{"id":575836,"date":"2026-05-10T04:34:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T04:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/575836\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T04:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T04:34:18","slug":"ian-curtis-exhibition-to-open-in-new-york-with-personal-letters-handwritten-joy-division-lyrics-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/575836\/","title":{"rendered":"Ian Curtis exhibition to open in New York with personal letters, handwritten Joy Division lyrics and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new exhibition about Ian Curtis<\/a> is heading to New York this summer and will feature rare archival material, including handwritten Joy Division<\/a> lyrics.<\/p>\n

Held at the Voltz Clarke Gallery between June 25 and July 22, Ian Curtis: Insight will bring pieces from the late singer\u2019s archive to the United States for the first time and offer a new perspective on the iconic Manchester artist.<\/p>\n

On display will be an \u201cintimate and revealing\u201d selection of handwritten lyrics, photographs, personal letters, ephemera and artefacts. They are being brought over from the The John Rylands Library at The University of Manchester, where they are housed as part of the British Pop Archive.<\/p>\n

The exhibition looks to capture the \u201ctension, tenderness and raw creative energy\u201d that Curtis captured in his music, and explore how he found inspiration in late-1970s Manchester, with its industrial landscapes, DIY urgency and more.<\/p>\n

\"HandwrittenHandwritten lyric to \u2018Love Will Tear Us Apart\u2019 by Joy Division, Ian Curtis, c 1979. CREDIT: The University of Manchester<\/p>\n

Many of the pieces from the archive have never come to the US before, and organisers say that bringing them across the pond now, 46 years after Curtis\u2019 death, proves how his music continues to resonate with people across the globe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis exhibition is part of The University of Manchester\u2019s remit to share our Special Collections globally,\u201d said Professor Christopher Pressler, University Librarian and Director of The John Rylands Library.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ian Curtis archive is of national significance, and Joy Division are one of the UK\u2019s most important and iconic bands,\u201d he added. \u201cThe exhibition in New York forms part of a series, showcasing the archive and promoting the University\u2019s \u2018From Manchester for the World\u2019s strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"'Shimmy'\u2018Shimmy\u2019 flyer, Jon Savage, 1979. CREDIT: The University of Manchester<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are delighted to work with the University of Manchester to showcase the archive materials of Ian Curtis, debuting in the USA for the first time,\u201d added a spokesperson for the Voltz Clark Gallery.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith 50 per cent of Voltz Clarke Gallery\u2019s ownership British, the gallery has always invested extra time with artists from the UK and is honoured to collaborate on a project with such history and importance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visit here<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n

Curtis and his bandmates first founded the initial incarnation of the group in Salford, England back in 1976 under the name Warsaw. They changed their name to Joy Division in early 1978, and stayed together until the frontman took his own life in May 1980, after battling depression and epilepsy.<\/p>\n

\"HandwrittenHandwritten lyric to \u2018She\u2019s Lost Control\u2019. CREDIT: The University of Manchester<\/p>\n

Bandmates Bernard Sumner<\/a>, Peter Hook<\/a>, and Stephen Morris went on to form New Order<\/a> after his death, and have made numerous tributes to the late singer over the years.<\/p>\n

In 2022, to mark the 42nd anniversary of his death, Sumner and Morris appeared in Parliament to discuss mental health<\/a> and suicide prevention, and last year they launched a \u2018Blue Monday\u2019 shirt with proceeds going to mental health charity MIND<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Both Joy Division and New Order<\/a> will enter the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame as a single act during a ceremony in Los Angeles in November, following previous nominations in 2023<\/a> and 2025<\/a>.\u00a0Last month, Hook dedicated the honour to Curtis, saying that \u201cwithout [him], we would be nothing\u201d.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new exhibition about Ian Curtis is heading to New York this summer and will feature rare archival…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[25065,96,3583,128,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-575836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-alternative","tag-entertainment","tag-indie","tag-music","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}