Join us to see Frida Kahlo at Tate Modern, with a talk by an art historian first.The afternoon12.00pm — meet at the Corner café, Tate Modern12.30pm — talk on Frida and the art of seeing, by art historian Solange Gulizzi1.30pm — exhibition entryAfterwards, a drink and a proper conversation nearby.No prior knowledge needed, only curiosity.Tickets: £25 covers the talk and the club gathering. The Tate exhibition ticket is purchased separately and directly from Tate — please buy your exhibition slot FIRST, timed for our 1.30pm entry.Frida Kahlo is one of the most recognised faces in the world. She appears on tote bags, tea towels and tattoos. But how often do we stop to really look at her paintings?Consider for instance the promotional image used by Tate Modern…She looks straight at you. Her gaze is level and unflinching, and her brows meet like wings. Around her neck, a necklace of thorns presses into the skin. A small black monkey tugs at it. A black cat crouches at her shoulder, and a hummingbird, wings spread, hangs motionless at her throat. Behind her, great green leaves rise like the walls of a secret garden.She does not flinch. She wants you to look.Frida Kahlo painted herself into the world, and the world has never stopped gazing back. But how many of us have learned how to look?Before you step into the exhibition, join art historian Solange Gulizzi for an afternoon that will open your eyes.First, the art of seeing.We begin with the questions art historians carry into every room. Where does the eye land first, and where is it led? What does a colour promise? What does a gesture hide? What is a thorn, a leaf, a bird, when a painter places it just so? You will learn to read a painting the way you read a face: slowly, attentively and with growing wonder. It is a way of seeing you will take into every gallery you ever enter.Then, into Frida's world.With new eyes, we step through the leaves and into her paintings: the heartbreak and the defiance, the politics and the pain, the Mexico she wore like armour and held like a banner. Drawing on works you will meet at the exhibition, we will trace how she turned her own body into a battleground, a landscape and a manifesto, and why her voice still sounds so fiercely through feminist thought today.You will leave with:A new way of looking, one that makes any artwork speakA deeper Frida, beyond the icon, the merchandise and the mythThe key works at the exhibition already familiar to you, like faces of old friendsAn afternoon in good company, thinking about women, art and powerNo prior knowledge is needed, only curiosity. Whether you are a lifelong lover of art or have never paused at a wall label, you will walk into the exhibition slower, braver and deeply attentive.About your speakerSolange Gulizzi is an art historian completing a PhD in art history, and holds an MA in art history from the University of Essex. She taught Contemporary Art at the University of Essex and was the editor in chief for the art history journal, ReBus. Over a decade of close looking inform the afternoon, which is offered warmly, clearly and without jargon.Come to look. Leave seeing.The PracticalitiesPlease buy your Tate exhibition ticket FIRST, before booking your place here. This ensures there is still availability for the exhibition, as entry slots sell out.Exhibition tickets (entry slots must be booked directly with Tate): https://shop.tate.org.uk/ticket/date?cgid=375273How the afternoon works12.00pm — Meet at the Corner café at Tate Modern. Time to orient yourself, grab a coffee and settle in at our table.12.30pm–1.30pm — Talk by Solange Gulizzi, art historian.1.30pm — Exhibition entry. If 1.30pm is sold out we will aim for the next available slot as close to 1.30pm as possible.Once we are inside we can all mingle, see the exhibition at our own pace, and convene at the end for a drink and discussion in a nearby pub.Your £25 ticket covers the talk. The Tate exhibition ticket is purchased separately and directly from Tate, as prices vary depending on the concessions you may be entitled to.Part of The Feminist Academy, an independent feminist education and cultural platform: essays, masterclasses, reading groups and live events. About this Event
Frida Kahlo is one of the most recognised faces in the world. She appears on tote bags, tea towels and tattoos. But how often do we stop to really look at her paintings?
Consider for instance the promotional image used by Tate Modern…
She looks straight at you. Her gaze is level and unflinching, and her brows meet like wings. Around her neck, a necklace of thorns presses into the skin. A small black monkey tugs at it. A black cat crouches at her shoulder, and a hummingbird, wings spread, hangs motionless at her throat. Behind her, great green leaves rise like the walls of a secret garden.
She does not flinch. She wants you to look.
Frida Kahlo painted herself into the world, and the world has never stopped gazing back. But how many of us have learned how to look?
Before you step into the exhibition, join art historian Solange Gulizzi for an afternoon that will open your eyes.
First, the art of seeing. We begin with the questions art historians carry into every room. Where does the eye land first, and where is it led? What does a colour promise? What does a gesture hide? What is a thorn, a leaf, a bird, when a painter places it just so? You will learn to read a painting the way you read a face: slowly, attentively and with growing wonder. It is a way of seeing you will take into every gallery you ever enter.
Then, into Frida's world. With new eyes, we step through the leaves and into her paintings: the heartbreak and the defiance, the politics and the pain, the Mexico she wore like armour and held like a banner. Drawing on works you will meet at the exhibition, we will trace how she turned her own body into a battleground, a landscape and a manifesto, and why her voice still sounds so fiercely through feminist thought today.
You will leave with:
A new way of looking, one that makes any artwork speak
A deeper Frida, beyond the icon, the merchandise and the myth
The key works at the exhibition already familiar to you, like faces of old friends
An afternoon in good company, thinking about women, art and power
No prior knowledge is needed, only curiosity. Whether you are a lifelong lover of art or have never paused at a wall label, you will walk into the exhibition slower, braver and deeply attentive.
About your speaker Solange Gulizzi is an art historian completing a PhD in art history, and holds an MA in art history from the University of Essex. She taught Contemporary Art at the University of Essex and was the editor in chief for the art history journal, ReBus. Over a decade of close looking inform the afternoon, which is offered warmly, clearly and without jargon.
Come to look. Leave seeing.
The Practicalities
Please buy your Tate exhibition ticket FIRST, before booking your place here.This ensures there is still availability for the exhibition, as entry slots sell out.
Exhibition tickets (entry slots must be booked directly with Tate): https://shop.tate.org.uk/ticket/date?cgid=375273
How the afternoon works
12pm — Meet at the Corner café at Tate Modern. Time to orient yourself, grab a coffee and settle in at our table.
12.30pm–13.20.00pm — Talk by Solange Gulizzi, art historian.
13.30pm — Exhibition entry.
Afterwrds: drink and discussion nearby
Once we are inside we can all mingle, see the exhibition at our own pace, and convene at the end for a drink and discussion in a nearby pub.
Your £25 ticket covers the talk. The Tate exhibition ticket is purchased separately and directly from Tate, as prices vary depending on the concessions you may be entitled to.
Part of The Feminist Academy, an independent feminist education and cultural platform: essays, masterclasses, reading groups and live events.
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Event venue & nearby stays
Tate Modern, Bankside, London, United Kingdom
Tickets
GBP 25.00
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.