Welcome to the London For Fun regular newsletter keeping you up to date with what's new in London`s events.

LONDON FOR FUN Newsletter: 02 February 2010 Issue No.190

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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 - Peter Campus: Opticks - Peter Campus is a seminal figure in the history of video art. In a distinguished career that spans four decades, he has been crucial in developing the potential of video within a gallery space and he has been a major influence to artists from Bill Viola to Douglas Gordon. This new exhibition, opening on 11 December brings together some of his key works alongside a new commission for the BFI, and a retrospective of his video work in the BFI cinemas. Campus’s close-circuit works subvert the viewer/work relationship; it is only when the visitor enters the field of the work that the piece is actually activated. Far from being interactive in the better known sense of the term, these works are fully realised only through the visitor’s movements within the space; but while visitors observe and explore a different, yet live and highly recognisable portrait of themselves, such physical engagement soon becomes mental and emotional. Until 14 February. www.bfi.org.uk LAST CHANCE

2 - Claude Monet - Taking in his diverse styles from the 1870s as he explored a wide range of subjects in all seasons and all types of weather in his commitment to painting in front of his motif, to the archetypal scenes of summer sunlight on the Seine at Argenteuil and the rural town of Vétheuil. This chronological survey touches on the artist’s trips to London and Venice and the series works he embarked on at the turn of the century; depicting the essential character of these great cities enveloped by the most atmospheric effects of dense smog or luminous light. Until 26 February. www.hellynahmad.com

3 - Flamenco Festival - From Rafaela Carrasco's bold, contemporary flamenco style to Maria Pagés' emotional rollercoaster of a show and the maestros of flamenco, Rojas and Rodriguez, with their sublime company Nuevo Ballet Español, famed for their heart-racing sequences, this is a unique chance to sample some authentic Spanish flamenco in London. From 13 February until 27 February. www.sadlerswells.com

4 - Eva Hesse: Studiowork - A solo presentation of the work of German-born American artist Eva Hesse (1936 – 1970), a major figure in post-war art. Throughout her career, Eva Hesse produced a large number of small, experimental works alongside her large-scale sculpture. These objects, so-called test pieces, were made in a wide range of materials, including latex, wire-mesh, sculp-metal, wax and cheesecloth. This exhibition brings together around fifty works drawn from major public and private collections around the world, showing works which are extremely fragile and rarely travel. The exhibition and the accompanying major publication offer a timely new interpretation of Hesse’s historical position, as well as highlighting her relevance for contemporary art now. Until 7 March. www.camdenartscentre.org

5 - Blaze - Brand new street dance sensation Blaze makes its world premiere at the Peacock Theatre before commencing an international tour. Mixing nightclub vibes with West End production values, combined with the raw impact of a music gig, Blaze is a high-energy theatrical show of non-stop dance from some of the world's hottest DJs, B-Boys and street dancers. Directed by top West End director and choreographer Anthony Van Laast (Mamma Mia!, Sister Act), Blaze features 14 of the best street dancers and breakers in the world and choreography from some of the brightest and hottest names in popular dance, plus stunning set designs by Es Devlin (set designer for Kanye West, Mika, Take That, Pet Shop Boys and the upcoming Lady Gaga tour). From 11 March until 28 March. www.sadlerswells.com

6 - Identity: Eight rooms, nine lives - What influences or determines our sense of who we are? What makes one person distinct from another? How does science inform human identity? This major new exhibition explores the tension between the way we view ourselves and how others see us. Nine individual stories introduce eight distinct rooms. One room begins with the story of scientist Alec Jeffreys' invention of DNA fingerprinting 25 years ago. The diaries of Samuel Pepys introduce another. While self-portraiture is explored through the work of the Jewish artist Claude Cahun, who despite being sentenced to death for acts of resistance, survived the Nazi occupation of Jersey. Other subjects tackled include twins, phrenology and brain imaging, gender and sexuality, race and prejudice, and acting and improvisation. Until 6 April. www.wellcomecollection.org

7 - Where Three Dreams Cross: 150 Years of Photography from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh - This landmark exhibition gives an inside view of how modern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have been shaped through the lens of their photographers. From the days when the first Indian-run photographic studios were established in the 19th century, this exhibition tells the story of photography’s development in the subcontinent with over 400 works that have  been brought together for the first time. It encompasses social realism and reportage of key political moments in the 1940s, amateur snaps from the 1960s and street photography from the 1970s. Contemporary photographs reveal the reality of everyday life, while the recent digitalisation of image making accelerates its cross-over with fashion and film. From 21 January until 11 April. www.whitechapel.org

8 - Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective - This is the first major retrospective of Arshile Gorky (c.1904-1948) to be seen in Europe for twenty years. Celebrating one of the most powerful and poetic American artists of his generation, Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective examines the extraordinary contribution of this seminal figure in Abstract Expressionism. The exhibition spans Gorky’s 25 year career and offer the opportunity to see this complex and moving body of work as a whole. It includes more than 150 paintings and works on paper, many of which have not been shown in public previously. From 10 February until 3 May. www.tate.org.uk/modern

9 - Van Doesburg and the International Avant-Garde: Constructing a New World - This Spring, Tate Modern re-examines Modernism in the early 20th century in Europe, with an exhibition devoted to Dutch artist Theo van Doesburg (1883-1931) and his modernist contemporaries. This is a unique and exciting chance for van Doesburg’s multi-disciplinary work to reach British audiences for the first time. An artist, architect, typographer, poet, art critic and publisher, van Doesburg founded the far-reaching movement and magazine De Stijl. This artistic movement of painters, architects and designers sought to build a new society in the aftermath of World War I, advocating an international style of art and design based on a simple geometric language. From 4 February until 16 May. www.tate.org.uk/modern

10 - Swan Lake - Witness English National Ballet's magnificent company of over 120 performers. Tchaikovsky's wonderful score features some of the most beautiful music in the classical ballet repertoire. With a dramatic story line and spectacular sets and costumes, this romantic ballet will entertain and captivate you. From 9 June until 19 June. www.royalalberthall.com

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2. Other Events, Theatre listings, Museums and Galleries:

Events listing:
http://www.londonforfun.com/events-in-London.htm

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

Museum listing:
http://www.londonforfun.com/London-museums.htm

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

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