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Tate Britain talks_lectures

Tate Etc. Talk: Alain de Botton

30 October 2013 at 19.00–20.00
Alain de Botton

In the first in a series of new Tate Etc. talks, best-selling philosopher and essayist Alain de Botton discusses the therapeutic nature of art and his new book Art as Therapy, published by Phaidon Press and co-authored with art historian John Armstrong.

A critique, a call to action and a practical guide, Art as Therapy tackles the too often-ignored question, ‘What is art for?’ Alain de Botton aims to propose a provocative new methodology for engaging with art, one that encourages us to look to art for guidance on living better lives.

Alain de Botton (born 1969) is the author of bestselling books in more than 30 countries, including The Consolations of Philosophy, How Proust Can Change Your Life, Status Anxiety and, most recently, Religion for Atheists. He founded the School of Life in London in 2008, which supplies good ideas for everyday life in the form of courses, classes, workshops and talks.

Presented by Tate Etc. magazine

Tate Britain

The Clore Auditorium

Millbank
London SW1P 4RG
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Date & Time

30 October 2013 at 19.00–20.00

Find out more

  • Art can be good for you

    Alain de Botton

    We often have high expectations when we visit a museum of having great experiences with the art we see, but are we approaching it in the wrong way? And do museums give us the right information to guide us on our journey? Writer and philosopher Alain de Botton argues that the therapeutic nature of art can ‘rebalance our characters, recover calm, rediscover hope, expand our capacities for empathy and help us to learn to appreciate the everyday’. Taking four works in Tate Britain’s rehang as a starting point, he shows us how art can ‘reawaken us to the genuine merit of life as we are forced to lead it’

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