Manchester Art Gallery

PROTEST! is a major retrospective of the work of of one of the most influential figures in 20th century British culture, Derek Jarman (1942-1994).  The exhibition will focus on the diverse strands of Jarman’s practice as a painter, film maker, writer, set-designer, gardener and political activist. This is the first time that all of these strands of his practice will be brought together in over 20 years.  PROTEST! captures Jarman’s engagement with both art and society, as well as his contemporary concerns with political protest and personal freedoms arising from the AIDS crisis. Major bodies of work, from the 1960s to the 1990s, have been brought together; many of which have never been seen in public before.

Originally presented at IMMA, Dublin from 15 November 2019 – 23 February 2020, curated by Seán Kissane, the exhibition will be re-presented at Manchester Art Gallery by Curators Fiona Corridan, Manchester Art Gallery and author and filmmaker Jon Savage.

Derek Jarman, PROTEST! is organized by IMMA, Dublin, in partnership with Manchester Art Gallery, and is accompanied by additional projects at VOID, Derry, HOME, Manchester and John Hansard Gallery, Southampton.

The exhibition has been developed in close cooperation with the Keith Collins Will Trust, James Mackay and Amanda Wilkinson Gallery.

PROTEST!, published by Thames and Hudson 2020
IMMA and Thames and Hudson will publish a major new monograph on Derek Jarman to accompany the retrospective, covering Jarman’s artistic development as well as reflecting on his life and legacy. The book will feature contributions from Seán Kissane, Curator, IMMA; Sir Norman Rosenthal; Jonny Bruce, gardener and journalist; Professor Robert Mills, University of London; Jon Savage, author and filmmaker; Michael Charlesworth, an authority on landscape and the history of gardens and author of the book ‘Derek Jarman, Critical Lives’, and writers Olivia Laing and Philip Hoare.

Image

Derek Jarman Queer, 1992
Courtesy Estate of Derek Jarman