Arts
Our global arts team works with the best of British creative talent to develop innovative, high-quality events and collaborations that link thousands of artists and cultural institutions around the world, drawing them into a closer relationship with the UK.
Current activities
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Villa Frankenstein
The British Pavilion at the International Architecture Biennale in Venice opens to the public on Sunday 29 August. This year's artistic directors, muf architecture/art Llp, have ironically reframed the Pavilion as Villa Frankenstein, making direct reference to the ideas of the British Victorian social critic and historian of Venetian architecture John Ruskin.
The centrepiece of the Pavilion, represented as a ‘Stadium of Close Looking’, is a 1/10 scale model of a section of the Olympic Stadium for London 2012.
Image: Stadium of Close Looking. © Cristiano Corte
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International Architecture Showcase
The International Architecture Showcase is an opportunity for embassies and cultural institutes to come together and show the innovative and thought-provoking architectural projects emerging from their countries. Nearly 40 countries were involved in this year's Showcase, hosting a range of events.
The architecture critic from The Times, Tom Dyckhoff, presented the inaugural Silver Pigeon award for the best Showcase project to Japan for their exhibition IE = Home.
Image: Hiroki Kakizoe, Masaki Kakizoe, Akira Kindo, and Tokuichiro Oba. © Jody Kingzett
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Edinburgh Bookcase
As part of the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August, we welcomed a group of international delegates to our Bookcase lecture programme, which included many high-profile writers from the UK.
Gorillaz in Damascus
Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's virtual band Gorillaz took their ‘Escape to Plastic Beach’ tour to the Syrian capital of Damascus in late July for an eagerly anticipated one-off performance.
Anish Kapoor exhibition in India
We are delighted to announce the first ever exhibition of work in India by the internationally renowned artist Anish Kapoor in late 2010, across two sites in New Delhi and Mumbai.
Highlights
A Disappearing Number
Complicite's award-winning play is currently on an Indian tour, visiting Mumbai and Hyderabad to celebrate the first ever International Congress for Mathematics to be held in India.
Happiness for Daily Life
Four UK designers, including furniture designer Michael Marriott and graphic designer Anthony Burrill, undertook residencies in South Korea, creating a series of design commissions which are now in use at a village cafe in Gongju.
Hay Festivals Global Partnership
The British Council and Hay Festivals recently launched a global partnership, marking the start of a formal relationship which will see festivals taking place in Beirut, Zacatecas, Segovia, Nairobi, Maldives, Kerala and Cartagena.
