How did exhibitions become a vital tool for public communication in early twentieth century Britain? Harriet’s new book Showing resistance: propaganda and modernist exhibitions in Britain, 1933-53, published by Manchester University Press in July 2024, reveals how exhibitions were taken up by activists and politicians from 1933 to 1953, becoming manifestos, weapons of war and a means of signalling political solidarities. Drawing on dozens of examples mounted in empty shops, workers’ canteens, station ticket halls and beyond, this richly illustrated book shows how this overlooked form was created by significant makers including artists Paul Nash, John Heartfield and Oskar Kokoschka, architect Erno Goldfinger and photographer Edith Tudor-Hart. Showing resistance is the first study of exhibitions as communications in mid-twentieth century Britain.

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