One supporter is Berlin-based photographer Daniel Reiter, who met the community in 2015. He decided to create a photo series of the scene and you can now check out those pics in an exhibition at Rich Mix next month. Some of Reiter’s gorgeous snaps will be sold as limited edition fine art prints and all profits will go towards to the project, which hopes to raise enough cash to install the nation’s first skatepark.

The exhibition runs from April 6 to April 28 in the Lower Café Gallery. Find out more about Ethiopia Skate at www.ethiopiaskate.org.

Check out pics from the exhibition below:

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Disney’s The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre, London. Photo by Brinkoff and Mogenburg

It’s ironic then, that as I mark 16 years of living in the capital, I finally get to see the UK version of this infamous Broadway musical that also celebrates its 16th birthday in London. And like most awesome things in life, it was worth the wait.

The heartwarming animated tale translates to nearly 3 hours on stage, and it’s told through a colourful spectacle of technical puppetry and energetic showmanship that never lets up.  There’s clearly a reverence for the music and traditions of African culture too, and talking drums and dance are as pivotal to the show as the wonderful Simba who we see go from a kid to a king. By the end, I realised I hadn’t stopped smiling since Rafiki opened the proceedings with The Circle of Life. And once I got home, I was all over YouTube, looking for a sing-a-long for that problem-free philosophy  Hakuna Matata. I know for a fact that I’ll be buzzing from all of that feel-good energy for the next week, at least.

Disney’s The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre, London. Photo by Johan Persson

There’s no doubt I’ll be watching this again. Tickets for the musical are currently on sale until March 2016 for individual bookings and July 2016 for groups – so if that sounds like West End’s best-selling stage production could be seeing its last days, you’ll probably want to tick this off, stat.  You’ll hardly regret it.

THE LION KING plays at the Lyceum Theatre (21 Wellington Street)  Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm with matinee performances on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2.30pm. For more details call the Box Office number: 0844 871 3000 or visit www.thelionking.co.uk. 

Many thanks to The Corner Shop for the invite! 

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An aerial view of the 2015 Serpentine Pavilion filmed using a drone. #SerpentinePavilion #selgascano #aerial #drone

A video posted by Serpentine Galleries (@serpentineuk) on Jun 26, 2015 at 2:07am PDT

See more photos here.

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Britain Can Make It was held in the November of 1946 at the V&A and was organised by the government to display consumer goods that would kickstart the economy of post-war Britain. Whilst the Hayward doesn’t make such claims, it has positioned itself as a pre-2015 election recap of how we have found ourselves in this situation: post-recession, post-referendum and post-riot, and taking a politically charged standpoint ponders, is this a tipping point for political change in Britain?

Tony Crag, Britain Seen from the North, 1981

The seven artists involved are John Akomfrah, Simon Fujiwara, Roger Hiorns, Hannah Starkey, Richard Wentworth and Jane and Louise Wilson, all of which curate sections of the exhibition, looking at particular periods of cultural history. Issues examined include the Cold War, post-Thatcherite society, feminism, BSE and celebrity culture, all of which offer a radical new way of thinking about how we got to where we are today. The exhibition brings together over 250 objects including art, documentation, everyday artefacts, newspapers and costumes to interpret key cultural moments identified by today’s practising artists.

If the 1946 exhibition was distinguished by a giant egg symbolising the birth of the egg cup and rebirth of British design and innovation, the decommissioned Bloodhound missile currently clinging to the exterior of the Hayward gallery doesn’t seem quite as hopeful. Thought-provoking stuff. (Words: Laura Thornley)

At the Hayward Gallery until 26th April.  For more info visit: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/history-is-now-7-artists-take-88866

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Throughout the modern period,  the medium of painting has been at odds with the development of photography and mass media. But Dumas has always believed in the power of painting and continually uses it to play with the complexities of representing the human form: painting still touches us, she believes, despite its years of turmoil.

Marlene Dumas The Widow 2013 Private Collection © Marlene Dumas

Still, while devoted to this style of art, one of Dumas’ biggest inspirations is photography and specifically the work of Diane Arbus. Her work similarly explores ideas around sexuality, popular culture, current affairs and identity. Almost always she takes her subject matter from a photograph or her images are torn from magazines. Figures are taken out of their context and isolated on her canvas.

Dumas continually references contemporary life and her subject matter is often current, and occasionally controversial: Amy Winehouse, Naomi Campbell, Princess Diana, even Osama bin Laden have all been presented in a fashion. Her work may also touch on some of the anxieties and trauma that haunt our society, but its beauty is truly moving. Not to be missed. (Words: Laura Thornley)

On until 10 May 2015. For more info visit: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/marlene-dumas-image-burden

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“Art is the stuff you can’t say,” believes Haroon Mirza, Northern Art prize winner, Lisson Gallery artist and the man whose art work gives the exhibition its title. His work, a video installation including the ritualistic sound of Kenyan men drumming during a Muslim wedding, and a student giving a speech, offers a sense of urgency that is unmistakably politically charged. His work in this instance addresses cultural difference, even amongst those who share the same faith. Here his work reveals two different Muslim populations and there different, contradictory beliefs (music is banned by some Muslim leaders).

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In addition to Mirza, there are works from Broomberg and Chanarin, Allora and Calzadilla, Liu Xiaodong and Rashid Rana. Divine Violence from Broomberg and Chanarin features plates from the King James Bible, annotated à la Bertold Brecht and superimposed with imagery from the Archive of Modern Warfare. Artist duo Allora and Calzadilla tackle a contamination incident at a Puerto Rican GlaxoSmithKline factory in their 20-minute demolition video, complete with wrecking ball bell. Meanwhile,  Xiaodong’s paintings depict mine workers in one of China’s most politically tense regions.

Needless to say, the exhibition contains some provocative stuff which the language of art addresses with a suitable, vital tone. Not to be missed. (Words: Laura Thornley)

From 30th January to 7th March.  For more info visit: www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/cross-section-of-a-revolution

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Taking the title of Peter Fryer’s seminal text as its moniker, this exhibition includes photographic work from iconic practitioners whose photographic journalism recorded the changing cultural landscapes of the time. The exhibition draws on oral histories from the photographers and the wider community to understand where identity and representation collide.

The breadth of work is impressive and comes from the likes of Dennis Morris – infamous for his work with the Sex Pistols and Bob Marley – Charlie Phillips, best known for his imagery of Notting Hill in the 1960s and the iconic work of self taught Colin Jones who recorded youth culture.

More recent representation of the Black British experience comes from the work of Ingrid Pollard, a photographer and art practitioner whose social practise work focuses on representation, history and landscape with reference to race and Jennie Baptiste whose work explores fashion and style as expressions of black British identity.

The exhibition comes as a wider project spanning five years under the same title, so watch this space for further events. (Words: Laura Thornley)

On until 30 June. For more info visit: bcaheritage.org.uk/programme/exhibitions/staying-power/

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Whitechapel director Iwona Blazwick OBE, and Magnus af Petersens, Curator at Large, take on the curatorial task of transforming the Whitechapel into a space devoted to abstract form as it collides with political thought. They begin with Kazimir Malevich’s radical ‘black square’ paintings which first made bold, manifesto-esque claims to the idea of non-representational art as a tool that leads to Utopian life.

Dóra Maurer Seven Rotations 1 – 6, 1979, collection of Zsolt Somlói and Katalin Spengler © Dóra Maurer

The concept of non-representational art took hold beyond the Russian movement when a series of artists including Wassily Kandinsky, Robert Delaunay and František Kupka broke away from tradition and made artwork with no recognisable subject matter. The movement evolved over the 20th century and into the 21st century, and its effects are included in the work in the show.

The show wanders through history, separated by four themes: Communication; Architectonics (how abstraction can underpin socially transformative spaces); Utopia and The Everyday, bringing the show right up to date with abstraction in corporate logos and textile design. The rest of the Whitechapel spaces are filled with displays, commissions and special events including work by David Batchelor and Bart Lodewijks. A vital exhibition, don’t miss it! (Words: Laura Thornley)

From 15th January to 6th April. For more info visit:www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/abstract-art/

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For those not in the know, the Gandini collective has been on the scene for 20 years, leading  the marriage of contemporary dance and juggling, as well as incorporating mathematics into their art. Their latest production  4 x 4 Ephemeral Architectures follows the international success of their Pina Bausch-inspired sensation Smashed and features an unlikely mix of juggling and classical ballet.

The new show may sound like an unusual combination (maths, juggling and ballet?!) but rest assured that Sean Gandini’s elite jugglers, working alongside four classical dancers choreographed by former Royal Ballet First Artist Ludovic Ondiviela, will be a sight to behold.

The blending of the two art forms echoes a trend that brings together traditional and more contemporary practices and the new conversations that come as a result. The Royal Opera House’s rolling programme in the studio space offers interested parties just this kind of thing; circus performances and hip hop ballet collaborations are just some of the things recently shown there – so it’s likely 4×4 Ephemeral Architecture will follow in their success.  (Words: Laura Thornley)

From 13th-15th January.  For more info visit: www.roh.org.uk/productions/london-international-mime-festival-by-various

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