Exhibition
The Day Spring Ended
16 Aug 2018 – 29 Aug 2018
Event times
10:00-17:00
Cost of entry
Free
Address
- 22 Gordon Street
- London
- WC1H 0QB
- United Kingdom
Travel Information
- Euston
- Euston
This large-scale display shows re-printed photographs of tanks from the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia. These images commemorate the 50th anniversary of the suppression of liberal reforms by 200,000 Soviet troops and 2000 tanks on the 21st August 1968.
About
About 1968
1968 was a pivotal year in global politics, including the Paris student demonstrations in May 1968. Rigid political institutions across the world, on both the right and left, were challenged by a younger, more idealistic post-war generation, demanding reforms and a relaxation of authoritarian policies.
While the political action in France was a confrontation with established state institutions, the Prague Spring was unique in that the state institution demonstrated an ability to reform itself. These reforms, including the lifting of press censorship, had created a sense of optimism that a new type of politics was possible: neither the polarising extremes of East and West, Left and Right, but a new enlightened middle way.
It is difficult to convey the sense of fear, shock and outrage that was experienced on that day. The hope is that these images, using different visual emphasis and scale, can give a sense of what it was like to be there.
Additional events
• Private View
Thursday 15 August, 6.30pm - 8.30pm
This exhibition private view is open to all and will include guest speeches and a wine reception.