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Two Temple Pace announces Rhythm & Reaction: The Age of Jazz in Britain an exhibition exploring the impact that jazz had on Britons from 1918.

Jazz provoked reactions ranging from devotion to abhorrence when the idea, and then the sound, of the music first entered the consciousness of the British public in the aftermath of the First World War. Visiting American groups such as the Original Dixieland Jazz Band and the Southern Syncopated Orchestra offered Britons their first chance to experience the music live.

Rhythm & Reaction: The Age of Jazz in Britain will highlight how the new jazz sound in post-War nightclubs and dancehalls provided exciting and dynamic material for British artists. Bold depictions of lively dancers by William Roberts and Frank Dobson, will be displayed alongside the Harlem-inspired paintings for which Edward Burra, one of Britain’s foremost Modernist painters, was well-known.

The growing interest in jazz brought black and white musicians, artists and audiences together, and was crucial in influencing changes in British society, moving from stereotypes descended from the minstrel show to a more nuanced understanding of and interest in African-American and black British culture.

The exhibition brings together painting, prints, cartoons, textiles and ceramics, moving film, instruments and the all-important jazz sound, to explicitly examine the influence of jazz on British art, design and wider society.

Alongside the exhibition runs a complementary events series including tours, lectures, workshops, music events, children’s activities and much more! For a full list of events, please see Two Temple Place’s What’s on page. 

Rhythm & Reaction: The Age of Jazz in Britain is curated by Catherine Tackley, Professor and Head of Music at the University of Liverpool.

The exhibition is produced by the Bulldog Trust in partnership with The Arts Society and draws from regional public collections including The National Jazz Archive; The Higgins Bedford; Leeds Art Gallery; Town Hall Museum and Art Gallery, Newark; and Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford.

Rhythm & Reaction: The Age of Jazz in Britain
27 January – 22nd April 2018

Two Temple Place
London WC2R 3BD
For enquiries call: 020 7836 3715
Or visit www.twotempleplace.org.

Source: Two Temple Place

Featured image: Enoch Boulton for Carlton ware, ‘Design pattern JAZZ 3353’, 1930s, Design pattern, The Cochrane & Pettit Archive of Carlton Ware, © Harvey Pettit, courtesy of The Cochrane & Pettit Archive of Carlton Ware.