The autobiography of a nation : the 1951 Festival of Britain / Becky E. Conekin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Conekin, Becky.

Series:

Studies in design

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Festival of Britain (1951 : Great Britain)--History.

Festival of Britain.

Exhibitions--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Exhibitions.

Arts, British--20th century--Exhibitions--History.

Arts, British.

Festivals--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Festivals.

Civilization.

History.

Great Britain--Civilization--1945---Exhibitions--History.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

xii, 260 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Manchester ; New York : Manchester University Press ; New York : Distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave, 2003.

Summary:

Conceived in the Immediate post-war years, a period characterised by housing shortages, continuing wartime restrictions and the initial stages of the dissolution of the British Empire, the 1951 Festival of Britain was to be both a celebration of Britain's victory in the Second World War and a proclamation of national recovery. In total, there were nine official government-funded exhibitions across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and twenty-three designated arts festivals. Eight-and-half-million people visited the London South Bank and its iconic exposition of art, technology and architecture. On a local level, close to two thousand cities, towns and villages across the country organised and funded a Festival event of some kind. This exceptional book is the first full-length study of the 1951 Festival of Britain. As a consciously constructed cultural and educational event, or rather series of events, the Festival provides an opportunity to consider an under-explored topic, that of how a society and a government struggled to recast national identity after the experience of the Second World War. Primarily an examination of how Britain and Britishness were portrayed in the Festival's exhibitions and events, the book considers the Festival's history and historiography, its purpose, its representations of the future and the past, the role of London and the 'local', the British Empire and finally the Festival's legacy. Such was the significance of the 1951 Festival to post-war British social and political history, this work will be invaluable for anyone interested in architecture and design, the media and cultural studies, as well as social and cultural history.

Contents:

I Introducing the Festival

1 The background: history and historiography 2

2 The Festival's people and purposes 26

II Time

3 The Festival's representations of the future 46

4 The Festival's representations of the past 80

III Place

5 London-based representations of the metropole and 'the regions' 116

6 The role of 'the local' in the Festival 153

7 The place that was almost absent: the British Empire 183

8 The place of escape and edification: the Battersea Pleasure Gardens 203

9 Conclusion: the Festival and its legacy 226.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [239]-255) and index.

ISBN:

0719060591

0719060605

OCLC:

50783359