Pick of the Week - 31/7/2009

Every Friday we put together Pick of the Week – a listing of good things going on in art, theatre, film, music and nightlife – things we, the Artsbloggers, are either going to, or wish we were, if time and money were no object. We include things we’ve come across that look like fun, worthy causes, entertainment and sometimes just the downright weird. This week, get yourself down to an anti-capitalist fetish party, a fundraiser for Birmingham’s best pub, a highly recommended art festival (three of the Artsbloggers say so!), Europe’s largest pride parade, and a video/live event from some of London’s finest performers. Maybe you’ll even spot us at one of the events, grinning and jumping around. Whoopee!



Event – Chosen by Frank
Space Hijackers Fundraiser Party
Saturday 1st August

Support those lovely/insane people known as the Space hijackers by attending their FUcK ThE LaW fundraiser party this Saturday. Held, they say, ‘to celebrate our recent freedom from charges of Impersonating Police Officers or commiserate on our future court appearance.’ There is a suggested donation of £5 on the door to help pay for any future trouble they might get themselves into and the legal fees this may entail (you know there’ll be some!). The theme is Uniform Fetish Party, think Corrupt Coppers, Perverted Prison Guards, Intimate Inmates, PVC Parole Officers, the FIT team, Rubber Riot Squad, The Chain Gang, Latex Lawyers, Barrister Beastiality ...
P.s. You need to register to go, check out their website for details.




Party – Chosen by Rosalie
Saturday 2nd August
The Rainbow, Digbeth, Birmingham
Tickets £20

Birmingham’s wonderful venue, The Rainbow is under threat from some idiots who bought the overpriced ‘warehouse conversion’ flats nearby, and have subsequently launched a campaign to shut it down on the grounds of noise complaints. What a travesty – these fools must be stopped and the Rainbow must be saved! Luckily, there’s hope – in the form of a soundproof roof and hordes of nightlife loving Brummies. The one thing in the way is raising the funds to buy said roof. Which they plan to do in part with the hosting of a Summer Street Festival this Saturday, wittily named ‘Raise the Roof’. They’ve secured a stomping line up to show those noise-hating warehouse wusses just what they’re missing. There’ll be seven arenas, and an amazing range of music, from Indie to Electro, Disco to Dubstep, Hip Hop to House, through Techno, 80's pop and much much more. This place really is unique... a full sandy beach under the railway arches? Yes indeed! So get yourself along there - all money raised goes to their deserving campaign and the purchasing of that roof. Email the venue for further info.




Festival – Chosen by Holly, Frank and Joanne
Hackney Wicked Art Festival
31 July – 2 August 2009
Various locations around Hackney Wick, E9 and Fish Island, E3

Hackney Wick Art Festival is back with a BOOM! Hackney WickED, dubbed by NY Arts Magazine as ‘the most vital art event of the summer’ is set to blitz the capital in its second year running. This major event will showcase the new blood of contemporary art in a rising generation of galleries and open studios. Go and take a wander and discover the freshest new local talent.




Show – Chosen by Rosalie
Matthew Robins' Science Fiction Double Feature at the National Theatre
31st July – 22nd August (Friday and Saturday nights)

Matthew Robins' Science Fiction Double Feature begins this Friday. Matthew will be at the National Theatre every Friday and Saturday night at 10pm projecting new shows onto the side of the flytower. The shows will be different every week, and on Friday nights the BFI will be screening films after the show sample titles include ‘Flyboy and the Robot; The Wicker Cat; Nosferatu & Me’ and ‘Mothboy goes to the Moon’...who can resist? All shows begin at 10pm and are free and un—ticketed.



Event – Chosen by Holly
Brighton Pride Parade
Saturday 1st August

Brighton Pride is the biggest festival of its kind in Europe. The festivities, which have been running all week, culminate this Satruday with the spectacular carnival Pride parade. The main parade starts at Madeira Drive next to Brighton Pier, setting off at 11.00am. The route goes along the Kingsway, up West Street, down North Street, left onto the Old Steine, along Marlborough Place, Gloucester Place, London Road and Preston Road, arriving at Preston Park from around 1pm. The Carnival Parade route is lined with thousands of people every year, so get there early to ensure you bag yourself a good spot!

Us Now from Banyak Films on Vimeo.

Film – Chosen by Frank
US NOW by Ivo Gormley

Ivo Gormley, a documentary film maker, has brought out a new film about new technologies and a closely related culture of collaboration present radical new models of social organisation. Their project brings together leading practitioners and thinkers in these fields and asks them to determine the opportunites they present for government. This film is a stunning eye opener to the potential for more equal and inclusive form of collective decision making and I think shows beautifully the first green shoots of a change in this direction. Click above to watch it for free.




Event – Chosen by Rosalie
InCounter
8pm-1am Saturday 1st August FREE
At the red house behind the Counter Cafe, 4a Roach Road, Fish Island, E3 2PA.

InCounter is a one-off night of live sonic art, film and video, taking an experimental attitude to audio-visual interaction. The event will include live performances by, among others, Anne Bean & Richard Wilson (don’t miss these guys they’re amazing!) and a huge variety of video work. Part of Hackney WickED Festival 2009.

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All The Lonely Websites That Nobody Ever Visits

... is this one of them?
Image drawn by participants during Artsblog Live Week (25th - 29th May) Read more...

Pick of the Week - 24/07/09

Some great stuff going on this week, including Brighton Pride, a new piece by Switch Performance, an exhibition about Underwear, and a programme of art events in an East End Cafe. We've even featured a talk as far away as Lagos, Nigera. Get us, all international!



Competition – Chosen by Holly
Switch – At Home, by Katharine Fry

Switch is producing At Home, an innovative new project from talented artist Katharine Fry. Katharine is inviting people in London, Brighton and the Home Counties to submit a photo of a chosen room in their home and a short sentence on any topic. Entrants compete for the one-off prize: a bespoke one-to-one performance created in and for their home.




Exhibition – Chosen by Carly
Undercover: The Evolution of Underwear
Fashion and Textile Museum, London

My pick this week is the charming and cheeky exhibition 'Undercover: The Evolution of Underwear'. Fondling its way from the underwire of the first bra to the belly-busting, thigh-reducing, cellulite forgiving giant pants beloved by the God of knickers, Gok Wan, you too can now gander at a lady's undergarments without being called a Peeping Tom/Tabitha. Head to the Fashion and Textile Museum and marvel at the corsetry, lace, ribbons and unashamed impracticality of it all!




Book – Chosen by Holly
The Edge of Vision: The Rise of Abstraction in Photography by Lyle Rexer

This book is beautiful... highly recommended by Holly




Exhibition – Chosen by Oyinda
Picturing Men with the Photographer's Gallery
Sat 25 July 10.30 - 17.00, London College of Fashion

Do we look at images of men in the same way as those of women? How are fashion images of men shaped by history, culture and the creative relationship between stylists and photographers? Join the Photographers Gallery and London College of Fashion for a day of talks and discussions with key figures from the worlds of fashion and photography, to grapple with these questions and more. Speakers include Vince Aletti, Shaun Cole, Jason Evans, Prof Penny Martin, Dr Eugenie Shinkle and Peter Lyle.




Festival – Chosen by Alison
Hide and Seek Festival, Southbank Centre
31st July – 2nd August

My pick is the Hide&Seek Festival next weekend. There's lots of different 'pervasive' games to test your bravery and cunning all happening around the Southbank Centre. See the website for a programme.




Event – Chosen by Rosalie
In Conversation with Corrado Coltelli, with films by Saint Etienne
Saturday 25th July, 4 -¬ 9pm (talk / films at 6.30pm)
Where: The Savoy Cafe, 240 Graham Rd, London E8

Corrado Coltelli grew up in the Savoy Café during its heyday. Accompanied by ‘Today's Special’, films from Saint Etienne and Paul Kelly, exploring the legacy of the traditional London café. In Conversation is part of a series of site specific events held on consecutive Saturdays at The Savoy Café, a former East London café that has been vacant since the mid 1990s. The building, which is still owned by the Coltelli family who grew up there in the 1950s, retains its original 1930s décor and fascia. For the duration of the Savoy Café project, the space will temporarily re-open to play host to a series of events to include talks, exhibitions, screenings and especially commissioned site-specific works curated by Rosie Cooper.




Talk – Chosen by Oyinda
Transition, Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos
Saturday 25th July 2009, 2pm – 4pm
9 McEwen Street, Off Queen Street, Sabo, Opp Methodist Church, Herbert Macaulay St, Lagos. Tel: 0702 8367106

The Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos has initiated a dynamic platform for visual art and culture since opening its doors in December 2007 engaging with artists, critics, writers, curators and art mangers. In July 2009 CCA, Lagos continues its public programme with this talk by South African artist and curator Gabi Ngcobo titled Transition. During transition, the questions “who are we?” alongside “which options among the available ones are the right ones?” tend to figure a lot. In this talk Gabi Ngcobo will underline such questions by focusing on the work of a younger generation of South African artists whose work addresses the shortcomings of sexual identities more especially black South African masculinities. The aim of the talk is to create a dialogue about history (or its absence) that is often troubled, to differing degrees, by the search to find the holy grail of African masculinity.




Event - Chosen by Holly
Brighton Pride, 25th July

The summer festival kicks off on Saturday 25th July with events all over the city, leading up to the main parade and park event on Saturday 1st August. This year's theme is Beside The Seaside! For full event listings, click here.

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Digital-Natives

As part of my research for my MA thesis on digitalization and its effects on culture and photography, I set up a Flickr group with some of my A level photography students. It is called 'Digital-Natives', which is a term that was coined by Marc Prensky in 2001, referring to the generations who have been 'born digital' in Western society. Born after 1980, these 'screenagers' and young adults have not known life without the Internet and mobile phones... Whereas those of us born before the 'digital revolution' are 'Digital Immigrants', we have had to learn the digital language, secondary and have varying degrees of 'accents', such as printing off our blogs/emails... because we might not trust the Internet fully... for example!





As a teacher, it is important that I recognize the differences between my 'digital native' students and how they learn from the way I was taught... They do have shorter attention spans, for example, but this does not necessarily mean that they are lazy, they do things differently - often multitasking - being switched onto 4 or 5 different media at a time - rather than sitting and reading a book or just watching the TV without being online and listening to music at the
same time for example...
The idea behind the Flickr group, was to create a place where we could take discussion outside of the classroom, taking it to a higher level than the time we have in lessons allows for and to work on a collaborative project with no hierarchy. I wanted to involve students in some educational research - giving them a voice for a change. Aware that I may be learning from them as they are more 'connected' than me!
I started the project by getting all of my students to answer a questionnaire, asking them what photography was to them and how they use it... this resulted in fairly predictable general answers, such as "capturing a moment" and the fact that they don't print their photos very often, as it's cheaper and easier to share photos online and store them digitally... I was concerned as to how useful the analogue techniques and philosophies that I teach in class were to them... but it was unanimous that they were very keen to learn traditional photography and this is of great importance to them! I believe that despite the ever changing climate with digitalisation, it is integral to photography education, that learners start with basic analogue equipment and techniques - processing and printing negative-film in a darkroom, in order to understand how photography works and to learn its history...



The next stage was a series of lunchtime discussions and debates about photography, with a group of volunteers and from there we formed the Flickr group and have been continuing the debate and discussions online.
This is the first time I have worked with students in this way and it has proved to be quite fruitful in engaging them in issues in photography, outside off their coursework...
Although, I hoped that we would be equal, I have had to take a leading role, both in facilitating meetings and keeping things going online, but some of the students have shown initiative in starting new topics... Surprisingly the group has posted a lot more discussion than images; because the project is quite conceptual they seem to be finding it difficult to visualize and I have had to return to my 'teacher' role, briefing them on ideas... The fact that these students are giving their own time freely to the project is a very positive sign of their interest and commitment to the subject. Is this way of working more suitable for todays generation, rather than setting them a 'summer project' in a sketchbook for example? Or will the same dedicated students always put in more work regardless of media? I think that doing a project like this may tie in with the way young people use media - checking this site and adding comment, as often as they check their 'Facebook' and emails... it's just another 'page' to look at...



The Flickr group is open to people who want to join us and from august it will become 'public' (people wont have to join in order to contribute) I would be very grateful for any feedback on our Flickr group and whether people think it is useful, how intelligent it is... ideas for improvement... as I intend to incorporate it into my thesis exhibition as well, at the beginning of September... Please check it out by clicking here and join us if you're interested!


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Connecting...

From Artsblog Live Week...in response to the challenge 'draw the internet' Read more...

My Site/ In Space

'My site/In Space is an ongoing series of site-specific performances. For each edition Switch hunt out an inspiring space and convene a group of artists. Their goal is to create performances in response to the space within two weeks of first encountering it. The result is an ephemeral moment, made in a flash and never performed again.'



On the night of the 'art and the internet' talk, during Live Week, I met a rather charming man, who told me how he was opening up his flat to a bunch of artists to do as they would for 2 weeks before then opening it up to the public for a weekend of performances... I was intrigued. Both by Justin, who I'd just met and by the performance or whatever it was! So I got myself a ticket for a tenner. Blimey to let people into your home like that must be exhausting and invasive, I dont think I could!
The evening began on broadway market in Hackney where we were asked to convene in the pub 'Off Broadway' and meet with a woman who would be wearing a flower in her hair. It was very relaxed, despite being sent a message saying 'time waits for no-one', and rushing to the pub, we had plenty of time to enjoy a cold beer before setting off on our adventure. Justin was no-where to be seen, I figured he'd be at home awaiting our arrival. We were welcomed to the flat with a cube of soda bread and asked to remove our shoes. About 15 of us crammed into the living room and awaited our next instruction, unsure of what we should be doing and feeling far removed from our comfort zones, particularly when 1 person was invited into a slim cupboard with a young woman, the rest of us shuffled about nervously avoiding eye contact, as we watched the throw on the sofa seductively but rather pathetically slink its way off and onto the floor. Others were shown to the cupboard, while the rest of us giggled and squidged. Gratefully, I was taken outside into the fresh air onto a balcony and given a massage, left to wonder what was going on inside and slightly worried about my friend who had come along for the ride. I was reluctant to get off the lounger and rejoin the others, surprisingly enjoying and relaxed by the tactile communication. "Where were they? What had become of my friend, hold on that's his voice reading a poem, oh no is he being told off? He does have quite a distinctive voice!" A slide show made from curled up strips of negatives, poetic and inspirational to the photographer, nostalgic.



Upstairs more sensory communication, in front of a bathroom mirror, the artist who had massaged me, now took us one by one and posed with us, as if in a photo booth, trying us on for size. A voyeuristic view from the bedroom of stockinged legs and a camisole, then back down in single file to put on our shoes and depart. All rather formal. Across red carpet, past grass cutting with scissors and a picnic for one on a traffic island, we were led to the park. Toilet humorous stop. Lost. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! "Ah there's Justin and he has biscuits! Starting to make sense now - 2 groups, 2 homes! So this is where he lives!" Ah the 'performance art' - physical, predictable. Many snapshots of this strange man who I met once and was intrigued to know better. Lots of leopard skin and eastern delights! The bed was prominent as we all sat round it like a vigil. Later a Skype piece that was beautiful, sensual, funny and futuristic. Err, a kitchen symphony, annoying, banal. 'Shower scene', a momentary glimpse of the nude, 'traveling water' led through walls as taps ran.
Ahhhh pub!

The evening was a concoction of mini performance pieces that responded to the flats and the people who lived in them, some were very sensual and inspiring for me, others were predictable and felt disjointed. I was more into the first flat as it was less directed (the artists decided to direct more in the 2nd half as they felt the audience required it). For me it was less about the individual interventions, but more about a general feeling of unease and intrigue, pushing my own boundaries. I think that the idea of letting people work so site specifically is amazing and worth exploring further than this. I think that it may work better with less artists though; it might become more fluid, or more artists, making it properly hectic and destabilising.
How far can you go in someone-else's home?

Check out other interesting stuff by Switch Performance.


And look out for The Art of Engagement, the new programme starts in august with residencies from Justin Allen, Clare Adams and others... John Jordan is part of the current programme by the way!


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It's the Beginning of an Obsession...

Image drawn by guests at the Artsblog Live Week launch event on May 29th. Is this your proud handiwork? Let us know in the comments. Read more...

Pick of the Week - 10.07.09

There’s a really interesting mixture in this week’s POTW. A theatre show that had a huge impact on gay rights, a great Scottish bookshop, some circus performance in the Shunt tunnels, and a book about internet whizz-kids. And to top it off, some really teeny men’s suits. That last part is the most exciting – who can fail to be intrigued by rows upon rows of perfectly tailored miniature jackets and trousers? Amazing.



Installation - Chosen by Frank
Art Angel presents Charles Ledray – Men’s Suits
11 July – 20 September 2009
The Fire Station, Chiltern Street, London W1

For this new show, hundreds of suits, shirts and ties, painstakingly recreated on a diminutive scale in a dizzying array of colours are installed in a Victorian fire station in Marylebone. American sculptor Charles LeDray's first major show in Europe, MENS SUITS is a tour de force of meticulous making.




Theatre - Chosen by Holly
What’s Wrong With Angry?
King’s Head Theatre, 115 Upper Street, London N1 1QN
July 8th - August 15th Tues-Sat 7.30pm, Sat-Sun 3.30pm

A searing indictment of the appalling anti-gay laws in the UK (The Age of Consent was 5 years higher for gay men, and Section 28 meant local authority was too afraid to support anything homosexual), this play caught the public imagination and was particularly championed by the gay community when it was first staged in 1993. As a piece of political theatre it was a huge part of the movement towards real equality for gay men.




Shop - Chosen by Alison
Analogue Books
102 West Bow, Edinburgh, EH1 2HH
Open Monday-Saturday, 10am-5.30pm

My pick this week is Analogue book shop in Edinburgh. They have a great selection of books, a small gallery and also publish a series of zines called Running Amok. Each issue showcases the work of an exciting illustrator, artist or designer. Issues 24 and 25 by Nathaniel Russell and Kelly Lynn Jones have just been released, see their website for details.




Exhibition - Chosen by Giles
Bernie Lubell: A Theory of Entanglement
Until 6 September
FACT, 88 Wood Street, Liverpool, L14DQ

In this exhibition, simple natural materials are used to highlight the genius of old technologies that lend fresh consideration to contemporary issues. In particular the artist takes inspiration from the work of French physiologist and chronophotographer Etienne-Jules Marey who was obsessed with understanding movement. From horses and birds to human limbs and the heartbeat, Marey's work was pioneering in cinematography, medical imaging, cardiology and aviation. The exhibition features a giant new commission A Theory of Entanglement for FACT’s atrium, and installations of previous works such as Conservation of Intimacy, ...and the Synapse Sweetly Singing and Etiology of Innocence in Galleries 1 and 2. In addition there is a new collaborative project Flying Flappers for the Media Lounge.




Installation/ Performance - Chosen by Carly
The Sugar Beast Circus by Geneva Foster Gluck
Until Saturday 18 July, Shunt Lounge, London Bridge

This week's pick for me is Geneva Foster Gluck's Sugar Beast Circus in the passage space of Shunt. Continuing her work on this theme, from Weds 8th to Sat 18th of July you can explore Geneva's wonderful installation performance world of tap-dancing lions and silent gardens... What better place than the twist-y, turn-y tunnels of Shunt to discover such oddities!



Book - Chosen by Holly
Born Digital by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser

"The first generation of “Digital Natives” – children who were born into and raised in the digital world – are coming of age, and soon our world will be reshaped in their image. Our economy, our politics, our culture and even the shape of our family life will be forever transformed. But who are these Digital Natives? How are they different from older generations – or “Digital Immigrants” – and what is the world they’re creating going to look like? In Born Digital, leading Internet and technology experts John Palfrey and Urs Gasser offer a sociological portrait of these young people who can seem, even to those merely a generation older, both extraordinarily sophisticated and strangely narrow.




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Draw the Internet...

This image is a response to the challenge 'draw the internet' - which was one of the questions we asked the crowd who turned up to the Artsblog Live Week event on May 29th. Over the next month or so, expect other bits from that night to appear on the blog - including more internet drawings, a series of videos and maybe even the odd twitter update. Read more...

Pick of the Week - 03.07.2009

Details of how to book yourself in to drink and dine at a secret Speakeasy, profiles of a whole range of intriguing-looking exhibitions, a feature on the Pride Parade, and an exclusive review of the new Hayward show - all here in today's Pick of the Week. Read on and the next week of your life will be immeasurably improved...we promise.



Event – Chosen by Holly
The Annual London Pride March
Saturday 4th July, 1pm (setting off from Baker Street)

Join this Saturday’s LGBT Pride Parade, a cavalcade of colour and fun processing through the streets of London. Leaving Baker Street at 1pm, the parade will proceed down Oxford Street and Regent Street, then through Piccadilly, ending in Trafalgar Square. There you’ll be entertained by speakers, stalls and music from 3pm. Alternatively, head into Soho where you'll find the streets closed to traffic and a street party in full swing.

And for an after party with a twist:
Gay Shame goes Girly at the Brixton Academy this Saturday (9pm - 4am). From the Duckie website: 'The last ever Gay Shame is an indoor po-mo-homo playground full of interactive art and alternative ideas. It is a creative rebellion against the banalities of the mainstream Gay Pride festival and a satire on the commercialisation of our community.' Tickets are £15 in advance.




Installation – Chosen by Rosalie
Bassline: London by Graeme Miller
9 - 26 July
Venue: Car Park 5, Barbican
11am-8pm daily; 11am-10pm Thu; 12pm-10pm Sat 25 & Sun 26. Closed 13, 15, 20 &22 July
FREE

Created by theatre-maker, composer and artist Graeme Miller, this free multi-screen video and sound installation is a series of projections situated in the hidden spaces of the Barbican Centre’s Car Park 5. See and hear the recorded testimonies if 15 local participants based on their journey around the Barbican complex with a double bassist. These moving and intimate accounts reveal their memories, associations and perceptions of the area, capturing the vicinity’s hidden characteristics. A solo bassline based on a piece by Henry Purcell (to mark the 350th anniversary of this London-born composer) underscores the piece.




Comedy – Chosen by Joanne
N20: BACs Biannual Comedy Season
13 July - 1 August

Another inebriating mixture of Edinburgh previews and works-in-progress with BAC's biannual season of comedy. Top names and old favourites to make you squeak with joy! Highlights include Daniel Kitson, Laura Solon, Phil Nichol, Tom Basden, The Penny Dreadfuls, Richard Herring, Hans Teeuwen, Pappy’s Fun Club, Idiots Of Ants and loads more...




Exhibition – Chosen by Giles
Walking in my Mind, Hayward Gallery
Until September 6th

Giles’s review of this well received new show at the Hayward:
‘A handful of the entries stood out, in particular Keith Tyson's panelled images packed full of references and personal evocations. Also Pipilotti Rist’s work, whose installation presented the audience with enlarged images of disembodied mouths, feet, breasts and hands - powerful because in an instant it made me feel like nothing more than a huge mass flesh and of mis-firing neurones, the symptoms of which might be interpreted as 'emotion'. And I liked Thomas Hirshorn’s piece, Cavern – a fascinating interpretation of an individual as a collection of glued, pasted, layered cultural references.’




Exhibition – Chosen by Holly
Paul B. Davis, SEVENTEEN Gallery
17 Kingsland Road, London, E2 8AA

Paul B. Davis’ probing, contemplative second solo show at SEVENTEEN represents a bold step forward for the artist...though not necessarily one he expected to take. It was instigated by a semi-voluntary rejection of a practice that, until very recently, was central to his creative output and figured prominently in his debut exhibition at the gallery - Intentional Computing (2007). A curious turn of events led to this unforeseen repudiation and redefinition of practice: Davis says: ‘I woke up one morning in March to a flood of emails telling me to look at some video on YouTube. Seconds later saw I Kanye West strutting around in a field of digital glitches that looked exactly like my work. It fucked my show up...the very language I was using to critique pop content from the outside was now itself a mainstream cultural reference.’ See the results of his response to this shocking turn of events at SEVENTEEN Gallery now.




Performance/ Installation – Chosen by Carly
The Pale Blue Door, Tony Hornecker
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until 12 July, two sittings per night (see here for timings)
5 Glebe Street, E8 4BD

With all this hot, humid weather, isn't it nice to imagine yourself in a make-believe, dream-y fantasy, full of exotic oddities and jazz-y blues drifting on the slow breeze? Well, imagine no more! 'The Pale Blue Door' is set designer Tony Hornecker's brand new installation/ performance wonderland. Created in his 'humble' Hackney abode, it's up to you to find the door to this fantasyland off Kingsland Road - methinks the title may have something to do with the style of door...You'll be sprited into an underground speakeasy, fed a three-course meal and entertained by a myriad of performers whilst you dine... Alice in Wonderland meets Bugsy Malone no doubt, and even though it's £30, you are getting dinner and entertainment and an experience all in one! The design looks to be especially beautiful, so if you're into those details and idiosyncrasies I'd highly recommend it! And if you fancy paying another £30, you can even have the pleasure of Carly’s company.




Exhibition – Chosen by Joanne
Bobby Baker's Diary Drawings: Mental illness and me, 1997-2008
Until 2 Aug, Wellcome Collection, London

Bobby Baker is one of the most widely acclaimed and popular performance artists working today. She began her diary drawings in 1997 when she became a patient at a day centre. Originally private, they gradually became a way for her to communicate complex thoughts and emotions that are difficult to articulate to her family, friends and professionals. The drawings cover Bobby's experiences of day hospitals, acute psychiatric wards, 'crisis' teams and a variety of treatments. They chart the ups and downs of her recovery, family life, work as an artist, breast cancer and just how funny all this harrowing stuff can be.




Photography – Chosen by Holly
Fresh Faced and Wild Eyed, Photographers Gallery, London

Photographers gallery 'fresh faced and wild eyed' student show recognises the immense breadth and dynamism of graduate and post-graduate photographic work emerging from colleges and universities across the UK each year. You can view the work online here.

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