We like to take it as a given that arty adventurers love a good festival: sunshine, drinks, live music mixed with a bit of street food – that’s the stuff the arty summer is made of. Naturally, Shoreditch does street festival like no other and now in its 12th year, th Shoreditch Festival is going from strength to strength.

You may remember from last time that this was a great mix of street theatre, food, art exhibitions and music. For 2013 you can expect similar stuff with a little more umph for good measure. Saturday is the arty day and is filled with street dance, circus acts, and street theatre shows. On Sunday the festival becomes more musical, with local and international acts. The Barbican drummers will be making an appearance as well as jazz star Iva Lamkum and South Africa Shangaan Electro. There will also be the People Speak’s talkaoke: a chance to get that niggling ideas off you chest. Or, just have a good old winge!

 
The festival is free to attend but you can even make a donation to help the organisers claw back some of the costs. So dig deep if you want this kind of thing to continue! (Words: Laura Thornley)

 
On July 13th and 14th. For more info visit: www.shoreditchtrust.org.uk/Shoreditch-Festival

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The varied programme of installations, events and performances that make up the festival all explore modern problems of climate, consumerism and community – but prepare to get interactive. Whether it’s dissembling everyday objects to create new ones on Kate McIntosh’s Worktable, pledging publicly to make a change in Davis Freeman’s 7 Promises, or eavesdropping and sneaking secret documents through the underbelly of corporate London in the site-specific spy-thriller Oil City from immersive theatre group Platform, the Two Degrees festival certainly isn’t scared to get the audience involved.

Despite the heavy topics, Two Degrees is designed to celebrate what we can do right, not what we’re doing wrong, and the overall message is one of action and change. This is a group of artists, producers and performers gathered together to create a festival that will inspire people to try and make a difference. (Words: Nori Bell-Bhuiyan)

On until June 22nd. For more information visit: www.artsadmin.co.uk/projects/two-degrees

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Pic: Belinda Lawley

The transformation of the Centre’s 21-area site is remarkable. Southbank’s ‘neighbourhood’ has been fitted out with orchards and gardens, murals, graffiti art and brightly painted sculptures and installations made of everything from foliage and concrete to wheelbarrows and doorbells. Amongst all this sits Beanotown, an iconic (if imaginary) neighbourhood filled with dastardly delights created to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Beano comic. The Royal Festival Hall itself boasts a rooftop collection of 42 flags from artists Bob & Roberta Smiths, covered with questions spurring you to consider your own ideas of neighbourhood and community.

Pic: Belinda Lawley

The festival’s programme includes archive photography exhibition Lambeth Treasures, an exhibition dedicated to mapping the incredible 2000 year-old cultural history of Lambeth. Performances are also in demand, with family circus troop Cirque Alfonse’s Timber!, a daring and acrobatic display involving lumberjack saws, and a world premiere of youth dance company ZooNation’s Groove Down The World retelling The Wizard of Oz with a hip-hop twist. Another highlight is cultural icon Yoko Ono’s Meltdown, a collection of music and film featuring artists from all over the globe in a dedication to music, feminism, environmentalism and peace activism.

Pic: Linda Nylind

In fact, the list of wonders taking place during the Festival of Neighbourhood seems nearly inexhaustible. If there was ever a time to get into the neighbourly spirit then now is it! The next few months at Southbank don’t just offer a wealth of fun cultural goings-on but a real close-up look at what makes a good neighbourhood, and what we can do to be better neighbours to each other – not just in Southbank, but everywhere we go. (Words: Nori Bell-Bhuiyan)

On until September 8th. For more information visit: http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/festivals-series/festival-of-neighbourhood

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Central to Liminal Squared is Mogamma – a group of paintings made by Mehretu in response to the Arab Spring of 2011. The title for the works takes its name from the Al-Mogamma government building in Tahir Square, Cairo. The word mogamma also means ‘collective’ in Arabic and is used in reference to a multi-faith site that shares a mosque, synagogue and church. The intersection of politics and architecture, particularly in the urban environment – and the impact on the formation of a communal identity, is a theme that Mehretu has returned to in her practice.

Recently on show at dOCUMENTA (13), the Mogamma works combine drawing, geometric forms and bold colours with images of urban squares from around the world that have been rallying points for revolution. Displayed on specially constructed partitions rather than the walls of the White Cube – the presentation of these enormous paintings (a collaboration between architect David Adjaye and Mehretu) is a spectacular sight. The Mogamma canvases are a real highlight of Liminal Squared – visually dynamic and beautifully layered so they are definitely worth a view. (Words: Eri Otite)

Julie Mehretu: Liminal Squared is on at White Cube until 7 July. For more info, visit www.whitecube.com

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Cinema

Gimme The Loot – May 3rd sees the long-awaited UK cinema release of a American graffiti flick/love story that won the Grand Jury prize at SXSW and featured at Cannes last year.

Music

Saluting The Black President: Fela Kuti  May 17th – To mark a new release of the Afrobeat legend’s entire back catalogue comes a unique concert featuring some of Fela’s contemporaries (like Tony Allen) and the new-gen of artists influenced by him, including Ty, Blak Twang and the Noisette’s Shingai Shoniwa.

Art & Culture

Breakin’ Convention 2013, May 4-6th  -10 years in existence,  Breakin Convention continues to be a celebration of Hip Hop dance – the groups showing this year will be from around the globe including, Korea, France, Spain, and USA – and for the first time the festival will have a UK only night, showcasing the latest in UK urban dance style.

Alternative

Spin London, May 3rd-5th – Spin London is the world’s first urban focused bicycle show and festival, featuring talks, music, installations, demonstrations, films, food, static cycle racing (!!) and an opportunity to feast your eyes on some of the leading fashion brands in the world of two-wheeled transport.

Music

Field Day festival at Victoria Park, May 25th – Field Day is all about hip, electronica music with an ear-poppingly good line up, so get ready to  get lost in the crowds, have a sweaty dance off in a packed tent and glory in the fact that all of East London will be there.

Art & Culture

Art of the Moment Festival, May 11-12 – This new festival is all about celebrating innovation in music and art and will feature a whole host of workshops, interactive installations, live cinema and a few other  experimental surprises that might just blow your mind.

Best bits from last month

• What we’ve been up to… cheering at the London Marathon 2013
• Somewhere you should go… Bouchon Fourchette, Mare Street
• Something you should see… Claire Aho: Studio Works at The Photographers’ Gallery
• Somewhere you should go… SLAM Last Fridays
• Somewhere You Should Go… Pick Me Up Graphic Arts Festival at Somerset House
• Something You Should See… Screens at Space Studios

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 Music

Ali Shaheed Muhammad at Jazz Cafe, February 1st – The former member of  the pioneering A Tribe Called Quest drops into Camden for a Friday night party for lovers of hip-hop, R&B and soul.

Alternative

Meet Mutsa danceathon, February 9th  – This fun and quirky social activist has been doing her part in London to raise awareness of the HIV pandemic in sub-saharan Africa through educational projects, and her latest event sees her organise an international danceathon fundraiser in London and New York City.  One of the teachers who’ll be putting participants through their paces is Zoo Nation choreographer Kate Prince (Into the Hoods, Some Like It Hip-Hop), so you’ll know this will be brilliant (and all for a good cause!).

 Cinema

Future Cinema presents Casablanca, February 14th – March 3th –  The creators of Secret Cinema will be presenting the iconic Casablanca, where you’ll step into the world of Rick’s American Café at the Troxy which will be transformed into the famous, exclusive and romantic nightclub. Immersive cinema at its finest.

Alternative

Teen Dreams Prom at The Book Club, February 14 – Ever wondered what it’d be like to go to prom? Wonder no more on Valentine’s Day as The Book Club are throwing a fancy dress knees-up for couples and friends to experience prom first hand. There will be games, American food and even a final crowning of Prom King and Queen.

Arts & Culture

 Lichtenstein: A Retrospective at Tate Modern, February 21st – May 27th – Roy Lichtenstein is one of the leading figures of American Pop art, and this show brings together 125 of his most definitive paintings and sculptures.

Best bits from last month

Something You Should See… Light Show, Hayward Gallery

What we’ve been up to… Patty & Bun

Something you should see… 35 mm: A Musical Exhibition

Send us your “selfies” and win places on a Culture Club Photography Workshop!

Something you should see… Feast at the Young Vic

Something you should see… One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show

Somewhere you should eat… The Shed

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First up – Belinda Cadbury and her meticulously pencilled patterns on paper. Cadbury’s work is about craft and process, rather than creativity and imagination, and each work is carefully executed, tightly finished and smudge-free. But the uneven densities of the markings within each of her carefully demarcated forms betray the personal labour that went into each of the works, without ever undermining the integrity of the design and its rhythm.

Alison Turnbull and Sarah Cawkwell both seek existing patterns in our everyday lives and, lifting them from their original contexts, isolate or re-work them to explore their aesthetic potential free of meaning. Turnbull’s interests lie in the topographical, in maps, charts and graphs. Her systematically placed dots and lines interact with the systems of her sources, and invigorate the page surface in playful and enchanting ways. Cawkwell turns to the domestic. A lot of her artistic practice comprises relatively uninteresting, middle-of-the-road charcoal renderings of dressing and undressing rituals, but Petherbridge has astutely selected only those works which dissolve the figurative into abstract patterning. Woven textiles, buttons and the folds and creases of fabric serve as departure points for lovingly rendered small-scale studies in pencil and wash.

The highlight is set to be Wendy Smith, who lacerates her dazzling white boards with inked lines which cross and merge to form intricate, interlocking patterns that shimmer and dance on the page. Smith’s drawings have a graphic quality and are so frighteningly free of imperfection it is easy to imagine them to be machine-made. Together in series Smith’s work looks like the result of hundreds of experiments in drawing, but experiments with no hypothesis, no analysis and no evaluation.

Smith’s works, as with the others shown at the gallery, are not reliant on theory. They do not purport to communicate any personal or objective reality to us but rather express the artists’ fascination with mark making itself. The crisp, clean visual clarity of the works at Art Space Gallery provide the ultimate in visual satisfaction and are not to be missed. (Words: Florence Ritter) 

Narratives of Arrival and Resolution runs 25th January – 22nd February. You can see the catalogue for the exhibition here: www.artspacegallery.co.uk/BOOKS/Narratives/pageflip.html

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Teller started out in music photography making his name with the cover of Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U – a Mona Lisa-esque ambivalent pose, suggesting either ‘I’m hurt and alone’ (most likely) and ‘What the f**k are you looking at?’ (an equally distinct possibility for our Sinead). Following that, Teller set about changing the very nature of fashion photography. Featured in this exhibition is his work for designer Marc Jacobs, a tranche of work which featured Teller himself, as naked as the day he was born, flouncing about on a bed with the arch-raunch herself, Charlotte Rampling. Here, you can see Teller curled up in the foetal position clutching the hand of a serene and distant Rampling. It is this playfulness that has marked Teller out as a distinctive operator, his images both meant as a bit of fun but also raw and unabashed.

That he enjoys playing with the viewer and has a self-deprecating sense of humour is also illustrated by the exhibition’s inclusion  of the many complaints he received while completing his weekly column for Die Zeit. You get the feeling that Teller couldn’t care less about the criticism. In fact, if anything he relishes it and being provocative is what sets him apart. Doubtless if there was no criticism he would have to do so something that would garner some gainsaying.

But that doesn’t mean that Teller is a sensationalist. Far from it. He does things because he likes to experiment and his very free approach brings out the experimental in his subjects, and it all makes for compelling, unusual and quite wonderful photography. (Words: Ed Spencer) 

Woo is on from 23 January 2013 – 17 March 2013 For more info visit:  www.ica.org.uk/34587/Exhibitions/Juergen-Teller-Woo.html

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Pic: Richard Hubert Smith

Actor Kobna Holdbrook-Smith returns to the Young Vic for the production – playing the trickster god Esu and is joined by Olivier Award-winning actress Noma Dumezweni.
For this co-production with the Royal Court, Rufus Norris worked with playwrights from five countries where Yoruba traditions have influenced contemporary life. Included in this collaborative effort are Brazilian Marcos Barbosa, American Tanya Barfield, Rotimi Babatunde of Nigeria, Cuban Yunior Garcia Aguilera and Brit Gbolahan Obisesan. Norris is no stranger to the African continent, having spent quite a few childhood years in Nigeria when his civil servant father was posted to Africa.

Pic: Richard Hubert Smith

Anyone familiar with the work of Norris will know he has directed a host of critically acclaimed shows including Cabaret, London Road and an adaptation of DBC Pierre’s novel Vernon God Little. So, here’s a theatre director with some versatility who’s spoken of taking the audience on a journey with Feast. The show’s promotional tagline is Feed your spirit, Free yourself – and that sounds quite good for January. (Words: Eri Otite)

Feast is showing at the Young Vic from 25 January – 23 February. For more info, visit www.youngvic.org

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Arts & Culture

One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show at Tricycle Theatre, January 16th – February 9th – Originally written by a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement, One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show is restored by Sheffield’s Eclipse Theatre Company. Having received critical acclaim in its earlier tours, its visit to London in January promises to be side-splittingly funny.

Alternative

Totally Serialised: TV Series Festival at Cine Lumiere, January 16-20th 2013 – The only TV series festival in the country returns for an entertaining weekend of favourite shows and never-before-seen exclusives.

Eat & Drink

BRGR.Co, 187 Wardour Street – Diet, schmiet – this month, we’re indulging in even more burgers at this new gourmet Soho haunt that’s come over from Lebanon and has been enjoying a roaring trade for the past month.

Arts & Culture

London International Mime Festival at the Royal Opera House, January 16-26 2013 –  Since 1977, this fest has been honouring the remarkable circus art of miming through innovative puppetry and theatre – expect this and more mid-January, where 15 international productions descend onto the ROH.

 Alternative

In the Beginning Was The End at Somerset House, January 20th – March 30th 2013 –  This special blend of film, installation and live performance explores a world either on the verge of collapse – or the brink of rebirth. With their new gargantuan production, inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci and The Book of Revelation and utilising some avant-garde stage production, Dreamthinkspeak promise a journey through underground passages, the undiscovered nooks and crannies of Somerset House and require you take your life into your hand.

Best bits from last month

• Something you should see.. Halstead & Kerr: Harmattan Cluster at Anarch Gallery
•  Something you should see… Fourth Plinth: Contemporary Monument exhibition
•  Something you should see… Film in Space at the Camden Arts Centre
• Something you should eat… ramen

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