William H. Johnson painted his Fighters for Freedom series in the mid-1940s as a tribute to African American activists, scientists, teachers, and performers as well as international heads of state working to bring peace to the world. He celebrated their accomplishments even as he acknowledged the realities of racism, violence, and oppression they faced and overcame. Some of his Fighters — Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, Marian Anderson, and Mohandas Gandhi — are familiar historical figures; others are less well-known individuals whose determination and sacrifice have been eclipsed over time. Johnson elevates their lives visually, offering historical insights and fresh perspectives. Through their stories he suggests that the pursuit of freedom is an ongoing, interconnected struggle, with moments of both triumph and tragedy, and he invites us to reflect on our own struggles for justice today. In Fighters for Freedom Johnson reminds us that individual achievement and commitment to social justice are at the heart of the American story.

This elegantly designed and provocative new publication focuses on videos, performances and installations by a diverse group of contemporary artists and filmmakers that encourage scrutiny of contemporary textile production and distribution. Is it possible to protect workers’ rights and ensure safe working conditions while keeping up with consumer demands? How does technology affect the experience and conditions of labour? What skills does the mass production of textiles require? Can design and technology offer sustainable solutions to the environmental effects of fast fashion? What role do art and popular culture have in raising consumer consciousness? These questions and more will catalyse broad-ranging conversations about issues such as the merits of the local and tailor-made versus the global mass production of fast fashion.

Housed in the stunning Shuvalov Palace in the heart of historic St Petersburg, the Fabergé Museum opened in 2013 and is now home to over 4,000 works by the famous Imperial Russian jewellery firm. The most valuable are the nine Imperial Easter Eggs created by Carl Fabergé for the last two Russian emperors, Alexander III and Nicholas II, but the museum is also a treasure trove of objects of fantasy of all kinds, small goods, silverware, and the interior and religious objects. The collection also includes works by Fabergé’s contemporaries, including famous Russian jewellers and silversmiths such as Sazikov, Ovchinnikov, Khlebnikov and Rückert.

For more than a century The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) has served as the state’s collective memory, gathering and preserving a vast collection of artefacts, photographs, films, manuscripts, books and oral histories. This vivid selection illuminates the depth of Oregon’s history; a history too rich to be contained within a single story or point of view. Published in conjunction with OHS’s permanent exhibit, Experience Oregon, this illustrated companion provides a glimpse of the countless people, places and events that have made the state of Oregon what it is today.

Nine hundred years ago, foundations were dug for a great church in
Exeter which would develop into the beautiful cathedral that still marks
the heart of the city. It is distinctive among English cathedrals for
its twin transept towers, and unbroken vault stretching from the
entrance to the high altar, and the sheer profusion of carving of plants
and animals throughout. Exeter is a heavenly garden in stone, and this
new book, illustrated with specially commissioned photography, draws on
archaeology, archives and imagery to explain what its builders in a
surprisingly cosmopolitan city were trying to tell us about their
understanding of the world, and the realm they envisioned beyond us.

Throughout history, fans have had numerous roles: personal items to cool the user, tools for religious and ceremonial events, symbols of royal power and authority or important fashion accessories. As practical, symbolic and decorative objects, they are the meeting point of multiple arts.

This book focuses on European fans made in the French Rococo style in the 18th century and the Rococo Revival style that emerged in the 19th century. Sixty-six superb examples, selected from the Eurus Collection in South Korea, offer a glimpse into the lives of European royalty and aristocracy, including their aesthetic preferences, ideals and views on nature, and demonstrate the intermingling of cultures in the newly emerging painting and craft styles which resulted from trade between Europe and the East.

This beautifully illustrated book explores the fans’ thematic and stylistic aspects as well as their assembly and production and invites the reader to discover their untold stories.

Ireland and the Irish identity have been shaped by migration. People left and still leave the island for many reasons,  some pushed by circumstances at home, others pulled by opportunities abroad.  No two stories are the same, but many emigrants are linked by common motivations and shared experiences. Today these emigrants and their descendants number over 70 million people. They can be found in all four corners of the globe. Published with EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, this book tells their stories. 

For the first time, exquisite and rarely seen ancient Hebrew manuscripts are presented in this stunning volume as “encounters”, highlighting their similarities and differences in a striking, visual conversation between manuscripts from two outstanding collections. 

This cleverly designed and richly illustrated dual language English and Hebrew publication will accompany the first temporary exhibition in the new building of the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem. It draws its objects from both the Library’s collection and the highly prestigious, privately owned Braginsky Collection of Zurich, Switzerland.

Vibrant new photography brings these manuscripts, printed books, Esther Scrolls and marriage contracts to life. Engaging texts examine such themes as community, migration, spirituality, mysticism, and inspiration, which will be enlightening to all interested in Hebrew manuscripts and the history and culture of the Jewish people.

Text in English and Hebrew.

Elizabeth Revealed is a lively and affectionate celebration of The Queen’s long and eventful life. This gorgeously illustrated book blends personal and public, frivolous and factual in a tribute to an extraordinary woman and the sweeping social changes she has lived through. The enjoyable ‘500 Facts’ format highlights surprising aspects of The Queen’s intimate life, the good and the bad years. It offers illuminating glimpses into a changing monarchy and royal family life as an elegant young princess developed into the most famous woman in the world.

Durham Cathedral is one of the great buildings of Europe. Set grandly on a rocky promontory next to Durham Castle, with the medieval city huddled below and the river sweeping around, the profile of this World Heritage Site is instantly recognisable. Started in 1093 and dedicated to Cuthbert, a Saxon saint, the cathedral was a pioneering building – which makes the 40 or so years it took to complete an astonishing achievement. The cathedral was a fitting symbol of the power of the Norman prince bishops, who were charged by the king to defend the realm from the constant threat of invasion. Perched on its rocky peninsula next to a great Norman fortification, the cathedral therefore spoke of human as well as divine power. This beautifully illustrated guide introduces the reader to the glories of Durham, and features the newly opened ‘Open Treasure’ exhibition.

Contents: Introduction; The Cathedral; Entering the Cathedral; Nave; South Transept and Durham Light Infantry Chapel; Tower and crossing; Quire; Sanctuary; South Quire Aisle; Shrine of St Cuthbert; Chapel of the Nine Altars; North Quire Aisle; Galilee Chapel and the Venerable Bede; Open Treasure; Cloister and College; Brief history; The Cathedral Today.

DOX Centre for Contemporary Art is the largest independent institution focusing on contemporary art in the Czech Republic. Once a factory in Prague’s Holešovice district, it has become a multifunctional space for contemporary arts and an example of cutting-edge contemporary architecture, with a programme spanning art, literature, theatre and music.

An evocative, timeless and emotional series of landscape photographs that simultaneously highlights the uniqueness and representative qualities held by an array of urban, pastoral and coastal British topographies. Michael Shea’s photography provides a delicate blend of documentary and art, not only charting the beauty and textures of under-explored geographical terrains, but also chronicling through them a personal journey that investigates identity, history and loss…

"Distracted Focus is perhaps the finest example of Michael Shea’s delicate blending of documentary and art. This collection is formed of landscape photographs that have been taken around various parts of the United Kingdom, and that present us with the haunting, beautiful aspects of a post-millenarian, post-human world. In Distracted Focus, Michael shows how the persistent and perennial beauty of nature – scudding clouds, creeping branches, metronomic tides, crowns of trees coaxed by liberal breezes – can render the extinct technologies of mankind pathetic and also oddly anonymous. A telescope on the South Downs could just as easily be in New England or overlooking the Pacific on the Gold Coast of Australia; a quiet English road is transformed into an abandoned desert highway; and an empty Sussex branch line could easily lead to Poland or somewhere in the Balkans. Geopolitical boundaries are rendered futile in these landscapes in which the quarrelsome progenitors of such distinctions have been made absent." – James Wilson.