Exquisite Patterns: Japanese Textile Design Books Private View – Q&A
Watch Lesley Downer in conversation with Hamish Todd (Head of East Asian Collections) at the British Library.
Issey Miyake, a great loss
For me, for the fashion industry, for everyone, this is huge news and a great loss of a warm and wonderfulman who created glorious fabrics and clothes. In the 90s I went to the 21st anniversary celebrations of theIssey Miyake brand where Larry Adler (remember him?) unforgettably played Rhapsody in Blue accompanied by Gershwin himself … Read more
A Date for your Diary: British Library – Virtual Private View on 29th March 2022
Finding out all about the wonderful world of Japanese kimono pattern books with curator Hamish Todd at the British Library.
Lesley Downer featured in JETAA UK Newsletter
I went to Japan in 1978 as a member of the very first group of English teachers on the Wolfers Scheme which later became known as the Japan English Teachers’ Programme – JET. So very proud to be featured in the newsletter for the Alumni Association. Read full article: JET Spotlight: Lesley Downer See also … Read more
A Date for your Diary: Ashmolean Museum Oxford – Online Talk on 9th December 2021
Edo Castle: The Glittering World of the Shogun’s Courtality
A Date for your Diary: JSNW – Online Talk on 17th September 2021
The Meiji Restoration and the part the British played in making sure it went ahead.
A Date for your Diary: Ashmolean Museum Oxford – Online Talk on 9th September 2021
The Decadent World of the Yoshiwara: Dream and Reality
Rodin’s Japanese Muse
Some of the most intriguing of August Rodin’s works are the fifty three heads, masks and busts of the Japanese dancer Hanako he made late in life, several of which are currently on display at the Tate Modern exhibition The Making of Rodin. Some are calm and placid, but many are contorted in anguish or … Read more