Members' Late: Postwar Modern + Out and About!

Postwar Modern: New Art in Britain 1945-1965

Art Gallery, 6.30-8.30pm

An ambitious and timely reassessment of art produced in Britain during the twenty years after the Second World War, this major exhibition looks at the country in the aftermath of a cataclysmic war that called into question religion, ideology, and humanity itself and the rich artistic imagery, forms, and materials these conditions gave rise to.

Visit the Postwar Modern exhibition page

Out and About: Archiving LGBTQ+ history at Bishopsgate Institute

The Curve, 6.30-8.30pm

Bishopsgate Institute stage a take-over of The Curve with an archive installation of objects, ephemera and media highlighting 40 moments and stories in London’s LGBTQ+ history, including items documenting areas of pride, protest, performance and art; from the gay rights movement to the everyday celebrations and struggles of LGBTQ+ Londoners. 

Visit the Out and About exhibition page

About Artizine UK

Ioana Simion is a visual creative and arts facilitator, who believes creativity and play are essential for self-development. Ioana started Artizine UK in 2019, as a platform aiming to connect communities together through zine-making.

Artizine UK is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to encouraging individuals to be creative through engaging and accessible art-making workshops. All the Artizine facilitators operate on a zero-waste guideline, which explores not only the physicality of reducing materials and embracing new, sustainable ways of making, but also reducing thoughts and creating space for mindfulness and wellbeing through art.

Reimaging Brutalism: Build your own Barbican Collage Workshop

Garden Room, drop-in 6-9pm

Concrete becomes paper and the Barbican, your own imagined playground. Using both archival and contemporary pictures of the Barbican, cut and paste your own designs to create collages that spark new conversations about the history, people and use of this iconic brutalist landmark.

Plaque-Making Workshop: Archiving LGBTIQA+

Conservatory, drop-in 6-9pm

Change ownership of who gets to tell history, document it, and commemorate it. Join us in a mission to overcome the absence of queer happiness in history by making plaques to celebrate our collective imagined futures. What can we transform into a plaque? It can be an old t-shirt or a chipped plate, whatever you have around your household. If you don’t have anything to bring, don’t worry, we’ll provide all the materials.

Manifesto Writing Lab workshop

Conservatory Terrace, 6.15, 7.30, 8.15pm

It all starts with a manifesto…Radical, social, or artistic in nature, sometimes even revolutionary; manifestos are published declarations of intentions, motives or views by individuals or groups. Using their art as vehicle, the 48 artists featured in the Postwar Modern exhibition manifest a ‘New’, reimagined world in Britain after the Second World War. Get inspired by the pioneering spirit of the post-war period, dive into its history and learn what it takes to write a manifesto that can ignite change.

Sketchbook Making workshop

Conservatory Terrace, 6.15, 7.30, 8.15pm

Many of the artists in the Postwar Modern exhibition have kept diaries and filled sketchbooks with observations and ideas. These notebooks have now become artifacts, documenting one’s intimate way of seeing the world. You don’t have to be an artist to have a sketchbook, but you can become one by using it as part of your daily life! Learn how to make your own: from designing your own cover to binding it together, using accessible book-making and folding techniques.

Out & About! Curator Tours

The Curve, 6.30, 7.15, 8pm

Stefan Dickers, Special Collections and Archives Manager at Bishopsgate Institute will guide you through the stories and lived experiences behind a diverse range of objects, ephemera and media representing moments in London’s LGBTQ+ history.

Postwar Modern: British Art from 1945-65 Curator Talk     

Garden Room, 7pm

Head of Visual Arts at the Barbican and Curator of Postwar Modern, Jane Alison joins us for an introductory talk, giving an exclusive insight into the curatorial process and the ideas and themes behind the exhibition.

Conservatory Photobooth

Conservatory Terrace, drop-in 6-9pm

Snap a selfie to remember against the beautiful greenery of the Conservatory and don’t forget to use our hashtag #BarbicanMembers.

The Barbican Mixtape

Garden Room, 6-9pm 

An irreverent, cut-and-paste journey through the history of the Barbican Estate and Centre, as seen in promotional films, news items, music videos, TV drama, motion pictures, and other such things. This film, made by Jack Wormell, was commissioned by the Barbican Archive in celebration of the Barbican Estate’s 50th anniversary.

Members' Lounge, 5.30-9pm 

Head to the Lounge to escape the hustle and bustle of the Centre and enjoy a drink in comfort. This March we've got some special drinks offers to celebrate 25 years of Membership and 40 years of the Barbican Centre. Try a 'Member 25', a twist on the classic French 75 combining gin, sugar, and lemon juice, topped off with Champagne and finished with a gin mist for £9, or splash out on a bottle of Bottega Prosecco Gold for £35.