14 - 18 NOW

14-18 NOW is a five-year programme of extraordinary arts experiences connecting people with the First World War. Working with arts and heritage partners all across the UK, they commission new artworks from leading contemporary artists, musicians, designers and performers, inspired by the period 1914-18. Since 2014, artists commissioned have included Ryoji Ikeda, Fearghus Ó Conchúir, Imran Qureshi, Jeremy Deller, Vivienne Westwood and many more.

The 2018 season marks the centenary of Armistice and the end of the war, beginning with the recently unveiled statue of Millicent Fawcett by Turner Prize winner Gillian Wearing in Parliament Square. This is the first statue of a woman, and by a woman, to stand there. The statue is a contemporary depiction of Millicent Fawcett at the age of 50, when she became president of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies. The new work presents Fawcett’s individual courage as part of a collective struggle. That collective struggle, which won the first women the right to vote in 1918, is the foundation for a number of 14-18 NOW 2018 commissions.

On Sunday 10 June, 14-18 NOW and Artichoke (London’s Burning, The Sultan’s Elephant and Lumiere) invite all women and girls to walk together in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast as part of a celebratory mass participation artwork. As participants wear the colours of the suffrage movement, PROCESSIONS will appear as a flowing river of colour through the city streets.

Represent is a series of artworks inspired by the Representation of the People Act 1918. While the act gave the vote only to women over 30, Represent invites young female artists to explore democracy, equality and inclusion in contemporary Britain. The series will see a grime poetry show at Royal Court Theatre from Debris Stevenson, a new film by acclaimed Scottish artist Rachel Maclean and a provocative piece at Arnolfini by performance artist Selina Thompson. All three works will approach voice and the autonomy afforded by the 1918 legislation with a 21st century perspective.

14-18 NOW believe in the transformative power of the arts to bring the stories of the First World War to life. Perceptions of the war have been shaped by the artists of the time and one hundred years later, today’s artists are opening up new perspectives on the present as well as the past.

To mark 100 years since the end of the war, much of the 2018 season tells the story of homecoming with performance artist Bobby Baker creating a new immersive installation that shines a light on the role of women during wartime and the impact of conflicts, historical and contemporary, on the mental health of whole families through the generations. Graeae Theatre present an epic outdoor performance paying moving tribute to Britain’s wounded war veterans, men and women whose contributions to history often go unnoticed.

The 14-18 NOW season continues throughout 2018, with over 40 commissions across the UK and beyond. Visit www.1418NOW.org.uk to explore the final season.

Categories: Featured Activity


Date Posted: 25 April 2018