To Hell with Culture + Discussion

A premiere screening of To Hell with Culture (Huw Wahl, 2014), a portrait of the life and work of Herbert Read (1893 - 1968), followed by a discussion with director Huw Wahl, Benedict Read, Dr Michael Paraskos, and ICA Executive Director Gregor Muir.

Listen to the Intro and Discussion from this event

Co-founder of the ICA, Herbert Read (1893-1968) was an influential art critic, poet and self-confessed anarchist. In his 1943 essay, To Hell with Culture, Read laid out his ideas for a civilisation based on cooperation in which culture would no longer be a commodity, separated from society, but an integral part of everyday life. In this film, director Huw Wahl engages in conversations with artists, poets, curators, historians and Herbert Read’s own children, to ask how we can apply Read’s ideas and approaches to the commodification of culture in our contemporary society. Including unseen archival material of Herbert Read, his poetry and the North Yorkshire landscape where he was born, this is an immersive portrayal of Read’s life and work.

Dr Michael Paraskos is the editor of the book Re-Reading Read: New Views on Herbert Read.