Pressrelease:forimmediaterelease
Radical50sSohocoffeehouserediscovered
Four Corners is delighted to announce the Partisan Coffee House exhibition, which launches on
5thMay2017atFourCornersGallery,BethnalGreen.
Theexhibitiontellsthefascinating,butlittle-knownstoryofthePartisanCoffeeHouse,founded
by radical historian Raphael Samuel, cultural theorist Stuart Hall and others. It includes a
compelling series of previously unseen photographs by renowned documentary photographer
RogerMayne,alongsideprintedmaterials,filmclips,oralhistories,andanaccompanyingpublic
talksprogramme.
Founded in Carlisle Street Soho in 1958, the Partisan was the spiritual home of the British New
Left.WithamenuthatincludedBorscht,Viennesecoffeeand'Whitechapelcheesecake',itaimed
to recreatethe culture of a mitteleuropabohemiancafe in the centre of trendy Soho, and was
knownas'London'sfirstanti-espressobar'.CloselylinkedwiththeradicaljournalUniversitiesand
Left Review (later New Left Review), the Partisan embraced the burning political and cultural
issuesoftheday,fromtheAldermastonanti-nuclearmarchestothepoliticsofthenovel.Inits
short existence it staged debates, film screenings,art exhibitions, skiffle and folk music nights
whichdrewinleadingwriters,artistsandintellectualsincludingDorisLessing,RaymondWilliams,
JohnBerger,EricHobsbawm,KarelReiszandLindseyAnderson.
HistorianMikeBerlinbasedatBirkbeck,UniversityofLondonandwhohascuratedtheexhibition,
said: “this largely forgotten moment in British cultural history deserves to be celebrated. The
Partisan embodied a radical tradition that had a profound influence on the political counter
culturesofthe1960sand70s.”
Notesforeditors
ThePartisanCoffeeHouseexhibitionruns5Mayto27May2017at
FourCornersGallery,121RomanRoad,LondonE20QN.
PrivateView4May6.30pm,RSVPessential
Furtherinformationcontact:
[email protected]
CarlaMitchell–[email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/partisancoffeehouse/
https://twitter.com/Partisan_58
TheexhibitionismadepossiblewithsupportfromtheBarryAmielandNormanMelburnTrust-
http://www.amielandmelburn.org.uk It is delivered in partnership with Birkbeck, Bishopsgate
InstituteandtheRaphaelSamuelHistoryCentre,withgenerousassistancefromLaurieMcDowell,
SallyJeffries,MaryEvansPictureLibraryandICN.
MikeBerlinteacheshistoryatBirkbeck,UniversityofLondon.HisworkonthePartisanhas
featuredinaRadio4documentaryandattheBergenAssembly,theNorwegianartsbiennale.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fq6nm
http://bergenassembly.no/en/freethought/the-partisan-cafe/
The exhibition coincides with a major retrospective exhibition of photographer Roger Mayne
(1929-2014)atthePhotographersGallery.http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/roger-mayne-4
FourCornersisalearning,productionandexhibitioncentreforfilmandphotography.We
supportnewtalenttoestablishedpractitioners,andtheexhibitionofworkwhichchallengesand
inspires.http://www.fourcornersfilm.co.uk
Birkbeckispartoftheworld-renownedUniversityofLondon,Birkbeckisaworld-classresearch
andteachinginstitution,basedincentralLondon.BirkbeckisLondon'sonlyspecialistproviderof
eveninguniversitystudy,offeringpart-timeandfull-timecoursesbyeveningstudyatalllevels.
http://www.bbk.ac.uk
BishopsgateInstituteisaculturalcentreforlearning.TheLibraryandArchiveincludeworldrenownedcollectionsonLondonhistory,labourandsocialisthistory,freethoughtandhumanism,
co-operation,andprotestandcampaigning.http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk
TheRaphaelSamuelHistoryCentreisaLondon-basedresearchcentredevotedtoencouraging
thewidestpossibleparticipationinhistoricalstudyanddebate.Werunalargeprogrammeof
activitiesdesignedtofosternewapproachestohistoryandwearecommittedtotakinghistory
intothewidercommunitythroughoureducationalandoutreachinitiatives.http://www.raphaelsamuel.org.uk