Culture Diary w/c 18-03-2019
Our pick of this week’s arts, design, film and music events from around the North of England and the rest of the UK – and loads of it’s free!
Monday – Ring (1998) 8.30pm @ FACT, Liverpool – £7.70
Before it folded in 2008, film distributor Tartan was responsible for introducing many a British viewer to some of the best and most interesting in international releases. Not least, this included opening the way in the UK for the J-Horror trend of the late ’90s and ’00s. One of the classics of the period, Hideo Nakata’s Ringu, is back in cinemas following its twentieth anniversary restoration by Arrow Films; the premise, if you don’t know it, revolves around a video circulating around Tokyo which, once seen, will bring certain death in one week. Still chilling, this is a timely and welcome reissue.
Tuesday – Hannah (2017) 6pm @ FACT, Liverpool – £8
Discover Tuesdays, Picturehouse’s strand of art-house, cult and documentary film returns to cinema screens this week with Hannah, for which its star Charlotte Rampling won the Volpi cup for best actress at Venice in 2017. The action, if you can call it that – for this is an often wordless film that takes time over its revelations – follows Rampling’s titular character as she negotiates life after the imprisonment of her husband.
Wednesday – Granby Winter Garden Launch Event 2pm @ 37 – 39 Cairns Street, Liverpool 8 – FREE
Two years in the making, Granby Winter Garden has been a labour of love for those involved in the project. Starting at the outset with two derelict terraced houses, Granby Four Streets CLT have worked to create an indoor garden and a “creative space for meeting, making, planting, planning and sharing skills”, which supports local and visiting artists. Intended for the community in which it is based, this week’s celebratory opening includes live music, tours of the garden, workshops and refreshments.
Grimmfest Presents A Japanese Horror Double Bill 7pm @ the Plaza, Stockport – £10
The second J-Horror listing of the week – what can we say, we’re fans and remember these films tres fondly – sees Hidetoshi’s Ringu (more of which above) paired with another heavyweight in Kinji Fukasaku 2000 dystopian epic, Battle Royale. Reading the book from which the latter was adapted recently, it struck me as remarkable (not in a good way) that anyone would write such a thing as the Hunger Games knowing this trailblazer was already in the world. Having said that, if you’re a fan of Katniss Everdeen and pals, and haven’t seen Battle Royale, rush out and buy tickets now. Or, you know, get them online via the link.
Thursday – Incidental Meeting 6pm @ the Bluecoat, Liverpool – FREE
Founded in 1966, the Artist Placement Group emerged from the idea that artists, isolated by the gallery system, are underused by society. Consisting of founders Barbara Steveni with her husband John Latham, and later Jeffrey Shaw, Barry Flanagan, David Hall and Ian MacDonald Munro, the APG continued their activities into the ’70s. Incidental Meeting explores their impact today and the “unfinished business” of the group. Join Liverpool-based artist Niamh Riordan, who will draw on her One Pot community meals project for Human Library, involving an ongoing artist placement in Bootle library.
Exhibition Opening: UnDoing 6pm @ Castlefield Gallery, Manchester – FREE
Including photography, sculpture and film from and assortment of artists and architects, new exhibition UnDoing (a collab between Manchester School of Architecture, independent curator Tom Emery, and Castlefield Gallery) “explores how buildings, places and artefacts are re-used, reinterpreted and remembered”. Featuring work by the likes of Larissa Sansour, Sarah Westphal and James Ackerley, this group show promises eclectic readings and interpretations of that rationale.
Friday – Akram Zaatari: In Conversation 5pm @ Modern Art Oxford – £5/£3
On the opening night of exhibition, Akram Zaatari: The Script, join Zaatari (co-founder of the Arab Image Foundation) for this in-conversation with Anthony Gardner, Head of School, Ruskin School of Art. Filmmaker, artist, photographer and curator, Zaatari’s practice explores media depictions of conflict and, in his solo exhibition at MAO, “how people choose to present themselves to the outside world”.
¡Viva! Spanish & Latin American Festival 8.30pm / Tiempo después (2018) + Q&A @ Home Manchester – £9.50/concs
Set in a distant future, in the year 9177, there or thereabouts, the aburdist satire Tiempo después (Some Time Later) is adapted from his own novel by director José Luis Cuerda. Kicking off the 25th edition of ¡Viva!, the director sticks around for a post-screening Q&A. See Sunday for more on this year’s festival’s theme: esperpento.
Saturday – Exhibitions Closing: ARTIST ROOMS: Robert Mapplethorpe / David Ogle: The Last Light @ The Atkinson, Southport – FREE
The Atkinson’s presentation of the Robert Mapplethorpe ARTIST ROOMS collection – which includes his iconic portraits of artists, writers and musicians (Patti Smith among them), and his documenting of the New York S&M scene – comes to a close this Saturday. While you’re in the building, don’t miss The Last Light by Liverpool-based artist David Ogle, an exhibition of works that respond to the landscape, elements and environment around the Sefton coastline.
Sunday – One Hour Intro: Serious Fun 2.30pm @ Home Manchester – £4 full/concs
¡Viva! 2019’s theme is Serious Fun, which in Spain must mean an injection of esperpento. Developed by writer Ramón del Valle-Inclán (1869-1936), esperpento is a peculiarly Spanish creative style, whereby the grotesque (which it translates as) and dark humour are employed as critical tools in social and political satire. This talk, led by sociologist Nuria López de la Oliva and the University of Salford’s Prof. Andy Willis, explores the different techniques and elements of the genre, looking at some of the directors it has inspired.
Mike Pinnington
Media, from top: Arrow Films’ Ring trailer; Battle Royale (2000) film still; Larissa Sansour film still; ¡Viva! Festival film still. Main image: still from Battle Royale (2000)
