MONEY TALKS CURATOR TALK

Fri 13 Sep, 5–6pm

At the Museum and Online

The in-person event will take place at the Museum in the Lecture Theatre
The online event will be held on Zoom

Booking is essential

With Dr Shailendra Bhandare, curator of the Money Talks exhibition and Senior Assistant Keeper, South Asian and Far-eastern Numismatics and Paper Money Collections

How does money talk to us? We are often unaware that the money in our pocket carries messages. Despite its functional form, money design is a carefully calibrated exercise of sign-making and artistic intent.

In his curatorial introduction to the Money Talks exhibition, Dr Bhandare will discuss how art and money inform and influence each other. He will explore the historic journeys money makes, often starting life as an illustration or sculpture commissioned to capture and memorialise moments and figures.

Gold Aureus of Nero (54-68 CE) Rome mint © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Comfort Blanket tapestry in bright colours, by artist Grayson Perry, 2014 showing popular British symbols and slogans, including the pound sign and Queen Elizabeth's portrait

Comfort Blanket, Sir Grayson Perry, 2014, tapestry (edition of 9 plus 3 APs). Courtesy the artist, Paragon | Contemporary Editions Ltd and Victoria Miro

One of artist Pamela Hoare's Notable Women series of Defaced British Bank Notes in red and multicolour print on a £50 note. Shows portraits of Boulton and Watt obscured by overprinted portraits of Sarah Guppy and Beatrice 'Tilly' Shilling.

Notable Women - Defaced British Bank Notes, Paula Hoare, 2014 © Paula Stevens-Hoare | Ashmolean Museum

Drawing on a wide range of creative skills, techniques,and inspirations, Dr Bhandare will examine how different artists have responded to the creation and interpretation of money. He will explore the overlapping of gender, politics, religion and money using visuality and art as lenses to highlight specific stories and context.

This talk will offer fascinating historical insights as we traverse the journey where art and money come together in different ways.