The Spring to Come
5 October 2016 – 10 January 2017
A site-specific installation by artist Sława Harasymowicz that interrogated the tensions between images and words, The Spring to Come unravelled the story of an aspiring poet and his attempts to deal with the reality of war through imagination and language.
Using a range of media and translation tools to interpret and respond to private and public archival materials and The National Poetry Library collection, the installation harnessed diverse voices, modes and registers of speech to consider the image of language as it controls, meanders, and imagines.
An artist book, published on the occasion of the year-long project by Slawa Harasymowicz (edited by Dominic Czechowski and now in the National Poetry Library collection) was launched during the exhibition. It included new visual work by the artist, as well as texts by a range of academics contextualising the project.
The exhibition was the final chapter of a three-part multidisciplinary project that included two other solo exhibitions by Harasymowicz at Centrala Gallery, Birmingham and narrative projects, London, curated by Dominik Czechowski and supported by Arts Council England.
The Spring to Come ran at the National Poetry Library from 5 October 2016 to 10 January 2017.
Exhibition supported by
For your visit
National Poetry Library Southbank Centre
The National Poetry Library is open six days a week.
Tuesday, 12 noon – 6pm
Wednesday – Sunday, 12 noon – 8pm
Getting here
The National Poetry Library is on Level 5 of our Royal Festival Hall.
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
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Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Study & library use
The library is London’s only space dedicated to poetry study. Visitors studying another subject or looking for a place to work are kindly asked to find an alternative space in the Royal Festival Hall.
