 |
- Modern Medicine and Gambler open at Building One, a former biscuit
factory in Bermondsey.
- Violent ‘anti-poll tax’ riots in Trafalgar Square.
- Margaret Thatcher resigns. John Major new Conservative Prime Minister.
|
- Operation ‘Desert Storm’ launched.
- Damien Hirst installation In and Out of Love.
- Frieze, a contemporary art and culture magazine, launched.
- Bank, an artists’ co-operative is formed to curate and collaborate
on exhibitions.
- The Big Issue magazine launched to be sold by the homeless,
on behalf of the homeless.
- Ministry of Sound club opens.
- Vivienne Westwood becomes British Designer of the Year.
- Tate Gallery’s Turner Prize relaunched.
|
- Artscribe magazine closes.
- Sarah Lucas’ first solo show Penis Nailed to a Board at
City Racing.
- Young British Artists 1 at the Saatchi Gallery.
- House repossessions at an all-time high.
- Kate Moss emerges as a super-model.
- Conservatives win general election.
- Personal bankruptcies increase by 80 per cent over previous year.
- Black Wednesday: Britain withdraws from the Exchange Rate Mechanism,
billions lost from Bank of England reserves.
|
- Tracy Emin and Sarah Lucas open The Shop in Bethnal Green Road.
- Eltham schoolboy Stephen Lawrence is murdered in a racially motivated
attack.
- Unemployment reaches 3 million.
- IRA bomb explodes in the City.
- Jay Jopling opens White Cube Gallery.
- Rachel Whiteread’s concrete House in East London attracts
wide media attention and is later demolished by the local council. Whiteread
wins the Turner Prize.
|
- Tony Blair becomes leader of Labour Party.
- Mass demonstrations against the Criminal Justice Bill, which limited
the right to assembly.
- More than 10,000 people in Britain have AIDS.
- The National Lottery is launched.
|
- Drum and bass artist Goldie starts ‘Metalheadz’ sessions
at Blue Note Club, Hoxton.
- Owners of 140,000 London homes face negative equity.
|
- Brilliant! New Art from London at the Walker Art Centre, Minneapolis,
features 22 young British artists.
- Life/Live at Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.
- Alexander McQueen succeeds John Galliano as designer for Givenchy.
- Proposed slaughter of 4.6 million cattle over 6 years old in bid to
end BSE crisis.
- Upturn in London property prices begins.
|
- Geneticists announce successful cloning of adult sheep.
- Labour wins general election, ending 18 years of Conservative Party
rule.
- A massive rise of women in the House of Commons, form 62 to 120.
- Sensation at the Royal Academy, selected from Saatchi Collection,
is seen by 300,000 people, 80 per cent of whom are under 30.
- Drum and bass artist Roni Size wins the Mercury Music Prize.
- Turner Prize has its first all-female shortlist.
|
- Good Friday Agreement between Britain and Ireland aims to end nearly
30 years of violence.
- The House of Commons votes to reduce the age of sexual consent for
homosexuals, from 18 to 16.
- Baroness Jay calls for reform of the House of Lords, including removal
of hereditary peers.
- Die Young and Stay Pretty, curated by Martin Maloney, at the
Institute of Contemporary Arts.
|
- McPherson Report of police investigation of the murder of Stephen
Lawrence is published, addressing institutionalised racism in the Metropolitan
Police Force.
|
- Independent candidate Ken Livingstone elected Mayor of London.
- The Millenium Dome fails to meet projected visitor numbers. By October
it had received a total of £585 million of Lottery funding.
- Home Secretary Jack Straw announces a new amended Race Relations Bill.
- Tate Modern opens at Bankside with 1 million visitors during first
6 weeks.
- Unemployment figures drop to just over 1 million.
|
