BAMPFA Exhibition: Private Frontiers: Media Legacies of the Cold War

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On display from Sep 9 - Dec 13, 2026 | 11 am - 7 p.m. Bookended by the end of World War II in 1945 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the Cold War was a transformative period in global history, marking both the end of the twentieth century and the waning of modernism. Though earlier historians defined the Cold War as the noncombative contest between the capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union, recent interventions by scholars, artists, and writers have stressed that this period was also defined by the struggles for decolonization and national liberation movements across Asia and globally. Undeniable to the history of the Cold War is the crucial role that culture played in shaping perceptions of individuals, nations, and the global order, circulated through media such as international magazines, photographs, and television.Private Frontiers presents new and recent work in photography, video, and installation by contemporary artists who critically engage the Cold W