At the beginning of the 2000s, Rachel Millward and Pinny Gryllis were making low-budget short films in London, but had no peer network. In an effort to change this, they decided to buy out London’s Curzon Soho Cinema on a November night in 2002 to debut one of their films. That same night, they...
Throughout the three-day Kinetica Art Fair, fans of scientific specifics — robotics, wave forms, gravity — will grapple with more human, philosophical ideas — spirituality, relationships. The fair, which runs Feb. 4 to 6, is a place to witness artists “harnessing the powers of nature and cosmic energy as a means of expression,” according...
On the belief that poetry is indeed a growing, expanding art form, this year, Southbank Center will host its annual T.S. Eliot Prize Readings festival in larger digs: the Royal Festival Hall. The shortlisted poets for this year’s prize, a prestigious award for the best poetry collection of 2010, are Simon Armitage, Annie Freud,...
Attended the morning session of the Carbon Capture and Storage Forum in London last week, and heard several people speak about their efforts to make carbon capture and storage operations a reality in Europe. Mostly, speakers representing various operations in Scotland, the UK and continental Europe seemed to be pitching their ideas in an...
We’re nearly seven months into David Cameron’s term as Prime Minister. Here’s a look back at his May 11, 2010 acceptance speech at 10 Downing Street, via Wordle:
At a time when e-readers may be displacing the good, old-fashioned print book, an effort to revive interest in the art of the book cover is taking place in London. The gallery StolenSpace gave a simple task to a group of more than 30 artists, designers, ceramic artists and photographers: design a cover for...
Recently caught live performances by Soul Rebels Brass Band, Get the Blessing, and Led Bib during the 2010 London Jazz Festival. Several hundred people who gathered at the Southbank Centre to see Soul Rebels Brass Band were so into it the show that they boo-ed loudly when the band did not play an encore....
In London on November 3rd, the day after the midterm elections in America, political conversations among expats concentrates mainly on two things: the Tea Party and America’s economy. “With the Tea Party, if we can’t agree on lowering the deficit and taxes, if we can’t do that, then we haven’t done our job,” said...
In 2004 Florent de La Tullaye and Renaud Barret encountered Leon “Ricky” Likabu playing music on the streets of Kinshasa. A victim of poliomyelitis, he was joined by fellow wheelchair-bound musicians and street youth. Together, with old beat-up or hand-made instruments, the group played what could only be described as folk music: honest, heart-felt...
Onstage, 68-year-old Mulatu Astatke is as subtle and understated as the Ethiopian jazz he created. The music, a hybrid of traditional Ethiopian music and jazz, is subdued, somewhat melancholy, and at times psychedelic. Mr Astatke, the originator and composer of songs in this canon, plays his principal instrument, the vibraphone, with a light touch....