'The Lonely City’: Olivia Laing
RA Book Club
Saturday 25 March 2017 3 - 4.30pm
General Assembly Room, Burlington House, Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly
£19 with exhibition ticket. £15 event only. Free for carers.
America after the Fall: Painting in the 1930s
Writer and critic Olivia Laing leads an intimate discussion around her recent book, 'The Lonely City', described by the New Statesman as a book that "changes the way we think about art, the people who make it and the price they pay."
When Olivia Laing moved to New York, she found herself inhabiting loneliness on a daily basis. Fascinated by this supposedly shameful experience, she began to explore the lonely city by way of art. Moving fluidly between works and lives – from Hopper's Nighthawks to Warhol's Time Capsules, from Henry Darger's hoarding to David Wojnarowicz's AIDS activism – she conducts an electric investigation into what it means to be alone.
This book club coincides with the RA exhibition America after the Fall, a transformative period for American art and culture. Olivia Laing will lead this book club, giving participants a unique opportunity to discuss The Lonely City directly with its author.
Please read the book prior to attending this event.
Olivia Laing is a writer and critic. Her books include The Lonely City (2016), The Trip to Echo Spring (2013) and To The River (2011). She's a columnist for Frieze and writes frequently for the Guardian, New Statesman, Observer and New York Times.
All ticket prices include complimentary tea and coffee.