In 1956, it brought together architects, artists, designers & critics, & now, in another age of austerity, it's back. This exhibition pre-empted the emergence of Pop Art in Britain by nearly a decade.

Running until 6th March.

In 1956 the Whitechapel Gallery hosted the seminal exhibition This is Tomorrow, featuring members of the Independent Group of artists and critics. Remarkable for its collaborative process, the exhibition pre-empted the emergence of Pop Art in Britain by nearly a decade. The organisers allotted gallery space to twelve groups of three to four creative practitioners, asking each group to produce work on the theme of modern life. Architects, artists, designers and critics took part in a project designed to challenge perceived boundaries between the visual arts and promote dialogue between practitioners.



For the current retrospective, the Whitechapel is presenting material from its archive, enabling the viewer to reconstruct that most ephemeral of experiences, an exhibition of modern art that took place here in 1956 and the processes of negotiation and collaboration that brought it about. Letters from the organisers to Whitechapel director Bryan Robertson demonstrate how the concept was developed.  Through the attempt to express intentions and concerns a common vision was initiated.