Culture Diary w/c 10-08-2015
What’s hot this week? Our pick of the listings from around Liverpool and the rest of the UK…
Monday – Vinyl Station: Hooton Tennis Club: Highest Point in Cliff Town 6:30pm Metal, Liverpool — FREE
Tonight, get a sneak peek of Wirral quartet and Edge Hill University alumni Hooton Tennis Club’s debut album, Highest Point in Cliff Town, before its official release (late August). Signed to Heavenly Recordings and created with former Coral guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones, expect a contemporary interpretation of US Americana — think heroes Pavement, Teenage Fanclub and Guided By Voices.
Tuesday – Arthur Russell’s Instrumentals 7pm @ The Kazimier, Liverpool – £15 ADV
23 years after cellist and composer (and cult figure) Russell’s untimely death, the touring group Arthur Russell’s Instrumentalists are once more paying homage to the artist, in the very capable directorial hands of Saxophonist and organist, Peter Gordon, alongside Peter Zummo (trombone), Ernie Brooks (bass), Bill Ruyle (drums & vibraphone), Gavin Russom (synths) and Max Gordon (piano, trumpet). Tonight, on their only Northern UK tour date, expect eclectic minimalist compositions complete with projected photographs by artist Yuko Nonomura.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Creative Time Summit 2015: Live Streaming 2015 1.30-5.30pm @ Venice Biennale Plus UK: Bristol, Newcastle, Sheffield — FREE
Now in its seventh year and beamed live across the world from Venice Biennale, Creative Time Summit is a unique platform for the discussion of art and politics but is not confined to one city. With a host of live stream screening sites across different international venues and cities (including Spike Island, Bristol, Baltic, Newcastle and Site Gallery, Sheffield in the UK) over three days, this is a chance to get involved with a range of panel discussions, artist projects, short presentations, keynote addresses, and events that aim to investigate the idea of ‘curriculum’.
Wednesday – Soft Lad (2014) + Director Q&A 6.20pm @ HOME, Manchester – £7.50/5.50
Featuring as part of POUTfest 2015 – showcasing a selection of LGBTQ films and events — the effects of love, betrayal and sexuality are explored to devestating effect in director Leon Lopez’s romantic drama. As 22 year old David enters into a love affair with his sister’s husband, their fobidden relationship leads to strained relations amidst the dominating theme of love. Tonight, this special screening will be following by a live Q&A sesion with Senior Lecurer in English Literature at the University of Manchester, David Alderson, and the director himself.
Thursday – Sonal Kantaria: Portraiture And Landscape 6-8pm @ Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool – FREE (Booking Required)
Drawing from her experiences growing up as a British Indian woman, acclaimed photographer Sonal Kantaria (main picture, detail) tackles the personal and exacting topic of migration in her work, Traces, as part of Open Eye Gallery’s current Open 1 exhibition. Tonight, join the artist herself in an intimate discussion about her work and the sense of belonging that permeates her original and provocative photographs.
Think Cinema Presents Cria Cuervos (Raise Ravens) (1975) 6pm @ A Small Cinema, Liverpool — £3
‘A masterpiece of form and technique’ (The Guardian) – Director Carlos Saura’s unsettling drama follows the tale of an eight year old girl, Ana, who leaves home to live with her sombre Aunt, after a dark fantasy of killing her father becomes a twisted reality when she believes she as poisoned him. Set in Post-Franco Madrid, this is a gripping film that lingers in the mind long after it has finished.
Friday – Last Day: Chen Zhen 10-6pm @ Frith Street Gallery, London – FREE
Considered to be one of the leading figures of Chinese avant-garde, this retrospective of the late artist’s works showcases organic forms made from glass, crystal and wood, the unusual display of everyday objects and an array of accompanying colourful drawings. Here, Zhen’s sculptural installations are imbued with humanist rational and universal philosophical contemplations – works that are inspired by both consumer society and meditative chants.
Saturday – Last Day: A Prologue To The Past And Present State Of Things @ Delfina Foundation, London – FREE
To complement the Hayward Gallery’s Echoes and Reverberations exhibition, this impressive group show brings together a collection of performative works, photographs, video documentation and archival material that seek to provide a thematic body of work that engages with global politics, economics and cultural shifts. Featuring artists such as Mona Hatoum, Coco Fusco, Sharon Hayes, Mohammed Kazem, Xiao Lu, Sharif Waked and Lin Yilin, performance is used as a powerful form of recording and even re-writing history.
Sunday – Workshop: Space To Think: Ida Ekblad 2-4pm @ Baltic, Newcastle — £5/4
To coincide with the Baltic’s current exhibition of Norwegian artist Ida Ekblad’s evocative installations, Space to Think – led by community philosophers Grace Robinson and Liz Watkins – is an exciting workshop aimed at contemplating the notion of chance within Ekblad’s work, asking: What role is there of chance in the artistic process?
Heather Garner
Keen to hear about the best art, design, film and music events happening in Liverpool July-Sept 2015?
Wait no more! Download the PDF version of our indispensable new pocket-guide, Culture Diary, now.
