Culture Diary w/c 02-11-2015
What’s hot this week? Our pick of the arts listings from around Liverpool and the rest of the UK…
Tuesday — Gong 7.30pm @ The Kazimier, Liverpool — £17.50
An infamously eccentric prog-jazz ensemble with rotating band members, Gong are best known for their Radio Gnome Trilogy — albums Flying Teapots, Angel’s Egg and You. Formed and made famous by Australian musician Daevid Allen in 1967, who sadly passed away earlier this year, expect a mad fusion of sax, classical and cosmic guitar.
Wednesday — University of Liverpool: 50 Years of Music Celebration Concert With Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra 1pm @ Victoria Gallery & Museum – FREE
As part of the university’s popular free lunchtime concerts, and organised by the School of Music, enjoy an hour-long celebratory concert in one of their most beautiful venues. Marking 50 years of music making and learning by staff and students alike, expect special guests from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Thursday — Human Futures Exposition @ FACT, Liverpool — Ticket Prices Vary
Inspired by eight international artists and their recent residency findings, FACT ask us to re-evaluate how we see our surroundings this month with a special pop-up exhibition and co-current talks and workshops. Highlights include tonight’s MediaLab workshop (6-8pm/third floor) with Canadian artist Sebastien Pierre on the future of privacy and sharing; tomorrow, see ‘Thrill Engineer’ and BBC broadcaster Brendan Walker (4-5.30pm/Screen 2 /£10) discuss entertainment as an important catalyst for innovation, across TV, theme parks, art galleries, museums and more… Until 25 Nov 2015.
Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) @ Venues Across York — Single Ticket Screenings £5/4; One Day Festival Pass £15/13.50; Four Day Unlimited Screening Pass £30/27
Astronauts, the grim reaper and the sex industry all play muse to a huge selection of short films at this weekend’s Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) — an annual ode to short filmmaking which takes over York for the fifth year running. Over 300 films, over four days, across 15 city-wide venues, featuring content from countries as diverse as China and Brazil, and in genres spanning dance to thrillers, comedy to fashion. See our highlights here; until Sunday.
Exhibition Opening: The Casual Gesture 6-8.30pm @ Standpoint Gallery, London — FREE
How to define the casual gesture? An offhand attitude? The light-touch? A point of departure for their new exhibition, curators Eye-Eye (Flore Nové-Josserand and Thorbjørn Andersen) have invited a gang of British artists to respond, in their own, intangible ways — including Liverpool’s Laurence Payot plus Claudia Djabbari, Florian Meisenberg, Grégoire Motte, Philip Ewe, Luke McCreadie and Bruce McLean.
Friday – Exhibition Opening: Anne Hardy: FIELD 6pm @ Modern Art Oxford — FREE
British artist Anne Hardy has transformed the MAO gallery into a series of landscapes, ‘Fields’ or ‘physically existent head spaces’, using wood, concrete, carpet, found materials, photography, text, light, colour and sound. Join her and curator Katrina Brown tonight as they discuss her processes and influences, which include literary giants JG Ballard, Tom McCarthy and Haruki Murakami. Exhibition open from 7pm.
Saturday — Alien Sex Club Event: Frances Disley 2pm @ The Bluecoat, Liverpool — FREE
As part of Homotopia’s main exhibition Alien Sex Club — which explores the relationship between visual culture and HIV today — join artist Frances Disley (The Royal Standard/MODEL/Fine Art at Liverpool Hope University) and Dr Valerie Delpech (consultant epidemiologist at the Health Protection Agency/Keele University) as they demisify the jargon and statistics associated with HIV and the factors contributing to its transmission.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Sunday – The Time Is Now Season: Persepolis (2007) + Zine Workshop 5.30-9pm @ A Small Cinema, Liverpool – £3/4
An Oscar-nominated, animated coming-of-age story, Persepolis’ focus is Marji: a precocious young rebel and punk rock fan who finds herself at odds with the harsh political oppression of Iran. A beautifully visualised, unconventional film about growing pains, first love and family bonds, screened as part of a national season exploring the role women play in affecting change. Expect a pop-up from Salford Zine Library plus a zine-making workshop led by Cherry Styles of The Chapess/Synchronise Witches.
The Magic Band Play The Music Of Captain Beefheart 7.30pm @ The Kazimier, Liverpool — £18.50
The second avant-garde, legendary act to play the Kaz this week: Captain Beefheart, aka artist and musician Don Van Vliet, may have gone to the great psychedelia cloud in the sky, but his Magic Band (a rotating ensemble since 1965) live on. Tonight, expect original members Mark ‘Rockette Morton’ Boston and John ‘Drumbo’ French join forces with guitarists Eric Klerks and Max Kutner and drummer Andrew Niven to re-visit classic Beefheart tunes: chaotic prog-rock at its best.
Laura Robertson
