fascinating thing as well about Michelangelo and this model in particular in relation to the marble that was ultimately made from it, was that it shows exactly how he worked.

Female narrator:
Models would often have been kept in the sculptor's studio after the design was finalised. According to the sixteenth century artist and writer, Giorgio Vasari, in his 'Life of Michelangelo', sculptors also used models during the marble carving process.

Male voice:
'One must take a figure of wax or some other material and lay it horizontally in a vessel of water; then, as the water is, of course, flat and level, when the figure is raised little by little above the surface the most salient parts are revealed first, while the lower parts (on the underside of the figure) remain submerged, until eventually it all comes into view. In the same way figures must be carved out of marble by the chisel; the parts in highest relief must be revealed first and then little by little the lower parts. And this method can be seen to have been followed by Michelangelo in his statues of the prisoners.'

How did sculptors make wax models?

Sonja Harms has been making extravagant clothes for Grayson Perry since 1996, having dressed actors, singers, dancers, herself, closet transvestites and performance artists. Embarking on a traditional German apprenticeship as a dressmaker, learning pattern drafting for women and men, and waitressing in a transvestite bar on weekends, Sonja tells us about her love for crafting alternative identities and her fascination with the performativity of gender.

This Lunchtime Lecture took place on 6 March 2019.

Find out more: https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/fashion

Thumbnail image: Reclining Artist (small), print, by Grayson Perry, published by Paragon Press, 2017, England. Museum no. E.749-2017. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Gender, performance and transformation | Sonja Harms

What might we find by investigating the life stories of objects? By looking at what they’re made from, rather than just who made them... There’s a lot more to the gendered history within the V&A’s collections than you can read in the labels – if you know how to look for it.

We're joined by Kit Heyam, research fellow on ‘Gendering Interpretations’ (a collaborative project between the V&A, Sweden’s Vasa Museum, and the Universities of Plymouth and Lund) as they uncover the hidden histories of underrepresented and forgotten women in Early Modern Europe, through our objects. Hear the story of the women who used classical mythology to fight for their right to education and meet the resilient indigenous Taino women of the Caribbean, all through beautiful pieces in our collection.

Take a look at the objects featured and find out where to see them: 

Snuffbox: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O91899/snuff-box-unknown/

Plate: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O161138/plate-fontana-workshop/

Hat: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107794/cap-unknown/

Invisible women: uncovering gendered history in the V&A’s Early Modern collections | Kit Heyam

Dame Mary Quant is a trailblazing, revolutionary designer, known for bringing the mini skirt and affordable designer style to the high street. She forged a dynamic, new identity for young women and created the first lifestyle brand with her extensive range of daisy logoed products, which were sold around the world.

Join V&A curators Jenny Lister and Stephanie Wood for a behind-the-scenes look into the Mary Quant exhibition, and explore the story behind the Quant brand.

Find out more: https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/mary-quant

Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary

How has the design of the car shaped the world as we know it? 

Join Brendan Cormier, curator of 'Cars: Accelerating the Modern World', as he tells us how the exhibition was developed, whilst revealing key objects and the stories behind them. From a historic desire for speed, to mass manufacturing and the impact of so many cars on the roads today, find out what valuable lessons the car holds for the wider world of design. 

See the objects featured in this talk, on our website: 

Take a further look inside the exhibition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jVY1qFEiXY
https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/cars

Inside the 'Cars: Accelerating the Modern World' exhibition | Brendan Cormier

Step inside the magical world of the Tim Walker and find out how the Wonderful Things exhibition took shape. Guided by Curator Susanna Brown, get a unique insight into the extraordinary creative process of one of the world’s most inventive photographers – from the objects at the museum that sparked his imagination, to the quirky shoots and spectacular exhibition design itself.  

Find out more about Tim Walker: Wonderful Things: www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/tim-walker

Wonderful Things: the making of an exhibition | Susanna Brown

Be transported (back) to Worthy Farm and deep inside the Glastonbury Festival experience. 

In 2014, award-winning sound designer Gareth Fry, set out to capture the life of the Festival through sound. This binaural soundscape presents 24 hours at Glastonbury, conveying the rich and layered festival experience, from putting up your tent to after hour revellers. Best listened to with headphones.

Glastonbury Festival is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. In 2014, the V&A acquired guardianship of the Glastonbury Festival Archive, an eclectic and growing resource that reveals how the Festival has developed over the past 50 years to become the global cultural phenomenon it is today.

Find out more about the Glastonbury Festival Archive
https://www.vam.ac.uk/glastonbury

Glastonbury Festival soundscapes – A day in the life of Glastonbury

Dr Bob Bewley, Co-founder and Project Director of the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East & North Africa (EAMENA) project, joins the Culture in Crisis team to discuss how the project’s work to record and monitor archaeological sites is helping to prevent the illicit trade.

From Mauritania to Iran, we explore the value of mapping the changing landscapes of archaeological heritage and the many agents contributing to its untimely loss. We discuss the impact of regional conflict on the prevalence of looting – and how technology can be used to fight back against these criminal activities.

Listen to episode two: https://soundcloud.com/vamuseum/s2-e2-from-ancient-stones-to-dinosaur-bones-fighting-the-illicit-trade-va-culture-in-crisis

Find out more about Culture in Crisis: https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/culture-in-crisis

S2 E1: Looking into Looting | Fighting the Illicit Trade | Culture in Crisis Podcast

Leila Amineddoleh, Art & Cultural Heritage Lawyer, joins the team to talk about provenance, ‘good faith’ purchasers, and the devil in the detail of due diligence. 

We discuss case studies of those who have fallen foul to the legal, financial and reputational consequences of buying stolen cultural property, as well as giving guidance on what makes for a ‘good’ collector. Looking into object histories we explore the murky world of false provenance and ask: just how ‘good’ do ‘good faith’ purchasers have to be?

Listen to season one of the Culture in Crisis Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/vamuseum/sets/culture-in-crisis-preservation

Find out more about Culture in Crisis: vam.ac.uk/info/culture-in-crisis

S2 E7: You’ve Gotta Have (Good) Faith | Fighting the Illicit Trade | Culture in Crisis Podcast

As the world's leading museum of art and design, the V&A enriches people's lives by promoting the practice of design and increasing knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of the designed world. 

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