Below is a detailed list of the centenary events taking place this 2026 fall in UK.
For the whole list of centenary events throughout the year and all over the world, see this page.
London (UK) — The British Library, display and reading (23rd of October)
In 2009, John Berger and Beverly Bancroft donated archives including manuscripts, notebooks, sketchbooks, documentation, recordings… to the British Library. Jamie Andrew, then Head of Modern Manuscripts, came to Quincy, to sort and pack these archives from Berger’s stable. From 2010 to 2013, Tom Overton worked on the collection as part of a Doctoral Award. He catalogued it and started an important collaboration with John Berger alive, questioning him to well documented these archives.
Until John Berger’s death in 2017 and even after, Tom Overton went on to write John Berger’s biography FROM LIFE (Allen Lane Penguin, 2026). The book launch took place last September at the British Library. In parallel, as a tribute for John Berger’s centenary and to showcase this collection, British Library published a story on its blog series “John Berger: a life in papers, pictures and sound” and presents a display “The Company of the Past” based on these archives, in the main Entrance Hall Gallery, from the 28th of AUGUST to the 5th of FEBRUARY 2027.
Part of this tribute, Friday 23rd of OCTOBER, Katya, Jacob and Yves, John Berger’s children, present their choral reading “DO YOU KNOW WHAT I WATCH?”.
Norwich (UK) — 17-26 October: John Christie and Norwich Book Festival
John Christie has been a close friend of John Berger for many years, they collaborated on several books as I Send You This Cadmium Red (2000), Lapwing & Fox (2016) and Four Horizons, A Visit To Le Corbusier’s Chapel At Ronchamp with also Sisters Lucia Kuppens and Telchilde Hinkley, first published in Spanish in 2015 and for the first time in English this year by Objectif Press.
Following John’s death in 2017, John Christie gathered more than 30 writers, artists and many friends to celebrate his work through a book and an exhibition at Mandell’s Gallery in Norwich, both called SEEING THROUGH DRAWING A Celebration of John Berger.
For this centenary, John Christie and the Norwich Book Festival proposes a series of events :
- From 17th of OCTOBER to 21st of NOVEMBER, a celebratory exhibition, at Mandell’s Gallery. More info
- Saturday 24th of OCTOBER, two events “DO YOU KNOW WHAT I WATCH?” choral reading and Tom Overton talk about his John Berger biography From Life. More info
- Monday 26th of OCTOBER, an illustrated talk by John Christie about his book Four Horizons: John Berger’s Pilgrimage To Ronchamp. More info
London (UK) — Gareth Evans, series of screenings
In 2005, Gareth Evans, Artevents co-director, produced the major London mixed-media festival “John Berger: Here Is Where We Meet”. It included readings, performances, discussions, new site-specific work and the first ever retrospective of Berger’s prolific body of work in film and television. At this occasion, Gareth Evans and Di Robson edited this collective book John Berger – A Season in London (2005).
John Berger and Gareth Evans remained friends through the years and different collaborations. Gareth Evans also co-edited The Long White Thread of Words, poems for John Berger (2016) with a dozen contributions from all over the world. For this 2026 centenary fall, Gareth Evans presents the big event below and a series of talk and screening with guests.
From 28th of OCTOBER to 2nd of DECEMBER — John Berger at 100: a film and event series, hosted by Gareth Evans & Arts on the Green at New Unity:
- 28/10 Tom Overton (John Berger: From Life) will be in conversation before four film evenings followed by talks with Gareth Evans and different guests.
- 4/11 Film: “Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000”, talk with Anne Michaels
- 18/11 Film: “Once Upon a Time” & “A Telling Eye” talk with Mike Dibb
- 25/11 Go Closer: John Berger on Television, talk with Matthew Harle
- 2/12 Film: “Taskafa, Stories of the Street”, talk with Andrea Luka Zimmerman
2nd of NOVEMBER — Gareth Evans will introduce a screening of “Jonah Who Will be 25 in the Year 2000”, at the Garden Cinema.
London (UK) — 5th of November: birthday celebration, by Gareth Evans and London Review Bookshop
Highlight of this centenary, Gareth Evans and London Review Bookshop celebrate the life and work of John Berger with a constellation of artists writers thinkers activists family and friends at Conway Hall.
The evening, in two parts, will include live contributions plus film and audio clips, and readings on stage of Berger’s work from actors Khalid Abdalla and Juliet Stevenson.
Featuring live contributions on stage and various tributes in sound and images, from Lisa Appignanesi, Anthony Barnett, Jacob Berger, Katya Berger, Yves Berger, Sazi Bongwe, Anya Bostock, Amarjit Chandan, John Christie, Teju Cole, Mike Dibb, Cordelia Dvorak, Geoff Dyer, Judith Herrin, Simon McBurney, Anne Michaels, Nuala O’Faolain, Tom Overton, Tom Penn, Sally Potter, Ali Smith, Ahdaf Soueif, Alain Tanner and Andrea Luka Zimmerman.
