The most exciting architectural projects never built, from a dome over Manhattan to rolling pavements in Berlin; Christopher Beanland tells the stories of the plans, drawings and proposals that have emerged since the 20th century in an unparalleled era of optimism in architecture.
Many of these grand projects stayed on the drawing board, some were flights of fancy that simply could not be built, and in other cases test structures or parts of buildings did emerge in the real world.
In this talk featuring rich visuals, we go on a journey into how London, New York, Berlin, Glasgow, Tokyo and other world cities could have looked if the planners, architects and dreamers had their way. The book features the work of world famous 20th century architects Buckminster Fuller, Geoffrey Bawa, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright and Archigram, as well as contemporary architects such as Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Will Alsop and Rem Koolhaas.
Including proposals such as plug-in cities, moving cities, revolving skyscrapers, bridges between countries and overhead motorways, many of them were just ahead of their time, and some, thankfully, we were always better without.
Tickets cost £8 / £30 with a copy of the book (all tickets include a drink)
LOMEX, NEW YORK, USA 1967–71 – Model of Paul Rudolph’s LOMEX, wide view with transit hub. Inside the superstructure that Paul Rudolph envisaged. Image credit: Library of Congress
HOOK, HAMPSHIRE, UK 1965 – Idea for how Hook town centre could look. Image credit: London Metropolitan Archives, City of London GLC/DG/PUB/091/020
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BECOME OF SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1957 -Paul Boissevain and Barbara Osmond’s design, which won third place in the international competition, 30 January 1957. Image credit: Fairfax Photographic Archive/Sydney Morning Herald/Stuart McGladrie
We are delighted to announce the winners of the Batsford Prize 2022!
The theme for this year’s award was ‘Communication and Connection’ and the judges looked for entries that showed innovative and well-crafted interpretations of the theme, in terms of subject or materials used, or a combination of the two.
The judges, Eleanor Crow, Vaughan Grylls, Anne Kelly, Neil Dunnicliffe and Tina Persaud selected the winners and runners up across the four categories Applied Art & Textiles, Fine Art, Illustration and Children’s Illustration. This year also featured the People’s Choice Award, where the winner and runners up were decided by the public, from the judges’ shortlist.
The winner of each category received a £500 cash prize and books from Batsford.
APPLIED ART & TEXTILES
Winner
Beneath the Surface
Grace Faichnie, BA (Hons) Textiles, Arts University Bournemouth
An under the sea themed textile collection for fashion. Inspired by the beauty found beneath us. Created using digital print, fabric manipulation, laser cutting, crochet and stitch. The concept I wanted to achieve was bringing this hidden beauty to the surface.
Runners up
1960s nostalgia
Hannah Bentley, BA (Hons) Textile Design, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton
This collection is a contemporary twist to 1960s retro textiles. The inspiration is taken from my own family heritage and is based on an archive of domestic home objects from the 60s era. The tweedy weaves and the woolly textures provide a sense of nostalgic comfort.
The Line Between Architecture and Happiness
Berfin Tepe, Textiles Design BA (Hons), Nottingham Trent University
This project aims to design a collection of textile samples that would be suitable for an application of three-dimensional textile that can be used as a room divider and wall installation pieces. All samples would be repeated into tiles, that is why they are all sized A4-A3.
FINE ART
Winner
‘Hi Daddy’ (or’If you say the words you don’t need to go back’)
Nelson, Graduate Diploma in Fine Art, Chelsea College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London
This is a short film about a traumatic memory centred around attempting to communicate with a parent about something difficult. In the memory, the phone used for the conversation has become an anchor object, remembered in acute detail, and linked laterally to other memories.
Runners up
Allegory of ennui and the rebellious witnesses
Miyeon Yi, MA Painting, Royal College of Art
My project is to make paintings that depicts desire for the unity and freedom within isolated life of individuals. Often the figures are divided by structure of the interior space they are placed in. I think of them similar to the Noh theater or cinematography of film from Ozu.
Possess
Duanqing Wan, MA Fine Art, Chelsea College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London
The work uses ‘rust’ and ‘sheets’ as the basic elements to establish relationships. The extent to which these mediums occupy the work fluctuates with the environment and the subjective consciousness of the person. to achieve a de-centering of the subject matter.
ILLUSTRATION
Winner
Covid Tales
Wuon-Gean Ho, PhD in Printmaking, University of the West of England
I made this six minute video in the middle of the first lockdown, when communication and connection were limited to the screen. The images are all two colour linocuts which talk about working from home, the absurdity of contagion, yearning for touch and pandemic life.
Runners up
Navigating Dyslexia
Kate Rolfe, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
This is a series of illustrations I developed to visually represent my own experience of dyslexia, in the hope of providing both a mirror of validation for those facing similar struggles, and also a window through which others can better understand.
The Queer Closet
Louise Bassou, BA Illustration, Arts University Bournemouth
The Queer Closet is a collection of illustrated outfits in mundane settings. Whether the clothing was chosen as a form of self-expression or a conscious effort to defy gender norms, put in the context of queerness it challenges the cisnormative idea of gender expression.
CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATION
Winner
Aliens in the Park
Justin Worsley, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
‘Aliens in the Park’ is a dummy picture book that talks about a young child’s imagination, the connection they have with their mother and their growing independence.
Runners up
The Great Bear
Annabelle Booker, Illustration BA (Hons), University of the West of England
The Great Bear is a silent narrative inspired by an Inuit folktale and the real Beaufort sea polar bear- a species needing our help to preserve it, with its population at less that 400 individuals. Polar bears are vital to the arctic and the symbiotic relationships within.
Wolf and Bear
Kate Rolfe, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
Wolf and Bear is a picture book about two very different friends as they navigate the impact of mental illness on their relationship. It is a story of misunderstandings, learning to balance compassion with communicating your own needs, and the power of finding common ground.
The People’s Choice Award
Winner
The Great Bear
Annabelle Booker, Illustration BA (Hons), University of the West of England
The Great Bear is a silent narrative inspired by an Inuit folktale and the real Beaufort sea polar bear- a species needing our help to preserve it, with its population at less that 400 individuals. Polar bears are vital to the arctic and the symbiotic relationships within.
Runners up
Sometimes
Frances Ives, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
Sometimes is a picture book to help start a conversation about those less easily recognised feelings, that we all experience from time to time. Made with offset monotype, ink, pastels and goauche, it explores creatures as metaphors for mental health.
Wu Gui
Xinyao Yu, MA Contemporary Art Practice – Public Sphere, Royal College of Art
‘Wu Gui’ means turtle was stolen from Chinese vocabulary to be my pronoun, redefined by me while I re-identified myself. It broke the boundary of language and identity, which are fake parodies as hegemonic norms, like Wu Gui in the video connected the symbolic with the real.
We are really pleased to announce that Batsford’s illustrated edition of Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market, with artworks by Georgie McAusland, has been longlisted and shortlisted in two prestigious illustration awards.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the V&A Illustration Awards. Established in 1972, they have since become the UK’s most prestigious annual illustration competition. Celebrating excellence in student illustration and three categories of contemporary practice: book cover design, book illustration and illustrated journalism. Goblin Market has been shortlisted for the Book Illustration category.
The World Illustration Awards showcase the great work being made by illustrators all over the world today. In 2022, they are focusing on supporting creativity and connecting illustrators to their peers and the industry and Goblin Market has been longlisted in the Commercial Publishing category.
Overall winners are still to be announced, but to have got to this stage is a great achievement and a worthy acknowledgment of a really beautiful book. Huge congratulations to Georgie McAusland who created the beautiful illustrations and in doing so has brought Rossetti’s classic poem to life for a new generation to enjoy. Georgie is an illustrator, ceramicist and printmaker who creates through a variety of different practices, such as painting, collage, stamping and monoprint. Her work can be explored on her Instagram page.
Christina Rossetti’s classic poem Goblin Market was originally published in 1862 and tells the story of two sisters who are tempted by the fruit sold by the goblin merchants. In this fully illustrated volume, published in November 2021, GeorgieMcAusland breathes new life into the Victorian tradition of illustrated poems, while Kirsty Gunn’s introduction highlights the riches of the story and helps to put it into context.
Come explore and draw with artist Jeanette Barnes, author of City Sketching Reimagined, for an Architectural Sketchcrawl in the heart of Fitzrovia.
Come join Jeanette Barnes for an architectural sketchcrawl in Fitzrovia this June. You’ll get to explore and draw some of the iconic buildings and sights of the area, whilst experimenting with different artistic tools & mediums. Start your weekend off with this fun and creative session, gain confidence in your sketching and enjoy the process of drawing outdoors.
We’ll be meeting at The Coningsby Gallery at 6:00pm and taking a 1.5 hour walk around the area, whilst learning about some of it’s famous inhabitants, and capturing some of the beautiful architectural details along the way. You’ll be provided with all the tools needed from Derwent and are able to take these home to continue your drawing practice. If you’d prefer to bring your own tools, you are more than welcome to do so. Capture the iconic BT Tower in charcoal, or sketch a bustling pub in vibrant colours. If you’re a photo lover, grab your camera and enjoy the sights of London on a summer evening!
We’ll be ending the sketchcrawl back at the gallery and heading off to the pub afterwards. Participants are welcome to join us for a drink and some creative conversation. Please note, as this event involves walking, please do wear comfortable shoes.
Tickets cost £10.00
Jeanette’s book City Sketching Reimagined, published in April this year, covers everything from architecture to accidental paintings, cocktails to clouds, smudges to skyscrapers. The book is a multipurpose tool which can be used to unlock the potential of drawing both technically and philosophically so that the reader can be the architect of their own drawing experience rather than the recipient of someone else’s. Continue Jeaneatte’s al-fresco drawing experience at home with your own copy of this beautiful book!
Jeanette Barnes, known for her urban sketching, was awarded the Henry Moore Scholarship in 1984 and 1987-90, the Richard Ford Spanish Scholarship in 1987 and was the Jerwood Drawing 2004 prize winner. In 2006 Jeanette was accepted to exhibit in the Royal Academy Summer Show in London at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Her work is held in public and private collections in the UK, Austria, Germany and the USA. You can find out more about her work at jeanettebarnesart.co.uk.
We’re pleased to announce The Batsford Prize 2022 shortlist! Have your say on who wins the People’s Choice Award by voting today.
The theme of The Batsford Prize 2022 was ‘Communication & Connection’ Judges Eleanor Crow, Vaughan Grylls, Anne Kelly, Neil Dunnicliffe and Tina Persaud had the difficult task to select only seven shortlisted entries in the categories Applied Art & Textiles, Fine Art, Illustration and Children’s Illustration. The winners will be announced in June. First prize in all categories, including the People’s Choice Award is £500 cash prize and £50 worth of books.
The People’s Choice Award
There are prizes both for the winning entry and a chance to win books if you vote.
Voting is open until 15th June. You can vote for as many entries you like, but you can only vote once for each entry. We’ll draw one winner among everyone who votes to receive £50 worth of Batsford books.
Hannah Bentley, BA (Hons) Textile Design, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton
This collection is a contemporary twist to 1960s retro textiles. The inspiration is taken from my own family heritage and is based on an archive of domestic home objects from the 60s era. The tweedy weaves and the woolly textures provide a sense of nostalgic comfort.
Beneath the Surface
Grace Faichnie, BA (Hons) Textiles, Arts University Bournemouth
An under the sea themed textile collection for fashion. Inspired by the beauty found beneath us. Created using digital print, fabric manipulation, laser cutting, crochet and stitch. The concept I wanted to achieve was bringing this hidden beauty to the surface.
Moody Astrology
Tilly Ryce, BA (Hons) Textiles, Arts University Bournemouth
This project is made up of a series of wallpaper and fabric prints, meant for a luxury interiors target market. The designs were inspired by the darker side of Astrology, using motifs from Tarot Card readings and a dark colour palette with gold leaf foiling.
Sunny Side Up
Emma Graves, BA Textile Design, Nottingham Trent University
A collection of art textile pieces, illustrating connections and conversations had in cafe environments. A social commentary project to celebrate moments in casual everyday cafe settings.
The Line Between Architecture and Happiness
Berfin Tepe, Textiles Design BA (Hons), Nottingham Trent University
This project aims to design a collection of textile samples that would be suitable for an application of three-dimensional textile that can be used as a room divider and wall installation pieces. All samples would be repeated into tiles, that is why they are all sized A4-A3.
Undergrowth
Ruby Travis, BA (Hons) Textiles, Arts University Bournemouth
Inspired by the fascinating worlds of insect and plant connections that surround us, this project explores the vibrant worlds of the undergrowth, crafted into an innovative collection of accessories using unique techniques and locally sourced waste materials
Wild Beasts
Ena Sugita, BA Textile Design, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London
Inspired by Charles Freger’s photographic collections‚ ‘Wilder Mann’ and ‘Yokainoshim’, this knitted textile collection is a blend of traditional European ritualistic costumes and Japanese mythological costumes, and is a reflection of my experience of the East and West crossover.
FINE ART
‘Hi Daddy’ (or’If you say the words you don’t need to go back’)
Nelson, Graduate Diploma in Fine Art, Chelsea College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London
This is a short film about a traumatic memory centred around attempting to communicate with a parent about something difficult. In the memory, the phone used for the conversation has become an anchor object, remembered in acute detail, and linked laterally to other memories.
Allegory of ennui and the rebellious witnesses
Miyeon Yi, MA Painting, Royal College of Art
My project is to make paintings that depicts desire for the unity and freedom within isolated life of individuals. Often the figures are divided by structure of the interior space they are placed in. I think of them similar to the Noh theater or cinematography of film from Ozu.
Artist Objects with the Hair of…
Sadie Downing, Fine Art: Sculpture and Environmental Art, The Glasgow School of Art
The series of handmade paintbrushes use the hair of 20 creatives that have influenced my artistic practice personally in some way. Letters were sent out inviting each person to donate a clipping of their hair and in return, a paintbrush would be made in their honour.
Opus Magnum for A Girl (2020) & Hortus Conclusus for A Woman (2022)
Meichen Iu, Research Degree, Ph. D, University of the Arts London
These two series practice both depicts the menstruation experience of the artist during different age stage. Female genitalia, the vulva, as the main character in both two practice, and the vulva character cerated and constructed from the anatomical genitalia shape by the artist.
Possess
Duanqing Wan, MA Fine Art, Chelsea College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London
The work uses ‘rust’ and ‘sheets’ as the basic elements to establish relationships. The extent to which these mediums occupy the work fluctuates with the environment and the subjective consciousness of the person. to achieve a de-centering of the subject matter.
Subsumed
Jen Fox, MA Fine Art, Norwich University of the Arts
A sculptural piece created from a walk, cast in Jesmonite with a natural stone finish
Wu Gui
Xinyao Yu, MA Contemporary Art Practice – Public Sphere, Royal College of Art
‘Wu Gui’ means turtle was stolen from Chinese vocabulary to be my pronoun, redefined by me while I re-identified myself. It broke the boundary of language and identity, which are fake parodies as hegemonic norms, like Wu Gui in the video connected the symbolic with the real.
ILLUSTRATION
Covid Tales
Wuon-Gean Ho, PhD in Printmaking, University of the West of England
I made this six minute video in the middle of the first lockdown, when communication and connection were limited to the screen. The images are all two colour linocuts which talk about working from home, the absurdity of contagion, yearning for touch and pandemic life.
How They Met Others
Yujun Qin, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
This project portrays some interesting ways of creating links with strangers.
Navigating Dyslexia
Kate Rolfe, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
This is a series of illustrations I developed to visually represent my own experience of dyslexia, in the hope of providing both a mirror of validation for those facing similar struggles, and also a window through which others can better understand.
Shopping 2020
Becki Harper, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
A wordless book about shopping during covid
Signal
Rumin Wu, MA Illustration, Arts University Bournemouth
With the help of modern technology, the way people communicate is no longer limited to face-to-face contact, but more often they use chat and video on their mobile phones, which has changed our habit of communication.
The Queer Closet
Louise Bassou, BA Illustration, Arts University Bournemouth
The Queer Closet is a collection of illustrated outfits in mundane settings. Whether the clothing was chosen as a form of self-expression or a conscious effort to defy gender norms, put in the context of queerness it challenges the cisnormative idea of gender expression.
This Work Book Belongs To Body Image
Emma Raven, BA Illustration, Middlesex University
An animation on the issues of body image in school age girls. Focusing on the insults used to attack and weaken girls at this early stage of their lives. The piece is made in After Effects, Procreate and Photoshop.
CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATION
Aliens in the Park
Justin Worsley, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
‘Aliens in the Park’ is a dummy picture book that talks about a young child’s imagination, the connection they have with their mother and their growing independence.
Life on Mars
Hannah Sawtell, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
Story of a boy temporarily living with his mother and cat on planet Mars, separated from friends and family. Themes explore ordinary life in an extraordinary environment with human connections stretched because of circumstances.
Shine
Bruno Valasse, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
Shine is a screen-printed concertina book about overcoming one-self’s fears and finding – as well as sharing – a community in doing so.
Sometimes
Frances Ives, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
Sometimes is a picture book to help start a conversation about those less easily recognised feelings, that we all experience from time to time. Made with offset monotype, ink, pastels and goauche, it explores creatures as metaphors for mental health.
The Great Bear
Annabelle Booker, Illustration BA (Hons), University of the West of England
The Great Bear is a silent narrative inspired by an Inuit folktale and the real Beaufort sea polar bear- a species needing our help to preserve it, with its population at less than 900 individuals. Polar bears are vital to the arctic and the symbiotic relationships within.
The Lost Viking
Jess Mahy, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
The Lost Viking is a comical historical fable about belonging and finding friendship across the gulf of time. The story is told in a picture book format for children aged 4-6.
Wolf and Bear
Kate Rolfe, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
Wolf and Bear is a picture book about two very different friends as they navigate the impact of mental illness on their relationship. It is a story of misunderstandings, learning to balance compassion with communicating your own needs, and the power of finding common ground.
Over this 6 day online course, artist Leo Crane – author of Contemporary Figures in Watercolour – will introduce you to the lively personality of watercolouring as a medium.
Classes run 10:00-12:00 am (Saturday)
Each weekly tutorial at the V&A academy online will build on developing your skills during live tutorials with Leo. These sessions are complemented by specially commissioned videos, showcasing the techniques used in creating a variety of paintings. Using the Teams environment, you will have the opportunity to share your work for individual tutor feedback and with the rest of the class, in our ‘open studio’, you can ask for guidance, or get to know your classmates better. Each session is recorded so you can re-watch or catch up whenever you have the time.
Throughout a series of exercises, you will explore a different way to use this versatile medium, from luminous manuscript painting to precision illustration and spontaneous mark-making. By the end of the course, you will have tried out a variety of techniques, creating a mini portfolio of sample pieces and a final project.
Contemporary Figures in Watercolour is the perfect book to compliment your beginner course; dive into painting with this fresh take on capturing the human form in watercolour. Leo Crane explores how to interpret the gestures and movements of the figure through the language of paint. Throughout this range of visual exercises, they show how to work with the fluidity and immediacy of watercolour to create lively paintings that are bursting with character and narrative possibility.
Paintings by Leo himself feature throughout to demonstrate the working process through to finished product. With a focus on the dynamic exchange between artist and subject, speed, gesture and story, this book will appeal to any beginner or established artist looking anew at life painting and will complete your weekend tutorials.
There are three weekly tutorial slots available. Click ‘Book Now’ below to book via the link onto the Saturday morning session and for more information. Alternatively, you can book onto the Monday morning session or Monday evening session via the Online Courses page.
Course price £265.00
Materials are not included. You will receive a short list of readily available materials to purchase prior to the start of the course.
Join textile artist Cas Holmes as she discusses her artistic practice and her life in stitch in this online event.
At this online event organised by the Fashion and Textile Museum, hear how Cas has shared her experiences and methods through her most recent book, Embroidering the Everyday encouraging us all to look to our own environments for inspiration.
In her work, Cas invites us to re-examine the world and use the limitations sometimes imposed by geographic area or individual circumstances as a rich resource to develop ideas for mixed media textiles in a more thoughtful way. As part of this conversation, Cas will share her influences and offer further insight into some of her projects which feature in the book. She will speak about her own Romani heritage and how we can all use our personal histories, through objects and photographs, as a rich source of inspiration.
Embroidering the Everyday is packed with inspirational work from both the author and other leading practitioners who place the everyday at the heart of their work, this treasure trove of ideas, techniques and practical projects is an essential guide for our times.
‘If you’re feeling a bit short on inspiration, this book from Cas Holmes is just the thing to get you finding the wonderful in everyday items’ – Simply Sewing
About the author
Cas Holmes is one of UK’s most renowned textile artists. She exhibits widely and runs courses at West Dean College in West Sussex. She is the author of Textile Landscape, Stitch Stories, The Found Object in Textile Art and Connected Cloth, also published by Batsford. She has also written for magazines and websites including Embroidery, The Quilter and TextileArtist and for The Festival of Quilts. She lives in Maidstone, Kent.
Tickets: £5.oo, see below to booking link.
Join us at Stanfords with Artist and Cartograper Adam Dant talking about his head spinning mission of creating an illustrated Atlas of our common Political terrain.
As ‘The Official Artist of The UK’s 2015 General Election’ Dant is well qualified for this task and his insights and observations gathered whilst on the campaign trail with a host of political hopefuls make for a highly entertaining trove of tales from the frontline.
The resulting handsome and captivating volume Adam Dant’s Political Maps will guide and delight the reader through the geography of the broad Political landscape via 47 diverting cartographic works of art, where we can encounter… the messaianic mission of Jeremy Corbyn, London as the playground of Boris Johnson, Europe as a continent of agitating secessionist entities, the perilous passage of ‘Brexit’, and Dant’s masterpiece ‘The Government Stable’ ; a compendia of 2015 UK general election moments depicted as a warehouse crammed full of hundreds of recognisable bits of anecdote and ephemera.
As an illustrated talk Adam Dant’s Political Mapspromises to beguile the eye whilst we encounter what is often a fraught subject in a congenial manner ( possibly spilling some beans en route ).
About the author:
Adam Dant studied at the Royal College of Art, London and the MS University Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda, India. He creates dense, elaborate narrative drawings that examine and depict public contemporary life, space, mythologies and histories. These works are thoroughly researched, with the artist drawing on a deep well of historical and visual sources to create his wittily perceptive detailed drawings. He is the author of Maps of London and Beyond, and lives and works in London.
The event will start promptly at 6.30pm.
Tickets £5
Includes glass of wine/soft drink
(£5.00 off the published price of Adam Dant’s Political Mapsfor ticket holders when purchased on the evening).
The Hidden Masterpieces exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see some of the finest works amongst the drawings collected by Sir John Soane. These are usually kept in locked drawers and among carefully stored volumes at Sir John Soane’s Museum, but this spring, a selection of highlights will be on display for all to enjoy.
Available to book with free entry, spend hours soaking up the treasures that are to be found at the Soane. From a book belonging to the Queen of Naples to unbuilt designs for Hampton Court Palace and Kew Gardens, explore the vast collection on display at the museum until 5 June.
The online exhibition offers an alternative to the Hidden Masterpieces physical exhibition. Both the online and physical exhibitions provide opportunities to explore some of the highlights from among Sir John Soane’s 30,000-strong drawings collection – which range from the medieval period to the nineteenth century and represent subjects from across the world.
Book your timed tickets to visit the exhibition here, or explore the digital exhibition here for more information about some of the exhibits!
Architectural Drawings, Hidden Masterpieces from Sir John Soane’s Museum provides the perfect companion to this extraordinary exhibition. Written by Frances Sands, Curator of Drawings and Books at Sir John Soane’s Museum, this book casts light on the magnificent architectural drawings of neo-classical architect, teacher and collector, Sir John Soane that are otherwise concealed in archives. Featuring artworks handpicked from what was probably the first comprehensive collection of architectural drawings in the world, numbering 30,000 at the time of his death in 1837, Architectural Drawings celebrates a life spent procuring curiosities.
This book illustrates the story of Soane as a collector of architectural drawings, but a story which is not normally available to the public, providing a sumptuous opportunity to peruse some of the finest architectural drawings in existence prior to, or following, your visit to the exhibition. It includes drawings and plans by Montano, Thorpe, Wren, Talman, Hawksmoor, Vanbrugh, Gibbs, Kent, Chambers, Adam, Clerisseau, Pechaux, Wyatt, Playfair, Nash and, of course, Soane himself.
Architectural Drawings will be for sale in the Sir John Soane’s Museum shop.
For more information on what you might expect to see at the exhibition, please click here for just a hint at what awaits you at the Soane.
Main image: Detail of Adam office (Giuseppe Manocchi), Harewood House, Yorkshire, unexecuted ceiling for the circular dressing room, 1767, Sir John Soane’s Museum, London.
The Museum is open Wednesday – Sunday, 10am – 5pm. Please note if you are booking tickets for 4:15pm admission that the Museum closes at 5:00pm.
Join us this summer in Central London for an evening mixing architecture, ideas and informal drinks.
Each ticket includes complimentary wine, soft drinks and snacks.
Christopher Beanland will present his new book Unbuilt in a talk featuring rich visuals, as we go on a journey into how London, New York, Berlin, Glasgow, Tokyo and other world cities could have looked if the planners, architects and dreamers had their way. Find out about the Dome over Manhattan, Tokyo’s city on the sea, the idea for an airport above King’s Cross Station and the plan to rip up London and build motorways all around the capital.
This is the story of how we thought the future would look – taking in technology, transport, leisure and some crazy plans. There will also be some laughs along the way as we look at the more light hearted and whimsical projects.
After Christopher’s talk there will be a discussion with our host and then your opportunity to ask any questions.
Books will be on sale and Christopher will be happy to sign yours.
After the main talk in make’s stunning HQ (a former underground car park) we’ll move into the sunny summer garden for a small party with wine and food.
We will be donating a portion of our profits from this event to charities helping civilians in Ukraine. Please also consider donating when you buy a ticket. Thanks.
Join us for this fun summer event presented by Batsford and make
In Atlas of Imagined Places, map aficionados Matt Brown and Rhys B. Davies take readers on a tour around the world, offering a kaleidoscope of invented buildings, towns, countries, forests, mountains, rivers and oceans, shipwrecks and sunken cities. Featuring over 5,000 locations mapped across the world, there are fictional landscapes to discover near and far. From Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot and the superhero land of Wakanda, to Lilliput of Gulliver’s Travels and Springfield in The Simpsons. All locations are beautifully brought to life in a collection of maps illustrated by Mike Hall.
The book was declared Illustrated Book of the Year 2022 among a shortlist of six books competing in the category. In addition to Illustrated Travel Book of the Year, the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award comprises seven categories, celebrating travel writing and books ranging from fiction and children’s to photography and cookery. See the full list of winners here.
We’re very excited to announce that David Graham has been appointed Managing Director of B.T. Batsford Ltd. David was Managing Director of Pavilion Books from 2014–2021 before taking up the role as CEO of Quarto Books UK in March 2021. David will start his new role at B.T. Batsford on 4 April 2022.
David Graham commented: ‘Whilst I will be sorry to leave my friends and colleagues at Quarto, coming back to B.T. Batsford – one of the oldest truly independent publishing houses in the UK – at this exciting time in its development, is an irresistible opportunity. I can’t wait to start help writing the next chapter in its long and venerable history.’
Polly Powell said she is ‘very pleased to welcome him back’.
Acting MD of B.T. Batsford, Zana Hanks, will become Finance and Operations Director, while owner Polly Powell will take on the role as Publisher at Large.
B.T. Batsford Ltd was established in 1843. In the last two decades, Batsford has been a part of other publishing companies, most recently under Pavilion Books. As of 1 December 2021, Batsford, along with the Pitkin imprint, forms the privately owned company B. T. Batsford Ltd.
