Tate Modern - Miro Exhibition

Welcome back to Access London everyone, thanks once again for your continued support for disability access and awareness in the capital.

Today's post looks at the Tate Modern and one of its current exhibitions - Miro. I wrote a post on Tate Britain a couple of months ago which describes the access to that gallery, please scroll down to previous posts if you are interested in visiting that attraction also.

Joan Miró
The Farm, 1921-2
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Gift of Mary Hemingway
© Successió Miró/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2011




Tate Modern is situated right on the river front between Southwark and and London Bridge tube stations. The Thames pathway that runs along past the gallery is a wide and accessible walkway along the river Thames and is a great way to visit the gallery. You can also travel between the two London Tate galleries on the Tate River Boat which is accessible to wheelchair users. Alternatively, if you are driving to the gallery, there are 5 disabled parking spaces onsite that can be booked in advance by calling 020 7887 8888.

The gallery is open 10.00-18.00 Sunday to Thursday and 10.00-22.00 Fridays and Saturdays.

Joan Miró
The Escape Ladder 1940
Museum of Modern Art, New York
© Successió Miró/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2011




Both the Main Entrance on Holland Street and the River Entrance on Queen's Walk are accessible to those with disabilities. Inside the gallery there are lifts to all exhibition floors and there are accessible toilets on each floor also.

In addition, the gallery has 10 wheelchairs and 2 mobility scooters that can be booked in advanced and used within the gallery for those who do not have their own - please call 020 7887 8888.

The Tate Modern currently has its Miro exhibition running until September 11th 2011. This is a relatively large exhibition running throughout more than a dozen rooms in the gallery. It depicts the work of Joan Miro, the renowned Spanish Surrealist painter, and exhibits work from across six decades of his carrer.

Joan Miró
Still Life with Old Shoe 1937
Museum of Modern Art, New York
© Successió Miró/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2011



"Joan Miro's works come to London in the first major retrospective here for nearly 50 years. Renowned as one of the greatest Surrealist painters, filling his paintings with luxuriant colour, Miro worked in a rich variety of styles. This is a rare opportunity to enjoy more than 150 paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints from moments across the six decades of his career."

The captions and free booklet you are given upon entry to the exhibition describe moments in his personal and professional life and include revelations about this very political artist - including his involvement in the Spanish Civil War and subsequent exile. With many of Miro's most striking pieces of work featured in the exhibition, it is one not to be missed.

Joan Miró
May 68, 1968 - 1973
Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona
Photo: Jaume Blassi
© Successió Miró/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2011





The exhibition rooms are very accessible and large with plenty of room for wheelchairs and mobility scooters. There is a concession price for disabled visitors and 1 carer can enter for free with every disabled guest.

Tate Modern also has a dedicated Access Programme that includes: Hearing Loops, BSL Multimedia Guides, BSL Talks, Large-Print Caption and Exhibition Guides, Audio-Described Highlight Tours, Touch Tours and Visual Descriptive Tours. For more information on any of these and other access queries, please call 020 7887 8888.



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The Royal Academy and Access

Firstly, I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone who has been supporting this blog and Access London.

Today's post is on the Royal Academy of Arts and one of its current exhibitions - The Glasgow Boys.

The Academy is located in Burlington House, Piccadilly. It is open 10am-6pm everyday with late night opening on Fridays (until 10pm). The pavement outside on Piccadilly is particularly wide and accessible for wheelchairs and scooters. When entering the courtyard at Burlington House, there is a choice: either the smaller archway to the right that takes you onto the pavement that circles the courtyard (there is a lowered access onto the courtyard halfway round). Or, through the large main arch and across the cobbled courtyard, just watch out for the fountains that come up from the ground. Watch the video below to see more!

There is both ramped and staired access to the gallery. If using a wheelchair or scooter, head to the left and use the large door, rather than the revolving one. Inside the foyer, there is level access to the cloakroom, ticket desk, toilets and cafe. For the lift, head behind the main staircase where an operator works the glass lift to all floors. I recommend booking tickets in advance for paid exhibitions.

The Academy offers the following for those with disabilities: touch facilities, access guides, tour guides, large print lists, thermoforms, ability to bring in guide dogs and BSL and lipspeaking tours. The gallery also has 5 wheelchairs which are available to hire and 2 parking spaces (for badge holders) which can be booked in advance. For enquiries use: 020 7300 8028 or access@royalacademy.org.uk

The exhibition, Pioneering Painters: The Glasgow Boys 1880-1900 is on until the 23rd January 2011. The gallery describes the exhibition as: "the first major exhibition in London for over 40 years to celebrate the achievement of the Glasgow Boys, the loosely knit group of young painters who created a stir at both home and abroad in the final decades of the nineteenth century".

The exhibition is spread through 6 rooms and showcases pictures from almost a dozen artists. Although each quite distinct in their own style, they painted with a mixture of impressionist influences and realist touches in their landscapes and portraits. The paintings show landscapes and cultures as diverse as Scotland, mainland Europe, Northern Africa and Japan. The majority use bright colours and a combination of brush strokes. The exhibition showcases work from the Glasgow Boys as a group and also some of their later works when they split up to persue their own interests and specialisms. I would thoroughly recommend this exhibition which runs for another month. Afterwards, don't forget to check out what else the Academy has to offer.

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For more information on the Royal Academy and to book tickets to see the Glasgow Boys and other exhibitions, go to:

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