Britain from the Air to launch in London

The Britain from the Air exhibition begins an eight week residency in London on Thursday 12 May with unique perspectives of some of the UK’s most striking and thought-provoking landscapes, through more than 100 contemporary aerial images.

Britain from the Air's opening at the Society’s historic headquarters on Exhibition Road, South Kensington – just up the road of the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum – marks the first time one of the Society’s most highly acclaimed exhibitions has been on display at the home of geography.

The exhibition’s 1.2 x 1.8 metre images will be located in the Society’s Pavilion and gardens.

Free to view, this extraordinary exhibition offers visitors the chance to see Britain as they have never seen it before. It includes a dramatic new image of Kensington and Hyde Park, detailing the modern-day legacy left by Prince Albert’s Great Exhibition of 1851.

Created jointly by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) and street gallery pioneers Wecommunic8, the exhibition arrives in London as a key part of the Society’s drive to engage the public with the geography of the UK. Its panels explore the dynamic processes that shape our landscapes but are often forgotten about.

Britain from the Air is sponsored by world travel clothing company Craghoppers and supported by the Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust, Ordnance Survey and Rolex.

Dr. Rita Gardner, Director of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), said:

“Britain from the Air is one of the Society’s most popular exhibitions and we’re excited to bring it to London for the first time.

“The exhibition offers a fantastic opportunity for visitors to see Britain’s incredible natural and human landscapes from a unique perspective. Intricate patterns, often hidden at ground level, are revealed in our aerial images, and the environmental, social and economic forces that create our diverse landscapes are exposed and explained.”

• Britain from the Air will be on display in the Society’s Pavilion and gardens in South Kensington, London, until 12 July. Opening hours: 10:00 – 17:00.
• Britain from the Air’s London residency follows the exhibition’s successful launch in Leeds in March 2015. It will be followed by residencies in Birmingham and the North-West.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. For further media enquiries, including image requests, please contact the RGS-IBG’s Communications and Media Officer, Scott Edwards, at s.edwards@rgs.org or 020 7591 3019. Further information at www.rgs.org/bfta

2. The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) is the learned society and professional body for geography. Formed in 1830 for 'the advancement of geographical science', today we deliver this objective through developing, supporting and promoting geographical research, expeditions and fieldwork, education, public engagement, and geography input to policy. We aim to foster an understanding and informed enjoyment of our world. We hold the world's largest private geographical collection and provide public access to it. We have a thriving Fellowship and membership and offer the professional accreditation 'Chartered Geographer’ www.rgs.org

3. Wecommunic8 are the highly acclaimed pioneers of street galleries, working in city centres to combine powerful imagery with informative captions in order to communicate, educate and stimulate. Founded in 2002, Wecommunic8 created the now iconic ‘Earth from the Air’ and the ‘Leeds 800th Centenary’ exhibition. Other exhibits include ‘Spirit of the Wild’, ‘Edge of the circle’, CARE International, the WWF ‘Arctic on the Edge’ in Copenhagen, ‘Tarnished Earth’ for WWF and Greenpeace, and the ‘UN Year of the Co-operatives’ national tour. To commemorate WW1, the ‘Fields of Battle – Lands of Peace’ was launched in 2014 in London and Paris. This will be the tenth anniversary of bringing street galleries to the city of Leeds. www.wecommunic8.com

4. Craghoppers started making clothing specifically designed for the outdoors back in 1965. A group of guys in West Yorkshire were planning to climb Everest and wanted gear to withstand the harshest of conditions, so they researched and designed fabrics that would protect them from the extreme cold. This was the birth of Craghoppers. Now based in Manchester, they have continued to develop fabrics and clothing designed to protect their customers, wherever they travel and whatever the climate. Craghoppers is currently distributed in over 20 countries worldwide and sold direct to over 100. www.craghoppers.com

5. Ordnance Survey (OS) is Great Britain’s national mapping agency, providing the most accurate and up-to-date geographic data, used and relied on by government, businesses and individuals. For over 200 years, it has been OS’s job to collect, maintain and provide information on our ever-changing landscape. www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk