We Recommend
Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams
Sat 2 Feb - Sun 1 Sept
V&A
Spanning 1947 to the present day, this exhibition traces the history and impact of one of the 20th century’s most influential couturiers, exploring the enduring influence of the fashion house, and Dior’s relationship with Britain.
Visual Arts
The EY Exhibition: Van Gogh and Britain
Wed 27 Mar - Sun 11 Aug
Tate Britain
This major exhibition brings together 45 works by Vincent van Gogh to reveal how he was inspired by Britain and how he inspired British artists.
Visual Arts
Pissaro in Dulwich
Tue 30 Apr - Sun 4 Aug
Dulwich Picture Gallery
To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Dulwich College, Dulwich Picture Gallery hosts a special display focusing on Camille Pissarro’s view of the school. A loan from the Fondation Bemberg in Toulouse, the work returns to Dulwich for the first time since it was painted in 1871.
Visual Arts
Jan Michalski Foundation Writing Residences
Wed 1 May - Sun 15 Sept
Fondation Jan Michalski
Residences at Jan Michalski Foundation, at the foot of the Jura mountains in Switzerland, are now open for the 2020 session. Priority is given to writers and translators, and a percentage of the residences will be dedicated to nature writing.
Talks
FOOD: Bigger than the Plate
Sat 18 May - Sun 20 Oct
V&A
From gastronomic experiments to urban farming, this exhibition brings together the politics and pleasure of food to ask how the collective choices we make can lead to a more sustainable, just and delicious food future.
Visual Arts
Huguette Caland
Fri 24 May - Sun 1 Sept
Tate St Ives
Shifting between figuration and abstraction, large, colourful canvasses and detailed drawings from the 1970s and 1980s, this exhibition will explore the delicate balance between the suggestive and the explicit that Caland created in her work.
Visual Arts
NOW 5
Sat 1 Jun - Sun 22 Sept
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
The 5th instalment of this series creates temporary works that change over time as they are subjected to natural processes of transformation and decay, thus exploring themes of change and growth.
Visual Arts
Hubert Butler Essay Prize 2019
Mon 3 Jun - Mon 2 Sept
HEART London
The Hubert Butler Essay Prize is intented to encourage the art of essay-writing with a resolute European dimension and to expand interest in the works of Butler. The subject for this year is "Where does a citizen of the world belong?".
Talks
Félix Vallotton
Sun 30 Jun - Sun 29 Sept
Royal Academy of Arts
Magnetic, provocative, daring: meet Félix Vallotton (1865–1925). The Royal Academy reveals the vision of a masterful painter and printmaker who captured the emotional undercurrents of Paris at the turn of the last century.
Visual Arts
Hicham Berrada: Dreamscapes
Wed 3 Jul - Sun 18 Aug
Southbank Centre
From the laboratory to the studio, through chemical experiments and performances, Hicham Berrada explores scientific protocols that closely imitate various natural processes and/or climatic conditions.
Visual Arts
Unorganised Response – Collective Amnesia Reloaded
Sat 6 Jul - Sun 8 Sept
Auto Italia South East
The exhibition explores the ways in which artists, including Christelle Oyiri, mobilise critically and collectively to resist being reduced to their various identity markers, through a series of projects that explore advocacy and self-organisation through personal experiences.
Visual Arts
The Archipelago of Another Life by Andrei Makine
Wed 10 Jul - Thu 10 Oct
Hachette
The novel follows the footsteps of Pavel Gartsev, a reservist during the Cold War. Sent into the wilderness of the Russian taiga, Pavel embarks on a challenging manhunt to find an escaped prisoner from a nearby gulag.
Books
The Reunion by Guillaume Musso
Wed 17 Jul - Sat 17 Aug
Weidenfeld and Nicolson
In 1992, 19-year-old Vinca Rockwell goes missing with Alexis, her philosophy teacher. No one will ever see them again. In 2017, her best friends receive an invitation to their school's reunion. It is time to finally confront a past they buried 25 years ago...
Books
International Literary Translation and Creative Writing Summer School
Sun 21 - Sat 27 Jul
University of East Anglia
The British Centre for Literary Translation, in partnership with the National Centre for Writing, is proposing an intensive, one-week, residential programme of translation and creative writing through a series of prose and poetry multilingual workshops.
Talks
One – Bertrand Lesca and Nasi Voutsas
Mon 22 - Wed 24 Jul
Bruford at Summerhall
Taking as its point of departure the polarisation of politics today, One begins amid the ruins of unresolved conflict. Nasi’s on a ladder. He’s not coming down any time soon. It’s time for Bert’s solo career to begin.
Performing Arts
Jean Paul Gaultier: Fashion Freak Show
Tue 23 Jul - Fri 2 Aug
Southbank Centre
Provocative, exuberant and as funny as ever, fashion’s enfant terrible Jean Paul Gaultier presents new designs alongside his most iconic creations in a performance thought out like a grand party, part revue, part catwalk show – paying tribute to those who inspired him, from Preljocaj to Madonna.
Performing Arts
Le Concert Spirituel, Herve Niquet
Sat 27 Jul
Wigmore Hall
The founder-director of one of Europe’s most durable and expert period-instrument ensembles leads a programme that simulates the musical experience of the mass in the time of Mozart and Haydn.
Classical Music
Prom 13: Messiaen – Des Canyons aux Etoiles – BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sun 28 Jul
Royal Albert Hall
Olivier Messiaen’s Des canyons aux étoiles ... is one of the 20th century’s most singular and extraordinary works, a musical act of ‘praise and contemplation’. Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC SO, with pianist Nicolas Hodges and horn player Martin Owen.
Classical Music, Contemporary Music
Fishbowl
Wed 31 Jul - Mon 26 Aug
The Pleasance Courtyard
Premiering in the UK and winner of Molière Award for Best Comedy Play, Fishbowl sees the hilarious misadventures of three eccentric and lovable anti-heroes crammed in their wacky rooftop bedsits.
Performing Arts
Right in the Eye – Live Movie-Concert of Georges Méliès’ Films
Fri 2 - Sun 25 Aug
Institut français d'Ecosse
A live trio of French musicians along with French composer Jean-François Alcoléa intertwine playful modern compositions and the fantasy of the legendary filmmaker Georges Méliès, father of cinema and the inventor of special effects.
Classical Music, Films & TV, Performing Arts, Visual Arts
Edinburgh International Festival – National Youth Orchestra of the USA
Fri 9 Aug
Usher Hall
Mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato joins the Carnegie Hall-based NYO USA for the sultry opulence of Berlioz’s six ravishing love songs, Prokofiev's brilliantly joyous Symphony No 5 and Davis' Delicate Tension. Sir Antonio Pappano will conduct this dramatic programme.
Classical Music
WORLDWIDEWESTERN
Mon 12 - Sun 25 Aug
Institut français d'Ecosse
Fascinated by cowboys' squinty-eyed looks, and armed only with the savoir-faire of a modern geek, Raphael Gouisset stars in this digital western showing that 'theatre and digital technologies can join forces for the best of live performance'.
Performing Arts
Marcus Malte & Karen Campbell: Twists of History
Tue 13 Aug
Edinburgh International Book Festival
French author Marcus Malte (The Boy) and Scottish writer Karen Campbell (The Sound of the Hours) discuss their two emotional tales of family, passion and war.
Talks
Translation Duel: Marcus Malte, Vineet Lal & Ros Schwartz
Tue 13 Aug
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Acclaimed French translators, Vineet Lal and Ros Schwartz, present their own interpretations of the same text: The Boy by French novelist Marcus Malte, who joins the event. Together the three writers prove that each translation is a creative work in itself.
Talks
Jérôme Tubiana: Mistaken Identity
Tue 13 Aug
Edinburgh International Book Festival
French journalist Jérôme Tubiana tells the heart-wrenching true story of one of Guantánamo’s youngest detainees, Mohammed El-Gharani.
Talks
Amnesty International Imprisoned Writers Series: Jérôme Tubiana
Tue 13 Aug
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Join authors Jérôme Tubiana and Samanta Schweblin for readings celebrating the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Talks
Rencontre littéraire : Mireille Gansel
Wed 14 Aug
Institut français d'Edimbourg
Beyond the Edinburgh International Book Festival, meet Mireille Gansel, a French scholar and poetry translator, mostly working with German and Vietnamese texts.
Talks
The End – Bertrand Lesca and Nasi Voutsas
Thu 15 - Sun 25 Aug
Bruford at Summerhall
In this new piece, Bert and Nasi dance the end of their relationship, imagining what a future without each other might look like. Above the stage, two parallel narratives run alongside each other: the end of the Earth and the end of their collaboration.
Performing Arts
Quatuor Mona – Chamber Music Concert
Sun 18 Aug
Institut français d'Ecosse
This young string quartet is born out of the friendship of four former students at the Conservatoire de Musique in Paris. In addition to their participation to the Edinburgh International Festival, they will offer a rendition of the Debussy Quartet and of the Beethoven op. 59 no. 2.
Classical Music
Annie Ernaux: Remembrance of Things Past
Wed 21 Aug
Edinburgh International Book Festival
One of the greatest living francophone authors, Annie Ernaux presents her novel The Years, a Proustian rush of memories drawn from a French society increasingly addicted to the cult of consumerism, shortlisted this year for the Man Booker International Prize.
Talks
Rencontre littéraire : Annie Ernaux
Thu 22 Aug
Institut français d'Edimbourg
Beyond the Edinburgh International Book Festival, meet Annie Ernayux. Her 2008 historical memoir Les Années (The Years) is considered by many to be her magnum opus. It is the poignant social history of a woman and of the evolving society she lived in.
Talks
Edinburgh International Festival – Orchestre de Paris 1
Fri 23 Aug
Usher Hall
British conductor Daniel Harding brings his orchestra to the Edinburgh International Festival for two inspirational concerts. In the first one, the Orchestre de Paris will perform Berlioz colourful Harold in Italy and Beethoven impressive Symphony No 6.
Classical Music
Edinburgh International Festival – Orchestre de Paris 2
Sat 24 Aug
Usher Hall
British conductor Daniel Harding brings his orchestra to the Edinburgh International Festival for two inspirational concerts. In the second one, the Orchestre de Paris will perform Britten’s soul-searching pacifist masterpiece, War Requiem.
Classical Music
Mathias Énard and Ece Temelkuran: East of Where?
Sat 24 Aug
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Mathias Énard, who came to worldwide attention when his masterpiece Compass was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize, discusses his sumptuous meditation on the West’s idea of the East with journalist Ece Temelkuran.
Talks
Amnesty International Imprisoned Writers Series: Adélaïde Bon
Sat 24 Aug
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Hear powerful testimonies from women who recognise that by sharing their stories they are not only standing up for their own rights, but empowering others to claim their right to be heard. Authors reading include Adélaïde Bon, Elle Nash and Ece Temelkuran.
Talks
Adélaïde Bon & Rhik Samadder: Testimonies of Survival
Sun 25 Aug
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Two authors come together to share their tales of survival. French writer and actress Adélaïde Bon's The Little Girl on the Ice Floe is a courageous account of childhood rape, and a vital addition to the #MeToo movement.
Talks
Prom 50: Orchestre de Paris – Daniel Harding
Mon 26 Aug
Royal Albert Hall
The Orchestre de Paris and the British conductor Daniel Harding are coming to perform Jörg Widmann’s explosive Babylon Suite, Beethoven’s "Pastoral" Symphony No. 6, and the overture to Schumann’s only opera, Genoveva. A contrasted programme for this Prom 50.
Classical Music
Rencontre littéraire : Adélaïde Bon
Mon 26 Aug
Institut français d'Edimbourg
Beyond the Edinburgh International Book Festival, meet actor and writer Adélaïde Bon. At 9 years old, she was sexually abused. Her first book, La petite fille sur la banquise confronts this dreadful journey in a distant, mature and discerning fashion.
Talks
Celtic Social Club
Sat 7 Sept
100 Club
Taking inspiration from the likes of Buena Vista Social Club, the group features musicians from Brittany and Scotland - including members of cult Scottish band The Silencers. Their style is a rousing blend of Celtic folk, rock, reggae, hip hop and more.
Contemporary Music
European Women in Games
Tue 10 - Thu 12 Sept
London
Over 50 speakers and panellists, including French experts will showcase the diverse talent that exists in the games industry and help stimulate future generations.
Talks
BBC Proms: Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique
Thu 12 Sept
Royal Albert Hall
Inspired by the composer’s own romantic infatuation with a young actress, the Symphonie fantastique is a vivid fantasy full of tragedy and passion, interpreted by the Aurora Orchestra.
Classical Music
Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2019
Sat 14 Sept - Sun 23 Feb
Various Venues
Since 1949, BNC has consistently supported contemporary visual artists to successfully transition from education into professional practice, by means of an annual touring exhibition, featuring French artist Camille Yvert. Supported by Fluxus Art Projects.
Visual Arts
Please Do Not Sit – Marlène Huissoud
Sat 14 - Sun 22 Sept
London Design Festival
Award-winning experimental designer Marlène Huissoud is the first of 2–3 designers who will create habitats for the animal populations of Brompton – birds, bees and all life in between. Discover her work at the 2019 London Design Festival.
Visual Arts
London Design Festival 2019
Sat 14 - Sun 22 Sept
Various venues
Promoting London's creativity, this annual event draws on the UK's greatest thinkers and practitioners to deliver an unmissable celebration of design, with an inspirational line up of talks and workshops and commissions by leading international designers.
Visual Arts
Cédric Tiberghien & Hugo Ticciati – Fallen Heroes
Sun 15 Sept
Wigmore Hall
Cédric Tiberghien (piano) and Hugo Ticciati (violin) celebrate the Empire fallen heroes. Schoenberg’s setting of Byron’s withering ode complements Chopin’s sonata containing his famous Funeral March, heard at the re-interment of Bonaparte’s remains in 1840.
Classical Music
Werther – Jules Massenet
Tue 17 Sept - Sat 5 Oct
Royal Opera House
Benoît Jacquot’s production of Massenet’s tragic opera explores the conflict between duty and our most passionate desires. Coming from the Opéra national de Paris, it is performed in London with brio at the Royal Opera House.
Classical Music
Adorno: Crossovers
Thu 19 - Sun 22 Sept
Old Truman Brewery
A cross-cultural collectible design journey, the exhibition presents dynamic works by independent designers working in the intersection between design, art, and crafts, selected from 12 countries, including a French collection curated by François Leblanc.
Visual Arts
Michel Legrand Remembered: Keep the Music Playing
Fri 20 Sept
Queen Elizabeth Hall
From ‘Summer of 42’ to ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’, pay tribute to the era-defining composer, three-time Oscar and five-time Grammy Award winner at an evening of jazz and cinema classics with the Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra and special guests.
Classical Music, Contemporary Music
French Song Exchange Showcase
Wed 25 - Thu 26 Sept
Wigmore Hall
Join young singers from Wigmore Hall’s French Song Exchange (in partnership with the École Normale de Musique de Paris) for two showcase recitals, as they explore the wonderful traditions of the mélodie and delve into the music of Fauré.
Classical Music
Orléans International Piano Competition – Brin d’herbe
Thu 26 Sept
Murray Edwards College, Cambridge
For its 8th edition, the Orléans International Piano Competition proposes a contemporary music competition based on 3 pieces by British composer Christian Mason. Supported by Diaphonique, the junior piano competition ‘Brin d’herbe’ takes place every 2 years.
Classical Music