Culture Diary w/c 23-01-2017
Our pick of this week’s arts, design, film and music events from around the UK – and most of it’s free!
Tuesday — Designers For Our Future Selves 6.15—7.30pm @ Design Museum, London – £10/7.50/5
What trends are shaping our future, older selves? Hear from the designers featured in NEW OLD exhibition (on until 23 Feb): Adrian Westaway and Clara Caggero on how design can tackle ageing stereotypes; Sam Hecht on tackling the difficulties in navigating new technologies; and Dr Takanori Shibata on human-robot interaction.
Wednesday — Sheila Rowbotham: Verso And Queen Of The Track 7—9.30pm @ The Bluecoat, Liverpool — £4/3
Hear about feminist thinker/historian Sheila Rowbotham’s new non-fiction adventure, Rebel Crossings: New Women, Free Lovers and Radicals in Britain and The United States; joined by Liverpool zine Queen of the Track. What has the story of four women and two men, radicalised by feminism, socialism, and anarchism through the 19th and 20th centuries, got to say about our current world?
Thursday – Northern Lights Launch 5—8pm @ Baltic Triangle, Liverpool – FREE (RSVP)
Its finished! The new home of The Royal Standard Gallery & Studios, plus a host of other creative businesses, workshops and event spaces, in Liverpool’s most exciting district… Find Northern Lights (pictured, above) next to Cains Brewery, and expect a swish new addition to the city’s creative sector. Get a sneak peek here.
Exhibition Opening: ARTIST ROOMS: Martin Creed 6.15pm @ Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Preston — FREE
The irreverent 2001 Turner Prize winner (below) enjoys a new solo show; expect rarely seen works including neon coconuts, lights going on and off, cactus plants, and a series of portraits painted blind… Until 3 June.
Friday — Exhibition Opening: PRODUCTION SHOW 2016 – 2018: Building/Developing/Testing 6–8pm @Eastside Projects, Birmingham — FREE
“We are in a state of productive crisis!” The latest in an exciting, two-year-long programme of relationships, commissions, exhibitions and events at Eastside, this week Production Show opens a new show of wallpaper, knitting, rap and AI workshops… Including artists Sonia Boyce (below), Hardeep Pandhal, Jasleen Kaur, and AutoItalia collective. See it until 22 April.
Saturday – Exhibition Opening: Blackpool Art Fayre 10am—5pm @ The Grundy, Blackpool — FREE
Playing the role of civic host, the wonderful Grundy Gallery lifts the lid on artistic activity happening in the Blackpool region this week (pictured, last); expect a celebration of arts organisations new and old, including Abingdon Studios and the Blackpool Art Society. Until 18 March.
Idle Chatter x Sacred Tapes Presents 6—9pm @ Caustic Coastal, Salford — FREE
Live experimental music tonight from 7pm at Salford’s newest art space. Utilising a horde of musical intrusments – including feedback, synth, found sounds, flute, synth, a broken drum machine and dry ice – expect Katz Mulk, White Death (Kelly Jayne-Jones and Hannah Ellul) and Nino (Aliyah Hussain and John Powell-Jones). A great (last) chance to see Caustic’s Ian Goncharov’s retrospective, Float in a Mustard Tonic, which will stay open until 9pm.
PICK OF THE WEEK – Symposium/Victoria Lucas: Lay Of The Land (And Other Such Myths) 4—7pm @ HOME, Manchester – FREE (Booking Required)
Body imagery, imaginary geographical place, stereotypes, contemporary celebrity culture and fabricated histories… Expect this intriguing performative symposium, by artist Victoria Lucas (pictured, top) and friends, to tackle some big, topical and spectualtive ideas. Part of PUSH Festival 2017, see the rest of the programme – showcasing emerging talent across stage and screen — until Saturday. See Lucas’ accompanying exhibition at HOME until 2 April.
Sunday — Last Day: People Never Notice Anything @ Guest Projects, London – FREE
“I want art to become a facilitator for recovery”: so said Broken Grey Wires artist/founder Lizz Brady when we interviewed her back in 2015. A collaborative project challenging ideas around mental health via contemporary art, Brady’s first major exhibition features an impressive line-up — including Jake and Dinos Chapman and David Shrigley.
Laura Robertson
