It's time for another Londonist Culture Crawl though in the current hot weather, the temptation to slump into a sticky puddle of distinctly uncultured gloop is rather overwhelming. Nonetheless, for those armed with enough
Friday 7 July
Being the first Friday of the month, go along to Tate Britain for the July Friday Late. This Friday is the return of the South West Fest Party - an annual celebration of the SW1 community. Music from the Pimlico School Jazz Band, special tours of the permanent exhibition with a Pearly King and Queen, giant chess, draughts or Connect 4 on the lawn and a bar and barbecue outside. The event is free and starts at 6.00pm.
Also kicking off today is The Charms of Lincolnshire , a new exhibition by Turner Prize-winning Grayson Perry who is as well-known for his little-girl transvestism as he is for his pottery and ceramics. For this new exhibition he has focused on a pastoral / Victorian theme and has applied his ever-so-slightly sinister take on the era and the themes.
"This is not a historical exhibition about Lincolnshire. It focuses on the Victorian era and themes that have a strong emotional charge for the artist such as death, childhood, religion, folk art, hunting and the feminine. From thousands of items in the collections Perry has selected categories of objects around each theme and in response to them has created new works, including pots, ceramics, embroidery, photography and for the first time pieces in cast iron."
The Charms of Lincolnshire opens tomorrow at the Victoria Miro gallery - more information about the exhibition and the gallery available here. Entry is free (or seems to be according to the website.)
Saturday 8 July
A fairly quiet day for those getting out and about but plenty to see and do in the City of London Festival. Fromt he festival promotional materials: "This year’s programme includes a special celebration of historic trading links with Japan, with world-class performances, exhibitions and events in the City’s unique range of halls, churches and open spaces." Events and activities include free tours of the Bank of England, Yoko Ono doing avant-garde stuff in St Paul's and special Japanese performances (contemporary and classical) throughout. For a full programme of all events, go to the festival website here.
If you like free festivals and haven't heard of it already, it's Ken Livingstone's crowd-pleasing Rise: London United Festival at Finsbury Park . There'll be hip-hop, indie, pop, jazz and reggae, a comedy tent, a poetry slam and... well, lots and lots and lots of other things going on. For more information and the full programme go to the festival website here.
Sunday 9 July
More things to see and do at the City of London Festival - otherwise, get the Sunday papers and a cool drink, find a suitable shady tree to lie under and relax...
