¹û¶³Ó°Ôº

 "The exhibition is a beautiful teaser for what one hopes might one day be a larger retrospective"― Robert Kesseler, Apollo Magazine 15 February 2019This celebration of British artist Edward Allington (1951-2017) at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Art Museum, launched ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº's Year of Sculpture 2019 earlier this year.Sculptures, photographs, drawings, antique ledgers, motorbike parts and toy dinosaurs are part of the exhibition, exploring Allington’s concerns and ambitions for sculpture, as well as his composite persona as artist, writer, educator, collector and motorcyclist. The public programme has included interpretations through dance with a youth group from The Place and dance students from University of East London.Find out more about Edward Allington and his work below.¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Art Museum wishes to thank Thalia and Harry Allington-Wood, Megan Piper, Jo Volley and Gary Woodley in realising Edward Allington: In pursuit of sculpture, curated by Dr Andrea Fredericksen and Dr Nina Pearlman.This is part of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Art Collections’ commitment to interdisciplinary research-based and exhibitions-led collaborations. For more information or expressions of interest to collaborate contact museums@ucl.ac.ukSee more of Edward Allington at the Henry Moore Institute:Exhibition:   Edward Allington: Things Unsaid 25 Oct – 19 January, focusing on the artist’s larger sculpture works.Conference:   Sense – Perception: Sculpture, Drawing and Influence of Classicism, Henry Moore Studios and Gardens, 12 October 2019, Henry Moore Institute 29 November 2019 Edward Allington: In pursuit of sculpture - exhibitionEdward Allington: In pursuit of sculpture presents a selection of the acclaimed sculptor’s smaller works, cohabiting with the university's historical collections in a traditional Print Room setting. Allington was fascinated by the classical worlds of Greece and Rome, particularly the hold they have on our imagination and how they continue to shape our physical environment. His preoccupation with timely questions about authenticity, origins and truth evolved from his practice as a sculptor, researcher, writer and teacher. He was not nostalgic, but rather recognised in classical sculpture radical qualities that fuelled his practice. He noted that sculpture was based on principles and processes of reproduction – such as casting, and that often our encounter with it is through souvenirs or heavily restored artefacts in museums. Most classical sculptures are themselves copies – Roman copies in stone of Greek sculptures in bronze that are lost and only known to us through descriptions by Greek scholars. In Allington’s words ‘I realised that in culture itself it is impossible to prove that one level is more important than any other. As an artist it would be irresponsible to omit what I began to see as the larger part of culture. I had to learn and understand not only ‘high’ art but also ‘low’ art.’ As such a preoccupation with kitsch infused Allington’s work in the 1980s where the Dionysian energies of exuberance, opulence and excess were at play in his ‘cornucopia’ sculptures. Snail from the Necropolis of Hope (1983) shown in the exhibition represents this body of work in which plentiful plastic fruits, insects, frogs or vases spill out of decorative shells or horn-like forms. While paintings generally have a wall as their backdrop – wherever that wall may be, the backdrop for sculpture changes. A recurring theme for Allington was sculpture’s capacity to subvert its surroundings and for sculpture’s capacity to change as a result of its placing. He maintained that everywhere there is a space in which sculptures cohabit and interact with other things and that most sculptures are made with ideal settings in mind yet are more likely to exist in storage, a home, an institution or a photograph. This led him to explore the union of site-sculpture-photography through a longstanding collaboration with Edward Woodman. This included Decorative Forms Over the World, a series that was ongoing since the mid-1980s and is featured in the exhibition. Allington and Woodman travelled with an illusionistic drawing – a scroll based on an architectural corbel – and photographed it in different locations and situations. More recently, Heini Schneebeli photographed Allington’s small bronzes which he placed amidst collections in the museums of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº.  [[{"fid":"10251","view_mode":"small","fields":{"format":"small","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington, We are time (1985), photographed in ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Art Museum, 2012","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington, We are time (1985), photographed in ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Art Museum, 2012 by Heini Schneebeli","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington, We are time (1985), photographed in ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Art Museum, 2012 by Heini Schneebeli © Heini Schneebeli & the artist's estate","field_float_left_right[und]":"right","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"small","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington, We are time (1985), photographed in ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Art Museum, 2012","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington, We are time (1985), photographed in ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Art Museum, 2012 by Heini Schneebeli","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington, We are time (1985), photographed in ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Art Museum, 2012 by Heini Schneebeli © Heini Schneebeli & the artist's estate","field_float_left_right[und]":"right","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"768","width":"511","class":"media-element file-small"}}]]Allington was equally interested in the power of memory and addressed the states of materiality and illusion with playfulness and humour. This is evident in his drawings, which were an integral part of his practice, as well as in Three Japanese Measuring Devices (2016) where three small sculptures are concealed within an antique ledger becoming invisible when the ledger is closed, or Suitcase: Lost World (2010) where a plentiful stream of plastic dinosaurs spills out of a suitcase. These works prompt reflection on the significance of the visible and physical presence of the object, as opposed to our memory of it.[[{"fid":"10267","view_mode":"small","fields":{"format":"small","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington, Three Japanese Measuring Devices, 2016","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington, Three Japanese Measuring Devices, 2016 © the artist’s estate","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington, Three Japanese Measuring Devices, 2016, antique ledger book, ledger paper, ink, emulsion, MDF and bronze, photo: Sam Roberts © the artist’s estate","field_float_left_right[und]":"right","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"small","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington, Three Japanese Measuring Devices, 2016","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington, Three Japanese Measuring Devices, 2016 © the artist’s estate","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington, Three Japanese Measuring Devices, 2016, antique ledger book, ledger paper, ink, emulsion, MDF and bronze, photo: Sam Roberts © the artist’s estate","field_float_left_right[und]":"right","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"768","width":"512","class":"media-element file-small"}}]]Antique ledgers were among the many objects Allington collected, alongside plastic replicas of classical architecture, motorbike models and actual motorbike parts, selections of which feature in the exhibition. All of these collectables became infused with sculpture and embodied alternating status as disposable copy, sculpture fragment, or drawing surface. Sheets from the ledgers that carried tracings of everyday life became the surfaces upon which Allington inscribed architectural spaces. Into these imaginary spaces he introduced oblique projections of sculptural forms that fused natural, architectural and mechanical orders, ultimately forging what became his signature style.[[{"fid":"10271","view_mode":"small","fields":{"format":"small","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington and Jo Volley, no title, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº quad, 2017 ©the artist’s estate and Jo Volley","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington and Jo Volley, no title, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº quad, 2017 ©the artist’s estate and Jo Volley","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington and Jo Volley, no title, scanned drawing scaled up and printed on vinyl, installed ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº courtyard, 2017, photo: Mary Hinkley©the artist’s estate and Jo Volley","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"small","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington and Jo Volley, no title, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº quad, 2017 ©the artist’s estate and Jo Volley","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington and Jo Volley, no title, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº quad, 2017 ©the artist’s estate and Jo Volley","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington and Jo Volley, no title, scanned drawing scaled up and printed on vinyl, installed ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº courtyard, 2017, photo: Mary Hinkley©the artist’s estate and Jo Volley","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"768","width":"461","class":"media-element file-small"}}]]The exhibition is book-ended by one of Allington’s earliest works as a student of ceramics and his final public work in the UK: a collaboration with artist and fellow Slade Professor, Jo Volley. Their drawing has been scaled-up to be 7.5m high to wrap around a pop-up structure in the courtyard of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. The work features classical columns, as well as drawing and building instruments, which are overlaid on a chart depicting the growth of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº in its first 100 years. Inscribed with the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº motto Cuncti adsint meritaeque expectent praemia palmae (Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward) the piece reflects upon the university’s development.To read more about Edward Allington - sculpture and photography visit our blog.[1] ‘Edward Allington interviewed by Stuart Morgan 1983’ in Edward Allington:: In pursuit of savage luxury, Midland Group Nottingham, 1984, p.26.About the artist[[{"fid":"10275","view_mode":"small","fields":{"format":"small","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington on his 1970 Harley Davidson XR750 TT, The Sammy Miller Museum, UK, 2014 © the artist’s estate ","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington on his 1970 Harley Davidson XR750 TT, The Sammy Miller Museum, UK, 2014 © the artist’s estate ","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington on his 1970 Harley Davidson XR750 TT, The Sammy Miller Museum, UK, 2014 © the artist’s estate","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"small","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington on his 1970 Harley Davidson XR750 TT, The Sammy Miller Museum, UK, 2014 © the artist’s estate ","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington on his 1970 Harley Davidson XR750 TT, The Sammy Miller Museum, UK, 2014 © the artist’s estate ","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"Edward Allington on his 1970 Harley Davidson XR750 TT, The Sammy Miller Museum, UK, 2014 © the artist’s estate","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"683","width":"1024","class":"media-element file-small"}}]]Edward Allington (1951-2017) was born in Cumbria. He studied at Lancaster College of Art (1968-1971), Central School of Art and Design (1971-1974) and at the Royal College of Art (1983-1984). Associated with New British Sculpture, Allington’s work was included in the group exhibition ‘Objects and Sculpture’ at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1981 and ‘The Sculpture Show’ at The Hayward Gallery in 1983, and he exhibited widely in America, Japan and throughout Europe.Allington was the winner of the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Prize in 1989 and received a fine art award to work at the British School at Rome in 1997. He is represented in major public, private and corporate collections, including Arts Council England, Tate, Henry Moore Institute, Victoria and Albert Museum and The British Museum.Allington lived and worked in London and was Professor of Sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art until he died on 2017 at the age of 66. The Slade sculpture prizeFrom the establishment of the Slade School of Fine Art in 1871 prizes were awarded to students in a range of categories, including sculpture. However, unlike paintings and drawings, the prizes in sculpture were not retained by the School. Archival records denote a phantom collection of prize-winning works of sculpture that is lost. The first prize for the year 1889-1890 was awarded to a female artist we know little about, noted in the College records as S Rosamund Praeger. Recent research has indicated that prizes were awarded consistently till 1906, then again in 1948, with the final prize awarded in 1969. More research is required to identify this phantom collection of prize-winning works by students, many of them women. Phyllida Barlow CBE RA was recipient of the Summer Competition prize for sculpture in 1964-65 and again in 1965-66 in the category of Free Work.Other artists include, repeat prize winners Paul de Monchaux and Rosemary Young.This is an ongoing research project connected to Spotlight on the Slade. The Sculpture Prize has also been a focus of new research undertaken in 2019 by a group of post-graduate ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Museum Studies students.Year of Sculpture 2019This exhibition is part of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº's year-long programme exploring what sculpture means today. Find out more 

Engagement and Impact Training - 2023/24These free to attend, up to two hour long online sessions, are for anyone at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº who self-identifies as a researcher and/or wants to embed public engagement into their work (professional services, academic staff and postgraduate research students are all welcome). The interactive sessions will offer opportunities to explore different aspects of public engagement, from its role in the impact narrative to how we can apply for funding to support it. You will work with external and internal experts as well as meet people interested in public engagement from across ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. These sessions are delivered jointly between the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Engagement, Research Impact and Curation and ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East Engagement teams.All ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Staff are welcome to book on to any of these sessions, as many as they like, free of charge.  If you want to hear as soon as new dates become available, please sign up to our newsletter, follow us on twitter or contact the team at publicengagement@ucl.ac.uk if you have any questions. Booking on to an Engagement and Impact training Session: You can attend as many Engagement and Impact sessions as you like, we've chosen key topics that we know our community (¹û¶³Ó°Ôº staff and students) are interested in. Simply click the titles below to see a short description, dates of upcoming sessions and links to book on:For the easiest experience, please follow the steps below:  You need to be logged into the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº VPN Chrome is recommended as your browser  If you have never used MyLearning or InkPath before, you may want to log into Oracle first and check your HR details are correct then try the link The additional Impact and Engagement workshops will become live throughout the year Sessions will generally be held on Zoom with joining details sent to booked-on participants a few days before the session starts Contact Organisational Development (osd@ucl.ac.uk) if you have any challenges booking on to courses Click the below titles to see dates, short descriptions and links for booking: Engagement and Impact: an introductionBeginning your Public Engagement Journey? Attend this session for an introduction to Public Engagement, including practical tips to get started. You’ll also get a visual guide and sneak preview of the other sessions available in Spring and Summer term as part of this training package.Check back soon for future dates!Engagement and Impact: evaluationThrough dissecting contemporary case-studies and group challenges, participants will have the opportunity to practice evaluation planning techniques and approaches related to public engagement. Check back soon for future dates!Engagement and Impact: introduction to impactCreating impact in the ‘real world’ is an important aspect of research culture at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. In this course, we will introduce you Impact at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº, how to find support and funding for activities, and highlight initiatives which will develop new pathways to impact for your research. Led by the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Research Impact Team.Next session: 29 February 2024. Click here to book onto the course via InkPath.Engagement and Impact: planning for impactLed by the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Research Impact Team.Next session: 7 March 2024. Click here to book onto the next course via InkPath.Engagement and Impact: evidencing and resourcing for impactAn interactive workshop which will help academics to understand, evidence, and evaluate the impactful outcomes of their research. Participants will explore case studies from across research disciplines and consider how to apply approaches to their own research. Led by the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Research Impact Team. Next session: 14 March 2024.Click here to book onto the next course via InkPath.Engagement and Impact: inclusive practiceWho are we choosing to engage with; who is missing; how can we make activities as accessible as possible? Best practice impactful engagement works with communities and public whose voices are currently missing or not being heard: this session will examine the importance of inclusion and access in public engagement and support you to include those who may face the biggest barriers. Led by the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East Engagement team.Next session: 21 March 2024.Click here to book onto the next course via InkPath.Engagement and Impact: impact beyond academiaLed by the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Research Impact Team.Next session: 21 March 2024. Click here to book onto the next course via InkPath.

We have a host of toolkits and guides that could help. We have included useful resources below to help you with Project Management & Planning and to inspire you with a range of information on Public Engagement Methods. You can also acess some Case Studies showcasing ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Public Engagement projects and look at our Evaluation pages to access evaluation specific resources.  Public Engagement & PlanningAttitudes to Public Engagement report - 2008 Early career researchers and public engagement report 2009Evaluation of public engagement funding mechanisms¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Beacon for Public Engagement Evaluation framework¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Beacon for Public Engagement final reportPublic Engagement MethodsGuiding principles for effective public engagementPlanning public eventsProject planning checklistProject Management and & PlanningGuiding principles for effective public engagementPlanning public eventsProject planning checklistAttitudes to Public Engagement report - 2008 Early career researchers and public engagement report 2009Evaluation of public engagement funding mechanisms¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Beacon for Public Engagement Evaluation framework¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Beacon for Public Engagement final reportPublic Engagement MethodsGuiding principles for effective public engagementPlanning public eventsProject planning checklist

We have lots of evaluation related tools and resources:10 top tips for evaluating your projectPlanning and evaluating your work: some definitionsThe benefits and barriers to evaluationThe fundamentals of planning an evaluationEvaluating public eventsWhether you want help designing a questionnaire, or carrying out some focus groups, or you want to try something creative like drawing, or walks and talks, we have a host of guides on evaluation methods to help you navigate your way. Evaluation methods: Full guideContents:Before you start, factors to considerFocus groupsInterviewsObservationsPersonal logsQuestionnairesWalk and talksCreative methods, drawing, writing, photographyWorkshopsAnalysis, interpretation, presentation of findingsYou can also browse our selection of case studies of past public engagement projects, and a selection of toolkits for planning your public engagement. 

Transformative Technologies is a new strand of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº research that explores the power of technology to radically reshape the world we live in.¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Culture invites you to a programme of events that introduces this research by looking at the interplay between technology, arts, and nature.[[{"fid":"4035","view_mode":"xl","fields":{"format":"xl","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"wr3a4206.jpg","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"xl","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"wr3a4206.jpg","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"height":"480","width":"1024","class":"media-element file-xl"}}]]Events programme Robot Tours Using a telepresence robot and 3D printed objects, visitors will be able to experience ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology via remote access at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s Grant Museum of Zoology. Could these technologies offer solutions for people who find museums inaccessible due to motor disabilities or other impairments? Museum SoundtrackMuseums are usually quiet spaces, but at this event you will have musical accompaniment. A new music generation software programme will produce music in real time that will be a personalised soundtrack to enhance your viewing experience.Altered States In a club night like no other, we will use light, sound and technology from 1920s Russia to explore how we experience and engage with the space around us.Big Data Sing The collection of large data sets, or ‘Big Data’, is revolutionising our ability to understand the world around us. We will explore the use, ethics and value of ‘Big Data’ through discussion and debate. During the event, we will debut a commissioned piece of choral music that uses song as a means of experiencing large data sets.Ways of Seeing: Visual Impairment HackathonJoin us as we bring together visually impaired groups and researchers to ‘hack’ technologies to to create more accessible, inclusive and empowering museum experiences.The PodStep into our pod and meet a researcher who will discuss a new transformative technology using one or more items from ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s spectacular museum collections. The pod will be popping up across the two weeks of the event series.Alt-ArtA series of artworks by Slade artists, staff and students which use innovative materials and processes to explore contemporary issues such as dwindling food supplies, big data, geotracking and climate change.Produced in partnership with ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Grand Challenges programme.[[{"fid":"5507","view_mode":"small","fields":{"format":"small","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Grand Challenges logo","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"left","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"small","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Grand Challenges logo","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_caption[und][0][format]":"limited_html","field_float_left_right[und]":"left","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"height":"130","width":"150","class":"media-element file-small"}}]]  

[[{"fid":"5399","view_mode":"medium","fields":{"format":"medium","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Colour photo of Jeremy Bentham from torso upwards","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"right","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"medium","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Colour photo of Jeremy Bentham from torso upwards","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"right","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"408","width":"409","class":"media-element file-medium"}}]]In 2018, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº welcomes back the famous auto-icon with Fake News: an exhibition in the university's South Cloisters that reveals the myths surrounding Jeremy Bentham. When ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº included Jeremy Bentham’s preserved head in our exhibition What does it mean to be human? in 2017, there was a surge in interest in the utilitarian philosopher and the story of how his body came to be at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. We were thrilled when the exhibition was featured on the popular, satirical TV panel show Have I Got News For You!, reaching a huge audience.That was, until we heard what they had to say. We listened, powerless, as the host and panelists reeled off every myth ever told about Bentham.This, and other media coverage of the exhibition, brought home a painful truth for those of us who work with Bentham at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº: almost everything you’ve heard about the auto-icon of Jeremy Bentham is not true.This exhibition aims to set the record straight.Jeremy Bentham did not leave his body to ¹û¶³Ó°ÔºWhen Bentham requested his body be dissected and preserved following his death, it was a deliberate and radical political statement to highlight the shortage of cadavers available for medical study. How the resulting ‘auto-icon’ came to be at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº is a historical accident. In Bentham's final will, made only a week before his death on 6 June 1832, he left his corpse to his friend and disciple Dr Thomas Southwood Smith, whom Bentham requested take ‘appropriate measures for the disposal and preservation of the several parts of my bodily frame’. On 9 June 1832 Bentham’s body was publicly dissected b yanatomist Richard Grainger, before an audience of invited guests at the Webb Street School of Anatomy. Standing over Bentham’s corpse, Dr Smith gave a public lecture in praise of the life and thought of his friend. By giving his body to medical science, Smith contended, Bentham had in death, as he had in life, sought to promote the principle of utility. Despite the passage of the Anatomy Act of 1832 just over a month later, Bentham’s wishes for his remains to be disposed of in this way would have been a hugely controversial act, and a strong public statement of both Smith and Bentham’s belief in the utility of the dead body. Smith subsequently saw to the preservation and reassembling of the skeleton and, according to Bentham’s wishes, had it dressed in a suit of Bentham’s own clothes. The auto-icon is surmounted by a wax head, created by the French sculptor Jacques Talrich, after the preservation of Bentham’s real head did not produce acceptable results. The fact that Bentham’s remains – what he termed the ‘auto-icon’ or ‘self-image’ – is on display at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº is a historical accident. Dr Smith kept the auto-icon at his consulting rooms until 1850, when it was presented to ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. The College did not immediately display the auto-icon, much to Smith’s disdain. 'Any one may see it who enquires there for it,' he wrote, 'but no publicity is given to the fact that Bentham reposes there in some back room. The authorities seem to be afraid or ashamed to own their possession.'Jeremy Bentham did not found ¹û¶³Ó°ÔºIt is widely believed that Bentham was one of the founders of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº (originally known as the London University). This is not true. Bentham was eighty years old when the new University opened its doors in 1828, and was not personally involved in its foundation. A key factor perpetuating this myth is a mural painted by Slade Professor Henry Tonks, in the dome above the Flaxman Gallery in the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Main Library. What Tonks painted was a metaphor, paying homage to Bentham and his liberal philosophies, and the influence these had on the founders of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. Painted in commemoration of the centenary of the London University (as ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº was originally known) this mural shows a fictional meeting where William Wilkins (1778-1839), the architect of the main building, is submitting his plans to Bentham for his approval while the portico is under construction in the background. Also present are some of the founders of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº: Lord Brougham, Thomas Campbell, who first conceived the idea of a London University, and Henry Crabb Robinson. Not pictured is James Mill, who played a key role in the project.In choosing to place Jeremy Bentham at the centre of this work, Tonks perpetuated the idea of Bentham as one of the founding fathers of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. It is true that Campbell, Brougham, Crabb Robinson and others were strongly influenced by Bentham and his belief that access to education should not be made subject to a religious test. When it was founded, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº was referred to as the ‘Godless College of Gower Street’.  Bentham was 80 by the time teaching began at the University, and, while he gave the venture his backing by purchasing Share No. 633, he contributed little else to the actual founding of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. Jeremy Bentham does not attend ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Council MeetingsContrary to assertions that the auto-icon is wheeled into ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Council meetings, and it is minuted that at such meetings Jeremy Bentham is ‘present but not voting’, no such practice takes place regularly at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. There has, however, been a single, exceptional case where we can prove the myth became reality. In 2013, as a surprise for Dr Malcolm Grant, we arranged for the auto-icon to attend his final Council meeting as ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s Provost.No one has ever played football with Bentham's head[[{"fid":"9279","view_mode":"medium","fields":{"format":"medium","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Black and white photo of a group of young students holding Jeremy Bentham's wax head in a box","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"right","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"medium","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Black and white photo of a group of young students holding Jeremy Bentham's wax head in a box","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"right","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"279","width":"500","class":"media-element file-medium"}}]]It is frequently said that Bentham’s head has been stolen more than once by students from King’s College London and used for an impromptu game of football in the college Quadrangle.Bentham’s preserved head is in a delicate state, and would quickly disintegrate if anyone kicked it. The head, was, however, kidnapped by King’s College students in October 1975. The matter was resolved by a £10 donation to the charity Shelter, and the head was returned unharmed. The model wax head of the auto-icon has also been taken by students from King’s, as this 1990 photo shows.Truth is stranger than fictionThe Fake News exhibition was curated by Subhadra Das. The auto-icon of Jeremy Bentham is managed collaboratively by ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Culture and the Bentham Project. Together, we work to engage people with and research Bentham’s work and philosophy. Our first-hand encounters have proved to be just as interesting as the Bentham myths. In the last year since we put Bentham’s preserved head on display, we have carried out a full conservation audit of the auto-icon –  confirming it is wearing underwear and two pairs of socks – and lent the auto-icon to an exhibition at the Met Breuer in New York. We have also recently discovered that Bentham may have visited University College when teaching started here in 1828.Since it arrived 1850, the auto-icon has been a physical focus for stories about Jeremy Bentham and ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. This exhibition has shown that most of these are not true, but the auto-icon remains the focus of our collective attention, regardless. We hope it always will.