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David Bailey's East End
David Bailey is an internationally renowned photographer, yet in spite of his formidable reputation, he has always stayed in touch with his East London roots. This exhibition, commissioned by CREATE London, has been amassed from David Bailey’s personal collection of photographs. David Bailey’s East End encompasses over fifty years of change, examining the shifting physical and social landscape of the area through the 60s, 80s and 00s.
David Bailey's East End
Image: The Rio Club, 1968 © David Bailey. -
London 2012 Festival
You may not have been aware of it, but the Cultural Olympiad, a celebration of art and culture around the UK, has been running since 2008. The London 2012 Festival is its culmination, an extraordinary programme of arts and events including a dizzying array of exhibitions, music, dance, television, theatre and film.
London 2012 Festival
Each of our panellists this week sampled an event from the London 2012 Festival. They include Metamorphosis, a major collaboration between artists, composers and choreographers in response to paintings by Titian; en route, a personal promenade piece set in East London; and New Music 20 x 12 featuring 20 new compositions from composers across the UK. -
London 2012 Film Commissions
Among the many special commissions for London 2012 are four short films from leading British directors: Mike Leigh, Asif Kapadia, Lynne Ramsay and Max and Dania. The brief was to make a film inspired by the Olympics, and as you’d expect from the names involved, they’ve responded to the Games in very different ways – using settings from an inner city housing estate to rural rivers and lakes - and drawing on a variety of genres - from a colourful comedy full of tracksuits and trainers to a documentary exploring London’s political and social issues. Do the films succeed as artistic responses to the Games, and do they represent the best of British filmmaking talent?
The films are co-commissioned by BBC Films and Film4. Details of screenings this coming week:
What If - BBC2 - Tuesday 24 July 2320
Swimmer - BBC2 - Tuesday 24 July 2345
A Running Jump - Channel 4 - Monday 23rd July, 2305, and BBC2 - Thurs 26 July, 2320.
The Odyssey – BBC2 – Wednesday 25 July, 2320.
Image: The Odyssey - director Asif Kapadia -
2012 Architecture
Beijing 2008 took architectural gold with the iconic Bird’s Nest Stadium, but will any of the newly built venues for London 2012 make it to the winners’ podium? So far, Zaha Hadid’s Aquatics Centre has met with critical favour, as has the Velodrome, designed by Hopkins Architects, but controversy surrounds Populous’s main stadium and the jury’s still out on the towering Orbit sculpture created by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond, which won’t be open to the general public until after the Games are over. Sustainability and legacy are the buzzwords for this year’s Olympics, but can the buildings match the aspiration?
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Olympic Arts Medals
With the London 2012 Festival in full swing, it’s an intriguing thought that artists were once awarded gold, silver and bronze medals alongside athletes. Beginning with the 1912 Olympics, sports-themed submissions were invited in categories including painting, sculpture and music. Although the jury panels sometimes attracted big-name talent – Igor Stravinsky among them – the winning artists rarely made a lasting impression. Arts medals were last awarded at the 1948 Olympics. But if the practice had continued, who would be standing on the arts podium today?
Credits
- Presenter
- Tim Marlow
- Executive Producer
- Andrew Lockyer
