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<p>Paul Graham, Little Chef in Rain, St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, May 1982

Paul Graham, Little Chef in Rain, St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, May 1982, chromogenic print, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund, 2020.41.1

Introduction to the Exhibition

This is Britain: Photographs from the 1970s and 1980s

Focus: Exhibitions

  • Sunday, January 29, 2023
  • 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  • West Building Lecture Hall
  • Talks
  • In-person
  • Registration Required

Registration is required.

Join us for an introductory presentation on This is Britain: Photographs from the 1970s and 1980s by Kara Felt, exhibition curator and former Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow.

This is Britain explores how profound changes in British society in the 1970s and 1980s inspired a revolution in photography. During this period, photographers contemplated national identity as Britain grappled with deindustrialization, urban uprisings, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and the controversial policies of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. These same years marked a period of huge cultural vibrancy when photography gained a vital position on the artistic map. With a keen eye for social critique and a spirit of rebellion shared with punk rock, a generation of young photographers pictured a nation redefining what it meant to be British and, ultimately, modern.