Celebrating the art that made us

Museums are invited to get involved in an exciting new BBC festival!

AIM is delighted to be working alongside other sector stakeholders to support the Art That Made Us Festival, an exciting partnership between the BBC, museums, libraries, archives and galleries to coincide with the broadcast of a major new series.

The Art that made us will be broadcast on BBC2 in early 2022 and traces an exciting, contested narrative, focusing on artworks that emerged at times of turbulence: the constant flux of migration and conquest in our early history; the trauma of the Black Death in the Middle Ages; the religious upheaval of the Reformation; the Civil War; the Industrial Revolution; the explosive growth of the city during the 19th Century and divisions between town and country; and the generational impacts of world war in the 20th Century; a youth culture challenging the old establishment and the rise of a multicultural society.

Festival
Running from Friday 11th February to Sunday 20th February 2022, the Festival is an opportunity for audiences to explore the astounding creativity held in collections throughout the UK.  Museums, galleries, libraries and archives are invited to schedule events exploring the spark of creativity using items in the UK’s collections. Events can be virtual or in real life, newly organised or badged existing ones. No organisation or event is too big or too small.

All Art That Made Us Festival events will be listed on Museum Crush, and BBC Local Radio in particular will play an important role in highlighting activities to audiences, so it’s a great opportunity to drive visitor numbers or reach new audiences.

What can you do?
The Art That Made Us Festival is an opportunity to highlight some of the treasures in your collections. For example, you could propose:

• A talk on an object in your collection from a curator, custodian, local artist or volunteer
• Tours around your collection
• Workshops or classes with local artists or artisans related to a specific object
• Showcases of content built around an object
• Gallery-based performances
• Displays showcasing an object, book, artist or author

Get involved
To access branding and receive regular newsletters about the festival sign up as an Art That Made Us Festival Partner>>

BBC Arts on the Festival>>