Arts Ahead: What's On In London 17-23 June

It's a packed week in London's arts scene. Here are a few of our highlights. And don't forget Father's Day! Dads like to be taken out to art and theatre and stuff like that too, you know...

Be There First: London Shows Opening

Today sees the start of several student art shows: at Central Saint Martins, Camberwell College of Art, Wimbledon College of Art, the Rochelle School, and the Royal Academy.

Opening tomorrow is the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery. (Congratulations to art teacher Peter Monkman for his spooky prize-winning entry.) Next Tuesday, you'll be seeing spots (thanks to Yayoi Kusama) at the Hayward Gallery, as the well-publicised Walking in My Mind opens, bringing with it spotty trees and the inner workings of 10 artists' imaginations. We think it'll be a fun place to be.

Dance fans should check out the Islington Dance Festival It promises to be showcase modern dance alongside traditional dance performed by Islington’s community talents and internationally acclaimed dance artists. Plus there's workshops to take part in if you've got your dancing shoes on.

Theatreland proper is kinda quiet on the openings front this week; aside from the freebie scrum that is West End Live (150,000 people in Leicester Square trying to catch a glimpse of Jason Donovan? We might pass) there's little to look out for. Happily, London's ace Pub Theatres have stepped into the breach. Nevermind, a comedy about a Kurt Cobain biographer opens at the Old Red Lion Theatre tonight, and a new version of Euripides's tragedy, Medea/Medea opens at the Gate on Sunday. Finally, Alexi Kaye Campbell's new play Apologia opens at the Bush on Monday.

Last Chance to See: London Shows Closing

Carousel spins its way out of the Savoy in the West End this Saturday. (We're surprised it lasted so long, to be honest.) And the last door slams on the silly sexy farce currently playing at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Rookery Nook. (It's fun, if you like that sort of thing.)

This weekend is also your last chance to see the opening shows at the Whitechapel Gallery: Ursula Mayer, Isa Genzken: Open, Sesame! and the John Kobal New Work Award are all closing on Sunday. Make sure you don't miss out, and let us know what else you're up to in the comments below.