To commemorate the early works and ongoing influence of Factory Records there will be an exhibition: Use Hearing Protection FAC 1-50 / 40 [->], taking place at Chelsea Space in London, SW1.

The exhibition will tell the story of its formative years from 1978 to 1982 through the first 50 numbered Factory artefacts, including works by Peter Saville, Joy Division, John Dowie, Cabaret Voltaire, New Order, A Certain Ratio, OMD, Linder Sterling, The Distractions, The Durutti Column, Section 25, The Names, Minny Pops, Kevin Hewick and many more.

Of course, this is not the first time the First 50 concept has arisen in Factory folklore. FAC 301 was assigned to Tim Chambers's First 50 [->] project. A while ago, Tim told Cerysmatic that Tony Wilson wrote him a cheque for £75 to do a Filofax-type Fac historical document but it never happened and FAC 301 became the Think About The Future [->] international congress.

Use Hearing Protection FAC 1-50 / 40 is supported by rare and unseen materials from personal archives, as well as non-Factory period items of influence. These combine to describe a period from which Factory Records was proposed and realised, underpinning its revolutionary cultural impact on the music, art, design and ideas of our times.

Curated by Jon Savage and Mat Bancroft, the exhibition is featured in this year's London Design Festival (although it continues for longer than the Festival) and will be free entry, running from 13 September until Friday 25 October.

As if a whole exhibition devoted to the early history of Factory Records was not enough, an expanded exhibition, with the Use Hearing Protection, FAC 1-50 objects at its core is being developed by the Science and Industry Museum [->] in Manchester. This exhibition will build on the Chelsea Space display and is due to open July 2020, telling the story of Joy Division and the founding of Factory Records in the city. More on that as we have it...

p.s. if you own the Fact 10+4 posters [->] (mega-rare Saville-designed promo posters for Unknown Pleasures plus 4 other then upcoming Factory releases) and are willing to loan them for this exhibition please do get in touch.

Labels: A_Certain_Ratio, exhibition, Factory_Records, Factory40, graphic_design, Joy_Division, Linder, London, Minny_Pops, New_Order, OMD, Peter Saville, Section_25, The_Distractions, The_Durutti_Column, The_Names

- - - -