Poets in Vogue
Promoting the Poets in Vogue exhibition to a wide, international audience – enhancing public engagement and inspiring the work of emerging young poets.
The Poets in Vogue exhibition was funded by a previous EPG / Accelerator grant from the University. Delayed by the pandemic, it ran from February to September 2023 at the National Poetry Library (Southbank Centre, London).
The challenge
The exhibition generated huge interest – significantly boosting the Library’s visitor numbers, membership and Instagram followers while attracting broad media coverage with features in Vogue, The Guardian, TLS and The Bookseller.
A second allocation of funding supported a range of public engagement activities to capitalise on this success and promote the exhibition to a wider, global audience.
Impacts and benefits
The project team delivered a variety of public engagement activities which attracted a range of participants from around the globe.
The Poetry and Clothes Challenge, in partnerships with the Poetry Society’s Young Poets Network, was taken up by 131 under-25s. Many had never previously entered a competition of this type and all said they would take part in future YPN Challenges. The winners were from Austria, USA and the UK – with entrants from all over the world.
The Poets in Vogue closing event at the House of St Barnabas (Soho, London), on 13 September 2023, was a fitting finale to the exhibition. Attendees enjoyed an evening of new poems, music, fashion and discussion. Organisers, Poet in the City, acknowledged that the exhibition inspired “a new audience” to find them.
Poet in the City also arranged a workshop with students at Central St Martins, exploring the use of poetry in their practice.
A film about Poets in Vogue is currently being edited with a scheduled release date of summer 2024. The documentary – featuring items from the exhibition and discussion – will be hosted on the National Poetry Library website and YouTube. This film will form part of a resource pack for future workshops.
Publications relating to the exhibition include an illustrated article Material Matters: Dressmaking and Exhibition-making for “Poets in Vogue” that appeared in Modernism/modernity (Visualities 8, Cycle 1, August 2023). Further publications relating to Poets in Vogue are in train.
The exhibition and public engagement activity were a resounding success – encouraging a wide audience to explore issues around poetry, fashion, body image and self-presentation while inspiring the work of promising new poets.
This funding was indispensable, helping me to bring Poets in Vogue to a much wider, international audience. It supported invaluable work with major arts organisations – allowing us to co-create a young poet's competition and a fabulous closing event, celebrating poetry and fashion.
Meet our experts
Harlaxton College (University of Evansville)
Meet our partners
We were privileged to work with colleagues from the following organisations. We are indebted to them for the success of Poets in Vogue.