A film about drone warfare is to launch an exhibition and events programme featuring artists’ responses to conflict at Imperial War Museums (IWM) later this month.
The London premiere of Omer Fast’s 5000 is the Best will take place on 29 July and the film will be screened until 29 September. The work is based on interviews with a former drone operator and its title refers to the optimum operational flight altitude of a US Air Force Predator drone.
The programme includes the Architecture of War exhibition, which brings together a range of highlights from IWM’s art collection (29 July –5 May 2014). Highlights include works by William Orpen, CRW Nevinson, Edward Ardizzone, Ronald Searle and Langlands and Bell.
IWM Contemporary will also include Mike Moore’s and Lee Craker’s photographs of US and UK soldiers in Iraq from (23 October–21 April 2014).
The museum is planning to show a work by Mark Neville, commissioned by Firstsite in Colchester and 16 Air Assault Brigade in association with IWM. As part of this the artist lived for two months in Helmand, Afghanistan.
IWM curator Sara Bevan said the museum has a long history of commissioning artists and working with them and the IWM contemporary programme is about making this work more visible to the public.
“It is very much a case that the contemporary art programme will be complementary to the more traditional displays,” said Bevan. “The artists offer a space for discussion around the more traditional displays.”
Bevan said that artists such as Fast could address some of the less tangible elements of war and conflict and could be more subjective.
Later in the year (12 October), IWM North will open Catalyst: Contemporary Art and War.
The London premiere of Omer Fast’s 5000 is the Best will take place on 29 July and the film will be screened until 29 September. The work is based on interviews with a former drone operator and its title refers to the optimum operational flight altitude of a US Air Force Predator drone.
The programme includes the Architecture of War exhibition, which brings together a range of highlights from IWM’s art collection (29 July –5 May 2014). Highlights include works by William Orpen, CRW Nevinson, Edward Ardizzone, Ronald Searle and Langlands and Bell.
IWM Contemporary will also include Mike Moore’s and Lee Craker’s photographs of US and UK soldiers in Iraq from (23 October–21 April 2014).
The museum is planning to show a work by Mark Neville, commissioned by Firstsite in Colchester and 16 Air Assault Brigade in association with IWM. As part of this the artist lived for two months in Helmand, Afghanistan.
IWM curator Sara Bevan said the museum has a long history of commissioning artists and working with them and the IWM contemporary programme is about making this work more visible to the public.
“It is very much a case that the contemporary art programme will be complementary to the more traditional displays,” said Bevan. “The artists offer a space for discussion around the more traditional displays.”
Bevan said that artists such as Fast could address some of the less tangible elements of war and conflict and could be more subjective.
Later in the year (12 October), IWM North will open Catalyst: Contemporary Art and War.
