Culture Diary: Christmas & New Year 2014
What’s hot this holiday season? Our pick of the December listings (traditional and alternative) from around Liverpool and the rest of the UK…
The Rucksack Project @ collection points around Liverpool City Region
Kicking off with something important: The Rucksack Project. A worldwide movement born out of a simple idea to help those sleeping rough on the streets during the freezing winter months, all donations will be gratefully received by The Basement Advisory Centre for the homeless. Drop off a rucksack filled with survival items (think sleeping bag, flask, spoon, tins of soup with ringpulls, gloves, hat, fleece/coat, undies, socks, toiletries, hand sanitizer, deodorant) at one of four collection points: Resurrection, Corazon Tattoos, TuttZee’s Boutique or directly to The Basement itself. Drop off deadline 20 December 6pm.
Henry IV Pt I & II 1.30/7.15pm @ Barbican, London — Full price £55/25; day tickets £10; 16-25 year olds £5
The kingdom is sick. There is a war being waged that people have little care for; under the eye of a paranoid leader, they quibble and drink while defectors soil the government. Sound familiar? This is the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Henry IV: an epic vision of a nation in turmoil, expect heartbreak, satirical comedy and all too familiar political commentary. Until 24 January 2015.
30 Years of the Future Wed-Sun, 1-6pm @ Castlefield, Manchester — FREE
An exhibition celebrating a 30-year history of artistic support (working with many who have gone on to receive international acclaim), Castlefield Gallery have cleverly asked past collaborators — artists, curators and thinkers — to nominate artists who they consider to be shaping the future of contemporary art. Read our feature on the gallery’s expansion here. Until 1 February 2015
THE INTELLECTUAL JUNK SHOP: A Christmas selling exhibition by Dorothy 6-9pm @ KK Outlet, London and online
Christmas present connoisseur? Only the best arts and design will do? Manchester-based design studio Dorothy have set up their very own intellectual junk shop in Hoxton Sq; expect a weird and wonderful selection of music, film, literature, architecture and art ephemera to buy, including Game Map (part of their best selling Street Map range) featuring the titles of over 500 video games, as well as an exhibition of their Casualties of War sculptures and Home Shit Home artwork (last seen in Detroit). Until 23 December.
Daksha Patel: Bodytopos Tues-Sat 10am-5pm @ Touchstones, Rochdale — FREE
Manchester-based artist Daksha Patel explores the mapping of the human body, often with unusual materials, such as fat, clay and natural pigments. In this new exhibition of drawings and prints, expect a particular focus on how scientific systems visualize the body through measurement and scanning technologies. Until 7 March 2015.
Tuesday 16th – Terror and Wonder: Curator-led Tour 6.30pm @ British Library, London — FREE with exhibition ticket (£10/8/5)
“There is no bombast, no similes, flowers, digressions, or unnecessary descriptions. Everything tends directly to the catastrophe…” A tour of the British Library’s new exhibition of Gothic literature, Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination, expect to see the work of early Gothic writers Horace Walpole, Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker, as well as imaginative interpretations across film, art, music, fashion, architecture, including Stanley Kubrick, Alexander McQueen, Clive Barker and many more.
Thursday 18th – The Spirit of Christmas 7.30pm @ Liverpool Philharmonic Hall — £17/22/29/34/40; students £7
A full-on traditional Carol Concert from this spectacular music hall, expect Classic FM’s John Suchet to present the full Philharmonic Orchestra and choirs, with conductor Ian Tracey and soprano Pumeza Matshikiza. A lavish festive spread of Yuletide music old and new, with classic carols and seasonal readings. Lovely.
Lecture: Know to be useful and believe to be beautiful: Eleanor Marx and William Morris 7pm @ National Portrait Gallery, London — £7/6
From their companionable leadership of the Socialist League to their shared love of social democracy, arts, crafts and Ibsen, Eleanor Marx and William Morris worked together at the forefront of radical British politics and culture. Join Marx’s biographer Rachel Holmes to learn more about this power couple in the glorious surrounds of exhibition Anarchy & Beauty: William Morris and His Legacy, 1860-1960.
Friday 19th — Constellations Christmas Party 6pm-3am @ Constellations, Liverpool — FREE
Hot Mulled Cider? Check. Posh canapés? Check. Live music and late night DJ’s? Yes please! Multi-arts space Constellations celebrate their first year in business with a good old knees up; just turn up, drink, eat and dance.
Saturday 20th – 24 Kitchen St Christmas Party 9pm @ 24 Kitchen St, Liverpool — FREE
Christmas Party #2: just round the corner from Constellations, another fantastic arts venue throws open their doors with their favourite funk, soul, reggae, hip hop, garage, house DJs — including No Fakin, Abandon Silence, Kepla and much-loved local graf artist Tomo — plus visuals from the superb Hive Collective. As the 24 Kitchen St team say, if you want to drink mulled wine, or Baileys, then this ain’t for you.
Sunday 21st — Silent Movie Night 7pm @ The Kazimier Garden, Liverpool — Donation entry
We recently featured Silent Liverpool’s excellent, alternative, short and silent film screenings of Maya Deren and Larry Semon. This Christmas, take your loved ones to see a magical Ferdinand Zecca film (1909) accompanied by Colin Eccleston and Tony Cairnes on ukulele; comic legend Buster Keaton (1921) with The Hirons Brothers on guitars, ukuleles and ‘funny noises’; a Laurel and Hardy classic from 1928 with Misha Grey on piano, and more.
It’s A Wonderful Life @ Picturehouse cinemas nationwide
Officially part of our Christmas ritual now, watching Frank Capra’s “genuine American classic” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian) is guaranteed to make you laugh, weep and at times, tense as hell. It’s Christmas, the snow is falling, and James Stewart’s protagonist is considering suicide; an unflinchingly portrayal of a man destroyed by a cruel, capitalist world, transformed by Capra’s message of friendship mattering more than material gain.
Monday 29th — The Day Today Night! 8pm-midnight @ Islington Mill, Salford — FREE
Love Chris Morris? Our most alternative Christmas listing, celebrate the 20th anniversary of biting media satire THE DAY TODAY; a launch pad for a generation of comedy legends including Steve Coogan, Rebecca Front and Armando Ianucci. Big fans, the team at Islington Mill are showing all six episodes in one sitting, accompanied by a pre-NYE pot luck dinner.
CULTURE DIARY PICK: Wednesday 31st — MYTHOPOEIA II, New Years Eve Party curated by Stealing Sheep @ The Kazimier, Liverpool — £15 ADV
The Kaz always throw ridiculously good parties; this year’s NYE offer is hosted by indie-folk darlings Stealing Sheep under the theme of Galaxies and Tapestries. All ‘Interstellar celestial beings, men & women of the multiverse, children of the stars’ are invited (that’s us, right?!) to ‘unlock the secrets of the universe and step forth into our ever changing future!’ Expect live music from the girls plus Barberos, The Harlequin Dynamite Marching Band, Ulysses’s Clarinets, Brewski Beat and many more across all rooms; dress up and arrive before 11pm to guarantee entry.
For all gallery visits please check websites for early festive closing times
Like this? Check out Expand Your Mind: Five Unmissable Tate Liverpool Events
