The Edinburgh International Festival of Music and Drama was founded in 1947, and with the addition of the Fringe Festival (and later offshoots) it quickly established itself as the world's largest event of its kind. In the aftermath of World War II, the arts were looked to for moral and cultural revitalisation. However, the meanings of culture were soon challenged. By examining Edinburgh between 1947 and 1967, this contest over culture can be observed, traced and explored. Edinburgh was then renowned for its religious conservatism and, indeed, contained the headquarters of all the Scottish Presbyterian churches. At a time when, simultaneously, the place of the arts in society were given more importance and the status of organised religion declined, this thesis argues that the Festivals acted as vital arenas in which social and cultural tensions in British society were given space for confrontation. This resulted in clashes over the meaning of 'culture' and concepts of 'the arts', as well as instances of 'moral conflict. This study will put these clashes in the context of the upheaval and change that occurred during the 1960s by looking at the changing definitions of culture, new and experimental trends in the theatre, issues of morality and permissiveness, and the liberalisation of the arts from moral austerity. This research seeks to contribute to our understanding of the relationship between social and cultural change, as well as the way in which tensions between 'traditional' and 'new' attitudes and values were played out in the field of the arts. A chronological framework is used to analyse these shifts in the arts, culture and morality while a wide range of documentary archival, secondary and oral histories are drawn upon in order to examine the perceptions and influences of key groups and organisations. In doing so, this thesis attempts to give the 'Festival City' its rightful place in post-war social and cultural history.

This thesis investigates the relationship between exhibited artworks and their audiences and the ways in which curatorial decisions affect this relationship. It takes two exhibited artworks for which concealment is a major conceptual aim and which appear to subvert the methods of display that are common to most forms of exhibited art. It offers a detailed analysis of the artworks and an insight into the numerous contradictions they seem to employ. Through in-depth discussions with the artists, and by reading the artworks through a series of theoretical frameworks, I aim to highlight some of the problematic issues that face contemporary artists endeavouring to align artistic concepts with the practicalities of showing art. The artworks I use are Richard Higlett's Prop (2004AD) (2004) and Elaine Tribley's Hidden Memories (2005). Both are concealed as a result of the manner in which they are displayed, becoming hidden at the very moment they are exhibited. The thesis addresses the contradictions that are evident in the artworks' simultaneous concealment and display, and asks how they are able to function within an exhibition if they remain concealed; how they 'work' if they cannot be viewed by visitors to the exhibition. It considers their paradoxical alignment with an institution whose 'fundamental role' is 'to exhibit art and allow for its consideration'. Taking Michael Baxandall's essay 'Exhibiting Intention: Some Preconditions of the Visual Display of Culturally Purposeful Objects' (1991) as a starting point it asks whether all three of the elements which Baxendall maintains are crucial in an exhibition - the artist, the artwork and the audience - need to be present. It then uses Alfred Gell's Art and Agency: An Anthropological Theory (1998) to question the possibility that the artworks can function in the absence of an audience, by having their own 'agency'. The thesis addresses the problematic nature of the artworks' presentation, circulation and reception in 'the Western art-culture system', and examines the artworks' ability to function as 'components in [the] networks of social relations' that are integral to that system. Exploring and challenging the artists' assertions that their work is concealed, it proposes that the audience encounter is central to, and crucial to the way that the artworks function. Employing a Marxist theoretical approach and looking in particular at Marx's Capital: A Critique of the Political Economy (first published 1887), it considers the fetishistic appeal of concealed objects and the effect on the viewer of having to work - or play - to uncover an artwork. The thesis considers the impact of the site, the document and the media upon their ability to function both conceptually and practically, and Bruno Latour's Reassembling the Social, An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory (2005) is used to discuss the ways in which social networks are set up for the artworks. It proposes that the artworks' placement within their exhibitions acknowledges their artistic merit and allows for their dissemination while also maintaining their concealed nature. It questions the role that they play within their exhibitions and the role of the exhibition itself as a vehicle for communicating and interpreting artworks.

My intention is to contribute to the field of exhibition-making a repertoire of presentation modes, previously not analysed or documented, that can be applied to the display of fashion in the museum and which will extend those techniques currently available to the exhibition-maker to create meaningful and stimulating exhibition environments. Part 1 contextualises my investigation, through discussion of the exhibition as source material, the methods employed to execute the research and analysis of relevant literature. Part 1 concludes with an introduction to ModeMuseum, Antwerp, which is the primary location for my research. Part 2 details the identification, description and definition of a repertoire of presentation modes, classified and distinguished as innovative through comparative analysis of over 100 exhibitions visited for this research, alongside investigation of the exhibition formats and structures that support deployment of the modes. Part 3 relates the application of the presentation modes to the construction of a 'fashion autobiography‘ in the form of a proposal for a hypothetical exhibition, through examination of the processes utilised to develop the exhibition narrative and detailed account of the proposal in its final realisation. In conclusion, I will critically reflect on the research executed, underlining the interrelationship of the theoretical and practice-based activities. Finally, I will detail opportunities taken to disseminate this research, and indicate possible directions for continued investigation.