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Exhibitions, podcasts and a Barking bus tour: August’s letter from the Director
7 Aug 2024
As I wandered around a busy Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts recently, I noticed that a large section was almost entirely dedicated to representations of London views. Photos, drawings, paintings and etchings depicted the streets, buildings and the general skyline in a myriad of different ways. This shows us how our city continues to inspire artistic production. I was particularly taken with a little glazed ceramic high street, with the usual homes, off licence and chicken shop.
On Monday 22nd July we held the Society’s Annual General Meeting online. While this session is largely a formality for governance purposes, it does provide the opportunity to look back at what we have achieved in the last year. This includes the production of our once-in-a-century book, London of the Future, as well as the start of our new podcast, London Explained.
We also ran 21 walks, 15 tours and 12 talks (including the Banister Fletcher Lecture) and we held our annual Love Letters to London competition. The blog pages of our website are fit to burst (thanks to our content curator) and membership numbers are climbing but we need more so please spread the word! All in all, it’s been a great year and I’m very proud of all the hard work from the staff, volunteers and our dedicated trustees.
Check out more events and exhibitions
It’s hard to organise lots of events for the summer months, as many people are away. However, we are not using this time to rest on our laurels and there is a busy autumn programme developing, including a talk about the new Earls Court development on the edge of their very site; a Routemaster bus tour of contemporary architecture in Barking & Dagenham; a panel discussion about the burgeoning life sciences sector that is sure to reshape London; and an evening dedicated to the upcoming Thames Tideway project which is more than a sewer – it’s a chance to think about the city on a urban scale, with new public realm and art along the river.
London will continue to adapt and change and luckily the Society is right in the thick of things, with a finger on the pulse of architecture, development, planning, engineering and art. Here’s to inspiring the next generation of creatives for future Summer Exhibitions!
