Friday 13 February 2026
New exhibition, ‘Orwell and Truth’, delves into George Orwell’s warnings about the corruption of language and the lure of propaganda
From 4th March 2026, New York University’s Kimmel Windows will feature this timely exhibition, the first of its kind, curated in partnership with The Orwell Foundation and University College London. It is set to run through to December 2026.
While many Americans study Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm at school and might already be familiar with the visionary British writer’s less celebrated novels and journalism, this exploration of Orwell’s life and works takes a closer look, interrogating and celebrating Orwell’s core values from being born into what he called a lower-upper-middle class family until his death aged 46 of Tuberculosis. The importance he placed throughout this short life on decency, integrity, bravery and fidelity to truth shine out from this collection of manuscripts, diaries, photographs and keepsakes, carefully reproduced from the UNESCO-registered George Orwell Archive at UCL, the world’s most comprehensive body of material relating to the author.
The Orwell Foundation is the global charity, authorized by the Estate, to champion plurality of opinion and promote brave, clear new writing. It does so through a series of annual prizes and associated events, connecting with audiences around the world on subjects emerging from the writer’s works including poverty, totalitarianism and assaults on objective truth.
At the launch in New York on Wednesday 4th March 2026 will be Orwell’s son, Richard Blair and his Great Grandson, Archie Blair; leading Orwell biographer, David Taylor; the Provost of UCL, Dr Michael Spence as well as members of NYU faculty and The Orwell Foundation.
This exhibition will examine where, when and how Orwell developed the interests, experience and characteristics that made him this most exceptional of writers. Though it was in the 1930s and 1940s that he warned about the dangers of unchecked power and excessive limits on freedom of expression, the enduring relevance of his warnings around the world and the importance he attached to truth, demand the forensic attention of us all today.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The exhibition will run from Wednesday 4th March through to 01 December 2026.
2. The launch event for the exhibition will take place at NYU’s King Juan Carlos 1 of Spain Center, 53 Washington Square South from 16:30 – 18:00 on Wednesday 4th March 2026.
3. The Kimmel Windows are an exhibition space consisting of 13 ground floor vitrines located along LaGuardia Place and West 3rd Street at New York University, just south of Washington Square Park in the heart of Greenwich Village.
