View: A Festival of Art History, Institute français

Calling all art history buffs! This weekend the second edition of View, the UK’s only art history festival, arrives at the Institut Français, South Kensington and various locations around London. Last year the festival attracted over 3,500 visitors, so make sure you book your place!
View Festival 2015
There are a lot of different events to chose from, including debates, talks, film screenings, children’s workshops, guided tours and student presentations. The three key themes to get your head around are Preserving & Restoring, Avant-Gardes & Precursors and Defining Civilisations. Bringing together key art world figures from all over Europe, you can expect to see big-name artists like Jeremy Deller; museum directors from the Whitechapel Gallery and The Mauritshuis in the Netherlands; curators from Tate Modern, ICA, V&A and Musée d'Orsay, and a host of publishers and academics.
View Festival, London Art
So if you’re looking for art history courses London, we’ve picked out the best of the best from the 40 events at the View Festival for you:
Jeremy Deller Artist in conversation Sat 28 Feb – 7.00pm
Don’t miss the chance to see the charismatic 2004 Turner Prize Winner and Great Britain representative at the 2013 Venice Biennale talking to Jacky Klein, Executive Editor, Tate Publishing.
Vikings Live Sat 28 Feb – 8.30pm
A film based on the 2014 British Museum Vikings exhibition which explores how these great warriors shaped our modern lives, and includes a recreation of a torch-lit burial ceremony.
Entr’acte & Paris qui dort Sun 1 Mar – 2.00pm
Possibly the only ‘Dadist’ film ever, Rene Clair’s 1924 film features Francis Picabia, Erik Satie, Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp. The film will be followed by a screening of Paris qui dort, Clair’s 1925 surreal science-fiction comedy.
Rothko’s Untitled, Black on Maroon: From ruin to recovery Sat 28 Feb – 5.30pm
In 2012, a Mark Rothko painting was vandalised while on display at Tate Modern. Rachel Barker, conservator at the museum explains how she and her colleagues restored the iconic work over an 18-month period to its original condition.
Blythe House: An exploration of the Science Museum’s storerooms Fri 27 Feb – 2.00pm
A rare chance to tour the Science Museum’s storerooms, where more than 170,000 objects of are hidden away. Expect telescopes, Stone Age tools, frieze-dried genetically modified animals and much more.
This is (not) a masterpiece: challenging and re-defining the artistic cannon Fri 27 Feb – 6.30pm
Who or what decides what is a masterpiece and belongs to the ‘canon’ of art history? This fascinating discussion includes celebrated art historian Griselda Pollock; Kieran Long, Senior Curator, V&A; Emilie Gordenker, Director Maritshuis; Mark Bradely, Associate Professor of Ancient History, University of Nottingham; and Jacky Klein, Executive Editor, Tate Publishing.