Art - Architecture - Design - British Council

Image credit: Silk Pearce

Are you an aspiring international curator?

The Fifth Curator competition is a unique opportunity for an aspiring curator to select an exhibition of works from the British Council Collection. We are looking for someone based permanently outside the UK with the passion and knowledge to be a leading curator. The winning curator will be given unlimited access to the Collection, which includes over 8500 significant British works, and the resulting exhibition will be shown at the prestigious Whitechapel in the vibrant East End of London in April 2010. Find out how to apply on our British Council Collection website.

Milan Furniture Fair: The Incidental

At this year’s Milan Furniture Fair the British Council launched The Incidental, a daily paper and new media experiment which invites everyone to contribute editorial content.

Click this link to visit our UK at the Venice Biennale website, where you will find a full history of the British Pavilion from 1895 to the present day.

Get the Picture / Artwork featured: November 11 - 47 (Mousehole), 1947 Artist: Ben Nicholson / Artwork © Angela Verren-Taunt 2005. All rights reserved, DACS

Click this link to watch Get the Picture, an instructional video on how to handle British Council Paintings.

Art, Architecture and Design are amongst the most powerful and influential areas within the arts in Britain today. Covering a vast range of disciplines, from the fine arts through to the very latest in digital technologies, the UK’s artists, architects and designers are pushing the boundaries of their practice to the limit and looking to the future with their innovation and high standards of production.
We look to all areas of UK art, architecture and design to showcase the most exciting and best work outside Britain. With our network of partners overseas we plan, organise and curate high impact projects for long-term cultural benefits that reach beyond the immediate experience.

Jim Lambie Left - Let It Bleed (2001) Right - Microdot (2001) Turntables, glitter, hairbands and leather belts British Council Collection - © the artist

Still from Giardini 2009 © Steve McQueen

My Father's House

A major new photographic exhibition, touring the Middle East throughout 2009, that brings together three British and six Middle Eastern artists to explore aspects of cultural heritage.

The Third Dimension

The second British Council Collection exhibition at the newly restored Whitechapel Gallery is curated by Tim Marlow. The exhibition traces the key moments in British sculpture from the mid 20th century to today.

Steve McQueen at the Venice Biennale

Steve McQueen represents Britain this year at the 53rd Venice Biennale. For his exhibition in the British Pavilion, McQueen presents a new film, Giardini, which is on show until 22 November.

How We Work in Art, Architecture and Design

Our main purpose is to develop and increase knowledge and appreciation overseas of the UK’s achievements in the fields of art, architecture, design and fashion. Have a look at how we work, our aims and objectives, how to contact us, and our Grants to Artists scheme.

Art

We work across all disciplines in visual arts, including painting, sculpture, photography, video, and drawings, so please have a look here to see examples of our current and past projects.

Architecture

Built heritage and environment are two key areas within British architecture so read a little about them and how we showcase the best talents overseas.

Design

Covering product design, graphic design, fashion, craft and applied arts and furniture and interior projects, we programme many projects across disciplines in design. Also visit our Design in Britain website for interviews and biographies of Britain's famous and up-and-coming designers from the past and present day.

British Council Collection

For more than 60 years the British Council has been collecting works of art to promote the achievements of our artists overseas. Find out more about the history of the Collection here or visit the Collection website for artists' works, installation videos and information on many of our touring exhibitions.