MONEY TALKS: ART, SOCIETY & POWER

A major exhibition opening on 10 August 2024

Exploring the place of money in our world through different artistic lenses.

Money Talks will reveal how currency and art come together in design and culture to promote or challenge our views. It will feature works by some of the best-known artists, from Da Vinci and Rembrandt to Warhol and Banksy.

We are hardly aware that most of the imagery on our currency begins its life as art, before being mass produced on coins and notes. It has a dramatic impact on what and who we imagine is valuable.

Money has been a popular theme in art – from greed and prejudice to plenitude and happiness, artists have long explored and commented upon the balance between power and wealth through using money artistically in novel ways.

This major new exhibition will feature over 100 objects, including work from artists Andy Warhol and Grayson Perry, and from artists Banksy and Paula Stevens-Hoare who use money itself as a medium for political commentary and satire.

Bank of Economy, Meschac Gaba, 2016, image © Mario Todeschini, artwork © Meschac Gaba courtesy of Stevenson Cape Town, Johannesburg & Amsterdam

Money Dress, Susan Stockwell, 2010, International currency notes, cotton thread, canvas & mannequin frame © Susan Stockwell

Bowl with Roman coin casts and a medallion of Christ and the Woman of Samaria at the Well, c. 1500, parcel -silver-gilt © Ashmolean Museum

Alongside these artworks is a range of money including Roman, Chinese and Islamic coins, Art Nouveau banknotes, and the artwork for the currency featuring Kings Edward VIII and Charles III, on display for the first time.

Weaving stories from across the world with reflections on the role of physical currency in 2024, and featuring international objects and items from the Ashmolean’s leading collections, Money Talks will take visitors on an unexpected and engaging exploration of the intersection between money and art.