The exhibition draws directly on mythology, classical antiquity, symbolism and material culture, with works inspired by figures such as Demeter and Medusa. Joy BC treats these inherited stories as something that can be transformed and given new meaning through contemporary objects and personal experience. The exhibition runs from 29 September to 10 November 2026.

On how do images acquire power, meaning and emotional force. Freedberg looks at how people across different cultures and periods have responded to images, through belief, ritual, memory, fear, desire and devotion. I think it connects particularly well to the theme’s interest in how images and symbols circulate, carry inherited meanings, and are reactivated in different cultural contexts.

Today marks the second day since the opening of Godfried Donkor’s ‘Mythologies, Proverbs and Fablesm at Gallery 1957 in London. Through painting, embroidery and installation, Donkor explores how images, symbols and histories travel across cultures and generations, bringing together African and European histories, proverbs and fables. The exhibition considers how inherited narratives are carried forward, transformed and given new meanings as they encounter different places and contexts. I think it connects particularly well with the theme Building Mythologies through its exploration of inherited memory, folklore, symbolism and cultural translation. Donkor’s work shows mythology as a living practice not just something inherited from the past, but something that can be reactivated and transformed in the present. Godfried Donkor: Mythologies, Proverbs and Fables. 30 September - 28 November 2026. Gallery 1957 1 Hyde Park Gate, London. SW7 5EW.

In Forms of Enchantment, Marina Warner explores how myths, fairy tales, symbols and stories appear within the work of artists from the sixteenth century to today. Drawing on mythology and anthropology, she looks at how artists transform inherited stories and images, giving them new meanings in different cultural and contemporary contexts. What I like about this book is how it makes mythology feel less like something fixed in the past, and more like something artists can continually reinterpret and give new meaning to. Warner, Marina, Forms of Enchantment: Writings on Art and Artists (London: Thames & Hudson, 2018).