art

TALK: BURGEONING ART SCENE IN BANGLADESH | London, Revolution Gallery

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The newly opened Revolution Gallery in Central London is a groundbreaking art venue, the first in the UK dedicated to representing the very best artists from Bangladesh. This includes legendary figures such as Zainul Abedin, Rashid Choudhury, and Quamrul Hassan — as well as new talents like Rakib Alam Shanto — bridging the gap between traditional and modern Bangladeshi art.

Revolution Gallery is hosting a talk on the bourgeoning art scene in Bangladesh, Wednesday 10 July, 6:30pm, offering attendees a unique glimpse into the vibrant art culture of Bangladesh.

Tasleema Alam and Nelson Ferreira, both renowned artists, recently returned from Bangladesh where they served as visiting lecturers in Fine Arts at Dhaka University. Their experiences have provided them with firsthand insight into the burgeoning talent emerging from this culturally rich nation. They will be sharing their observations and experiences during the talk, shedding light on the current explosion of artistic talent in Bangladesh.

Tasleema Alam, a distinguished expert in Islamic Art and the owner of Traditional Ateliers, has an impressive portfolio of collaborations with prestigious institutions like Turquoise Mountain, ITHRA and South Bank. She is the first Bangladeshi female artist to collaborate on Royal Commissions for HM King Charles III, in honour of his coronation, further underlining her esteemed status in the art community.

Nelson Ferreira (another Royal Commissioned artist) is known for his mastery in classical drawing and painting techniques; he is a visiting lecturer at several universities and art museums globally. His expertise is further recognized by his teaching engagements: including teaching Walt Disney and ILM artists. Since 2022 alone, his artworks have been seen by about 300,000 people at exhibitions in UK, Portugal, Italy, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.

This talk presents a rare opportunity for art enthusiasts, collectors, and academics to gain insight into the evolving landscape of Bangladeshi art and to engage with two insightful voices in the field. Attendees will have the chance to explore the Revolution Gallery’s collection and witness the confluence of heritage and innovation that discerns Bangladeshi art as a rising tiger within the umbrella of South Asia.

Date: Wednesday, 10 July 2024
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: Revolution Gallery, 12a Little Portland St, London, W1W 8BJ (Oxford Circus)

Follow Revolution Gallery online and on Instagram. 

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INTERVIEW: MARK WARTENBERG | Berlin, Germany

Interview

Berlin-based actor Mark Wartenberg is in the throes of a new challenge: recording a sonnet a day, and posting each video onto Instagram.  He explains his fascination with Shakespeare, and how he got the idea in the first place.

– How did you come up with this idea of doing a Shakespeare sonnet a day?

I think that doing a sonnet a day is quite a unique way of conveying the liveliness, nuances, inventiveness, and paradoxes of Shakespeare’s style. For instance, I imagine he dashed some lines off while obsessing over others. And I think that the daily attempt to perform each sonnet under limited preparation time also conveys what I imagine was Shakespeare’s interest in taking risks poetically.

– And you do every sonnet differently.

I try to mix things up a bit: different locations; different acting styles; different camera angles; depending on how I feel, and the energy of the sonnet. Sometimes the sonnets are sung, sometimes they are performed in an accent, et cetera.

– We have 154 published Shakespeare sonnets: isn’t it quite a challenge to knock a new one off every single day?

Each of my performances is necessarily imperfect. I mean, there might be a lack of diction; or I might forget or flub lines; there might be hazy intention and meaning; et cetera. But I believe that all hundred and fifty-four performances together will create a powerful work.

– You’re also not British.

My English is native-level, and sounds American, but I’m actually French-German-Indonesian.  But I think the fact that I’m not British adds an interesting dimension: Shakespeare didn’t talk in RP [received pronunciation], so departing from that might bring him closer to us.

– What fascinates you about Shakespeare, and particularly his sonnets?

It’s the imaginative breadth, depth and playfulness. How he seems to love contradictions and nuances, and yet his sonnets are very dramatic. They’re also, often, very silly. Shakespeare has such a bold way of creating images, breaking rules, and still following through on logic. And I love the cadence of his poetry: it creates these amazing variations in thought and emotion.

– What about Shakespeare the man? Are you equally fascinated by the historical Shakespeare?

Notoriously little is known about Shakespeare, which is perhaps why I find him so fascinating. He was living in a world so different from ours – Renaissance England – but he wrote verse that is incredibly vivid, still to this day.

Follow Mark Wartenberg on Instagram for recordings of all 154 of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

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RE:IMAGINING MUSICALS | London, V&A Museum

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A new free musical theatre exhibition has been announced at London’s V&A Museum from 15 October 2022, featuring previously unseen items from their theatre and performance collections.

Re:Imagining Musicals will celebrate some of our best-loved musicals, from Miss Saigon to My Fair Lady, and Six the Musical to Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and will explore their cultural significance.

The museum said: “Re:Imagining Musicals will explore how musicals have been adapted, revived, and retold for new audiences and reimagined against cultural and historical contexts.”

Considering how extensive the V&A’s collection of modern and ancient theatre artefacts is already, this is set to be a fantastic opportunity for all theatre lovers. It’s definitely worth a visit to the V&A before October 15, too, to check out the current free exhibition, including costumes from War Horse and The Lion King, and set design models from London productions throughout the decades.

Re:Imagining Musicals opens at the V&A Museum in South Kensington on 15 October.

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XIN LI: SURE THINGS | Hong Kong, Mihn 宀 Gallery

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This free, one-night micro-exhibition of ten photo prints is typical of Mihn 宀 Gallery’s edgy, pop-up art space. It’s Xin Li’s first ever solo-exibition, but the Norwegian photographer’s distinctive style belies her years. She describes the slightly comical still-lifes as “self-portraits”: despite being photographed years apart from each other, there is a cohesiveness to this collection, hung from a central circular rail like socks on a washing line.

It’s clear to see Xin Li returning to her Chinese heritage in “Sweet Tooth”, with traditional Chinese coins packed into a grey, unappetising plate of jelly in a darkened room. Elsewhere, fine china chopsticks, and a face mask covered in kids’ plastic gems, also show us a kitschy, Asian aesthetic.

Mihn 宀 Gallery was established just a year and a half ago in October 2018, but the exhibitions are clearly popular with Hong Kong’s artsy crowd. Their goal is to provide an accessible and autonomous platform for emerging artists to exhibit and sell their work. The name “Mihn” (宀) derives from Chinese Radical 40, signifying a “roof”.

The gallery itself works out of a small hipster night-club on the fourth floor of a building in Sheung Wan, with the DJ booth occupying slightly more space than the artist’s own work. Exhibitions are free, with a reasonably-priced bar open to all. ADSL by PABO (aka Julien Pradier) is coming up next week, promising some pop-art style, computer-generated offerings.

Follow Mihn 宀 Gallery on Instagram.

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THE QUARANTINE QUILT | Cambridgeshire, online

Interview

Glimmer Theatre is a visual folk theatre ensemble who create female-led action adventure stories, and exciting community events.

Andrew Brock and Sophie Crawford talk about their new collaborative project.

What will The Quarantine Quilt look like when it’s complete?

SC: We don’t know yet! Come back in July and see.

AB: It will be an enormous patchwork quilt, made up entirely of little red and white patches, which will ultimately be displayed in libraries and museums across Cambridgeshire. People can submit their patches online or by post.

What inspired you to do this project?

AB: I’m from Cambridge originally, and Cambridgeshire County Council approached us for their new initiative, The Library Presents: in your house.

SC: We wanted to channel the lockdown life into something collaborative and artistic, and The Library Presents are producing this project.

AB: On Zoom, when you have a group call, it looks like a patchwork quilt. I thought that would be an amazing starting point for a project. Millions of individual squares of light, making up our isolated population. We want to draw those squares together literally and physically into a hybrid of physical and digital art making.

What sort of things are you looking for?

AB: We are very open-minded!

SC: It’s a chance for everyone to create something inspired by their time in lockdown. It could be a symbol of the virus like a facemask; or it could be something wonderful like a bird. I’m excited to see what patches people come up with.

How do people get involved?

AB: We are particularly looking for people to make real-life patches with needle and thread. We will send all the materials!

SC: Even if you’ve never picked up a needle and thread before – we want to hear from you! Just go on the website, it’s all there. You can submit digitally or you can request patches to be posted to your house.

Visit the Glimmer Theatre website to design your own patch and get involved in The Quarantine Quilt.

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BRYONY KIMMINGS: I’M A PHOENIX, BITCH | London, Battersea Arts Centre

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Bryony Kimmings is renowned for her outlandish “social experiments”, with previous works seeing her retrace an STI to its source, spending seven days in a controlled environment in a constant state of intoxication, and becoming a pop star invented by a nine-year-old girl. Her most recent work, A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer, was commissioned by Complicite and presented at the National Theatre.

In 2016 Kimmings nearly drowned: dealing with postnatal breakdowns, an imploding relationship and a very sick child. In 2018, Battersea Arts Centre invited her to create her first solo work in nearly a decade for the previously burnt down Grand Hall.  I’m a Phoenix, Bitch combines personal stories with epic film, soundscapes and ethereal music to create a powerful, dark and joyful work about motherhood, heartbreak and finding inner strength.

“My shows are usually born out of me going: ‘We don’t talk about this enough,'” Kimmings explains. “My hope with this show is to give a voice to the almost unspeakable traumas associated with postnatal depression and an ill child.  I want to create a show that cuts to the heart of these things, but does it in a way that people can relate to.”

Every performance of I’m a Phoenix, Bitch is relaxed, which means guests who can benefit from a more relaxed environment are welcome – there is a relaxed attitude to noise and movement and a designated ‘chill-out space’ is provided. The 19th October performance is captioned and BSL interpreted.

I’m a Phoenix, Bitch runs at the Battersea Arts Centre 3 – 20 October 2018.

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