Author Archives: Kate Lauterbach

Celebrating Black History Month in the UK

Each year we celebrate Black History Month in the United Kingdom through the month of October. It’s a time for learning, reflecting on and celebrating the impact of Black heritage and culture. To support the importance of learning about our shared histories, today we are launching over 80 new stories in collaboration with a range of cultural partners across the UK; from Bristol to Liverpool, Manchester to London.

The Black and British hub on Google Arts & Culture has been created alongside contributing partners, many of whom are coming online for the first time. This includes Bristol Museums, National Museums Liverpool, andFar From the Norm joining our growing collection of cultural institutions to share their stories from across the UK.

  • A colorful photograph taken by Matt Miller, depicting artist BEKA sitting in front of clouds

    BEKA - I'll Be There by Matt Miller, 2021, What We Seee

  • A Google Street view image of the Mafrcus Rashford mural and message in Withington, Manchester

    Google Street View of the Marcus Rashford Mural and messages in Withington, Manchester

  • A black and white illustration of the key moments in history connected to the Black Lives Matter movement. Created by artist Jasmine Thompson and exhibited at Bristol Museums

    A Movement Not a Moment by Jasmine Thompson, Bristol Museums

  • A still of a Far From The Norm performance, showcasing seven dancers on stage with lights behind them

    Performance Still, Botis Seva, Far from the Norm

  • A black and white photograph of Notting Hill Carnival in 1975, taken by Chris Steele-Perkins. The photograph depicts Black children dancing on the streets of Carnival

    Philmore "Boots" Davidson by Chris Steele-Perkins, 1975, Notting Hill Carnival

From football, to photography, and statues to sound systems

You can discover a range of new, young talents making waves across disciplines from dance, photography and sport. Find out about the community response to the nowiconic mural of Marcus Rashford MBE in Withington, Manchester, or discover more about award-winning choreographer, director and dance artist Botis Seva’s company and seminal production BLKDG. Or get acquainted with a host of stunning creatives like the powerful, colourful photography of artist Tayo Adekunle and the five talents selected by photographer and creative champion Misan Harriman in the second installment of his series Black Lenses Matter.

You’ll find stories covering prominent events in British history like the Empire Windrush and more recent events such as the Colston statue in Bristol. This is in addition to profiles on influential figures such as Carnival pioneer Claudia Jones and broadcaster and poetUna Marson. Why not take a moment to learn about the story of Princess Campbell, a Bristol nurse? Or perhaps explore the garden of Sybil Phoenix OBE, the first Black British woman to receive an MBE?

And if you are suffering from Notting Hill Carnival withdrawals, take a deep dive from your living room into the Mas bands, sound systems and steel bands who make Carnival the vibrant, sonic experience it is today.

There’s so much more to explore on the Black & British hub on Google Arts & Culture from today.

Visit g.co/blackhistoryuk, or download Google Arts & Culture’s Android or iOS app

Explore 250 years of the Royal Academy of Arts

London’s Royal Academy of Arts(RA) has been championing artists and architects for more than 250 years, and—pandemic or not—isn’t stopping now. Since its founding in 1769, the RA’s graduates have influenced culture in the UK and abroad through art practice, education, research and more. During this time of closed doors, the RA is inviting art fans around the world to walk their halls, explore their collection and delve into their stories on Google Arts & Culture.

The RA collection is a varied and unconventional treasure trove of British art, with works from luminaries like J.M.W. Turner, John Constable and Angelica Kauffman, through to contemporary masters like Lubaina Humid, Yinka Shonibare and Lynn Chadwick. Out of the 200+ worksnow available online, 20 have been captured in gigapixel resolution using our Art Camera technology, giving users the closest possible look at the details of each work.

At the ripe old age of 250, the RA underwent major renovations last year to extend and enhance their public offerings. The refreshed building was then captured from head to tail using Street View to enable art fans to explore the building and its galleries online for the first time.

  • Group image of RA Schools class of 2020.jpg

    RA President Rebecca Salter writes about how we must value a rich arts education for all.

    © Benjamin McMahon

  • Installation of colorful figures.jpg

    The Turner Prize-winning British artist Lubaina Himid RA and Royal Academician discusses teaching, politics and her mom.

  • Image of a library space.jpg

    Tucked away in the heart of the Royal Academy is a hidden room of thousands of art books (and a few artworks).

    © Benedict Johnson

  • Gallery V of the Royal Academy 2017 Summer Exhibition.jpg

    The Royal Academy's annual open submission art show has happened every year since 1768 and is a staple of the British art world.  Explore 250 years of the Summer Exhibition


    Photo: Dave Parry, © Royal Academy of Arts


  • Image of The Last Supper .jpg

    Discover the story behind the RA’s version of The Last Supper, and how it differs from the original.

Thirty stories illustrate the RA’s history, including a few lesser-known tales such as the feud between John Constable and JMW Turner. Self-guided tours of masterpieces mean you can explore at your own pace and virtually press your nose up to the canvas without raising a security guard’s ire. Take a walk through the building’s many halls, explore a sculpture installation, see the unusual props in the life drawing studio and walk from the grand Piccadilly entrance right through to the stately Burlington Gardens extension. 

As Axel Rüger, Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy, says, “Especially in times of crisis, art galleries and museums should be places of community that provide inspiration, escape, solace, fun and consolation. The Royal Academy of Arts has existed to do that since 1768. At a time when our doors are sadly closed, we are delighted to continue that cultural exchange online, through Google Arts & Culture.”

Visit g.co/MeetTheRA to explore, or download the free Google Arts & Culture app for iOS or Android.

Explore 250 years of the Royal Academy of Arts

London’s Royal Academy of Arts(RA) has been championing artists and architects for more than 250 years, and—pandemic or not—isn’t stopping now. Since its founding in 1769, the RA’s graduates have influenced culture in the UK and abroad through art practice, education, research and more. During this time of closed doors, the RA is inviting art fans around the world to walk their halls, explore their collection and delve into their stories on Google Arts & Culture.

The RA collection is a varied and unconventional treasure trove of British art, with works from luminaries like J.M.W. Turner, John Constable and Angelica Kauffman, through to contemporary masters like Lubaina Humid, Yinka Shonibare and Lynn Chadwick. Out of the 200+ worksnow available online, 20 have been captured in gigapixel resolution using our Art Camera technology, giving users the closest possible look at the details of each work.

At the ripe old age of 250, the RA underwent major renovations last year to extend and enhance their public offerings. The refreshed building was then captured from head to tail using Street View to enable art fans to explore the building and its galleries online for the first time.

  • Group image of RA Schools class of 2020.jpg

    RA President Rebecca Salter writes about how we must value a rich arts education for all.

    © Benjamin McMahon

  • Installation of colorful figures.jpg

    The Turner Prize-winning British artist Lubaina Himid RA and Royal Academician discusses teaching, politics and her mom.

  • Image of a library space.jpg

    Tucked away in the heart of the Royal Academy is a hidden room of thousands of art books (and a few artworks).

    © Benedict Johnson

  • Gallery V of the Royal Academy 2017 Summer Exhibition.jpg

    The Royal Academy's annual open submission art show has happened every year since 1768 and is a staple of the British art world.  Explore 250 years of the Summer Exhibition


    Photo: Dave Parry, © Royal Academy of Arts


  • Image of The Last Supper .jpg

    Discover the story behind the RA’s version of The Last Supper, and how it differs from the original.

Thirty stories illustrate the RA’s history, including a few lesser-known tales such as the feud between John Constable and JMW Turner. Self-guided tours of masterpieces mean you can explore at your own pace and virtually press your nose up to the canvas without raising a security guard’s ire. Take a walk through the building’s many halls, explore a sculpture installation, see the unusual props in the life drawing studio and walk from the grand Piccadilly entrance right through to the stately Burlington Gardens extension. 

As Axel Rüger, Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy, says, “Especially in times of crisis, art galleries and museums should be places of community that provide inspiration, escape, solace, fun and consolation. The Royal Academy of Arts has existed to do that since 1768. At a time when our doors are sadly closed, we are delighted to continue that cultural exchange online, through Google Arts & Culture.”

Visit g.co/MeetTheRA to explore, or download the free Google Arts & Culture app for iOS or Android.

We wear culture: Discover why we wear what we wear with Google Arts & Culture

Are you wearing jeans today? Is there a floral tie or a black dress hanging in your wardrobe? Remember those platform shoes from the ‘90s? These have one thing in common: They all tell a story, sometimes spanning hundreds of years of history.

As the legendary Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland once said, “You can even see the approaching revolution in clothes. You can see and feel everything in clothes.” That’s one reason we’re excited to unveil “We wear culture,” a new project on Google Arts & Culture that brings you the stories behind the clothes you wear.

More than 180 museums, fashion institutions, schools, archives and other organizations from the fashion hubs of New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, São Paulo and elsewhere came together to put three millennia of fashion at your fingertips. You can browse 30,000 fashion pieces: try searching for hats and sort them by color or shoes by time. In 450+ exhibits, you can find stories from the ancient Silk Road to the ferocious fashion of the British punk. Or meet icons and trendsetters like Coco Chanel, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent or Vivienne Westwood.

Denim_The_Museum_at_FIT_Desktop.png
The rise of the denim from gold panners' workwear to high street and high fashion (The Museum at FIT)
Shoe_Jimmy_Durante_Show_Museu_Carmen_Miranda_Desktop.png
Iconic platform shoe of Brazilian diva Carmen Miranda (Museu Carmen Miranda)
Vulnicura_Bjork_Japan_Fashion_and_Lifestyle_Foundation_Desktop.png
Björk wearing Maiko Takeda on her Vulnicura album cover (Japan Fashion and Lifestyle Foundation)
Conde_Nast_Christian_Dior_New_Look_Desktop.png
Cover of U.S. “Vogue” highlighting Christian Dior's New Look (Condé Nast Archive)
Avani_Society_Bright_reds_and_oranges_desktop.png
The art of natural dyeing in India (Avani Society)
Palazzo_Fortuny_Delphos_gown_desktop.png
The iconic delphos dress created by Mariano Fortuny in 1909 (Palazzo Fortuny)
Ewha_Womans_University_Museum_Ceremony_Robe_Desktop_02.png
Jobok, ceremonial Korean robe for couturiers, 1890 - 1910 (Ewha Womans University Museum)
Models_African_Heritage_House_Desktop.png
Models at African Heritage House in Kenya.
Karaja boys.png
Karajá tribe breastplates in Brazil (Museu do Índio)

We’ve also created virtual reality films bringing to life the stories of iconic pieces. Step inside the places where fashion history lives on YouTube or with a virtual reality viewer:

There's more to clothes than meets the eye. See how shoemakers, jewellers, tie-dyers and bag-makers master their crafts through generations, turning design sketches and tailoring patterns into clothes you can wear. Zoom into ultra-high resolution images made with our Art Camera and see the craftsmanship in unprecedented detail, like this famous Schiaparelli evening coat, a surrealist drawing turned into a bold fashion statement. Step inside the world’s largest costume collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Conservation Laboratory in 360 degrees, and see what it takes to preserve these objects for future generations. Explore the machinery that keeps one of the largest industries in the world in motion and meet the communities that are built on the production of textiles, like the Avani Society in India.

We also teamed up with YouTube star Ingrid Nilsen to go through the wardrobe and discover even more stories behind the clothes you wear today. Before you hide under your hoodie or put on a pair of ripped jeans, hop over to our YouTube channel to take a closer look at the historic thread running through today's fashions.

“We wear culture” is now live and online at g.co/wewearculture and through the Google Arts & Culture mobile app on iOS and Android. With this project, the world of fashion joins more than a thousand institutions of art and history that share their collections on Google Arts & Culture, letting you explore even more of our culture in one place. Click away and you’ll see how fashion is stitched into the fabric of our societies. And join in the conversation on social media with #WeWearCulture!

We wear culture: Discover why we wear what we wear with Google Arts & Culture

Are you wearing jeans today? Is there a floral tie or a black dress hanging in your wardrobe? Remember those platform shoes from the ‘90s? These have one thing in common: They all tell a story, sometimes spanning hundreds of years of history.

As the legendary Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland once said, “You can even see the approaching revolution in clothes. You can see and feel everything in clothes.” That’s one reason we’re excited to unveil “We wear culture,” a new project on Google Arts & Culture that brings you the stories behind the clothes you wear.

More than 180 museums, fashion institutions, schools, archives and other organizations from the fashion hubs of New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, São Paulo and elsewhere came together to put three millennia of fashion at your fingertips. You can browse 30,000 fashion pieces: try searching for hats and sort them by color or shoes by time. In 450+ exhibits, you can find stories from the ancient Silk Road to the ferocious fashion of the British punk. Or meet icons and trendsetters like Coco Chanel, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent or Vivienne Westwood.

Denim_The_Museum_at_FIT_Desktop.png
The rise of the denim from gold panners' workwear to high street and high fashion (The Museum at FIT)
Shoe_Jimmy_Durante_Show_Museu_Carmen_Miranda_Desktop.png
Iconic platform shoe of Brazilian diva Carmen Miranda (Museu Carmen Miranda)
Vulnicura_Bjork_Japan_Fashion_and_Lifestyle_Foundation_Desktop.png
Björk wearing Maiko Takeda on her Vulnicura album cover (Japan Fashion and Lifestyle Foundation)
Conde_Nast_Christian_Dior_New_Look_Desktop.png
Cover of U.S. “Vogue” highlighting Christian Dior's New Look (Condé Nast Archive)
Avani_Society_Bright_reds_and_oranges_desktop.png
The art of natural dyeing in India (Avani Society)
Palazzo_Fortuny_Delphos_gown_desktop.png
The iconic delphos dress created by Mariano Fortuny in 1909 (Palazzo Fortuny)
Ewha_Womans_University_Museum_Ceremony_Robe_Desktop_02.png
Jobok, ceremonial Korean robe for couturiers, 1890 - 1910 (Ewha Womans University Museum)
Models_African_Heritage_House_Desktop.png
Models at African Heritage House in Kenya.
Momu_King_Baudouin_Foundation_Lace_Coverlet_Desktop.png
An exploration of 18th century Belgian lace making (Momu Museum Antwerp).
Karaja boys.png
Karajá tribe breastplates in Brazil (Museu do Índio).

We’ve also created virtual reality films bringing to life the stories of iconic pieces. Step inside the places where fashion history lives on YouTube or with a virtual reality viewer:

There's more to clothes than meets the eye. See how shoemakers, jewellers, tie-dyers and bag-makers master their crafts through generations, turning design sketches and tailoring patterns into clothes you can wear. Zoom into ultra-high resolution images made with our Art Camera and see the craftsmanship in unprecedented detail, like this famous Schiaparelli evening coat, a surrealist drawing turned into a bold fashion statement. Step inside the world’s largest costume collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Conservation Laboratory in 360 degrees, and see what it takes to preserve these objects for future generations. Explore the machinery that keeps one of the largest industries in the world in motion and meet the communities that are built on the production of textiles, like the Avani Society in India.

We also teamed up with YouTube star Ingrid Nilsen to go through the wardrobe and discover even more stories behind the clothes you wear today. Before you hide under your hoodie or put on a pair of ripped jeans, hop over to our YouTube channel to take a closer look at the historic thread running through today's fashions.

“We wear culture” is now live and online at g.co/wewearculture and through the Google Arts & Culture mobile app on iOS and Android. With this project, the world of fashion joins more than a thousand institutions of art and history that share their collections on Google Arts & Culture, letting you explore even more of our culture in one place. Click away and you’ll see how fashion is stitched into the fabric of our societies. And join in the conversation on social media with #WeWearCulture!

We wear culture: Discover why we wear what we wear with Google Arts & Culture

Are you wearing jeans today? Is there a floral tie or a black dress hanging in your wardrobe? Remember those platform shoes from the ‘90s? These have one thing in common: They all tell a story, sometimes spanning hundreds of years of history.

As the legendary Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland once said, “You can even see the approaching revolution in clothes. You can see and feel everything in clothes.” That’s one reason we’re excited to unveil “We wear culture,” a new project on Google Arts & Culture that brings you the stories behind the clothes you wear.

More than 180 museums, fashion institutions, schools, archives and other organizations from the fashion hubs of New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, São Paulo and elsewhere came together to put three millennia of fashion at your fingertips. You can browse 30,000 fashion pieces: try searching for hats and sort them by color or shoes by time. In 450+ exhibits, you can find stories from the ancient Silk Road to the ferocious fashion of the British punk. Or meet icons and trendsetters like Coco Chanel, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent or Vivienne Westwood.

Denim_The_Museum_at_FIT_Desktop.png
The rise of the denim from gold panners' workwear to high street and high fashion (The Museum at FIT)
Shoe_Jimmy_Durante_Show_Museu_Carmen_Miranda_Desktop.png
Iconic platform shoe of Brazilian diva Carmen Miranda (Museu Carmen Miranda)
Vulnicura_Bjork_Japan_Fashion_and_Lifestyle_Foundation_Desktop.png
Björk wearing Maiko Takeda on her Vulnicura album cover (Japan Fashion and Lifestyle Foundation)
Conde_Nast_Christian_Dior_New_Look_Desktop.png
Cover of U.S. “Vogue” highlighting Christian Dior's New Look (Condé Nast Archive)
Avani_Society_Bright_reds_and_oranges_desktop.png
The art of natural dyeing in India (Avani Society)
Palazzo_Fortuny_Delphos_gown_desktop.png
The iconic delphos dress created by Mariano Fortuny in 1909 (Palazzo Fortuny)
Ewha_Womans_University_Museum_Ceremony_Robe_Desktop_02.png
Jobok, ceremonial Korean robe for couturiers, 1890 - 1910 (Ewha Womans University Museum)
Models_African_Heritage_House_Desktop.png
Models at African Heritage House in Kenya.
Momu_King_Baudouin_Foundation_Lace_Coverlet_Desktop.png
An exploration of 18th century Belgian lace making (Momu Museum Antwerp).
Karaja boys.png
Karajá tribe breastplates in Brazil (Museu do Índio).

We’ve also created virtual reality films bringing to life the stories of iconic pieces. Step inside the places where fashion history lives on YouTube or with a virtual reality viewer:

There's more to clothes than meets the eye. See how shoemakers, jewellers, tie-dyers and bag-makers master their crafts through generations, turning design sketches and tailoring patterns into clothes you can wear. Zoom into ultra-high resolution images made with our Art Camera and see the craftsmanship in unprecedented detail, like this famous Schiaparelli evening coat, a surrealist drawing turned into a bold fashion statement. Step inside the world’s largest costume collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Conservation Laboratory in 360 degrees, and see what it takes to preserve these objects for future generations. Explore the machinery that keeps one of the largest industries in the world in motion and meet the communities that are built on the production of textiles, like the Avani Society in India.

We also teamed up with YouTube star Ingrid Nilsen to go through the wardrobe and discover even more stories behind the clothes you wear today. Before you hide under your hoodie or put on a pair of ripped jeans, hop over to our YouTube channel to take a closer look at the historic thread running through today's fashions.

“We wear culture” is now live and online at g.co/wewearculture and through the Google Arts & Culture mobile app on iOS and Android. With this project, the world of fashion joins more than a thousand institutions of art and history that share their collections on Google Arts & Culture, letting you explore even more of our culture in one place. Click away and you’ll see how fashion is stitched into the fabric of our societies. And join in the conversation on social media with #WeWearCulture!