Art

Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989-2010
The National Art Center, Tokyo
If 1980s Japan looked like a vision of the future from afar, the view was markedly different on the ground. While the technology boom brought financial stability, globalisation shook things up creatively. Here, works by more than 50 artists and collectives wrestle with these contradictions.
‘Prism of the Real’ runs from 3 September to 8 December

Kerry James Marshall: The Histories
Royal Academy of Arts, London
US artist Kerry James Marshall’s striking, large-scale paintings co-opt the visual language of white Europeans such as Seurat and Manet to tell the stories of black history. This exhibition of 11 bodies of works – more than 70 pieces in total, including eight new and unseen depictions of the African slave trade – is his largest showing in Europe to date.
‘The Histories’ runs from 20 September to 18 January 2026

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Film

The Long Walk
Francis Lawrence
Having directed four of the five films in The Hunger Games series, Francis Lawrence takes on another dystopia. In this Stephen King adaptation starring Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson and Ben Wang, 100 boys must walk until only one remains. If they stop or slow down, they will be executed. It’s surprising that this wretched tale – one of King’s first novels – took so long to reach the screen but it arrives in an era when narratives about human cruelty feel more plausible than ever.
‘The Long Walk’ is released on 12 September

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues
Rob Reiner
Legacy sequels often suffer from a hollow self-mythology that drowns out the actual joke but the first Spinal Tap already introduced us to a band convinced of its own hype. The original cast returns to play a group that’s well past its prime. Cameos from real rock royalty blur the mockumentary line but the film understands that ridicule and reverence have always lived side by side in rock’n’roll.
‘Spinal Tap II’ is released on 12 September

The Glassworker
Usman Riaz
Pakistan’s first hand-drawn animated feature is an exquisitely crafted film that balances the intimate and the political. An artisan’s son and a colonel’s daughter meet across a widening gulf of class and ideology that threatens to tear both their relationship and their country apart. The film wears its Studio Ghibli influence on it sleeve but its message feels distinctly relevant.
‘The Glassworker’ is released on 19 September

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Books

The Quiet Ear
Raymond Antrobus
Poet Raymond Antrobus long struggled with shame and anger while trying to find a language to fully express his experience of deafness. In The Quiet Ear, he intertwines his story with those of deaf cultural figures whom he discovered in adulthood. Part memoir and part cultural history, it is at times a difficult read but it’s an essential work that will hopefully help to shift attitudes to deafness.
‘The Quiet Ear’ is published on 28 August

Amity
Nathan Harris
Slavery in the US might have officially ended following the civil war but Nathan Harris’s second novel, set in the late 1860s, offers a glimpse of a society that still wanted black Americans in bondage. Harris writes with a sparseness and beauty that mirror the landscape of Mexico, where servant Coleman searches for his sister June, who has run away from their old master, Mr Harper, in pursuit of a better life.
‘Amity’ is published on 2 September

Cursed Daughters
Oyinkan Braithwaite
The irresistibly titled My Sister, the Serial Killer launched Nigerian-British novelist Oyinkan Braithwaite onto the literary scene in 2019. Her follow-up, Cursed Daughters, was worth the long wait. It tells the story of Eniiyi, the latest member of her family living under a curse that condemns daughters to heartbreak. When she falls in love, it’s time for her to finally stop ignoring the gloomy legend.
‘Cursed Daughters’ is published on 25 September

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TV

The Girlfriend
Amazon Prime Video
In The Girlfriend, Robin Wright plays a mother with an unhealthy interest in her son’s romantic life. When a beautiful young woman (House of the Dragon’s Olivia Cooke) arrives on the scene to steal her son’s heart and potentially ruin his life, she becomes jealous and suspicious. There’s plenty of salacious double-crossing in this sleazy, erotic thriller with deplorable yet sexy characters.
‘The Girlfriend’ is released on 10 September

Black Rabbit
Netflix
This New York-set show stars Jude Law as a restaurateur and owner of the eponymous Black Rabbit, who finds his meticulously organised life turned upside down when his chaotic brother (Jason Bateman) reappears, wanting to be let back into the family business. After financial difficulties come knocking, the siblings are forced to consort with the criminal underworld, with resentment and bitterness building with every passing hour.
‘Black Rabbit’ is released on 18 September

Task
Sky/HBO
Still thinking about the moody and captivating 2021 hit Mare of Easttown? Its creator, Brad Ingelsby, is back with another procedural thriller, this time set in Philadelphia. It stars Mark Ruffalo as an FBI agent and former priest who is tracking a thief whose motives are far more complicated than greed alone. Tragedy hangs in the air as the story unfolds, blurring the line between right and wrong.
‘Task’ is released in September

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Photography

New Photography 2025: Lines of Belonging
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Marking 40 years since the first New Photography exhibition was held at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, this anniversary edition features artists from four cities, including Johannesburg and New Orleans. The images from Mexico City could prove to be the most arresting, thanks to Sandra Blow’s unflinching portrayals of the LGBTQ+ community and Tania Franco Klein’s cinematic vignettes. And make sure that you don’t miss Nepalese visual artist and curator Sheelasha Rajbhandari’s artfully embroidered scenes from Kathmandu.
‘New Photography 2025’ runs from 14 September to 17 January 2026

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Music

Myd
Mydnight
French DJ, producer and singer Myd has brought together a sparkling cast of collaborators for this dancefloor-ready album. Channel Tres shines on “All That Glitters Is Not Gold”, while Calcutta features on the gentler “9am”. “Song for You” is an Ibiza anthem in the making. Mydnight was informed by Myd’s recent globetrotting and we’re sure that the samba beats on “So High” were inspired by a long night out somewhere sweaty.
‘Mydnight’ is released on 29 August

Saint Etienne
International
Sad news for fans of English trio Saint Etienne: the group’s 13th album will be its last. Unlike The Night, the band’s previous release, International is a poppy electronic album produced by synth-lover Tim Powell (formerly of Xenomania). The record is full of soaring highs and emotive lows with lively early-1990s sounds on tracks such as “Brand New Me” and a tearjerker of a closer, “Last Time”.
‘International’ is released on 5 September

Parcels
Loved
Berlin-based Australian band Parcels is back with another happy-go-lucky album full of scintillating grooves. The euphoric “Yougotmefeeling” is an eminently danceable delight. The languid “Summerinlove” (yes, all the tracks are written this way) is another highlight. Parcel’s sunny sounds have attracted many fans, who will be flocking to see them on tour in Europe and North America this autumn.
‘Loved’ is released on 12 September

Images:
Netflix, Peter Kramer/HBO, Christopher Raphael/Prime, Murray Close/Lionsgate, Kerry James Marshall/ Patrick L Pyszka, Tania Franco Klein