Millennium Tat: New Labour and the Neoliberal Gift-Shop

Coming to you LIVE... we are joined by two very special friends of the pod – artist Darren Cullen (aka Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives) and journalist and author Imogen West-Knights – as they explore the spirit of the millennium via the museum gift shop. New Labour were great proponents of the culture industries, and made admission to the UK’s national museums free in 2001. Did this and grand projects like the Millennium Dome change our relationship with museums? The podcast also explores how the contents of the museum gift shop have changed in the 21st century – and what this might tell us about the evolving nature of consumer capitalism. This event was recorded live as part of the event series connected to the Cursed Objects in Museum Shops exhibition at the Peltz Gallery. The exhibition is FREE and runs until 26th June, Mon-Fri 10am- 8pm. For more information, see here. (You've only got two weeks left to see it!!) About the speakers: Darren Cullen is a satirical artist, illustrator and writer, the creator of the ‘hell’ bus targeting oil companies’ greenwashing, and better known as Spelling Mistakes Costs Lives. In 2019 he co-curated the Museum of Neoliberalism, which was open until 2024. Imogen West-Knights is a freelance journalist and novelist, focusing on culture and politics for the Guardian, NY Times, FT, Slate and others. Her Guardian Long Read on the inside story of the Millennium Dome was published in 2020. With thanks to Jade Bailey for her help on the recording. This event was supported by the Centre for Museum Cultures, Birkbeck.