Highlight of 2012: Jeremy Deller, Joy in People at The Hayward Gallery, February 2012

“Despite Jeremy Deller’s fame in the British art scene, there still remains something unique and intelligent about his work; I can’t help but smile when thinking about this exhibition. Often full of humour, his observations about the quirks of British life offer a speculative look at pop culture, icons and folk-ish activities. Evidently fascinated by ethnographic recordings of all aspects of the complicated British life, one piece in particular comes to mind: the gang-style hand gestures for a Middle Class Posse. A video piece illustrated hand signals Deller developed, should the middle classes wish to form gangs. ‘Radio 4’, ‘cup of tea’ and ‘Church of England’ all got translated: classic Deller in its deadpan seriousness, but utter hilarity”

Something I’m looking forward to in 2013: Eclipse Theatre Company presents One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show,  Wed 16 Jan 2013 – Sat 9 Feb 2013

“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.”

Tomorrow: Check out Eri Otite’s Review of The Year

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My highlight of 2012: Liverpool Biennial, International Festival of Contemporary Art, September – November 2012

“I took a solitary train-trip up to Liverpool for a day and was all set to hit the ground running between exhibitions. But the city is totally manageable, and the locations were mainly clustered together, so any visiting artophile was able to cover a lot of ground in a limited time.  In amongst the more established art spaces, hosting the biennial’s projects and pieces were a block of commercial offices, a small community-owned bakery, and a cavernous (and totally deserted) ex-postal sorting office, dotted with defunct machinery. Film-based work featured heavily, highlights being John Akomfrah’s investigation of memory and identity at the Bluecoat, and Anja Kirschner and David Panos’ strangely sensual exploration of subterranean histories in their piece commissioned by FACT.”

Something I’m looking forward to in 2013: Light Show at Hayward Gallery, opens January 30th

“The forward-thinking Hayward, who can always be trusted to put on well-considered, visually spectacular shows, open the new year with this interactive exhibition of works and installations which deal with light phenomena, which has sky-rocketed to the top of my list of must-sees for 2013.”

Monday: Check out Ed Spencer’s Review of The Year 2012

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Highlight of 2012: Lauryn Hill at Indigo O2, April 2012

“I’ve been a massive fan of Lauryn Hill since the Fugees days and have been fortunate to see her a few times –  but the last few concerts she’s done in London have been, well,  terrible.  I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with this show, except that it’d determine if Lauryn was still the artist I believed she could be – and surprisingly, she stepped up.  Vocally, she was amazing and she performed like an artist who’s come to the realisation that it’s better sticking to the music you do best – the classics.”

Something I’m looking forward to in 2013: Chrisette Michele at the Jazz Cafe, January 27th

“You can always depend on the Jazz Cafe in Camden to host shows from some of the most credible artists around these days – anf Chrisette Michele is no exception. The Grammy-Award winning singer  has been on the US R&B scene for the last five or six years – and while she’s still relatively unknown on these shores, she has a strong following which will probably see this gig sell out.   She’s got a great set of chops, so can’t wait to see her!”

Tomorrow: Check out Florence Ritter’s  Review of The Year 2012

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