One of the most extensive displays of Kennard’s work specially conceived for Whitechapel Gallery.
Whitechapel Gallery opens its doors to ‘Peter Kennard: Archive of Dissent,’ on display from 23 July.
Archive of Dissent marks one of the most extensive displays of Kennard’s work to date and has been specially conceived for Whitechapel Gallery. Taking over three galleries within the former Whitechapel Library space, the exhibition brings together work from across the artist’s prolific and influential five-decade career, offering an important repository of social and political history while illuminating an artistic practice that has continuously countered and protested the status quo.
Since the 1970s, Kennard has produced some of the most iconic and influential images of resistance and dissent. From the Vietnam War, Anti-Apartheid Movement, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), and Stop the War Coalition campaigns in the 2000s, through to the present wars in Ukraine and Gaza and his ongoing commitment to environmental activism, Kennard has developed a unique visual practice that bridges art and politics for a broad range of audiences.
Archive of Dissent includes two of Kennard’s most recent and ambitious installations Boardroom (2023) and Double Exposure (2023) which use light, glass and projection to deconstruct the medium of photomontage, as well as a new work, The People’s University of the East End (2024).
My art erupts from outrage at the fact that the search for financial profit rules every nook and cranny of our society. Profit masks poverty, racism, war, climate catastrophe and on and on…Archive of Dissent brings together fifty years of work that all attempt to express that anger by ripping through the mask by cutting, tearing, montaging and juxtaposing imagery that we are all bombarded with daily. It shows what lies behind the mask: the victims, the resistance, the human communality saying ‘no’ to corporate and state power. It rails at the waste of lives caused by the trillions spent on manufacturing weapons and the vast profits made by arms companies.” – Peter Kennard
Special Lates Event: Peter Kennard & Friends: Thu 25 Jul, 6-9pm
A very special event celebrating the work of Peter Kennard featuring artist conversation, musical and spoken word performances as part of our Thursday Whitechapel Lates. This event is free and offers access to all current exhibitions
Peter Kennard: Archive of Dissent: 23 Jul - 19 Jan 2025
77-82 Whitechapel High St , London, E1 7QX
Gallery Opening Times:
- Monday Closed
- Tuesday 11am–6pm
- Wednesday 11am–6pm
- Thursday 11am–9pm
- Friday 11am–6pm
- Saturday 11am–6pm
- Sunday 11am–6pm
FREE ENTRY
Further Information: Peter Kennard: Archive of Dissent - Whitechapel Gallery