Discover more about Art behind the wire - M.N.H Press Release

Art and creativity can flourish in many places and strangely enough, during the Second World War, the Isle of Man was a hive of creative and artistic activity, most of which took place behind barbed wire. This artistic legacy and the work of other refugee artists will be the subject of an illustrated lecture entitled Forced Journeys: Artists in Exile in Britain, c. 1933-45 at the Manx Museum on Saturday 10th April at 2.30pm by the curators, Sarah MacDougall and Rachel Dickson from the Ben Uri Gallery in London.

The Sayle Gallery in Douglas, in association with the Ben Uri Gallery in London, is staging the Forced Journeys: Artists in Exile in Britain, c. 1933-45 exhibition from the 10th April until the 23rd May. In conjunction with the exhibition, Sarah MacDougall and Rachel Dickson from the Ben Uri Gallery in London, will be giving an illustrated talk at the Manx Museum which will explore the decisive impact of internment on the life and work of a significant group of émigré and refugee artists (primarily of German and Austrian descent) who were exiled in Britain during the Second World War.

The Isle of Man was a major centre for civilian internment during the Second World War, with several thousand German, Austrian and Italian ‘enemy aliens’ being held in a series of internment camps created from requisitioned hotels and boarding houses in Douglas, Onchan, Peel and Ramsey. Manx National Heritage holds a growing collection of artwork and associated material created in these camps in its collections and a selection of artwork is currently on display in the National Art Gallery at the Manx Museum.

Funding for the Forced Journeys exhibition at the Sayle Gallery has been provided by the Isle of Man Arts Council, Manx Heritage Foundation, The Friends of Manx National Heritage and private sources.

The Forced Journeys: Artists in Exile in Britain, c. 1933-45 illustrated lecture will be held at 2.30pm on Saturday 10th April at the Manx Museum. Tickets are £3 and are available at the Manx Museum shop.

Other events being held at the Manx Museum in conjunction with the exhibition at the Sayle Gallery are a Wartime Memories day at the Manx Museum on Saturday 24th April (free admission) and the Life Behind the Wire workshop, which includes a guided walk, on Saturday 22nd May, tickets £20 available from the Manx Museum shop. Further details of all Manx National Heritage events can be found at www.storyofmann.com

8th April 2010

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