PHOTOGRAPHY: LONDON
The Photographers 2014
Taking place in two London galleries, The Photographers 2014 celebrates the diversity and beauty captured in a single frame. The annual group show displays the works of 63 master photographers, starting with iconic images from the late 19th and 20th centuries at the Osborne Samuel Gallery; German-American fashion photographer Horst P Horst’s 1936 portrait of Helen Bennett features. More contemporary pieces feature at Beetles & Huxley Gallery, including vibrant and at times fantastical suburban scenes from American photographer Julie Blackmon.
Osborne Samuel Gallery, 23a Burton Street. Open Monday to Friday, 10.00-18.00; Saturday, 10.00-14.00. Beetles & Huxley Gallery, 3-5 Swallow Street. Open Monday to Saturday, 10.00-17.30. Until 23 December.
Osbornesamuel.com/; beetlesandhuxley.com
Film Festival: Köln
Exposed Film Festival
If you find yourself in Köln this weekend, take the opportunity to experience the seventh annual Exposed Film Festival, a platform for up-and-coming European directors to premiere their first features on the big screen. One highlight is Talea, a full-length film by young Viennese director Katharina Mückstein. The poignant debut tells the story of Jasmin’s search for her mother, Eva. The two have been separated for years but Eva’s recent release from prison gives them the chance to spend a weekend together. It’s an intimate tale about love, loss and loneliness and has already received nominations for best screenplay and best direction at the Austrian Film Awards 2014.
Filmhauskino Köln, Maybachstrasse 111. See website for screening times. Until 26 November.
exposed-filmfestival.de
PAINTING: HONG KONG
Compelling Desire
Galerie du Monde in Hong Kong is marking its 40th anniversary with brazen oil-on-canvas works by Chinese painter Liu Yuanshou. His solo exhibition Compelling Desire unveils 15 never-seen-before paintings of scantily clad women bound by a flowing scarlet sash, intended to represent our primal need to shake off our inner shackles. Viewers can expect to be visually accosted by the violent red-and-black brushstrokes that dominate these visceral scenes.
Galerie du Monde, 108 Ruttonjee Centre, 11 Duddell Street. Open Monday to Saturday, 10.00–19.00. Until 30 December.
galeriedumonde.com
BOOK FAIR: MIAMI
Miami Book Fair International
Miami Dade College–Wolfson campus in the city’s downtown core is holding the largest literary gathering nationwide with 200 national and international exhibitors of books. Highlights include the The Swamp, a temporary tent exhibit showcasing Florida-centric culture, and the 6WordsMiami community project, where over 4,000 citizens submitted six-word tales ranging from the prosaic "Car dead in Art Basel traffic" to the more provocative "Hijo, the border crossed me too”. Of course, there will also be heaps of full-length fiction and non-fiction tomes to satisfy those with longer attention spans.
Miami Dade College–Wolfson Campus, 101 NE 4th Street. Open Monday to Sunday, 10.00-18.00. Until 23 November.
miamibookfair.com
MUSIC: GLOBAL
Antony and the Johnsons X Charles Atlas: Turning
In 2006, Antony and the Johnsons and experimental filmmaker Charles Atlas, both from New York, set out on a tour called Turning. The string of concerts featured frontman Antony Hegarty performing his emotive and velvety numbers alongside Atlass’ live montages of 13 women, some transgender, some transsexual and some androgynous. After screening at various film festivals, the part-documentary/part-album is now being released commercially through US independent label Secretly Canadian, giving viewers a peek behind the scenes of the highly acclaimed series of shows. More importantly, it opens up a discussion on every human being’s sense of identity – always at the heart of Hegarty’s poetics.
‘Turning’ is available now.
secretlycanadian.com