Think August is a bore? Think again! We've scoured the internet to whip up a menu of distractions that'll keep you on your toes all month long. Fancy catching Ivo Graham’s fantastic show 'Carousel' at the Edinburgh Fringe? Or maybe you're itching to give Mudlarking a go? We have it all jotted down so you can spend less time researching and more time enjoying yourself.
Discovering Degas: Collecting In The Time Of William Burrell, Now - 30th September, The Burrell Collection, Pollok Country Park, 2060 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow, G43 1AT
Join them for this international exhibition celebrating one of the most-loved Impressionist artists, Edgar Degas. The exhibition will bring together around 30 works on loan from leading national and international collections, with Sir William Burrell’s outstanding collection of more than 20 works by the artist. The loaned works include beautiful examples of Degas’ pastels and bronze figures from collections like the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, Tate London and the Courtauld Institute, also in London.
Megan Rooney: Echoes And Hours, Now – 6th October 2024, 11 am – 5 pm, Kettle's Yard, University of Cambridge, Castle Street, Cambridge, CB3 0AQ
This is the first major solo exhibition in the UK of work by Megan Rooney. Her paintings have an irresistible life and energy, renewing the potential of abstraction to embody the richness of the visual world. In June 2024, Rooney spent three weeks making a new ‘mural’, painting directly on the walls of one of Kettle’s Yard’s two galleries. In the other gallery a group of new paintings is exhibited for the first time.Â
The Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award makes a welcome return to the National Portrait Gallery for 2024. The prestigious competition showcases the very best in contemporary portrait painting and is open to everyone aged eighteen and over. Since its inception over 40 years ago, the competition has attracted over 40,000 entries from more than 100 countries and the exhibition has been seen by over 6 million people.
Gloucestershire Vintage & Country Extravaganza, 2nd, 3rd & 4th August, South Cerney Airfield, GL7 5QD
Whether you are an exhibitor, visitor or volunteer, they can’t wait to welcome you back to their favourite airfield at South Cerney on the first weekend in August! Vintage displays of nearly 1000 classic cars from pre and post war, including Classic American cars. Swinging you back in time – the new Vintage Entertainment Tent, featuring live music, lindy hop dancing, hair, and fashion through the eras.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture on the planet and takes place for three weeks in August, the city of Edinburgh welcomes an explosion of creative energy from around the globe. Artists and performers take to hundreds of stages all over the city, presenting shows for every taste. Venues can be anywhere, from existing theatres and concert halls to repurposed spaces like bars, parks, buses and shipping containers.
In this gathering, they join forces with the London Review of Books to celebrate Baldwin in his capacity as an essayist like no other. Exploring subjects ranging from the realities of 1940s Harlem to movies, novels, his relationship with his father and his experiences in Paris, the ten essays that comprise Notes of a Native Son capture the complexity of black life at the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement with "straight from the shoulder writing about the problems of this troubled earth" (Langston Hughes). Resonant passages from Baldwin’s greatest essays will be read and discussed by writers and artists inspired by his work, interspersed with personal testimony – from anyone who wishes to speak – about his indelible influence.
Current artist-in-residence Marina Lisa Komiya is hosting an Open Studio showcasing Invasive Ale, a new beer brewing installation, developed during their twelve-week residency at Studio Voltaire.
In their research, the artist considers the hierarchical binaries found in horticulture: If a plant is considered desirable, it's a plant; if not, it's a weed. Fermentation follows the same pattern; fermentation is desirable, if not, it's rotten. Komiya has explored the history and relationship between English horticultural practices and the eradication of weeds, finding parallels between the history of invasive weeds and migration to England.
Exclusive Screening: Freud’s Last Session At The Freud Museum, 8th August, 7 - 9 pm, Freud Museum London, 20 Maresfield Gardens, London, NW3 5SX
Step into the world of Sigmund Freud with an exclusive film screening event at the Freud Museum London. This unique evening promises a captivating blend of history, cinema, and exclusive access.
Freud’s Last Session features an all-star cast, including Sir Anthony Hopkins as Sigmund Freud, Matthew Goode as C.S. Lewis, and Liv Lisa Fries as Anna Freud. This imagined encounter at Maresfield Gardens—now the Freud Museum—sees Freud and C.S. Lewis engage in a profound debate over science, religion, faith, and the existence of God. The film also explores Freud’s relationship with his daughter Anna and Lewis’s unconventional romance with his best friend’s mother. Blending past, present, and fantasy, the film takes audiences on an enthralling journey beyond Freud’s study.
Join the multi-award-winning theatre, film, and television actress for a discussion of her wide-ranging career and inspirations. In the five decades since her first professional acting role, Lesley Manville has taken on characters as wide-ranging as the titular cleaner in the film Mrs Harris Goes to Paris to Mrs. Coulter in the National Theatre production of His Dark Materials to Princess Margaret in The Crown, showcasing her versatility, and garnering a string of awards and nominations along the way. Join her for a discussion of her acclaimed career and inspirations, and what’s next on her multi-talented path.
This very personal show brings together two Hockney paintings, one showing his mother and father and the other depicting his friend, curator Henry Geldzahler. They’ll be displayed with the thread that ties them together, Piero della Francesca’s ‘The Baptism of Christ’. ‘My Parents’ and ‘Looking at Pictures on a Screen’ both include images of paintings from the National Gallery, a place Hockney knows and has loved throughout his long career. The exhibition, part of our Bicentenary celebrations, is a chance to slow down, to take in what’s in front of them and enjoy life-enhancing art in the Gallery. Just like Hockney’s parents and friend Geldzahler, let’s take a longer look.
Pope’s Grotto at Radnor House School is the last remaining part of the famous villa and gardens belonging to the poet, translator and satirist Alexander Pope, built in 1720 on the banks of the Thames at Twickenham. The grotto is of outstanding historical importance, the only surviving relic of Pope’s life. It acts as a material reminder of English culture, literature and garden design of the Age of Enlightenment. It has recently been restored and reinvigorated, largely thanks to the work of the Pope’s Grotto Preservation Trust, with support from English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Its restoration is helping to inspire Pope scholars and to reintroduce Alexander Pope and his work, including the advocacy of his naturalistic garden, to a new audience at the school, in the local area and in the wider world.
Andrew Worthington has worked on both public and private commissions and has been running workshops for over 18 years. He works with each person individually to help them create their own garden sculpture using a soft Maltese limestone that is perfect for beginners. The workshop is held under cover but outside so suitable clothing and strong footwear is recommended.
Join them for a fun session to discover the history of the Thames. A chance to get onto the foreshore at Limehouse and find archaeological artefacts revealed by the River Thames. Who knows what will be discovered - smoking pipes, drainpipes, pottery, bones…? There is lots of evidence of London's past to be found. Money raised from these sessions supports the development and delivery of their schools’ programmes.
This summer, the Master plans to throw a very special Fete at the Guild on Saturday, 17th August. A day filled with ingenious and creative games to entertain Guild members, friends, family and the local community. Taking inspiration from the famous, now sadly defunct, V&A Fete, their priority is to have a lot of fun and create some unique games for a memorable day. They hope to expand into Queen Square across the road from the Guild.
The Last Days Of Franz K, With Tobias Menzies And James McVinnie, London Review Bookshop, 21st August, 7 - 8:30 pm, St Andrew's Church, 5 Saint Andrew Street, London, EC4A 3AF
After a sell-out performance at this year’s Hay Festival, they’re pleased to announce the first London date for an evening of readings and music marking the centenary of Kafka’s death. Inspired by the ways the LRB’s writers – from Alan Bennett to Patricia Lockwood, Rivka Galchen to Adam Phillips – have thought about Kafka over the years, and the publication of the first complete, uncensored English translation of his diaries. With readings by the Emmy award-winning actor Tobias Menzies (Game of Thrones, Outlander, The Crown), interspersed with music from Max Richter’s album The Blue Notebooks – itself inspired by Kafka’s journals – performed by the celebrated organist and pianist, James McVinnie.
British Glass Biennale &Â International Bead Biennale, 26th August - 28th September, Glasshouse, Stourbridge
The International Festival of Glass is delighted to announce the artists selected for the 2024 British Glass Biennale exhibition. Over two days an expert panel of judges comprising of Candice-Elena Greer (Chair), Martin Donlin, Nadania Idriss, Tanya Raabe-Webber and Annie Warburton, selected the very best of this year’s entries, all of which achieved a very high standard. The awards ceremony marks the start of the International Festival of Glass, a four-day event celebrating the drama and excitement of glass.
Annie is an actress, Henry is a playwright, and fiction is the backdrop to life. Hardly a recipe for a faithful marriage, especially when it started as an affair. But does it matter how it began if what they have is the real thing? Diving through layers of play and performance, reality and deceit, The Real Thing is Tom Stoppard’s kaleidoscopic comedy of love, infidelity and the stories we tell. Starring James McArdle (Mare of Easttown, The Tragedy of Macbeth), Bel Powley (A Small Light, The Morning Show), Oliver Johnstone (All My Sons, Henry V) and Susan Wokoma (Cheaters, Enola Holmes 1 and 2), directed by Max Webster (Macbeth, Life of Pi).
A dreamy historical drama from Sofia Coppola, starring Kirsten Dunst as a queen who spends her days shopping and her nights partying, all against a backdrop of the stunning palace of Versailles. The outdoor cinema experience doesn’t get much better than this. Coppola’s dreamily shot tale of excess is a visual marvel. Luscious landscapes, candy-coloured costumes and of course, the breath-taking grounds at Versailles; all the more stunning amidst their Barbican architecture and against the starry night sky. With a vibrant modern soundtrack, including New Order’s Ceremony and Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Hong Kong Garden, Coppola breathes new life into the period drama.
To raise funds for the local charity, the Vineyard Community Centre, Petersham House garden will be open to the public. Petersham House is adjacent to Petersham Nurseries and is owned by the nurseries’ owners, Gael and Francesco Boglione. Enjoy the Spring gardens, with their rich colours, impressive double borders and topiary. Refreshments, including tea, coffee and cake will be on offer and included as part of the ticket price.
Notting Hill Carnival is still proudly a community-led event; its ever-increasing popularity over the last 5 decades has seen it become the wonderfully diverse and vibrant event it is today. With over a million visitors expected over the August Bank Holiday, London’s NHC is second only to Brazil's Rio Carnival in size, and is now one of the globe's largest annual arts events. NHC is considered to be the largest street event in Europe. Whilst Notting Hill Carnival is rooted in Caribbean culture, with its Windrush-generation influence remaining strongly evident, it is at the same time characteristically ‘London’ – today's modern London.
The Chatsworth Country Fair is one of England's most spectacular annual outdoor events. Held in the 1000-acre parkland surrounding Chatsworth House, tens of thousands of visitors from all over the country join them for a family-friendly day out. Enjoy three action-packed days of thrilling Grand Ring entertainment, inspirational cooking masterclasses, food, shopping and plenty of have-a-go activities, including a vintage fun fair, children's climbing wall, bungee trampoline and much more.
This course is designed to introduce you to pottery through a combination of wheel throwing followed by a creative handbuilding session focused on mug-making using pinch pots and slab building techniques.
The day will be split in two and under the guidance of their expert instructor, you will learn the fundamental techniques of centering, pulling, and shaping clay on the potter's wheel for two and a half hours. Taught by Jo Waller and Naomi Bikis.
New Film Releases
Trap (9th August), Tuesday (9th August), Between the Temples (23rd August)
Antique & Flea Markets
So Last Century, Gipsy Hill Brewery, Vintage Market - 18th August
Auctions
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