Britain Can Make It

Description

This publication will be a highly visual celebration of the massively popular, but now largely forgotten, 'Britain Can Make It' exhibition. Organised by the Council of Industrial Design, it was held in empty ground-floor galleries of the Victoria & Albert Museum, from September to December 1946. A ground-breaking, morale boosting exhibition, it showcased British design and manufacturing. Despite its short run, it boasted an incredible 1.5 million visitors, and remains one of the most visited exhibitions ever held at the V&A.0Long before the end of the Second World War hostilities, the government's Post War Export Trade Committee recognised the importance of promoting the country's manufacturing capabilities. Plans for an exhibition of `National Importance' were set in place in October 1942, for an event that would illuminate the gloom of austerity, educate the public in the value of good design, and most importantly, boost much needed foreign trade. Britain's need to promote, manufacturer and export its goods was urgent.0By taking its structure loosely from the exhibition itself and from the accompanying Design ?46 catalogue, Britain Can Make It will take the reader through an eclectic range of subject areas and consumer products. The book begins with a discussion of the political climate and economic motivations that led to this exhibition of ?National Importance? taking place, and an overview of the contemporary social context. Additional essays will cover specific aspects of the exhibition itself, including the surrealist design of the exhibition, the art and artists involved, the naming, and the ?Design Quiz?. Most chapters will be in the form of short illustrated essays.

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