About

Above and Below: Works from the IWM’s collection   

 Join us for this free talk with Rebecca Newell! 

Flight and aerial warfare have inspired new artistic perspectives throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Taking as a starting point, the IWM collection artworks selected by Heather Phillipson for display alongside Out of This World, Rebecca Newell will consider how artists have grappled with seen and unseen threats from the sky – and with aircraft, parachutes, balloons, clouds and light – to forge new forms of representation. 

Rebecca Newell has been IWM’s Head of Art since 2017, working on all aspects related to the care, display and interpretation of the museum’s preeminent art collection. She was lead curator for the Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries which opened at IWM London in November 2023, and also leads the IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund art commissioning programme. With a background in art history and museology, she is part of the research-active staff community at IWM, engaging in research, publishing and exhibition projects to deepen understanding of war and its impact. Her current areas of research also include gender violence in conflict and marginalisation in the art collection. 

This event is part of a programme of activities to celebrate Heather Phillipson’s Out of this World exhibition. 

Free, booking essential.