Cabarets and modern art: an exhibiion in London

Tiller Girls, by Karl Hofer 1927

Cafés, clubs andcabarets have long been a source of inspiration for artists. Operating behind closed doors and liberated from the constraints of societal norms, they have frequently flourished at times of political, social or intellectual crisis – including the chaos and destruction of World War One, the economic and political instability of Weimar Germany and the complex racial politics of the Harlem Renaissance. Throughout, they have offered a safe space in which often marginalised communities can express themselves freely both on and off stage.

In examining the origins of these venues, the exhibition Into the Night: Cabaretsand Clubs in Modern Art at the Barbican in London , until 19 January 2020, reveals the intense desire to create at times of crisis and, given the current uncertainty of global politics and rising nationalism, prompts us to draw certain parallels to our own times. With the show opening three weeks before Brexit is due to take place, curator Florence Ostende has come to see it as making a statement about the need to keep boundaries open. “Many of the artists in the show were travelling from one scene to another and that idea of a transnational artistic identify is at the core of the show,” she says.