Exhibitions

James Barnor: Accra/London at Detroit Institute of Arts: May 28 – October 15, 2023

James Barnor is the focus of a forthcoming retrospective at the Detroit Institute of Arts, looking back across the British-Ghanaian photographer’s six-decade career. Barnor’s work traverses studio portraiture (he started the renowned Ever Young Studio in Accra in his early 20s), photojournalism (including capturing London’s burgeoning African diaspora for Drum Magazine in the 1960s), and Black lifestyle photography. He set up the first colour processing lab in Ghana in the 1970s, proving himself just as adept at capturing the world in vibrant hues, as he was in elegant monochrome. A wide array of the image-maker’s captivating pictures, made in the British and Ghanaian capitals, will feature in the show, organised by London’s Serpentine Gallery.

Rear View at LGDR, New York: Until June 1, 2023

If you’re based in or heading to New York and fancy a particularly cheeky dose of culture, be sure to check out LGDR’s latest show – a centuries- and medium-traversing look at the human figure depicted from behind. Pieces by 20th-century masters like Félix Vallotton, Francis Bacon and Egon Schiele sit among works by contemporary artists such as Carrie Mae Weems, Issy Wood and Yoko Ono, demonstrating the influence of one upon the other, and delivering an excellent selection of rear views.

Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty at the Met Fifth Avenue, New York: May 5 – July 16, 2023

Last night’s Met Gala marked the unveiling of the Costume Institute’s eagerly anticipated annual exhibition, which this year centres on Karl Lagerfeld and opens to the public this week. Zooming in on the inimitable German designer’s “unique working methodology”, it explores the recurring aesthetic themes that underpinned Lagerfeld’s collections throughout his career. Some 150 garments will be on display, spanning his work for Balmain, Patou, Chloé, Fendi, Chanel and his own eponymous label. Where possible, these will be shown alongside the designer’s exquisite original sketches, which demonstrate what the Met terms “his complex creative process and collaborative relationships with his premières or head seamstresses”.

SADE: Freedom or Evil at CCCB, Barcelona:  May 11 – October 15, 2023

The 18th-century French writer Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, aka the Marquis de Sade, is nothing if not divisive – hailed by some as a revolutionary libertine and others as the embodiment of moral corruption. Now, at Barcelona’s CCCB, an upcoming exhibition will explore both sides of the coin, as well as the Marquis’ enduring influence on art and culture. Expect to see work by avant-garde figures who applauded de Sade, like Salvador Dalí and Man Ray, as well as the critical vision of him put forth by Pier Paolo Pasolini in his 1975 film, Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom. Work by contemporary artists, including Susan Meiselas and Kara Walker, will also feature, touching as they do upon associated topics, from the transmutation of gender roles through the institutionalisation of terror.

Hilma af Klint & Piet Mondrian: Forms of Life at Tate Modern, London: Until September 3, 2023

At London’s Tate Modern, a newly opened display brings together the work of Swedish painter Hilma af Klint (1862–1944) and Dutch painter Piet Mondrian (1872–1944), who “both invented their own languages of abstract art rooted in nature”. They were also equally fascinated by the various forces behind life on earth, from the scientific to the spiritual, and hungrily consumed new ideas on the subject. The show examines the manifestation of these common interests in the artists’ work, while highlighting the duo’s shared backgrounds, tracing their journey from landscape painters to pioneers of abstraction.

Avedon 100 at Gagosian West 21st Street, New York: May 4–June 24, 2023

This year is the centenary of the late, great American photographer Richard Avedon. To celebrate, Gagosian has asked over 100 cultural figures – Hilton Als, Naomi Campbell, Spike Lee, Kate Moss and Chloë Sevigny among them – to pick one of Avedon’s photographs and expand upon its impact on them. The resulting selection and accompanying texts will form the basis of Avedon 100, opening this week at Gagosian’s West 21st Street space. Platforming the “enormous and fascinating diversity of Avedon’s subjects ... and the breadth and endurance of his inspiration”, the display will include everything from his endlessly inventive portraits and striking fashion campaigns to his social justice reportage.

Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody at The Broad, Los Angeles: May 27 – October 8, 2023

At The Broad in LA, Keith Haring is taking his turn in the spotlight in a joyful tribute to his artistic practice and passionate activism. Propelled by a belief that art is for everybody, Haring executed a vast number of public projects in his 31 years, from subway drawings to vast murals, representations of which will be included in the display alongside video, sculpture, drawing, painting, and an investigation into his participation in social causes. While his style was energetic and playful, Haring’s work frequently addressed issues of grave importance – from nuclear disarmament, environmentalism and racism to the Aids crisis that ultimately claimed his life – always encouraging a humanist outlook through bold graphics and bright colours.

Vivienne Westwood Corsets – 1987 to Present Day at 44 Conduit Street, London: May 8–21, 2023

This May, UK craftsmanship aficionados have a whole host of events to sink their teeth into, courtesy of this year’s edition of London Craft Week. Among the many exhibitions, workshops and talks on offer is a display we’re particularly looking forward to: a curated retrospective of Vivienne Westwood’s much-celebrated corsets at the house’s London flagship store. Westwood was renowned for her radical recasting of underwear as outerwear, revisiting and reimagining corsetry, and its inherent connections to historical dress, culture and fine art, over and over again from the late 1980s onwards. Don’t miss this chance to see some of her most seminal creations IRL.

The Last Time We Swam at Blue Shop Gallery, London: May 4–21, 2023

For those in search of beautiful landscapes on the inevitable – but, we hope, occasional – grey London day this month, head to Blue Shop Gallery to catch the inaugural solo exhibition of Royal Drawing School graduate Sammi Lynch. Comprising a dreamy assemblage of paintings, prints and drawings, exploring space, light, surface and depth, the exhibition offers what Lynch terms “a sustained meditation on loss, grief, and transition”.

Photo London at Somerset House, London: May 11–14, 2023

Photo London returns to Somerset House on May 11 – an annually anticipated opportunity for photography aficionados to discover new talent, while reacquainting themselves with old favourites. More than 110 galleries from across the globe will show at this year's fair, with highlights including an exhibition by Martin Parr, where he will unveil a project that’s been 50 years in the making, and Albumen Gallery’s presentation of a singular series by US photographer Elizabeth Waterman, portraying the sparkling, star-generating drag scene in Bushwick, New York between 2014 and 2016.

Everybody Talks About the Weather at Fondazione Prada, Venice: May 20 – November 26, 2023

Where better than Venice, a city severely under threat from rising sea levels, to host an exhibition about the climate emergency? Which is exactly what Fondazione Prada has set out to do at their Venetian venue, the historic palazzo of Ca’ Corner della Regina. Dubbed by the foundation as “a research exhibition exploring the semantics of ’weather’ in visual art”, the show will feature work by a variety of creatives from around the world, from Theaster Gates and Antony Gormley to Tiffany Sia and Tsutomu Yamamoto, in a demonstration of artists’ long-standing fascination with “talking about the weather”.

Larry Achiampong: And I Saw a New Heaven at Copperfield, London: May 4 – June 17, 2023

At Copperfield London, the British Ghanaian artist Larry Achiampong is uniting an unlikely trinity of references: HBO TV, video games and Christianity, drawing his show’s title “from dialogues in the game-turned-series The Last of Us and ultimately from the Bible”. Achiampong’s multidisciplinary practice scrutinises ideas of postcolonial and post-digital identity, while delving into the profound inequalities ingrained in modern society. In this instance, he contemplates the almost exclusively white cast of faces that have historically made up computer-game and Christian imagery, while asking why one medium is deemed low-brow and the other high.

Events

If you’re looking for in-person entertainment this month, we have you covered. Fans of Derek Jarman, don’t miss Blue Now, Turner Contemporary’s new live rendition of the artist’s revered film Blue. Taking place on May 13 at the Margate gallery, it will then head to Theatre Royal Brighton as part of Brighton Festival, Home Manchester, and Tate Modern as the month unfolds. The Neil Bartlett-directed event will feature four actors delivering Jarman’s powerful words live, as Blue is screened in its entirety. This will be accompanied by a new score played on-site by the film’s original composer, Simon Fisher Turner. 

If you missed seeing Tim Minchin’s musical take on the Bill Murray-starring classic Groundhog Day the first time around, you’ll be pleased to hear it’s returning to The Old Vic on May 20. As in the movie, the production centres on Phil Connors, an ill-tempered weatherman who is forced to live the same day of his life over and over until valuable lessons are learned. Another stage adaptation of a beloved movie, Brokeback Mountain, reenvisioned by Ashley Robinson, will also arrive in London this month, at new venue Soho Place. The cowboy romance, set in rural Wyoming, will see Mike Faist and Lucas Hedges reprise Jake Gyllenhall and Heath Ledger’s roles, set to original music by Dan Gillespie Sells.

Opera lovers will be thrilled by the return of Glyndebourne Festival, running this year from May 19 to August 27, and offering up sublime productions of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Handel’s Semele and more. As an added bonus, ticket holders will gain free entry to a new exhibition by British artist Lubaina Himid, titled What Does Love Sound Like?, comprising a series of large-scale paintings and objects made in response to the 2023 event’s operatic programme.

Meanwhile, for literature lovers, this month heralds the arrival of Charleston Festival (May 17–29), held in the grounds of the Bloomsbury Group bolthole. This year’s iteration boasts a compelling programme of workshops, performances and talks by speakers ranging from Simon Armitage and Deborah Levy to Annie Ernaux in conversation with Sally Rooney, and Caleb Azumah Nelson speaking with Ekow Eshun. Last but not least, at Sadler’s Wells, lauded choreographer Russell Maliphant is soon set to “paint the stage with elements of nature, steel, light and shadow” with Vortex (May 3–5), a new production influenced by the works of Jackson Pollock and the abstract expressionist movement.

Film

This month has lots of exciting new film releases to look forward to. US director Kelly Fremon Craig has perfectly reimagined Judy Blume’s beloved coming-of-age novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret for the big screen – the story of an 11-year-old girl battling with the anxieties of fast-approaching adolescence. Under the Fig Trees, from French-Tunisian director Erige Sehiri, follows a group of young women over the course of a day as they work the summer harvest in north Tunisia. A probing investigation into patriarchal dynamics, and a moving ode to sisterhood ensues. Japanese filmmaker Chie Hayakawa’s deftly told debut feature, Plan 75, transports viewers to a near dystopian future, where Japan’s government has developed a programme encouraging elderly people to end their own lives to ease the country’s social and economic pressures.

Return to Seoul, from Cambodian-French director Davy Chou, is a funny and poignant film about a young French woman who makes an impulsive decision to return to Seoul for the first time since being adopted as a child. Once there, she embarks on an emotionally-wrought journey to reconnect with both her roots and her birth parents. US master of horror Ari Aster returns with the mind-bending fever dream that is Beau Is Afraid, starring Joaquin Phoenix as a neurotic middle-aged man, who sets off on an epic, Kafkaesque odyssey following the death of his mother. Paul Schrader is also back with horticultural thriller Master Gardener, about the meticulous gardener for a wealthy dowager, whose life is thrown into disarray when he is asked to take on his employer’s great-niece as an apprentice.

May’s best documentaries, meanwhile, include Alastair Evans’ A Crack in the Mountain, which homes in on a small, rural Vietnamese community as it struggles to deal with the changes brought about by the discovery of the world’s largest cave, Hang Son Doong, in its vicinity. In Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV, Amanda Kim delves into the life and work of the late Korean American artist, “who both saw the present and predicted the future with astonishing clairvoyance”. Finally, in the hard-hitting Netflix documentary Victim/Suspect, Nancy Schwartzman follows journalist Rae de Leon as she investigates an emerging pattern of young women being criminalised by the authorities after reporting being sexually assaulted.

Food & Drink

Breakfasts are something the Brits do particularly well, a fact that proved the motivating force behind The Wigmore’s latest endeavour. The modern British pub, located at The Langham hotel, is now serving the most important meal of the day, offering a contemporary twist on breakfast classics, including Scottish smoked salmon on buttered crumpet with chive soured cream and rice pudding pancakes with banana and golden syrup. Don’t worry, you can also get your hands on a full English, as well as the scrumptious-sounding Breakfast Stovetop Toastie made with fried egg, Red Leicester, maple bacon and hot sauce.

West African chef Adejoké Bakare will take over the upstairs space at the Globe Tavern in Borough Market for two months, starting from May 9. With the Joké & Friends pop-up, she will present a menu inspired by her childhood and Nigerian dining traditions, and will also invite some of her closest industry friends to contribute dishes over the course of her time there. Guests can expect to taste delicacies like Sinasir (rice and coconut pancakes with summer squash purée), Abacha Mmiri (cassava, coconut and Scottish hand-dived scallops with a coconut dressing), and celeriac cake served with pumpkin seed sauce, endive and rice.

In search of delicious handmade dumplings? Then head to the newly opened Dim Sum Terrace at Harrods, the sister restaurant of pan-Asian favourite Chai Wu, situated on the storied department store’s fourth floor. “Our plump dumplings come steamed, fried or baked, generously filled with a range of the finest ingredients,” says the restaurant. Offerings span dim sum filled with scallop and prawn siu mai, topped with foie gras; fragrant lobster and coriander dumplings; and deep-fried taro and wagyu dumplings with plum sauce and caviar.

In Marylebone, a new Italian restaurant, Trattoria Carlotta, will open its doors on May 12. Describing itself as an “intimate and old-school” spot that seeks to channel the atmosphere of Italy in decades past, the trattoria’s menu of classic Neapolitan, Sicilian and retro Italian-American inspired dishes will reflect this. Dishes will range from delicate rosé veal tartare and tempura shrimp cocktail to penne alla vodka with Cornish crab. And an elegant Venetian-style marble bar will offer the perfect opportunity for pre-dinner cocktails.

For a heavenly taste of France in London, book your tickets to a special one-off event taking place on May 11, hosted by two Michelin-starred eateries: Frenchie Covent Garden and the vegetable-led, Parisian restaurant Septime. Both are rooted in unrivalled seasonality, their produce sourced from acclaimed agricultural farm project Ferme de l’Envol, and, in the case of Frenchie Covent Garden, a trusted collection of small producers and growers in the UK. Guests to The Four Hands Dinner will be treated to a surprise five-course menu for £125, including a welcome vermouth cocktail created by friend of Septime, Julien Cohen. A wine pairing, featuring choice bottles from both restaurants’ wine lists, will also be available.

Lastly, in Berlin, The Hoxton hotel series will open its first German outpost in the city’s picturesque Charlottenburg district. “[The hotel] will draw stylistic inspiration from the neighbourhood for the design of its 234 bedrooms and public spaces,” the press release teases, “from the elegant Art Deco motifs of the Golden Twenties to the raw materialism of the Brutalist movement”. While, in joyful news for fans of South Asian cuisine, the site will also play host to the House of Tandoor, “a North Indian communal eatery meets classic British Chop House”, which will be dishing up “spice-filled feasts and natural wines”. Guten appetit!