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LONDON FOR FUN Newsletter: 22 July 2008 Issue No.152

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1.) Top 10 London events
2.) Other Events, Theatre listings, Museums and Galleries
3.) How to unsubscribe

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1. Top 10 London events
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1 - Present Tense: Mona Hatoum - Hatoum embarked on her artistic career in the mid 1970s, since then she has worked in a variety of media, including performance, sculpture, video, installation, and photography. The works in this exhibition demonstrate her artistic practice over the past twelve years and will have their first-ever London showing at Parasol unit. Most of the works presented in this exhibition were made during residencies and international travels to different cities and cultures, including Cairo, Stockholm, Jerusalem, rural France, and a Shaker community in North America. Until 8 August. www.parasol-unit.org

2 - Glorious Gershwin - Rhapsody In Blue and The Gershwin Songbook - Premiered in 1924 with paul Whiteman amd his Palais Royal Orchestra, Rhapsody In Blue was an instant hit both with audiences and critics alike and remains immensely popular with today's concert-goers. Gershwin's music spanned both worlds; classical and musical comedy and he is recognized today as the foremost 20th centry American composer, merging jazz and gospel influences with the orchestral world of the classical European mainstream. 14 August. www.cadoganhall.com

3 - Street Art at Tate Modern - In the first commission to use the iconic river façade of Tate Modern, the gallery will present the work of six internationally acclaimed artists, whose work is intricately linked to the urban environment. All six artists are represented in major collections around the world and regularly shown in gallery exhibitions and biennales but their work began in public urban spaces and remains indebted to Street Art and graffiti traditions. Street Art at Tate Modern brings to the fore an important aspect of current art practice and one that has influenced acclaimed artists, including Basquiat and Picasso. Although the term Street Art has been used since the late Seventies, the work, by its very nature, is in constant flux and hard to categorise. Broadly speaking the term has come to define the more visual and engaging urban art as opposed to text-based graffiti and tagging. Until Monday 25 August. www.tate.org.uk/modern

4 - Tutankhamun & Golden Age of Pharaohs - King Tut Exhibit - Since the discovery of his tomb in 1922, Tutankhamun has captured the hearts of people around the world. Buried with him were treasures beyond the imagination, a tomb holding the most magnificent treasures of the Golden Age of the Pharaohs and giving us a glittering glimpse into the past. Visit the O2 Arena this November to see this truly amazing exhibition. Until 31 August. Buy tickets

5 - The American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollock - The first half of the 20th century in America was a period of great change. This exhibition examines society and culture as viewed through the prints produced by some of the most important artists of the time. The exhibition begins with John Sloan's Ashcan School etchings of everyday urban experience in the 1900s and concludes with Jackson Pollock and the triumph of abstract expressionism in the 1950s. Prints by Blanche Lazzell, Stuart Davis, Milton Avery, Edward Hopper, Thomas Hart Benton, Josef Albers, David Smith and Joan Mitchell are among the 150 or so works featured to show the principal themes and episodes in American printmaking during this period.  Until 7 September. www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk

6 - The American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollock - The first half of the 20th century in America was a period of great change. This exhibition examines society and culture as viewed through the prints produced by some of the most important artists of the time. The exhibition begins with John Sloan's Ashcan School etchings of everyday urban experience in the 1900s and concludes with Jackson Pollock and the triumph of abstract expressionism in the 1950s. Prints by Blanche Lazzell, Stuart Davis, Milton Avery, Edward Hopper, Thomas Hart Benton, Josef Albers, David Smith and Joan Mitchell are among the 150 or so works featured to show the principal themes and episodes in American printmaking during this period.  Until 7 September. www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk

7 - The House of Viktor & Rolf - This summer Barbican Art Gallery will showcase the work of radical Dutch fashion designers Viktor & Rolf. This will be the first time in the United Kingdom that an exhibition has been devoted to this highly influential duo. Over the past 15 years Viktor & Rolf have taken the fashion world by storm with their particular blend of cool irony and surreal beauty. The exhibition will chart their career to date within the context of a specially commissioned installation that will dominate the entire Gallery. Highlights will include pieces from Atomic Bomb, 1998–99, featuring dramatic mushroom cloud-like cushioned necklines and Russian Doll, 1999–2000, in which a single model was painstakingly dressed by the designers themselves in front of a catwalk audience in 10 independent layers, in an experience reminiscent of performance art. Until 14 September. www.barbican.org.uk

8 - Nought to Sixty: An Introduction - Nought to Sixty is an ambitious, fast-moving programme of exhibitions and events that presenting solo projects by sixty emerging British- and Irish-based artists over the course of six months. Nought to Sixty is an ambitious, fast-moving programme of exhibitions and events that - over the course of six months - is presenting solo projects by sixty emerging British- and Irish-based artists. This wide-ranging programme is being held at the ICA from spring until autumn 2008, over which period there will be new events staged every week, building up a multi-faceted portrait of the contemporary art scene in Britain and Ireland. Until 2 November. www.ica.org.uk

9 - Howard Blake’s 70th Birthday Concert - One only has to imagine Walking in the Air and its haunting melody immediately enters the mind; it is undoubtedly the most memorable part of Howard Blake’s The Snowman, a setting of Raymond Briggs’ delightful story, and a worldwide hit with children and adults alike. The Snowman is just a small part of Howard Blake’s immense output – at the heart of which is melody and colour – which includes The Passion of Mary, a work described as a ‘dramatic oratorio’. Blake’s memorable Piano Concerto was written in 1991 to celebrate the thirtieth birthday of Diana, Princess of Wales. www.cadoganhall.com

10 - Bern Schwartz: Portraits of the 1970s - A new display at the National Portrait Gallery will show a selection of one of the biggest-ever gifts to the Gallery, 140 of the most iconic photographs of famous 20th century British subjects. Taken between 1975 and 1978 they include portraits of Margaret Thatcher, Rudolf Nureyev, John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Lord Denning, the Prince of Wales, A J Ayer, Tony Benn, Zandra Rhodes and Twiggy. The gift presented by the Bernard Lee Schwartz Foundation comprises portraits of some of the most prominent figures from British life in the late 1970s, including actors, politicians, artists, academics and royalty. The portraits often capture the subjects in surroundings reflecting their personality, life and work. Henry Moore is pictured in his studio with his sculpture, Peggy Ashcroft is shown in front of Walter Sickert's portrait of her in Venice, Margot Fonteyn sits by her painted portrait by Pietro Annigoni, John Gielgud is at home in his Buckinghamshire villa, while David Hockney is seen in his studio with his self-portrait and painting, My Parents. Until 4 January 2009. www.npg.org.uk__________________________________________________________________________________

2. Other Events, Theatre listings, Museums and Galleries

Events listing:
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Theatre listings:
http://www.londonforfun.com/London-theatres.htm

Museum listing:
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Galleries listings:
http://www.londonforfun.com/galleries-in-London.htm

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