Wednesday April 18th, 2012 12:00

London Link: The Telegraph’s 100 best things to do in London

Coq d'Argent Rooftop Garden

The Telegraph have compiled a comprehensive compilation of what are – in Telegraph editor John O’ Ceallaigh’s opinion, at least - the 100 best things to do in London in this Olympic year.

Somewhat of an LDN ‘bucket list’ for natives and tourists alike, the four-part guide spans the obvious (museum visits, cathedral climbs, market rummages) and the oft-overlooked (little-known concerts, workshops, tours and even the odd secret rooftop garden), coming complete with useful links and recommendations.

All in all it’s a worthy way to spend an idle afternoon, plotting busier afternoons yet to come. Read Part 1, which features links to the latter sections, here.

Sections: Cabaret - Comedy - Dance - Festivals - Film - Links - Literature - Musicals - Opera - Performance Art - Spoken Word - Theatre - Visual Art | Tags:

Thursday March 22nd, 2012 12:00

Art/Music Link: David Byrne takes London’s tempo for Artangel project

David Byrne

During a residency at Artangel’s ‘boat-hotel on a roof’ installation ‘A Room For London’, Talking Heads man David Byrne found space and time to create an audio montage of sounds he recorded at various London locations. The result is ‘Get It Away’, a ‘soundwork’ set to a beat to suit the city’s natural tempo, as gauged by Byrne at 122.86 bpm.

He says: “I went out during the day and recorded sounds that I thought might be useful and evocative. It turned out that most of the sounds – even the church organ in Southwark Cathedral – seemed to converge around a common rhythm. It’s a bit too good to be true – that every large city should have it’s own rhythm, but here it is. I let the sounds dictate the groove, the tempo, and then I simply played along”.

And you needn’t wait to sample said sounds – my pick of which is a vendor selling strawberries at Borough Market – because here’s ‘Get It Away’, now:

David Byrne: Get It Away from Artangel on Vimeo.

Sections: Links - Music - Visual Art | Tags: ,

Wednesday March 21st, 2012 12:00

Film Link: Palestine Film and Pre-Film Festivals

Palestine Film Festival

The 2012 Palestine Film Festival, taking place between 20 Apr – 3 May at the Barbican Cinema, will feature a century-charting selection of documentaries, shorts, comedies and other film representations of life, society and culture in this most polarising of Middle Eastern regions.

The PFF’s season proper is ushered in by three pre-festival micro-events, the first of which is a double screening of acclaimed director Kamal Aljafari’s ‘The Roof’ and ‘Port Of Memory’ at the Hackney Picturehouse on 29 Mar. Aljafari will be present for a post-movie Q&A session, speaking in conversation with film writer Omar Kholeif. Amnesty International representatives will then present and discuss a collection of viral shorts on 5 Apr at their Human Rights Action Centre, while on 12 Apr Cannes-winning filmmaker Abu Wael will show his much-anticipated second work, ‘Last Days In Jerusalem’, at the Cine Lumiere.

Pre-Festival info can be viewed here, with the PFF’s main programme and ticket links listed here.

You can also foresee the Festival at large via this preview trailer:

The 2012 London Palestine Film Festival – Trailer from Palestine Film Foundation on Vimeo.

Sections: Festivals - Film - Links | Tags:

Monday March 19th, 2012 12:00

Comedy/Art Link: Billy Connolly discusses art debut

Billy Connolly

Having first taken up a pencil five years ago, Billy Connolly has launched his debut sketch series ‘Born On A Rainy Day’.

The concept of the exhibition, which opened in London at the Halcyon Gallery last week, began on a drab day in Montreal, when Connolly began putting ideas to paper in a Canadian hotel room. With the show set to tour nationwide galleries, prints of selected works are now available from the Castle Galleries art store. And here’s Big Yin’s pleasantly unpretentious take on his art work, as brought to us by The Huffington Post:

 

Sections: Comedy - Links - Visual Art | Tags: ,

Friday March 16th, 2012 12:00

Art/Music Link: Jeremy Deller records single with London busker

Jeremy Deller

To mark his first solo retrospective ‘Joy In People’, which is on now at the Hayward Gallery, artist Jeremy Deller has collaborated with busker Chuck on a double A-side single. The partnership was struck after Deller noticed Chuck playing guitar on the South Bank, and invited him for a studio session in West London.

Featuring Chuck’s covers of Johnny Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and Harry Belafonte’s ‘Island In The Sun’, the record was produced by Deller, who also photographed Chuck for its cover artwork.

Free previews and strictly limited and hand-signed copies of the single are available via its issuers, The Vinyl Factory.

The Independent also has this video detailing how the collaboration came about.

Sections: Links - Music - Visual Art | Tags: , ,

Tuesday March 13th, 2012 12:00

Art Link: Hirst to develop South London gallery annexe

Damien Hirst

Whether you like, loathe or are entirely indifferent to Damien Hirst, plans just announced by the ‘For The Love Of God’ artist to display over 2,000 of his standout creations, plus picks from his personal collection, in an expansive new gallery space… well, they’re difficult to disregard.

Hirst states that the hi-tech, high-security annexe, which is set for completion in 2014, will occupy a number of terraced buildings along Newport Street in Vauxhall; the plan being to knock through walls on the upper and lower floors to create larger display areas. He explains: “It’s about as big as the Whitechapel – six galleries, a café and a shop – and it’s a place to show my collection of contemporary art. It feels bad having it all in crates”.

Pieces by the likes of Frances Bacon, Banksy, Jeff Koons and Sarah Lucas will be exhibited beside Hirst’s own work. The Guardian has much, much more on Hirst’s current artistic activity in this article.

Sections: Links - Visual Art | Tags: