Culture Diary w/c 19-05-14
What’s hot this week? Our pick of the listings from around Liverpool, the North-West and the rest of the UK…
Tuesday – ICA Artists’ Moving Image Network: Keren Cytter 6.30pm @ Cornerhouse, Manchester — £6/4.50
When you start watching Keren Cytter’s films — that have names like Vengeance, Siren and Rose Garden — you feel like you’ve fallen into an episode of CH4′s Revenge, but directed by David Lynch. The Israeli visual artist and writer is the latest to take part in the ICA Artists’ Moving Image Network; launched earlier this year, showcasing new and rarely seen artist film and video work each month across the UK at partner venues Cornerhouse, MK Gallery, Tramway Glasgow and Turner Contemporary.
Wednesday — Zoo City: Science Fiction Book Club 5.30-8pm @ FACT Cafe, Liverpool — FREE
An informal meet up over coffee, our pop-up Book Club aims to share opinion on the themes and modern day relevance of SF lit. This Wednesday’s audience selection is Zoo City (2010) by Lauren Beukes, winner of the Arthur C Clarke Award (2011), and described by cyberpunk legend William Gibson as ”very, very good”. Beukes’ wacked out mystery is set in an alternative Johannesburg, where criminals are punished by being ‘attached’ to an animal; protagonist Zinzi and her sloth must track down a missing person in order to finally be released. NEXT UP: 18 June 2014 — Mockingbird (1980) by Walter Tevis. Part of The Double Negative FACT residency.
10,000HRS Panel Discussion 6-7.30pm @ Exchange Court, Liverpool — FREE
Instigated by Hope University art students on the eve of their graduate exhibition, 10,000 HRS aims to discuss what it means to be an early career artist in Liverpool. With Rosie Cooper (Project Curator at Liverpool Biennial), Bryan Briggs (Artistic Director of the Bluecoat), Frances Disley (Bluecoat Print Studio Manager), Mike Aitken (Director at The Royal Standard) and Joe Orr (Cactus) as panelists, expect a lively and informed glimpse into how to get a foot on the ladder.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Thursday — Private View: Phyllida Barlow Fifty Years of Drawings 6-8pm @ Hauser & Wirth, London — FREE
The 70 year old Phyllida Barlow has been exhibiting a lot since retiring from teaching in 2009; including a major commission at Tate Britain on until October. Unbelievably, most of Barlow’s sculptures from the past five decades have been destroyed; meaning her drawing archive is the only surviving record of her earlier sculptural practice. Expect previously unseen drawings in pencil, pastel, charcoal, acrylic and watercolour, dating from her time at Chelsea School of Art in the ’60s to the present day.
Friday — Private View: Magnus Quaife | Like a Child Running a Stick Along a Fence 6-9pm @ WORKS|PROJECTS, Bristol — FREE
Channeling the mash-potato Devil’s Mount scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Magnus Quaife replaces Richard Dreyfus with Cezanne, using his studio to build an obsessive sculpture. Cezanne was obsessed with Montaigne St Victoire; dominating the skyline of his hometown of Aix en Provence, he spent over 20 years making more than 80 representations of the mountain in oil and watercolour.
The Lost Weekend (1945) 6.30pm @ Metal, Liverpool — FREE
Described as “Bold, sobering, intelligently written and acted with great skill by Ray Milland” (Film4), this classic US drama directed by Billy Wilder was based on Charles R. Jackson’s 1944 novel of the same title. Following alcoholic New York writer, Don Birnam (Milland), over one weekend with his girlfriend and brother, and his struggles to stay on the wagon.
Saturday — Antipop Records 5th Birthday Party 7.30pm @ the Kazimier, Liverpool — £5
Starting in May 2009, Liverpool-based alt/underground/DIY independent record label Antipop have now been part of 20 releases and over 150 gigs. Tonight is a celebration of the bands they’ve loved working with; expect a heady mix of ska, punk, anti-folk and rock’n'roll from the likes of Billy Liar, Pete Bentham and the Dinner Ladies (who are also giving away copies of their new track I Heart Here) and Elmo and The Styx.
Sunday – Daily Talks 1.30, 1.50, 2.10 & 2.30 @ Tate Liverpool — FREE
A good chance to really explore DLA Piper Series: Constellations (read what we thought here) with an experienced guide before the galleries change for this years Biennial (July). Providing “a thought-provoking introduction to key artworks on display”, it’s a chance to talk about the artworks and ask questions with like-minded art lovers. Bring your mates and go for a Sunday drink afterwards.
