The ACF is excited to announce that the exhibition Mapping European Literary London at UCL is now open.

Opening hours 10 am - 5:30 pm

There are plenty of Austrian writers who are represented in both the physical and online versions of the map (from Stefan Zweig to Ilse Aichinger).

For centuries, writers have come to London from across Europe and beyond – as honoured guests and anonymous aliens; tourists and refugees; students and wanderers.

In the squalid slums of the East End, in the glitter and glamour of Belgravia, in the unspoilt expanse of Hampstead Heath, these writers lose – and find – themselves. Their encounters with the city leave a mark: on the writer, on their work and, sometimes, on London itself.

Drawing on an interactive digital map of London developed by the UCL European Institute, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, with contributions from across the UCL community, Lost & Found uncovers these literary traces, revealing a Europe and a London of the imagination.

Explore London through the eyes of European writers through the ages and reflect on the city as a place where journeys intersect; where people and cultures meet and are transformed.

To find out more, see: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/european-institute/events/2023/oct/lost-found-mapping-european-literary-london

The online European Literary Map of London

The online map on which the exhibition is based is curated by the UCL European Institute and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, using a web mapping toolkit developed by the Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, and featuring contributions from the UCL community and beyond, including European National Institutes for Culture in London. Searchable by theme, location, language or keywords, the map features over 70 entries in over 20 languages – and counting. It can be explored here: https://www.europeanliterarylondon.org/

UCL is actively looking to expand and diversify the entries on the map, in particular by finding passages by authors from diverse or under-represented groups. See call for contributions and submit an entry here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/european-institute/diversifying-map

Schools engagement and a Writer in Residency programme

By engaging local schools and launching a new Writer in Residency scheme in partnership with EUNIC London, the European Literature Network and the Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom, the aim is to encourage critical engagement with the texts and inspire new writing on London.

More information on both programmes this will shortly be available via: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/european-institute/lost-found-european-literary-map-london