It’s been a busy week with a trip to an immersive museum exhibition in Basel about ageing - I’m pictured at it above - and hitting the milestone of 25k followers on Instagram - thanks to everyone who follows me on that platform as well. Plus I did get a chance to relax a little over the long weekend in the UK.
This week I have:
An upcoming Summer school for artists; and
A secret auction where you can bid on artworks.
Thanks as always for keeping tabs on me, and have a great week ahead.
Tab’s World
My latest articles and events for your reading pleasure.
It’s been months in the works and my new podcast, with my excellent co-host artist Anna Gammans, is now live with the first episode. New episodes will be landing regularly from here on in, so do subscribe to get them as soon as they go live.
I’ve written the second part of my Venice Biennale overview for FAD, focusing on the pavilions outside the main two sites and the wider exhibitions across Venice - including Ocean Space where I’m pictured above.
Black artists, Tango, textiles and William Blake are in my top museum shows to catch this month for FAD.
I’ve profiled Naiting Huang for FAD and written about her practice.
Anise Gallery is running its own affordable summer school for emerging artists and I’ll be part of the programme. Click the link to find out more.
ArtCan, where I’m a proud trustee, is holding a secret auction (not so secret for you lucky readers) with some great artworks available from 7-28 May.
Plus, catch up on editions of my new bonus newsletter for paid subscribers, including:
An exhibition review of Ranjit Singh: The Lion of Punjab
The Power of Public Art in Canary Wharf - an interview with curator Lowri Harries
Why is there so much art by Caneletto in the UK? Find out here…
Remembering Richard Serra - the man behind the steel sculpture outside Liverpool Street station
Click below to see all the subscription options, and a big thank you to everybody who’s supporting the newsletter already - couldn’t do it without you!
Tab’s Weeks Ahead
Highlighting my top events for the weeks ahead. Let me know if you'd like to join me!
I’ll be at this week’s Science Museum lates. It’s always a fun night and I haven’t been to one in a while. Thursday 9 May, 6.30-10pm. Free, ticketed.
My Saturday plans will skip a week and return on 18 May and will likely focus on Fitzrovia including a stop at Araminta Blue’s exhibition at Rosenfeld. All are welcome to join me, just drop me a line (or DM me on Substack) and I'll share the full itinerary with you so you can drop in at any point throughout the day. Saturday 18 May, 11am-5pm.
Londonist is turning 20 and to celebrate we’re having a party and you’re all invited. It’s ticketed and that includes two drinks, plus a chance to meet the wonderful team behind Londonist. Wednesday 12 June, £15.
The Wider Arts
Here are my top picks of culture that may be enjoyed from the comfort of your home.
DARK NOVEL: The Collector by John Fowles is a phenomenal read. It’s about the abduction of a young art student from the point of view of the abductor and then the abducted. It manages to make them both into fleshed out characters in a compelling read. The links go through to my online bookshop and you can follow me on Goodreads here.
SCI-FI SERIES: Bodies has a great premise of the same dead body turning up in the same place in four different time periods for four different detectives to investigate. It’s got a great cast and makes for compelling viewing as you try to figure it all out. On Netflix.
RACING ON SCREEN: Brawn: the impossible Formula 1 story charts how a team came from almost nothing to win the championship, across four episodes. On Disney+. I’ve recommended Formula 1: Drive to Survive (Netflix) before but it’s back with a sixth season looking back across last year’s races - and it feels fitting to share these now the new season is underway. If you prefer films based on a true story then Gran Turismo is an enjoyable success against the odds movie, and while the biopic Ferrari is a bit of slow moving and meandering film, the driving sequences are exhilarating and terrifying. Both on Now TV.
Articles I’m Reading
Interesting stories that I recommend, largely from beyond the art world. If you fancy reading offline at another time, I recommend the app Pocket.
This is a selection of articles I found thought-provoking in one way or another; opinions expressed in the articles don’t necessarily reflect my own views or those of Londonist.
FOOD & POLITICS: Well+Good provides an eye-opening and worrying look at how eugenicists shaped many nutritional myths that persist in the USA today (14 minutes). Eater looks at the political power of the simple rice dish Kanji in Sri Lanka (12 minutes), The New Yorker looks at a family in Gaza’s struggle to put food on the table (10 minutes) and with the horrific bombing of the World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza, AP tells us about the charity’s mission (4 minutes).
EVOLUTION OF CULTURE: This New York Times opinion piece puts forward the theory of why culture has come to a standstill - I may not agree with it but it makes for an interesting 23 minute read. The Hollywood Reporter shows us how Netflix conquered Hollywood and then broke it (14 minutes). New Statesman takes us inside the Disney adult industrial complex (18 minutes) and Rolling Stones shows us how those Disney adults became the most hated group on the Internet (14 minutes).
CLIMATE CHANGE: Climate change stories are understandably largely negative but this 35 minute read from New Zealand Geographic charts how volunteers from all backgrounds helped support survivors of a cyclone. In terms of making changes, this 8 minute read on Literary Hub shows us how slow change can be radical change and if there’s one change we should make it’s to swap out beef according to Bloomberg (6 minutes). CNN explains why cold snaps still happen as the planet warms, The Atlantic sets out why talking about the weather is actually a good small talk topic (4 minutes) and Context sets out how climate lawsuits are now using human rights laws to make their case (5 minutes).
STAR WARS: As we just had Star Wars day - here’s some fun speculative reads about the films including the physics of when it actually took place according to Wired (7 minute read), the economic argument against blowing up the Death Star from CBC (4 minutes) and Vox makes the argument that what the Star Wars Galactic Senate needed was a minority party (4 minutes).
Loved Jim Dine's hammer sculptures, reminded me of Moore meets Oldenburg. Super interesting post, looks like a good trip, too! Thanks for you thorough reviews, always.