London's Arts Labs and the 60s Avant-Garde

David Curtis studied painting at the Slade School, UCL before becoming involved with the Arts Laboratories (1967–71). He was Film Officer at the Arts Council of Great Britain for over 20 years, giving grants tofilmmaking artists and organising exhibitions of artists' works including Film as Film (Hayward Gallery, London 1979). He has written extensively on experimental film and animation, his books including Experimental Cinema (Studio Vista / Universe 1971), A History of Artists Film & Video in Britain (BF1 2007) and The Artists Film (Thames & Hudson 2021). He was a Senior Research Fellow at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London 2000–2010 where he founded the British Artists Film & Video Study Collection. His curatorial projects have included Midnight Underground (Channel 4 TV 1993) and A Century of Artists Film in Britain (Tate 2003–04).

• Foreword - 'IT'S NOT EASY'; 'The best Arts Laboratories are play pens.' Andrew Wilson Introduction Part one – Drury Lane Arts Lab Setting-up The Building The Programme Mix Theatre Poetry & Talks Music The Gallery The Soft Cinema Challenges Part two - The New Arts Lab at Robert St. (IRAT) Setting-Up The Building The Cybernetic Theatre The Gallery Music / Poetry / Talks The Print Workshop Video – TVX Cinema and Film Workshop Closure Postscript Appendices Drury Lane and Robert Street Workers' After-lives Arts Labs & Related Phenomena / Addresses & News by Regions' (IT / BIT Oct '69) Rob La Frenais & James Strangeways – On the Southampton Arts Lab David Jeffrey – The Penis in Italy – an Arts Lab Adventure, 1968 Jan Quackenbush – My play Complexions at the Drury Lane Arts LabMo Throp & John King – Footnotes to Sketches From a Hunter's Album Index Biography

Lavishly illustrated with photos, posters and drawings, although sometimes reproduced a little too small to discern details. Some fifty years on, the historical relevance of these groundbreaking initiatives and developments continues to resonate in both contemporary art and our digitally driven world.(Leonardo Reviews)