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NEW FOR FEBRUARY 2011 - IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM LONDON

NEW MAJOR EXHIBITION

Once Upon A Wartime: Classic War Stories for Children

Opens 11 February 2011

Once Upon A Wartime delves into the pages of well-loved books, bringing five stories of war dramatically to life. Adults and children can wander through life-size sets, peer into intricate scale models and explore the stories' themes of loyalty, separation, excitement, survival and identity. From the bleak landscape of no man's land in War Horse to the imposing tower blocks of London's gang warfare in Little Soldier, this exhibition is an immersive journey through the worlds of the books. Pull up a chair in Hepzibah's kitchen where the scene is set straight out of Carrie's War, discover the secret fortress from The Machine Gunners and look around the cellar school, hidden under the destroyed streets of Warsaw in The Silver Sword. Behind the scenes of the stories, see what inspired the authors to write their books, and find out about the historical context of each story through objects, photographs and films.

Adults ú5.95, Concessions and Groups ú4.95, Children ú3.95, Family Tickets from ú12.50

Tickets available from 1 December 2010.Visit www.iwm.org.uk for more information

NEW FAMILY ACTIVITIES

Voice Aloud!

19 - 27 February 2011

11.30am-1pm & 2.30pm-4pm

To coincide with the opening of Once Upon a Wartime: Classic War Stories for Children, and in partnership with Polka Theatre, children are invited to take part in a free intergenerational drama workshop that involves reading and listening to excerpts from a variety of sources including Robert Westall's, The Machine Gunners. There will be an opportunity to distil a key part of the story onto a postcard which will be displayed at the Polka Theatre during The Machine Gunners performance run at the Polka Theatre.

Suitable for children aged 6 and above. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Free admission. Please arrive at the beginning of the session.

FILM EVENT

Awards Ceremony for the Tenth IWM Film Festival

8 February 2011

The winners of the Tenth Imperial War Museum Film Festival Competition will be announced in a special ceremony at the Museum. Prizes will be awarded in three categories 'Best Documentary', 'Best Imaginative Response to the Subject of War' and the 'Winner of the 'Audience Poll'. Those wishing to attend can apply for free tickets, subject to availability, by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

NEW FOR MARCH 2011 - IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM LONDON

NEW ART DISPLAY

The Edge of Expression: The 'Censorship' of CRW Nevinson's 'Paths of Glory'

Opens 12 March 2011

In his status as an official war artist in the First World War CRW Nevinson lead a new generation of British avant-garde artists unleashed upon a British public hungry for the spectacle of war. Although commissioned by the British Government to boast their commitment to liberty and free expression, Nevinson would find to his cost the limits of the state's tolerance with his harrowing painting, Paths of Glory. Using many celebrated Nevinson artworks and other materials from the IWM's collections this new art display will elucidate the controversy surrounding the painting's exhibition in 1918 - and its bitter aftermath.

Free admission

NEW FAMILY ACTIVITIES

Storytelling at the Imperial War Museum

5-6 March 2011

11.30am, 1pm & 2pm

To coincide with the exhibition Once Upon a Wartime: Classic War Stories for Children, kids are invited to listen and participate in tales told by Storyteller Pamela Marre, all of which link to the theme of children and war.

Suitable for children aged 6 and above. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Free admission. Please arrive at the beginning of the session.

Family Introduction to the Holocaust

26-27 March 2011

11.00am-12pm

This free drop in session is a useful starting point for families who wish to learn more about the Holocaust. This session is suitable for children aged 11 and above but please note that the Holocaust Exhibition is recommended for children aged 14 and above. For further information contact Grant Rogers, Informal Learning Manager, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 020 7416 5329.

Free admission. Please arrive at the beginning of the session

NEW FOR APRIL 2011 - IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM LONDON

NEW ART EXHIBTION

Witness: Women War Artists

Imperial War Museum London

From 9 April 2011

Focusing on work by women war artists from the First World War to the Kosovo conflict, the display highlights the Museum's outstanding art collection as it explores artists' response to conflict - as eyewitnesses, participants, commentators and as officially commissioned recorders. Witness: Women War Artists illuminates both the constraints and possibilities offered to female artists in war time and offers a unique opportunity to revisit key moments in the last century of Britain's history of war and conflict, through a largely unexplored perspective. Featured artists will including Anna Airy, one of the first women officially commissioned during the First World War, Dame Laura Knight RA, Linda Kitson and Frauke Eigen.

NEW FAMILY ACTIVITIES

Drawing Stories

9-21 April 2011

11.30am & 2.30pm

The workshop will look at the role of the illustrator as storyteller. Michael Foreman and other illustrators will work with families to develop visual stories through drawing based on inspiration from the Museum's collections. There will be a link to the five themes of the exhibition - Separation, Loyalty, Excitement, Survival and Identity. Suitable for children from 6 upwards. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Please visit the website for further details of when Michael Foreman will be taking part. www.iwm.org.uk Free admission. Please arrive at the beginning of the session

ONGOING EXHIBITIONS

The Lord Ashcroft Gallery: Extraordinary Heroes

Imperial War Museum London opens the Lord Ashcroft Gallery, its first major permanent gallery for ten years. The new gallery, paid for by a ú5million donation from Lord Ashcroft, KCMG, will house the Extraordinary Heroes exhibition containing the world's largest collection of Victoria Crosses (VCs), which has been established by Lord Ashcroft since 1986. The 162 awards will go on public display for the first time alongside 48 VCs and 31 George Crosses (GCs) held by the Museum.Visitors to the Lord Ashcroft Gallery: Extraordinary Heroes will discover the personal stories behind each award on display in a state-of-the-art new space filled with interactive touch-screens, multimedia platforms and original interpretation. The new gallery will examine the concept of bravery and the personal stories behind the award of the medals. Alongside the precious decorations will be many objects on display for the first time as well as newly commissioned artwork, film and photography.

Free admission. Visitors may experience a short wait at peak times.

Night Visions

Until 6 March 2011

The danger and disorientation of the Blackout, the terror of night raids and new encounters with a strange nocturnal landscape provided fertile subject matter for British artists during the Second World War. Exhibited works by artists such as William Scott, Roger Nicholson and Leslie Cole, reveal artists revelling in a surreal beauty emerging from the darkness of wartime.

Free admission.

Baghdad, 5 March 2007: A Project with Jeremy Deller

Until April 2011

Imperial War Museum London will display a car salvaged from the bombing of the historic Al-Mutanabbi street book market in Baghdad.

The Museum has worked with Turner prize winning artist Jeremy Deller to present the destroyed vehicle, a major new acquisition which serves as evidence of the impact of modern war on civilians. The bombing on 5 March 2007 killed thirty-eight people and wounded many more, and is also viewed as an attack on Baghdad's cultural life.

Previously the car has featured in Deller's project in the USA, It Is What It Is. It will now be displayed in the Museum's atrium, surrounded by some of the most powerful military hardware of the past 100 years. During its time on display, the car will also be the focus for a series of open conversations about the conflict in Iraq. Free admission

ONGOING EXHIBITIONS

Explore History Centre & Explore History 1940

Ongoing

From May, Imperial War Museum London opens its doors to the Explore History centre, a new space open to all members of the public to drop in and discover the Museum's vast collections of digitised photos, film, sound recordings, documents, art, ephemera and books. As well as providing access to the Museum's collections through improved catalogues, the Explore History centre will feature interactive multimedia touchscreens with engaging interpretation of the new physical display, Explore History 1940, a gathering of iconic objects relating to the events of that momentous year, including one of Dunkirk's famous 'little ships'.

Explore History 1940 open Mon-Sun, 10am-6pm. Explore History Centre open Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm; Sat, 10am-5pm; Sun, 11am-5pm.

Free admission www.iwm.org.uk/1940

Outbreak 1939

Until 4 September 2011

Seventy years after the radio announcement that informed the nation that Britain was at war, Imperial War Museum London presents Outbreak 1939, a special exhibition exploring the build-up to and preparations for war, an overview of the key events of 3 September and an account of the early months of the conflict.

Among the items on display relating to 3 September 1939 are the jacket belonging to King George VI worn when he broadcast to the nation at 6.00pm on that day; a wedding dress worn on 3 September for a wedding that was hastily rearranged when the outbreak of the war appeared imminent and the medal awarded to Thomas Priday, the first British soldier to be killed in action during the war, leading a patrol in France. Other items include the German machine gun taken as a souvenir by New Zealand fighter 'ace' 'Cobber 'Kain from the first aircraft he shot down in 1939, and the conduct book belonging to Gunther Prien, commander of the U47 that sank HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Flow on the 14 October 1939, making him one of Germany's first war heroes

Free admission

Breakthrough

The Art Collection

Until 26 June 2011

Breakthrough is a major re-hang of the Imperial War Museum's outstanding collection of British art. The display incorporates important artworks from the official art schemes of both world wars and significant non-official and contemporary works. The Government schemes selected some of the most avant-garde artists of the day to respond to war, and the Museum continues, in this tradition, to collect and commission the very best contemporary artists responding to current events. Among the items on display is work by Paul Nash, CRW Nevinson, John Piper and Eric Ravilious, some recently acquired paintings by William Scott and Robert Colquhoun, and contemporary pieces by Bill Woodrow and Graham Fagen. Free admission

The Children's War

Ongoing

This major exhibition looks at the home front in Britain and the impact of the Second World War through the eyes of the children who lived through it. Incorporating hands-on activities for visitors of all ages, it also features the popular 1940s house and part of a post-war prefab.

Free admission

The Holocaust Exhibition

Ongoing

This highly-acclaimed exhibition uses film, photographs and a large number of rare artefacts - many brought from Germany and Eastern Europe - to document the history of the Nazi persecution of the Jews and other groups before and during the Second World War.

Free admission

Crimes against humanity

Ongoing

A specially-commissioned 30-minute film is the central element of this exhibition, which examines the themes of genocide and ethnic conflict - looking at some of the common features shared by the horrendous bloodshed in Armenia, Nazi-occupied Europe, Cambodia, East Timor, Bosnia, Rwanda and elsewhere.

Free admission

Imperial War Museum London, Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ

General Enquiries: 020 7416 5000 or visit www.iwm.org.uk

Open daily 10.00am - 6.00pm

For press information and images contact Ellie Farrell, Senior Press Officer on 020 7416 5497, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Nina Smetek, Press & Marketing Assistant on 020 7091 3069, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it