Cybernetic Serendipity

‘Where in London could you take a hippy, a computer programmer, a ten-year-old schoolboy and guarantee that each would be perfectly happy for an hour without you having to lift a finger to entertain them?’ 2nd August 1968, Evening Standard

Cybernetic Serendipity, the landmark exhibition curated by Jasia Reichardt in 1968 is to be celebrated in the Fox Reading Room through a new presentation of rare installation photographs, press reviews, invitation cards and printed material such as the catalogue.

Garnering the attention of the national and international press at the time, Cybernetic Serendipity was the first international exhibition in the UK devoted to the relationship between the creative arts and new technology. This groundbreaking exhibition, designed by Franciszka Themerson, presented the work of over 130 participants including composers, engineers, artists, mathematicians and poets with no distinction made between these disciplines. The exhibition ran from 2 August - 20 October 1968 and welcomed nearly 60,000 visitors.