And just like that, the most wonderful time of the year is upon us…! While the working world begins to wind down for the festive season, the LFA team are gearing up for our most ambitious festival yet – our 20th anniversary. With our Open Call for events launching in early January, we’re busy getting our house in order for an exciting start to the new year. And though I’ve no doubt your calendars are already filling up like a stocking on Christmas Eve, there’s no shortage of brilliant architecture and design events to break up your festive celebrations this December.
Why not kick the month off with an evening of art, dance and music at Tate Britain? Late at Tate Britain: Freedom Frequencies is taking place on Friday 1 December from 6pm. This month, Tate’s bringing together artist talks, archival explorations with projections and multimedia performances that all explore the interplay between present and future in work by artists from the African diaspora.
You can keep the celebrations rolling into the weekend with the East London Singers Inaugural Concert, the theme of which is ‘Place’. The choir will be filling the bowels of the historic Bow Church with a selection of songs inspired by spaces and places and what they mean to us.
It’s always fascinating to me to explore how different buildings are used, and I’m particularly interested in cinemas as spaces of collective watching and shared experience. One of the last remnants of London’s bygone cult cinema era, the Prince Charles Cinema is home to the city’s most esoteric Christmas film programme this December. There’s no better place to enjoy a festive classic, and experience ‘the cinema’.
Whether you’re buying or just window shopping, the collection displays at Fels Gallery in South Kensington are worth visiting to see a unique selection of contemporary furniture by new and emerging artists and designers. And if you can’t make it to West London, you can explore curated selections on their website.
The Barbican continues to host an inspiring and eclectic programme of events in one of the most unique buildings in the city, and this December is no exception. This month, a two-day conference in collaboration with the Paul Mellon Centre builds on the brilliant RE/SISTERS exhibition to explore the intersection of environmental and body politics through a series of conversations by artists, activists and curators. Later this month, the Barbican Hall will swap conferences for carols by King’s College Choir – a beautiful way to experience the space and really see in the holiday period.
Though I’m sure it will fly by, I hope this month is a fun and restful antidote to another busy year.
