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What's on in London - Archives
Friday, February 12th 2010
12 -25 February 2010. ‘Carnevale’, an exhibition of new work by Irish artist Andy Devane, takes place in Highgate Gallery. Devane takes the Italian festival of Carnevale as his inspiration, and treats the cities of Rome and Venice as giant funfairs, full of the colour and excitement associated with an evening at the circus. Devane lived in Italy for seven years and knows his subject matter well. In addition to his richly-painted illustrations, his latest show includes larger works on canvas, displaying his trademark use of strong colour and fine detail. Carnevale comprises 30 paintings, and promises to follow on from the success of his 2008 exhibitions in Dublin and Rome. Tues-Fri: 13.00-17.00 Sat-Sun: 11.00-16.00 more
Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize
Saturday, December 5th 2009
5 December 2009 - 14 February 2010. The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize is an annual open competition which selects the 60 best contemporary portrait photographs out of a staggering 2,400 submitted from all over the world. This year's winner is Paul Floyd Blake whose winning image features Rosie Bancroft, a 13 year old girl who hopes to compete in the 2010 Paralympic Games. The show includes editorial, advertising and fine art images, exploring a wide range of themes and styles. Daily 10.00-18.00, Thurs/Fri 10.00-21.00 more
Natural History Museum Ice Rink
Thursday, November 5th 2009
5 November 2009 - 17 January 2010. Each winter a curious thing happens in the gardens of London's Natural History Museum - the lawns are 'iced over' to form a gigantic ice rink (1050 sq. metres). In addition to the main rink, there is a smaller 100 sq. metre rink for children and there is also access for wheelchair users. 76,000 glowing pea-lights illuminate the surrounding trees, while visitors who wish to soak up the atmosphere without braving the elements can do so from the sanctuary of the stylish balcony café which even has a fairground carousel. In December there is a Christmas market. Described as 'London's most spectacular winter attraction', there is something for everyone at the Natural History Museum this Christmas. Mon-Fri 10.00-22.00, Sun & Sat 08.45-10.00 more
Maharaja: The Splendour of India's Royal Courts
Saturday, October 10th 2009
10 October 2009 - 17 January 2010. Bringing together over 250 treasures, and spanning the period from the 18th century to the mid-20th century, this exhibition lives up to its splendid title. It charts the princely world of the 'maharaja' whose rise to glory coincided with the collapse of the Mughal empire in the early 18th century. The exhibition examines their changing role within Indian society and documents their generous patronage of the arts in India and Europe, with stunning examples on loan from India's royal collections. The exhibition concludes with the ending of British rule in 1947, when the maharajas acceded their territories into the modern states of India and Pakistan. 10.00-17.30 more
Friday, October 30th 2009
30 October 2009- 10 January 2010. Ed Ruscha was born in Nebraska in 1937 and began his career as a graphic artist. In the same way that Edward Hopper provided anecdotal insights into the day-to-day banality of American culture, Ruscha continues this tradition by focusing on an image-obsessed America, where mass-media campaigns and advertisements battle their uninvited way into our consciousness. His art work is both urbane and urban, with a heady nod to the popular culture and false glamour of his adopted Los Angeles. As an artist, Ruscha relies on drawing and photography to facilitate his work, however this is the first retrospective to concentrate exclusively on his paintings. Daily: 10.00-18.00 Fri: 10.00-22.00 more
Tuesday, October 13th 2009
13 Oct-10 Jan 2010. A pioneer of conceptual art in the 1960s Baldessari has always been known mainly as a counter culture artist. Even while teaching art to young underprivileged kids in San Diego his mission was always to challenge prevailing opinions. In 1970 he “cremated” all his works created between 1953 and 1966 in what he called the Cremation Project. He then turned to film and video and to creating photo-compositions by manipulating and distorting old film clips. His recent work has focused on collages of unexpected body parts – plenty of ears and noses – often “found” on discarded billboard posters. This travelling exhibition moves to Barcelona, Los Angeles and finally the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. Sun-Thurs 10.00-18.00, Fri-Sat 10.00-22.00. Photo: God’s nose. more
Pop Life. Art in a material world.
Thursday, October 1st 2009
1 Oct-17 Jan 2010. The great names of Pop Art, Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, Keith Haring, the so-called Young British Artists, all figure in this Tate Modern blockbuster where art, commerce and the images of the mass media converge. The exhibition moves to Hamburg and then Ottowa in 2010. Sun-Thurs 10.00-18.00, Fri-Sat 10.00-22.00. Photo: Jeff Koons Rabbit more
Tuesday, October 6th 2009
6 Oct-7 Nov 2009. Once again Dance Umbrella brings a festival of contemporary international dance to the UK. This year it focuses on new dance in Africa with performances, talks, discussions and workshops. The names to look out for among this new, urban-oriented generation of African dancers are Michel Kouakou, (Ivory Coast), Papy Ebotani (Democratic Republic of Congo), Kaolack (Senegal) and Opiyo Okach (Kenya). On 19-20 Oct Kettly Noel from Mali together with Nelisiwe Xaba from |South Africa present a duet, Correspondances, a witty feminist comment on the male-dominated dance scene on the continent. Also in the month-long programme there are performances by The Cloud Gate dance theatre of Taiwan (6-10 Oct) and Israeli Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak dance company (18-19 Oct). The Shobana Jeyasingh dance company presents the world premiere Bruise Blood and also Faultline (21-22 Oct) an interpretation of tensions among urban British Asian youth of today. In the latest Dance Umbrella/Dance UK initiative there is a debate on why there are still so few top-ranking British women choreographers (21 Oct). Dance Umbrella has dedicated this year’s festival is to Merce Cunningham. more
The 53rd London Film Festival.
Wednesday, October 14th 2009
14-19 Oct 2009. 191 features and 113 shorts, including 15 world premiers as well as special events and guests. The opening night film is the world premiere of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr Fox, based on the book by Roald Dahl. There are sections on new French cinema, contemporary European cinema, on environmental film making and the Iranian cinema. There will be free outdoor screening in Trafalgar Square on 22 Oct of shorts under the heading “London Moves Me” about public transport in the capital from 1896-2009. There are also appearances by an impressive-looking cast of directors, writers, actors and producers. more
Saturday, October 3rd 2009
3 Oct- 11 Dec 2009. Retrospective of some of Kapoor’s early pieces, as well new and previously unseen works. Among the most intriguing is “Shooting into the Corner”, a cannon that fires red wax onto the wall of the Royal Academy at regular intervals to create ever-changing images. Tues-Fri 13.00-16.30, Sat-Sun 10.00-18.00. In the photo is the new sculpture Tall Tree and the Eye on display in the Annenburg courtyard. more