South Kensington

This Week in London – 695th Lord Mayor’s Show; Peruvian and Andean culture at the British Museum; and, a ‘virtual heart’ at the Science Museum…

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The Lord Mayor’s Show in 2019. PICTURE: It’s No Game (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

• The 695th Lord Mayor’s Show – the oldest and longest civic procession in the world – will be held in the City of London this weekend. The three mile-long parade, which dates back to the 13th century, will feature Lord Mayor of London, Michael Mainelli (who will take office during the Silent Ceremony on Friday), who will process through the City streets to swear allegiance to the Crown in Westminster. Accompanying him will be a procession featuring some 7,000 people, 200 horses and around 150 floats and will include representatives of the City’s livery companies as well as military groups, bands and community organisations. The procession leaves from Mansion House at 11am and rolls down Poultry and Cheapside to St Paul’s Cathedral and then via Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street to the Royal Courts of Justice before returning, from 1:10pm, via Queen Victoria Street to Mansion House. For more, see https://lordmayorsshow.london.

• The first permanent display of Peruvian and Andean culture at the British Museum has opened in the Wellcome Trust Gallery. Part of the Living and Dying exhibition is divided into two sections – the first exploring the culture’s relationship with the sea and the second with the land. The displays includes digital elements as well as objects ranging from pottery and textiles to metalwork and conch shells. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.

• A “compelling, complex and beautiful” large-scale virtual model of a human heart has gone on display in the Science Museum in South Kensington. The model was created by bioengineer Dr Jazmín Aguado Sierra using scans of her own heart and functions just as her real heart does. The ‘Virtual Heart’ display, which is introduced by Dr Aguado Sierra, can be seen in the Engineers gallery, in a section which explores collaborations between clinicians, medical engineers and patients and showcases real-world health solutions. The display is free to see. For more, see sciencemuseum.org.uk/engineers.

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This Week in London – Myanmar explored; Hockney portraits; and the world’s fastest all-electric aircraft…

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The Golden Letter of Alaungpaya, Konbaung period, 18th century © Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Bibliothek –Niedersächsische Landesbibliothek, Hannover, Ms IV 751a
Oil Workers Helmet, 1900s © Calderdale Museums Services

• A new exhibition exploring the history of Myanmar, also known as Burma, opens at the British Museum today. Burma to Myanmar, the first major exhibition in the UK to focus on the country’s history, features more than 110 objects and spans the period from around 450 AD through today. Highlights include: a golden letter sent from King Alaungpaya to George II which, made of gold, is set with 24 rubies and placed in an elephant tusk case; a wall hanging (a ‘shwe-chi-doe’ or ‘kalaga’) illustrating scenes from the Ramayana; a gold Buddhist reliquary from the 1400s; a late 19th or early 20th century blanket from the Nung-Rawang people; an oil worker’s helmet from the early 1900s; a map of several Shan states from the 1880s made to assist the British in the process of drawing hard borders with China; and, a bust of General Aung San (1915–47), leader of the Burma Independence Army. The exhibition in the Joseph Hotung Great Court Gallery can be seen until 11th February. Admission charge applies. For more, see http://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/burma-myanmar

• More than 30 portraits painted by British artist David Hockney at his Normandy studio between 2021 and 2022 can be seen for the first time in an exhibition of the artist’s works at the National Portrait Gallery. David Hockney: Drawing from Life was open for just 20 days prior to the gallery’s closure due to COVID-19 in 2020. It has now returned in an expanded form, featuring 160 works which trace the trajectory of Hockey’s practice largely through his intimate portraits of five sitters – Celia Birtwell, Hockney’s mother Laura Hockney; his former partner and curator Gregory Evans; master printer Maurice Payne and himself. The newly added portraits include depictions of the likes of actor and singer Harry Styles and people from the Normandy community in which he works. The exhibition can be seen until 21st January. Admission charge applies. For more, see ngp.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2023/hockney-drawing-from-life.

Rolls Royce’s Spirit of Innovation electric aircraft © Science Museum Group

• The world’s fastest all-electric aircraft, Spirit of Innovation, has gone on show at the Science Museum in South Kensington. Suspended as if in mid-flight, the aircraft is the final object in Making the Modern World, a major gallery which presents advances in science and technology from the birth of the Industrial Revolution to the present day. Powered by a lightweight and energy efficient 400kW electric powertrain, Spirit of Innovation holds the all-electric aircraft world record for highest top speed over three kilometres, with an average of 555.9km/h (345.4 mph), breaking the previous record by over 200 kilometres per hour. The plane also set a new record for the fastest climb by an electric aircraft to three kilometres. Rolls-Royce created the aircraft as part of the Accelerating the Electrification of Flight (ACCEL) project, in collaboration with Electroflight (now part of Evolito), YASA, and the Aerospace Technology Institute. The gallery is free to visit. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk.

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This Week in London – London’s transport posters on show; a musical exploration at the Science Museum; and, ‘Petrichor’ at Kew…

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London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. PICTURE: Marcus Meissner (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

• The first permanent gallery dedicated to the history of poster art and design at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden opens tomorrow. The new Global Poster Gallery, sponsored by Global, the Media & Entertainment Group, showcases the museum’s collection of 20th century graphic art and design – one of the world’s largest. The new gallery, which is set over two floors, launches with the exhibition, How to Make a Poster, and an accompanying programme of events. The exhibition visually explores the process of creating posters from the pre-digital age from 1900 and features more than 110 poster artworks and posters including the Underground’s very first pictorial poster titled No need to ask a p’liceman by John Hassall, dating from 1908. Admission charge applies. The exhibition runs until 2025. For more, see www.ltmuseum.co.uk.

• A new interactive exhibition exploring the mysterious hold music can have over us opens at the Science Museum today. Turn It Up: The power of music features historic music players, inventions and unusual instruments. Among the inventions on show are the MiMU gloves invented by Imogen Heap and used by Ariana Grande and Kris Halpin which use gestures to control electronic music-making software, and a virtual instrument called Headspace, created by professional trumpeter Clarence Adoo and inventor Rolf Gelhar after Adoo was paralysed from the shoulders down in a car accident while among the unusual instruments are the pyrophone organ powered by flames to the Anarchestra satellite dish which can be played in multiple new ways to make music. The exhibition can be seen until 6th May at the South Kensington premises. Admission charges apply. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk.

• The work of acclaimed contemporary artist Mat Collishaw goes on show tomorrow at Kew Garden’s Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art on Saturday. Highlights of the exhibition – Petrichor – include the UK premieres of Alluvion, a series of six new AI artworks inspired by Dutch Old Masters, and the large-scale projected work Even to the End. Other works include Heterosis – a collection of dynamic NFT’s which combine genetic algorithms with blockchain technology to facilitate the hybridisation of mutable digital flowers, The Centrifugal Soul – a zoetrope which creates a stunning illusion of motion, and Albion – a large-scale piece in the form of an intricate 19th-century ‘Pepper’s Ghost’ illusion which depicts the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest. Runs until 7th April. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.kew.org.

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This Week in London – Charles Dickens’ court suit and Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation glove; Frans Hals at The National Gallery; Peter Paul Rubens at Dulwich; and, email explored…

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• A piece of the only surviving dress worn by Queen Elizabeth I, Charles Dickens’ court suit, an RSC robe worn by David Tennant as Richard II, and the coronation glove of Queen Elizabeth II are among highlights of a new exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery. Marking the 400th anniversary of the Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers, Treasures of Gold and Silver Wire features more than 200 objects related to royalty, the arts, military, and the church spanning the period stretching from the Middle Ages to today. Other highlights include a uniform of the State Trumpeter, The Jubilee Cope from St Paul’s Cathedral, a robe of Order of the Garter and the burse of the Great Seal of King Charles II. The exhibition, which opens on Friday, runs until 12th November. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/events/treasures-of-gold-and-silver-wire-exhibition.

Frans Hals, ‘The Laughing Cavalier’ (1624)/ Oil on canvas, 83 x 67 cm © Trustees of the Wallace Collection, London    

• The Laughing Cavalier serves as the centrepiece of a new exhibition of Frans Hals works at the National Gallery – the largest focused the 17th century Dutch painters’ works in more than 30 years. The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Frans Hals, which has been organised with the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam features some 50 of the artists works gathered from across the globe. Alongside The Laughing Cavalier which is on loan from the Wallace Collection, highlights include Portrait of Isaac Massa (1626), Portrait of Pieter Dircksz. Tjarck (about 1635–38), The Rommel-Pot Player (1618–22) and Portrait of Tieleman Roosterman (1634). Admission charge applies. Runs until 21st January.

• A major exhibition on the work of Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) has opened at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Rubens & Women features more than 40 paintings and drawings along with archival material and challenges the perception that the artist only painted one type of women as it explores his relationships with women and how they nourished his career and creativity. Highlights include Portrait of a Woman (c1625), Marchesa Maria Serra Pallavicino or Marchesa Veronica Spinola Doria (1606-07), The Virgin in Adoration of the Child (c1616), Looking Down (Study for head of St Apollonia) (1628), Ceres and Two Nymphs (1615-17), The Birth of the Milky Way (1636-1638), and Clara Serena Rubens, the Artist’s Daughter (c1620-23). The exhibition runs until 28th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk.

• An interactive exhibition exploring email’s impact in our lives – how it shapes our work, relationships, cultures and economies – opens at The Design Museum today. Email is D̶e̶ad̶ ̶, being held in partnership with Intuit Mailchimp, charts the history of email, from its embryonic beginnings in the 1970s to what the email experience might be like in 2070. Admission is free. Runs until 22nd October. For more, see https://designmuseum.org.

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This Week in London – The Indian Army at Hampton Court Palace; Chanel at the V&A; and, Mantegna’s ‘The Triumphs Caesar’ at the National Gallery…

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Part of the Indian Army at the Palace display at Hampton Court Palace: PICTURE © Historic Royal Palaces.

• A rare charity pin badge like those sold by Indian princess and suffragette Sophia Duleep Singh to raise funds for the Indian Army has gone on show at Hampton Court Palace. It’s part of a new display which shares the stories of Indian soldiers who took up residence on the Hampton Court estate four times: for the coronations of King Edward VII in 1902, King George V in 1911 and King George VI in 1937, as well as for the World War I Victory Parade in London. The Indian Army at the Palace explores their experiences in the camp and in London more generally – everything from food and rationing to entertainment, travel and religious accommodations. Highlights of the display include objects from the Historic Royal Palaces’ collection – such as an official plan from one of the camps, press cuttings depicting the soldiers’ arrival at Hampton Court station, and Indian soldiers in and around the Palace grounds – as well as items on loan from the South Asian community, including a 32nd Sikh Pioneers Indian Army Officer’s tunic, medals and photos belonging to soldiers from the 1902 and 1911 contingents, original photographs of the Gurkha regiment in the 1919 parade and newspaper articles depicting the visits. The display can be seen until 3rd March next year and entry is included in general admission. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/.

A scene from the ‘Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto’ display. PICTURE: ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

• The first UK exhibition dedicated to the work of pioneering fashion designer Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel opens at the V&A on Saturday. Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto, which is being presented in partnership with Palais Galliera, Fashion Museum of the City of Paris, Paris Musées, charts the evolution of Chanel’s iconic design style and the establishment of the House of Chanel, from the opening of her first millinery boutique in Paris in 1910 to the showing of her final collection in 1971. The display’s 10 sections feature more than 200 “looks” as well as accessories, perfumes and jewellery. Highlights include one of the earliest surviving Chanel garments from 1916; original Chanel-designed costumes for the 1924 Ballets Russes production of Le Train Bleu; outfits created for Hollywood stars Lauren Bacall and Marlene Dietrich; an early example of Chanel’s ground-breaking evening trousers; and, ensembles from Chanel’s final collection of 1971. Runs until 25th February. Admission charge applies. For more, see vam.ac.uk/chanel.

• Six of Andrea Mantegna’s monumental paintings The Triumphs of Caesar go on display at The National Gallery from Monday. On loan from the Royal Collection, the Renaissance artist’s greatest masterpiece will be on show at the gallery for around two years, while their usual home, the Mantegna Gallery at Hampton Court Palace, is closed for maintenance. Mantegna painted a total of nine canvasses for the Gonzaga family in Mantua, between about 1485 and 1506. They were acquired by King Charles I in 1629 and taken to Hampton Court Palace soon after their arrival in England. The paintings, which are being displayed in specially made frames, will be able to be seen in Room 14, along with Peter Paul Rubens’ A Roman Triumph (about 1630) to show a later artistic response to the Triumphs. Other works by Mantegna from the National Gallery’s collection including The Introduction of the Cult of Cybele at Rome, Samson and Delilah, Two Exemplary Women of Antiquity and The Virgin and Child with the Magdalen and Saint John the Baptist are displayed nearby in Room 5 while Mantegna’s The Agony in the Garden can be seen in Room 29. Admission is free. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.

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This Week in London – George III pocket watch at heart of new exhibition; Tommy Flowers honoured; and, Sara Shamma at Dulwich…

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A gold pocket watch made for King George III. PICTURE: Courtesy of the Clockmakers’ Museum/Science Museum

• A new display featuring timepieces by one of the greatest watchmakers of all time, Abraham-Louis Breguet, opens in Clockmakers’ Museum at the Science Museum on Tuesday. Marking the bicentenary of Breguet’s death on 17th September, 1823, Abraham-Louis Breguet: The English Connection features 25 items seldom seen in public before. They include an exceptionally rare gold four-minute tourbillon pocket watch made for George III in 1808, a ‘Simple à 2 aiguilles equation’ pocket watch made for politician Thomas Noel Hill, 2nd Baron Berwick of Attingham, and, a gilt bronze carriage clock ‘Pendule de voyage petite’ which originally belonged to Robert Henry Herbert, the 12th Earl Pembroke. The museum is located on level 2 of the Science Museum. Entry is free. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/clocks.

• An electrical engineer whose ground-breaking work in engineering culminated in the creation of the world’s first ever large-scale programmable digital computer has been honoured with an English Heritage Blue Plaque. The plaque is located at the former workplace of Tommy Flowers at Chartwell Court, in Dollis Hill. Now flats, the property was the former Post Office Research Station where Flowers designed, built and tested the computer known as ‘Colossus’. Flowers, who spent a brief period at Bletchley Park working the code-breakers in 1941, successfully demonstrated Colossus at the research station in 1943 after just 11 months of work. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/. Meanwhile, news this week that the UK Government, inspired by London’s Blue Plaques, is introducing a national blue plaques scheme. Historic England will work together with English Heritage, local partners, and current plaque schemes to develop and roll out the national programme.

• Artist Sara Shamma’s thought-provoking interpretations of works by artists including Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Lely, Anthony van Dyck and Peter Paul Rubens go on display at Dulwich Picture Gallery from Saturday. With a focus on women, Bold Spirits addresses themes including identity, death, motherhood and unexpected beauty. Runs until 25th February. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk.

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This Week in London – Joshua Reynolds at Kenwood; ‘Power Up’ at the Science Museum; and ‘Crivelli’s Garden’…

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• Seventeen of Joshua Reynolds’ paintings – from one of his earliest portraits to the last painting he ever completed – have gone on show at Kenwood House. Marking the 300th anniversary of the artist’s birth (on 16th July, 1723), Spotlight on Reynolds: Lord Iveagh’s Favourite Artist at 300 features works including Catherine Moore (painted in Paris in 1752 when he was returning from his studies in Italy), Miss Cocks and her Niece (one of the last paintings begun by Reynolds before the loss of his sight around 1790), and a self-portrait he completed in 1788 when aged around 65 (the only self-portrait to show Reynolds wearing spectacles). Also on show in the display are three full-length works that span the early 1770s to the early 1780s: Mrs Tollemache as Miranda, Lady Louisa Manners and Mrs Musters as Hebe. Runs until 19th November. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/kenwood/.

Power Up at the Science Museum PICTURE: © Benjamin Ealovega

• After five successful temporary seasons, Power Up, the popular hands-on video gaming gallery, returns permanently to the Science Museum from today. Visitors will be able to play on more than 160 consoles and hundreds of video games, as well as undertake a journey through five decades of gaming, from Pong and Mario Kart to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox and the latest in VR technology. The exhibition is divided into 14 themes and sections including a physical games area and a dedicated PC-area. Admission charge applies (daily and annual passes are available). The opening is accompanied by the return of adults-only Gaming Lates. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk.

• Dame Paula Rego’s public commission, Crivelli’s Garden, is the subject of a new display at The National Gallery. Planned in collaboration with Rego, who died on 8th June last year, the display unites the monumental 10-metre-long artwork with the 15th-century altarpiece by Carlo Crivelli that inspired it, alongside life studies Rego produced of the gallery colleagues that feature in the painting. The display can be seen until 29th October. Admission is free. For more, see https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk.

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This Week in London – National Portrait Gallery reopens with Yevonde; Engineers gallery at the Science Museum; and, Victoria Embankment stones reused…

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The Creativity, Conflict and Crown display at the National Portrait Gallery, London. PICTURE: © Gareth Gardner for Nissen Richards Studio
John Gielgud as Richard II in Richard of Bordeaux by Yvonne (1933), given by the photographer, 1971 © National Portrait Gallery, London.

• The National Portrait Gallery reopens today following a complete refurbishment of the building and construction of a new learning centre – the largest redevelopment of its history. And the first major exhibition to be seen focuses on the ground-breaking work of 20th century British photographer Yevonde (1893-1975). The exhibition – Yevonde: Life and Colour – is the largest of the artist’s work and will feature more than 25 newly discovered photographs among the more than 150 works on display. As well as commercial commissioned works and still lives, the display will also include portraits of some of the most famous faces of the time including George Bernard Shaw, Vivien Leigh, John Gielgud, Princess Alexandra and Margaret Sweeney, Duchess of Argyll as well as Surrealist patron and poet Edward James. It will also celebrate Yevonde’s role as an innovator, show-casing her experimentations with solarisation and the Vivex colour process. The National Portrait Gallery acquired Yevonde’s tri-colour separation archive with funding from The Portrait Fund and went through an extensive research, cataloguing and digitisation process funded by CHANEL Culture Fund. Admission charge applies. Runs until 15th October. For more, see www.npg.org.uk.

• A new gallery dedicated to world-changing engineering innovations and the people behind them opens at the Science Museum tomorrow. ‘Engineers’ celebrates the UK’s engineering heritage and showcase innovations through the global lens of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering and its winners (its opening marks a decade of the prize). The gallery will spotlight the stories of more than 60 engineers working in a range of fields sitting in four sections – ‘Bodies’, ‘Lives’, ‘Connections’ and ‘Creating’. Items on show in the gallery – which adjoins the Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery which opened in November last year – include the first digital camera, the cutting-edge CMR ‘Versius’ surgical robot arm and a miniature atomic clock which the entire GPS system depended upon. Entry to the level one gallery is free. For more, see https://sciencemuseum.org.uk/engineers.

• Granite stones that once formed part of Victoria Embankment have been installed around the City in a project celebrating the role of stone in the City’s creation. Called From the Thames to Eternity, the project – designed by Matthew Barnett Howland and Oliver Wilton from University College London and CSK Architects – features stones which have been removed from the embankment to enable the new Thames Tideway Tunnel. Originally quarried in the 19th century, mainly in Cornwall and Scotland, for use in Joseph Bazalgette’s Thames River wall at Victoria Embankment, they are being installed temporarily and will later be reused in another project.

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This Week in London – Museum of London Docklands marks 20 years; story-telling and technology; and, marking Windrush at the V&A…

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• The 20th anniversary of the Museum of London Docklands will be marked on Saturday night with the Big Docklands Street Party celebrating the history, cultures and communities of the East End. . Two decades after Queen Elizabeth II opened the museum, the street party and museum late includes live performances headlined by Vanity Milan, star of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, street food, pop-up bars, talks and tours, workshops, film screenings, a makers market, pub quiz and after hours gallery access. The museum’s big day will also be marked with the ringing of the Bow Bells – tradition holds that to be a true Cockney one must be born within earshot of the Bow Bells. For tickets and further information, head to www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands/whats-on/mold20

Digital Storytelling at the British Library. PICTURE © British Library

• A new exhibition showcasing how technology is transforming story-telling has opened at the British Library. Digital Storytelling features a range of digital stories including 80 Days, a four-time BAFTA nominated interactive adaptation of Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days, and the exclusive public preview of Windrush Tales, the world’s first interactive narrative game based on the experiences of Caribbean immigrants in post-war Britain as well as the popular auto fiction fitness app Zombies, Run! and Breathe, a ghost story that “follows the reader around”, reacting to users’ real-time location data. The display will also explore how writers and artists look into the lived realities behind the news with the inclusion of the likes of A Dictionary of the Revolution, which charts the evolution of political language in Egypt during the uprising in 2011, and c ya laterrrr, an intimate autobiographical hypertext account of the loss of author Dan Hett’s brother in the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack. The exhibition, which runs until 15th October, is accompanied by a series of events. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.bl.uk/events/digital-storytelling.

• Two portraits created three centuries apart and depicting two Jamaican gentlemen scholars – Vanley Burke and Francis Williams – are at the heart of a display at the V&A marking the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush. The display features documentary photographs by Burke, the ‘Godfather of Black British photography’, and everyday things collected by him as well as historical artefacts and scientific images that shed new light on the museum’s enigmatic portrait of 18th-century Jamaican writer Francis William. The free display, which opens Monday, can be seen in Galleries 88a and 90. The occasion is also being marked by a series of events – for more, see vam.ac.uk/season/2023/windrush-75.

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This Week in London – London Design Biennale; canal wildlife; a suffragette princess honoured; and, the ‘Polar Silk Road’ explored…

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The Indian Pavilion at the London Design Biennale. PICTURE: Courtesy of London Design Biennale.

• The almost month-long London Design Biennale kicks off at Somerset House today under the theme of ‘The Global Game: Remapping Collaborations’. The fourth edition of the biennale is artistically directed by the Nieuwe Instituut – the Dutch national museum and institute for architecture, design and digital culture – and takes over the entirety of Somerset House. Among the exhibits is the India pavilion (pictured above) featuring a multi-sensory evocation of the essence of a contemporary Indian city chowk – an open market at the junction of streets – through the visual metaphor of a charpai – a traditional woven daybed, Malta’s large-scale ‘village-square’ installation that merges traditional city planning with the Phoenician-Maltese tradition of fabric production and dyeing of the multiple colours of Phoenician purple, the Ukrainian Pavilion which features am interior construction symbolising the country’s industrial, natural resource, and creative richness and a series of external projects which tell stories about new design collaborations in times of crisis for Ukraine and the vital role of design in creating new progressive connections. There’s also the chance to see the Ai-Da Robot, the world’s first humanoid robot artist, which will make history by showing her unique ability to design objects. Running alongside is the EUREKA exhibition which will share design-led innovation from leading research centres. Runs until 25th June. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/london-design-biennale-eureka-2023.

London canal wildlife. PICTURES: Courtesy of the London Canal Museum

• A new exhibition highlighting the flora and fauna of London’s canals has opened at the London Canal Museum in King’s Cross. Many of the canals were derelict by the end of the 20th century but have received a new lease of life in recent times as leisure destinations. These days, they provide a “highway” for fauna including birds, fish and mammals to move in and out of the capital, some of which is showcased in this new display. Entry with general admission and for an extra fee, guided narrowboat trips along The Regent’s Canal are available on selected days. For more, see www.canalmuseum.org.uk.

• Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, a suffragette, daughter of the last Maharajah of the Punjab, and god-daughter to Queen Victoria, has been commemorated with an English Heritage Blue Plaque. The plaque marks Faraday House in Hampton Court, granted to the princess and her sisters as a grace and favour apartment by Queen Victoria. Also known as ‘Apartment 41’, the property – which was named after scientist Michael Faraday – was home to Princess Sophia for more than 40 years and her base when she was campaigning for women’s suffrage. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/.

North Warning System III, Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada, 2020. PICTURE: © Gregor Sailer

• The ‘Polar Silk Road’ – a channel opened up thanks to melting Arctic Sea ice – is the subject of a new exhibition at the Natural History Museum. Gregor Sailer: The Polar Silk Road features 67 photographs taken by acclaimed Austrian artist and photographer Gregor Sailer showcasing manmade structures – from isolated research centres to Icelandic geothermal power stations – captured across four countries in the Arctic circle. There’s also a short film discussing the impacts of the climate crisis. The exhibition is free to visit. For more, see www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/the-polar-silk-road.html.

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This Week in London – London painted large; Donatello at the V&A; and, the first King Charles III stamps…

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• The most extensive collection of large scale paintings of London ever seen opens at the City of London Corporation’s Guildhall Art Gallery on Friday. The Big City: London painted on a grand scale has at its heart a series of works by David Hepher which, on display in London for the first time, were given to the City by the artist in 2022. There’s also a four piece panel installation by John Bartlett and huge works by Frank O Salisbury and Terence Cuneo. The exhibition is open on a ‘pay what you can’ basis and runs until 23rd April. For more, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/thebigcity.

Donatello and Desiderio da Settignano, St. John the Baptist (Martelli Baptist), Museo Nazionale
del Bargello, Florence, courtesy of the Ministry of Culture. Photo: Bruno Bruchi.

• The first major exhibition to explore the work of Renaissance sculptor Donatello opens at The V&A on Saturday. Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance features works never before on display in the UK including his early marble David and the bronze Attis-Amorino – both of which come from the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence, as well as the reliquary bust of San Rossore from the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo, Pisa, and bronzes from the High Altar of the Basilica of St Anthony in Padua. And, for the first time, the V&A’s carved shallow relief of the Ascension with Christ giving the keys to St Peter will be displayed alongside the Madonna of the Clouds from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Desiderio da Settignano’s Panciatichi Madonna from the Museo Nazionale del Bargello. Among the 130 objects in the display are also works by Donatello’s contemporaries and followers. Admission charge applies. The display runs until 11th June. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk.

• See the designs for the first Royal Mail stamp to feature King Charles III in a new exhibition at The Postal Museum. The King’s Stamp traces the story of definitive stamps and features stamps from the reigns of six monarchs. Along with the designs for the first definitive stamps featuring King Charles III, highlights include one of only two sheets of Edward VII ‘Tyrian Plum’ and original letters revealing the influence of past monarch’s on stamp designs as well as the chance to see your silhouette on a stamp. Runs until 3rd September. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.postalmuseum.org/event/the-kings-stamp/.

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This Week in London – Christmas at Hampton Court Palace; the V&A’s couture Christmas Tree; and, the stories of Asian and African foundlings…

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• Festive Fayre returns to Hampton Court Palace this weekend with visitors having the chance to do some Christmas shopping, sample some festive treats and enjoy live music. The festival, which runs from Friday to Sunday, takes place ahead of the launch of the palace’s Christmas light trail – Palace of Light – next Wednesday (7th December). Inspired by Henry VIII’s heraldic beasts, it features an array of installations, ranging from a sea-monster lurking in the Great Fountain Garden to polka-dot panther lanterns in the Wilderness. Created by the award-winning outdoor event producers Wild Rumpus, the light trail can be visited until 2nd January. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/.

Christmas tree installation, designed by Miss Sohee PICTURE: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

• The V&A has unveiled its couture Christmas Tree installation for this year – a work by London-based Korean fashion designer Miss Sohee. On display in the Cromwell Road Grand Entrance, the installation reimagines the traditional Christmas tree as a three metre long couture gown, which combines Sohee’s signature style of vibrant silhouettes and intricate embroidery with religious statuary found around the museum. The installation can be seen until 5th January. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk.

• On Now – Tiny Traces: African & Asian Children at London’s Foundling Hospital. This exhibition at The Foundling Museum in Bloomsbury explores the newly discovered stories of African and Asian children in the care of the hospital in the 18th century, following the stories of more than a dozen children through personal items, physical artefacts, works of art and archival documents. In a parallel thread, works of art by artists including Zarina Bhimji, Hew Locke, Kehinde Wiley, Alexis Peskine, Deborah Roberts and Shanti Panchal form a dialogue with the historic narratives. Admission charge applies. Runs until 19th February. For more, see https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk.

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This Week in London – Bonfire Night; Treason at The National Archives; two Turner’s return after 100+ years; and, science fiction at the Science Museum…

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A previous Bonfire Night in London. PICTURE: teo73/iStockphoto

• “Remember, remember, the 5th of November…” It’s Bonfire Night this Saturday night and fireworks displays will be held across London with key displays at Alexandra Palace, Battersea Park and Wimbledon Park. Rather than list them all here, Visit London has put together a handy guide which you’ll find here.

A section of the Treason Act. PICTURE: Courtesy of The National Archives (Open Government Licence)

• What did the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, the establishment of the Church of England, the creation of the United States of America and the extension of UK voting rights have to do with acts of treason? Treason: People, Power & Plot, a new exhibition at The National Archives in Kew, examines the role treason has played across the span of 700 years of history. On display will be the original Treason Act, passed in 1352 during the reign of King Edward III (pictured), and the Monteagle Letter – which suggested the recipient should not attend parliament on 5th November, 1605 (effectively tipping them off about the Gunpowder Plot) as well as Guy Fawkes’ confession, a document containing the charges levelled against King Henry VIII’s ill fated wife, Anne Boleyn, and the United States’ Declaration of Independence. Accompanying the display will be a range of online and on-site events. The free exhibition opens on Saturday and runs until 6th April. For more, see www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/treason/.

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 – 1851) The Harbor of Dieppe, 1826 oil on canvas 68 3/8 in. x 88 3/4 in. (173.67 cm x 225.43 cm) Henry Clay Frick Bequest. Accession number: 1914.1.122

• Two ground-breaking JMW Turner paintings – Harbour of Dieppe: Changement de Domicile and Cologne, the Arrival of a Packet-Boat: Evening – have returned to the UK for the first time in more than 100 years as part of a new exhibition at The National Gallery. The Turner on Tour exhibition looks at the artist’s life-long fascination with ports and harbours and highlights the regular sketching tours he took within Europe that were central to his fame as an artist-traveller, as well as his “radical approach to colour, light and brushwork”. The two paintings, which have not been since in the UK since 1911, were exhibited in New York in 1914 at the Knoedler Gallery. They were subsequently acquired by the American industrialist Henry Clay Frick and have remained in the United States ever since but are now being generously lent by The Frick Collection. Can be seen until 19th February in Room 46. Admission is free. For more, see nationalgallery.org.uk.

• On Now: Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of Imagination. This exhibition at the Science Museum in South Kensington features more than 70 objects and uncovers connections between significant scientific innovations and celebrated science fiction works. On display is classic literature that has inspired new understandings of the world as well as set-pieces and props from iconic films and TV – everything from a Lieutenant Uhura costume from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, to the Dalek from Doctor Who and a Darth Vader helmet created for Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. There are also contemporary artworks from across the globe that explore alternative futures for humanity. The exhibition is accompanied by an events programme. Runs until 4th May. Admission charges apply. For more, see sciencemuseum.org.uk/science-fiction.

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This Week in London – Musical theatre at the V&A; getting spooky at Hampton Court and the Tower; and, Bill Brandt at Tate Britain…

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Costume for Eliza Doolittle in Lerner and Lowe’s musical My Fair Lady, designed by Cecil Beaton, worn by Julie Andrews, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 1958. Given bythe Friends of the Victoria and Albert Museum.© Cecil BeatonImage courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum, London

• The glittering world of musical theatre is at the centre of a new exhibition which opened at the V&A in South Kensington recently. Re:Imagining Musicals showcases some 100 objects, most being displayed for the first time, with highlights including Paul O’Grady’s Miss Hannigan costume from Annie, new costume acquisitions from SIX the Musical, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Company, and A Chorus Line, the rarely displayed beaded gown designed by Cecil Beaton which was worn by Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady in 1958; the toy Olaf puppet from Frozen the Musical, and an original poster from the off-Broadway premiere of Hamilton signed by the cast and creatives. There’s also a 1965 original cast recording of Hello Dolly! signed by Carol Channing, Bunny Christie’s Olivier and Critics’ Circle award winning costume design, model and costume for Rosalie Craig as Bobbie in the 2019 West End revival of Company and Shakespeare’s first folio, which celebrates its 400th anniversary in 2023. The free display can be seen in the Theatre and Performance Galleries until 27th November, 2023. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/reimagining-musicals.

Base Court and cloisters dressed for the Halloween ghost trail at Hampton Court Palace. PICTURE: © Historic Royal Palaces.

• Visitors to Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London are being invited to explore some of the properties’ spookiest stories in the lead-up to Halloween. Until 30th October, visitors to Hampton Court are able to explore the stories of everyone from King James I to tormented wives to Tudor trumpeters with special effects including mystical projections and eerie sound effects. Meanwhile, until 31st October, visitors can follow in the footsteps of infamous prisoners at the Tower of London with “spooky decorations, spine-tingling sound effects, and rooms transformed to tell terrifying tales about past inhabitants” while ghostly figures such as the Welsh Prince Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and King Henry VIII’s ill-fatded wife Anne Boleyn wander the grounds. Admission charges apply. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk.

Bill Brandt – Woman Swimming
Tate. Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax from the Estate of Barbara Lloyd and allocated to Tate 2009 © The Estate of Bill Brandt.

• The work of British photographer Bill Brandt (1904-83) is the subject of a new exhibition at Tate Britain on Millbank. Bill Brandt: Inside the Mirror features 44 original photographs from across his career are displayed alongside the magazines and photobooks in which these images were most often seen. Brandt was first known as a photojournalist, renowned in the 1930s for his observations of British life, and later for his landscapes, portraits and nudes. Highlights include Woman Swimming (pictured), Hail, Hell & Halifax and his handmade photobook ‘A Dream’ – which is being exhibited for the first time. Runs until 15th January. Admission is free. For more, see tate.org.uk.

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LondonLife – Celebrating wildlife at the Natural History Museum…

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‘The Big Buzz’ by Karine Aigner, USA, winner of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

An up-close image of a buzzing ball of cactus bees over the hot sand at a Texas ranch has won American photographer Karine Aigner the honour of Wildlife Photographer of the Year. The image depicts male bees as they compete for the attention of the single female bee at the centre of the ball. Aigner is the fifth woman to win the Grand Title award in the 58 year history of the competition, which is run by the Natural History Museum. Her image is being shown along with that of 16-year-old Thai Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn – who won Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year for an up-close image of a whale’s baleen – as well as those of category winners in this year’s contest in a redesigned exhibition at the museum in South Kensington.  Alongside the photographs, the display features short videos, quotes from jury members and photographers and insights from museum scientists on how human actions continue to shape the natural world. The exhibition can be seen until 2nd July. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year . The 59th annual competition is now open for entries. For more on how to enter, see www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/competition.

‘The Beauty of Baleen’ by Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn, Thailand, winner of Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

This Week in London – Korean pop culture at the V&A; of video games and conflict; and, William Kentridge at the RA…

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Installation image featuring re-creation of Parasite bathroom scene, at Hallyu! The Korean Wave at the V&A Ⓒ Victoria and Albert Museum, London

• From K-Pop to Parasite, the popular culture of South Korea is being celebrated in a new exhibition which opened at the V&A last weekend. Hallyu! The Korean Wave features around 200 objects across four thematic sections focused on the phenomenon known as ‘hallyu’ (meaning ‘Korean Wave’) which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and rippled across Asia before reaching across the world. Highlights including outfits worn by K-Pope idols PSY, Vespa and ATEEZ, an immersive recreation of Parasite’s bathroom set and monumental artworks by the likes of Nam June Paik, Ham Kyungah and Gwon Osang. There’s also fashion designs by Tchai Kim, Miss Sohee and Minju Kim, and early examples of advertising and branding, including an original poster from the Seoul Olympics, and the first Korean branded cosmetic from the 1910s. The display can be seen until 25th June next year. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/hallyu-the-korean-wave.

• An exhibition which seeks to challenge perceptions about how video games interpret stories about war and conflict opens at the Imperial War Museum London on Friday. War Games: Real Conflicts | Virtual Worlds | Extreme Entertainment explores the relationship between video games and conflict through a series of 11 unique titles, including everything from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare to 2D artillery game Worms and a military training simulator, which, over the last 40 years, have reflected events from the First World War to the present. The display features immersive installations, never-before-displayed objects and perspectives from industry experts. There’s also a retro gaming zone and a programme of supporting events. Admission is free. Runs until 28th May next year. For more, see iwm.org.uk/events/war-games.

William Kentridge, ‘Colleoni’, 2021. Hand-woven mohair tapestry, 350 x 300 cm. Courtesy the artist © William Kentridge
 

• The work of celebrated South African artist and Honorary Royal Academician William Kentridge has gone on show the Royal Academy. Spanning the artist’s 41 year career, William Kentridge brings together important works spanning from the 1980s through to the present day, including charcoal drawings, animated films, a mechanical theatre, sculptures, tapestries and performance pieces. Highlights include a selection of Kentridge’s early, rarely-seen drawings from the 1980s and 1990s including three triptychs displayed together for the first time and the most significant work from the period, The Conservationist’s Ball, (1985) as well as around 25 large charcoal drawings, made for the creative process of the eleven animated Drawings for Projection, and the installation Black Box / Chambre Noire, (2005), a mechanical theatre piece including puppets and projections, which interrogates the harrowing story of the massacre of the Herero people in Namibia, now considered the first genocide of the 20th century. The display in the Main Galleries can be seen until 11th December. Admission charge applies. For more, see roy.ac/kentridge.

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10 unusual parks or gardens in London…7. Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Garden…

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A scene from the Wildlife Garden. PICTURE: Kotomi_ (licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)

Opened in July, 1995, this garden in the grounds of the Natural History Museum in South Kensington has been found to be home to more than 3,300 species.

A scene from the Wildlife Garden. PICTURE: Kotomi_ (licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)

The garden, located on the corner of Cromwell Road and Queen’s Gate, and covering a single acre, was envisaged as a “place to put habitat creation and wildlife conservation into practice”, according to the museum’s website, where visitors can learn about wildlife in the UK and where naturalists, students and museum scientists carry out research.

It features a variety of habitats –  everything from woodland, grassland, scrub, heath, fen, aquatic, reedbed, and hedgerow as well as urban environments – and among the species living there have been hedgehogs, common frogs, ladybirds (Rhyzobius forestieri) and Greyface Dartmoor sheep which are brought in to graze in the autumn.

‘Bioblitzes’ are held during the year by experts and amateurs which involve recording as many species of plants, animals and fungi as possible within a day.

Under the museum’s Urban Nature Project, all five acres of the grounds are being transformed into a fully accessible green space that promotes urban wildlife research, conservation and awareness and according to the museum, the Wildlife Garden will have an integral role to play in that with its overall size doubled (check before visiting to ensure it’s not closed for the renovation work). The new gardens will open next summer.

WHERE: Wildlife Garden, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington (nearest Tube stations are South Kensington and Gloucester Road); WHEN: 11am to 5pm daily until 31st October (closed during wet weather); COST: Free; WEBSITE: www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/galleries-and-museum-map/wildlife-garden.html

This Week in London – Natural History Museum unveils a new ‘Urban Nature Project’; BBC at 100; and, UK sculpture goes online…

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• The Natural History Museum’s five acre site in South Kensington will be transformed into a free-to-visit green space under a new project. The Urban Nature Project will feature new outdoor galleries telling the story of life on Earth from 540 million years ago to the present day as it follows an immersive timeline of plants, trees, reptiles, birds and mammals. Children will come face-to-face with a giant bronze diplodocus surrounded by plants from the Jurassic period. The garden will also be home to scientific sensors gathering environmental DNA and acoustic data, to monitor, understand and protect urban nature. You can find out more and donate at www.nhm.ac.uk/support-us/urban-nature-project/donate.html.

Cyberman costume as used in the T.V. series ‘Dr Who’ made by the BBC, London, c1988

• A new display exploring how the BBC developed and popularised new media has opened at the Science Museum in South Kensington. BBC at 100 features five iconic items from broadcast history that have influenced how we interact wth modern media platforms. They include a six foot tall 1988 Cyberman costume from Doctor Who, a World War II “Midget” Portable Disc Recorder developed to bring listeners close to the reality of conflict, and the BBC microcomputer developed during the Computer Literacy Project in the 1980s. The display, which is part of the Science Museum Group’s  Broadcast 100  activities marking the 100th anniversary of the BBC and the 40th anniversary of Channel 4, to free to visit. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/bbc-100.

• More than 36,000 sculptures on public display across the UK can be seen online. Art UK has photographed and digitised more than 13,500 outdoor sculptures as well as almost every sculpture inside public collections from the last 1,000 years. The project, which was funded with a £2.8million Heritage Fund grant and involved more than 500 photography and data volunteers, can be accessed at Art UK website. 

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This Week in London – African fashion on show; green transport; and, the Upminster Tithe Barn…

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Designed by Kofi Ansah, Ensembles for the wedding of Ashley Shaw-Scott Adjaye and David Adjaye. Ghana, 2014. Photographed in London in 2014 by Robert Fairer

• The work of some 45 designers from more than 20 countries can be seen in a landmark Africa Fashion exhibition opening at the V&A on Saturday. More than 250 objects are on display – half drawn from the museum’s collection and including 70 new acquisitions. Many of the garments come from the personal archives of iconic mid-20th century African designers including Shade Thomas-Fahm, Chris Seydou, Kofi Ansah and Alphadi and the exhibition also features the work of contemporary African fashion creatives such as Imane Ayissi, IAMISIGO, Moshions, Thebe Magugu and Sindiso Khumalo. The display includes personal insights from the designers, together with sketches, editorial spreads, photographs, film and catwalk footage. Runs until 16th April. Admission charge applies. For more, see vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/africa-fashion.

• Discover the role public transport is playing in keeping London green at London Transport Museum’s Depot in Acton Town this weekend. The ‘Act-on It!’ Open Days, being held as part of London Climate Action Week, are part of London Transport Museum’s 18-month programme, Climate Crossroads, which shines a light on sustainable cities, travel, transport and greener skills for the future. Along with the artworks, maps and signage housed at depot, visitors will be able to explore the museum’s extensive collection of historic vehicles including Tube trains, buses, trolleybuses and trams including, for the first time, the iconic RM1 Routemaster, built in 1954, displayed alongside the ADL/BYD Enviro 400 Electric, the best-in class bus from route 63. There’s also family activities – including storey-telling sessions, miniature transport displays made entirely of LEGO, and rides on the London Transport Miniature Railway. Tickets must be booked in advance. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.ltmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/depot/summer.

• The Upminster Tithe Barn has an open day on Saturday. The more than 500-year-old barn, these days houses the Museum of Nostalgia which holds more than 14,500 artifacts of domestic and agricultural use, ranging from Roman times to the present day. For more, see http://upminstertithebarn.co.uk.

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This Week in London – The Queen in wartime; Dippy returns; and, ‘Cancer Revolution’ at the Science Museum…

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• A new exhibition exploring the Queen’s role during wartime opens at IWM London in Lambeth tomorrow. Part of a suite of events at IWM venues celebrating the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, Crown and Conflict: Portraits of a Queen in Wartime features 18 images drawn from the museum’s image archive which chart the Queen’s experience of war – from growing up during World War II when she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service to her role in carrying out important public duties involving the armed forces, including at the annual Service of Remembrance. Among newly digitised photographs included in the display are an image of the Queen dressed in overalls and cap while working on a vehicle during her time in the ATS, and another showing her with her father, King George VI, and mother, Queen Elizabeth, during a visit to airborne forces in 1944. IWM London is also launching a dedicated trail of historic objects spread across five gallery spaces which explores the Royal Family’s long-standing association with the British armed forces. Objects include a Princess Mary Gift Fund box which was sent to those serving at Christmas in 1914. Runs until 8th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.iwm.org.uk/events/queens-platinum-jubilee-iwm-london.

Dippy at the Natural History Museum. © Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

• Dippy the dinosaur is back for a limited time at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington from tomorrow. A free, temporary exhibition – Dippy Returns: the nation’s favourite dinosaur – gives visitors the chance to get up close and personal with the 26 metre-long dinosaur which first went on display at the museum in 1905. The display comes at the end of a record-breaking tour of the UK in which Dippy was seen by more than two million people. Can be seen until 2nd January. To book tickets, head to www.nhm.ac.uk.

• The first major exhibition to explore the history and future of cancer treatment and research opened at the Science Museum in South Kensington this week. Cancer Revolution: Science, innovation and hope features more than 100 objects including some never-before seen as well as information on cutting edge treatment and research, new artist commissions and installations, interactive exhibits and a breadth of personal stories. Runs until January, 2023. Admission is free but bookings required. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/cancer-revolution-science-innovation-and-hope.

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