Press Release for immediate use

29 January 2015

Thursday Talk: Embodying the Past: The 'Occupations' of Thursday 5 February, 2pm, FREE

A fascinating insight into the work of one of the most important artists of our time.

Prior to the opening of our ARTIST ROOMS: Anselm Kiefer exhibition, Dr Christian Weikop, a specialist in modern and contemporary German art, will be sharing his research into Kiefer’s work for a special Thursday talk at 2pm on 5 February 2015.

Dr Weikop will discuss Kiefer's provocative performance art project 'Occupations' (1969), a project documented by photographs that contributed to the development of the unique artist books and paintings 'Heroic Symbols' (1969-1970). In this talk, Dr Weikop will also consider the reception of 'Occupations' and relate how this early body of work has continued to influence Kiefer's artistic practice right up to the present day.

Born in Germany in 1945, now living and working in France, Anselm Kiefer is one of the most important post-war European artists. His work encompasses themes of environment, identity and memory as well as myth, history and literature, on a scale impressive in both size and subject matter. The exhibition at Tullie House features breathtaking works spanning the past 40 years of the artist’s career, and is a rare opportunity to see this collection outside of London.

Dr Christian Weikop has published and taught extensively in the field of modern and contemporary German art. He has been a Chancellor’s Fellow in History of Art, Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), University of Edinburgh since the autumn of 2012. Among his many research projects, Christian is working closely on the German artists in the Tate/National Galleries of Scotland ARTIST ROOMS collection, which includes August Sander, , , Georg Baselitz, and Anselm Kiefer. Christian was also involved in the major Anselm Kiefer retrospective held at the Royal Academy in London in 2014, described in Apollo Magazine as “one of the most important exhibitions of the decade".

Information on both the ARTIST ROOMS collection and the touring programme can be found at www.artistrooms.org. For further information about ARTIST ROOMS On Tour please visit www.artfund.org/artistrooms. To see the full ARTIST ROOMS collection please visit www.tate.org.uk/artistrooms and www.nationalgalleries.org/artistrooms

ENDS

Please contact Michelle Wiggins - Marketing Manager on 01228 618742 or email [email protected]

Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery Trust Castle Street, Carlisle, CA3 8TP

T: 01228 618718 www.tulliehouse.co.uk

Charity No: 1143235

Opening Times Museum and Exhibition Gallery Opening Times:

10am – 5pm Monday – Saturday, 11pm – 5pm Sunday (Apr – Oct)

10am – 4pm Monday – Saturday, 12pm – 4pm Sunday (Nov – Mar)

Except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day: Gallery closed

Notes to editors:

ARTIST ROOMS ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions are from the collection assembled by Anthony d’Offay. ARTIST ROOMS is owned jointly by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland and was established through The d’Offay Donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments. ARTIST ROOMS On Tour has been devised to enable this collection to reach and inspire new audiences across the country, particularly young people.

Arts Council England Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2010 and 2015, we will invest £1.9 billion of public money from government and an estimated £1.1 billion from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

The Art Fund The Art Fund is the national fundraising charity for art, helping museums to buy and show great art for everyone. Over the past 5 years we’ve given over £26m to help museums and galleries acquire works of art for their collections and placed hundreds of gifts and bequests, from ancient sculpture and treasure hoards to Old Master paintings and contemporary commissions, with 25% of grants going towards works by living artists. We also help museums share their collections with wider audiences through supporting a range of tours and exhibitions, including the national tour of the Artist Rooms collection and the 2014 tour of Jeremy Deller’s English Magic, the British Council commission for the 2013 Venice Biennale. Our support for museums extends to the Art Guide app – the comprehensive guide to seeing art across the UK, promoting a network of nearly 700 museums and galleries throughout the country, and the £100,000 Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year – an annual celebration of the best of UK museums, won in 2014 by Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Wakefield. We are independently funded, the majority of our income coming from over 107,000 members who, through the National Art Pass, enjoy free entry to over 230 museums, galleries and historic houses across the UK, as well as 50% off entry to major exhibitions.

Find out more about the Art Fund and the National Art Pass at www.artfund.org and @artfund on Twitter.

Please contact Madeline Adeane, the Press Relations Manager, on 020 7225 4804 or [email protected]