Category: ART

Cut Copy and London’s Somerset House Summer Series takes over the West End

Somerset House Cut Copy

Across eleven nights of open-air gigs, Somerset House Summer Series with American Express will be pumping out music, food and drinks and good vibes, while the sun’s in the sky and everyone’s mood is high. The Series is all about bringing a vibrant festival atmosphere to the very heart of London with a programme of pioneering musicians across a range of genres For example, on Friday 19 July, Melbourne band Cut Copy will take to the stage right in the middle of Somerset House, serving up some of the band’s latest work, an entirely new flavour all their own. “Shaking off some of the Balearic and acid house leanings heard on older releases, their new tracks favour Afrobeat textures, dubby rhythm sections and sweeping disco synths with an upbeat, effervescent tone that reflects their Melbourne origins,” says Somerset House. Summer Series gives music fans a live experience unlike any other, with the rare chance to see critically acclaimed artists plus some of the best up and coming performers in a spectacular yet intimate setting. Before Cut Copy, London was looking at the likes of Nao, Sons of Kemet, Jacob Banks and Rosalia + Badgirl$. See the full line-up here. The series ends on 21 July, so get in quickly, or sign up to Somerset House’s newsletter for when they do it again.

Free gay exhibition for London Pride: Kiss My Genders

Art London 4

Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery is offering free admission to all visitors for its latest exhibition, Kiss My Genders from 11am – 7pm on Saturday 6 July.  The new exhibition Kiss My Genders is all about celebrating more than 30 international artists whose work explores and engages with gender identity. Spanning the past 50 years, Kiss My Genders brings together over 100 artworks by different generations of artists from around the world. Employing a wide range of approaches, these artists share an interest in articulating and engaging with gender fluidity, as well as with non-binary, trans and intersex identities. If acceptance, joy and tolerance are your thing, then this exhibition is for you. Give it a shot at the Southbank Centre and see more at the website.

Dark Mofo exhibition in Hobart: Mines; from the mind of Simon Denny

Simon Denny Mines Dark Mofo

An unnervingly vibrant dystopia opened on the eve of the madness that is Dark MOFO 2019. Curated by Jarrod Rawling and Emma Pike and taking two and half years from conception to exhibition, Mines will leave you feeling helpless. In the bowels of MONA is a colourful sign, “Mines”. Fittingly its physical location is buried beneath the earth.  But this is less about our traditional mineral past and more about the collection and manipulation of what we may see as intangible. Data. Our data. Metric monitoring of our behaviours and patterns. Allowing corporate entities to manipulate what we love, what we hate, what we must have. Using the bones of the classic boardgame, Squatter, Denny has amended its gameplay and thematics to reflect our era, our data.  Denny lulls us with space. He gives us room to move and the freedom to interact. With intelligent use of “The O”, augmented reality, designed by the MONA boffins, we are able to see how our interactions with the exhibit are collated and displayed real time. This speaks to the reality of our digital presence being commoditised and with the information space changing around us thanks to surveillance capitalism, one thing is clear, we are the resource. Come and see. Don’t be helpless, all alone. Mines is open until the 13th April 2020. Remember to download “The O”, from the iTunes App Store before you arrive, or collect a device from the lovely crew at MONA. Entry is $28, $25 concession, Tasmanians and under 18s get in for free.

LONDON: Botanist Gin and Little Yellow Door make new chlorophyll cocktail

Botanist cocktail

Notting Hill is known for a lot of things – thanks Hugh Grant – and now, it’s got another notch on its belt thanks to The Botanist Gin and local watering hole, The Little Yellow Door. Together they’ve made the city’s first chlorophyll-based brunch cocktail, served at the eclectic late-night cocktail bar to emulate the rip-roaring brunches their sister venue, The Little Blue Door has been making since last year. The drink’s called the Hangover and is an alcohol-infused body purifying breakfast tipple packs one hell of a punch with more health benefits than drinks can shake a stick at; a fresh, nutritional drink made with The Botanist Gin, elderflower, egg white, chlorophyll, served in a coupette with mint and chlorophyll perfume. It’s all available from 8 June on the Saturday menu forever. See more at the bar’s website.

HOBART: Dark Mofo’s Siloam – The end of the world and the giant iron arsehole

Dark Mofo Hobart Divine Comedy 2

Boys in high-vis have been digging through bedrock. When once we had to turn around and walk where we had been, we can now circumnavigate MONA. An endless loop. No more getting stuck at the entrance to Pharos and Faro.  Through the tunnels we find Confessional, by Oliver Beer. The Ammonoidea shaped construction of a noise dampened chamber, leading to the giant iron asshole flatulating ambience at MONA’s surface. Using a gramophone effect, patrons in the bowels of MONA can confess whatever they wish to be heard by whoever is near.  One level above Confessional is Ai WeiWei’s White House. The fixing free construction coming together like a giant lego set to show the skeleton of a Qing Dynasty home. Absolutely gorgeous. A hot red tunnel ascends from White House. Leading to your very own Virgil, your very own Beatrice. Ready to literally strap you into a harness to experience one of the circles of hell. Inferno for the everyman. For the everyman. A blueprint of a good life; in allegory and analogy. Dante’s, Divine Comedy. Not talking down to the people, talking to the people. Guiding. The Divine Comedy by Alfredo Jaar is the installation for the everyman. When words and science fail the everyman, when the everyman is failed by an ill-intended, overgrown system. Art could fill that void, to bluntly educate by “Look at this. Not good”. The Divine Comedy is an emotive hand-hold through a not too distant future. An experience where you can literally feel the heat and pressure of an Inferno from above and hear the rushing of water beneath your… Read More

London’s National Theatre is back with River Stage for 5th year running

River Stage National Theatre people smiling

The free summer festival, hosted by the National Theatre on London’s thriving Southbank is back again. Complete with a full line-up of performances that span the gamut of drag, cabaret, acrobatics, singing and dancing, it’s an event, inclusive of all, that really puts the National Theatre and London arts on the map. The whole festival is about celebrating the best of British and International culture, drag artists and London’s green and blue spaces, including the River Thames. River Stage is on around the city, but has partnered with The Glory (gay bar 5-7 July), Shubbak Festival (Arabic entertainment spread, 12-14 July), National Park City Festival (19-21 July), Frantic Assembly (26-28 July) and the National Theatre itself (2-4 August).   Subbak Festival Shubbak Festival will be bringing an international focus to the festival with Bricklab’s ‘Geographical Child’s Play’. Bricklab, the designers of the first Saudi pavilion at Venice Architecture Biennale have created a new pop-up sculpture especially for Shubbak: 22 brightly coloured units equalling in number the 22 states of the Arab League. National Park City Festival To celebrate London becoming the world’s first National Park City, the Mayor of London’s National Park City Festival features a huge array of acts to celebrate everything green and wild about the city, including family favourites The Gruffalo and living costumes walkabout, the Grass Men, plus two large-scale outdoor dance theatre spectacles: the Urban Astronaut and BLOCK, which explore themes of air pollution and the challenges of living in an urban jungle. Frantic Assembly Frantic Assembly are celebrating their 25 anniversary this year, will offer the chance for everyone… Read More

LONDON: Immigration and Modern Britain – The Kaleidoscope exhibition at Somerset House

Somerset House Kaleidoscope

There’s a new exhibition that puts Britain’s relationship with the rest of the world and its nationalities on the map, so to speak. It’s going down at Somerset House, right in the heart of London and it’s called Kaleidoscope; exploring the identity of immigration in modern Britain. The exhibition will contain stills and video, showcasing the works of ten photographers born or based in Britain, many with family origins abroad including Hong Kong, India, Jamaica and Russia. It’ll explore what it means and how it feels to live as an immigrant, or a descendent of immigrants, in Britain today. It all stems from personal experiences to evoke some sort of emotion in visitors to the exhibition and tell the story of a nation’s wide and varied multiculturalism. Think stories of the struggles of asylum seekers and stories of second and third generation immigrants in forms that are as moving as they are engaging, all presented in the striking environs of Somerset House. See the Kaleidoscope exhibition from 12 June to 8 September 2019 on Sat – Tues, 10.00 – 18.00, Wed – Fri, 11.00 – 20.00, except for 11 – 21 July and 8 – 21 August, when daily opening hours are 10.00 – 18.00. Get tickets from the Somerset House website.

What to see at Somerset House London: Get Up, Stand Up Now

Somerset House Get Up

Celebrating generations of Black Creative Pioneers, the new exhibition at Somerset House, right in the heart of London, will put on a showcase of art, film and photography. There’ll be 100 artists represented, whose work will be presented to articulate and address the black experience and sensibility from the post-war era to the present day. The whole collection will showcase works and new commissions alongside items from personal archives, much of which has never been seen before. The whole thing has been curated by acclaimed artist Zak Ové, who’s invited each artist to exhibit on account of their significant contribution to shaping the cultural landscape.  You’ll see works from the likes of Zak and Horace Ove, Armet Francis, Charlie Phillips, Sonia Boyce and Steve McQueen and many more. See more of what’s on at the Somerset House website.

The Art of Persuasion at the National Army Museum, London

National Army Museum Abram Games

Abram Games was one clever dude. Talk about a guy that knew the medium, smashed the message and did so with creative, desirable, artistic flair that very few possess. There’s a brand new exhibition of him and the artwork and posters he created while he was a poster artist for the Public Relations Department at the War Office from 1941 until 1945, and it’s seriously good. Thing art deco-like posters done with taste, muted 40s/50s colour palettes and messages delivered so effortlessly, they’re hard to forget despite their nowadays irrelevant message. He was the father of wartime graphic designers and just a straight-up genius. It’s a must-see exhibition – and the National Army Museum in general, as well – that will reinvigorate your appreciation of what a horrid time WWI and II were. At a time of immense social unrest, after the ‘war to end all wars’ had left hundreds of thousands of veterans and civilians on the poverty line, the country was to embark on a second world war with National Service an unthinkable necessity. Games made the message the hero and turned some small part of it around as best he could. See the exhibition at the National Army Museum London until 24 November 2019. Head to National Army Museum,Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4HT.

See the Chihuly exhibition at the Royal Botanic Gardens in London

Somerset House London

Over 33 nights this season at sunset, fans of Dale Chihuly – a glass sculptor artist – will be able to view some of his best work at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. Showing the works in a new light, transposed against the illuminated Unesco world heritage site, the Chihuly Nights (13 April – 27 October) event kicks off in August and will kick off with specially curated music that responds to artworks, including improvised live performances from internationally acclaimed artists. It’s all about celebrating the artwork of Chihuly in a completely new light, through an exclusive after-dark experience with food, drink, and music. See more of what’s on specifically at the Kew Gardens website.