Victoria Park, in the East End, is one of of London’s oldest, largest and most loved green spaces. It’s also a stone’s throw from the creative hub of the city — the once slummy, now hip Shoreditch. Put these two things together and it should come as no surprise that the park will host a series of high-decibel events through the summer, keeping residents and visitors creatively entertained. Read more…
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London Park Hosts Summer Festival Lineup
By CLAUDIA BARBIERIIn Paris, Classical Music at a Holy Site
By VALERIE GLADSTONEFrom March through December, the beautiful and intimate Ste. Chapelle plays host to a series of concerts. Hidden behind the walls of the Palace of Justice, in the Ile de la Cité, the historical heart of Paris, the spot (8, Boulevard du Palais, 33-104-407-1238) makes a magical site for glorious music.
The programs for July and August are particularly rich, with performances of popular composers like Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Gounod, Dvorak, Granados and others, played by distinguished soloists, chamber groups and orchestras. And it’s the big names that can draw visitors back for less famous composers. Read more…
At Prado in Madrid, Rome’s Artistic Influence
By VALERIE GLADSTONEWestern landscape painting only began to flourish in the 16th century, as artists from all over Europe made their way to Rome; the city became a sort of research laboratory for the exchange of ideas between artists of different nationalities. Foreign painters encountered works by Caravaggio and Raphael, themselves inspired by archaeological sites and the naturalistic and poetic paintings of Giorgione and Titian.
To shed light on the incredible art that emerged from this period, the Prado Museum (Calle de Ruiz de Alarcón, 23; 34-91-330-2800; www.museodelprado.es) presents “Rome: Nature and the Ideal: Landscapes 1600-1650,” running through Sept. 25. The show includes 100 works produced by major artists including Velázquez, Claude Lorraine and Poussin, many of them on loan from the Louvre.
“The exhibit marks one of the first times that a museum has taken as a theme the origin of landscape, without a nationalistic point of view separating Italian, French, German and Dutch artists,” said Andrés Úbeda de los Cobos, the chief curator of Italian and French painting at the Prado. “Drawings are exhibited next to paintings and in chronological order, in order to show the mutual influences until the complete development of the genre represented by Claudio de Lorena and Poussin.”
Dual Berlin Shows Highlight the Photographer Brassaï
By SARAH MOROZIn Berlin, the National Gallery has dedicated a double exhibition to Brassaï, the famed Hungarian artist born Gyula Halasz. One show focuses on street pieces by the artist, shown without context, the other on his relationships with his contemporaries. The shows, jointly titled “In the Studio and On the Street,” run through Aug. 28.
The works on the walls of the Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg (Schlosstrasse 70; 49-30-3435-7315) capture etchings Brassaï photographed, carved anonymously into the walls of Paris. The original prints lack both dates and titles, adding a timeless element. Read more…
Jazz Festival Roams Czech City Squares
By JACY MEYERPrague’s musical heritage is no secret, but often it is restrained to concert halls and the occasional club. Since 2005, though, the Bohemia Jazz Festival has brought renowned musicians to city squares across the Czech Republic for free open-air concerts. The festival, the brainchild of the Czech-American jazz musician Rudy Linka, runs in Prague’s Old Town Square on July 12 and 13. Read more…
In Amsterdam, an Arts Festival in Industrial Spaces
By HIEKE VAN DER VAARTThose who want to escape Amsterdam’s overcrowded red-light district and touristy canal boat tours can take a ferry right behind the Central Station to the northern part of the city. On the other side of the inland bay called the IJ, which divides Amsterdam into two parts, is the NDSM, a former shipping wharf, which now hosts festivals (and student housing) in shipping containers. Yes, shipping containers.
One of these events is the Over het IJ festival, which runs from July 7 to 17. On the waterfront, surrounded by cranes and with the city center in the background, theater performances, music and food combine for a great night out (the ferry runs all night). Read more…
London Photo Display Celebrates ‘Rites of Life’
By VALERIE GLADSTONEFifty dramatic color photographs of ceremonies and events, ranging from birth to death, as celebrated by the world’s modern and traditional societies will grace illuminated screens at More London Riverside, a development on the south bank of the River Thames, through Sept. 6.
Shot by the Swedish photographer Anders Ryman, the “Rites of Life” series, which is on display along the riverside between City Hall and the HMS Belfast, highlights all sorts of life events in cultures around the world. Read more…
In Istanbul, Greek History on Display
By SUSANNE FOWLERIn a rare display of cross-cultural cooperation between countries with a history of enmity, a new exhibition in Istanbul features antiquities from Greece, including marble figurines, clay tankards, weapons, cooking utensils, jewelry and ancient idols.
At the Sakip Sabanci Museum in the Emirgan neighborhood, the exhibition ‘‘Across the Cyclades and Western Anatolia During the 3rd Millennium B.C.,’’ runs through Aug. 28.
With about 340 pieces on display, curators said the show represents the first official cooperation between museums from Turkey and Greece, and is the first time that artifacts from museums like the National Archaeological Museum of Athens will be displayed next to Anatolian objects from Turkish museums. Read more…
New London Photo Festival Puts Focus on the Street
By VALERIE GLADSTONEStreet photography is nothing new, but it can be a particularly accessible genre. With that in mind, Brett Jefferson Stott, the founder and director of Shoot Experience, a London-based photography group, is starting up the first annual London Street Photography Festival, running today through July 31.
Mr. Stott plans to include some of the best contemporary street photographers, as well as past masters, like Eugène Atget, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Walker Evans. There will also be a wide-ranging program of events, talks, walks and workshops, intended to increase appreciation of the genre. The majority of activities take place in and around King’s Cross, with satellite activities across the city, including at the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Modern. Read more…
Outside of Prague, a Festival Draws Cinephiles
By FIONA GAZEImagine Cannes during its famous film festival, but instead of designer-clad celebrities swigging Champagne, there are backpackers everywhere: camping out in the parks, picnicking on the streets, scrutinizing the lineup of films and workshops. This is the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, or KVIFF, and this year marks the 46th event to grace its namesake spa town in west Bohemia, two hours from Prague.
KVIFF, which runs this year from July 1 to 9, debuted in 1946 before stagnating under Communism. It has mounted a comeback, and is now the most important Category A film festival in Central Europe (a designation made by the International Federation of Film Producers’ Associations), its success predicated on the principle that movies should be just as accessible to laypeople as to any cinematically inclined celebrities. Read more…