What's on in London this week: 10 - 16 June 2024
Discover our pick of events in London this week: 10 – 16 June 2024.
Camberwell Arts Festival 2024
This week, the Camberwell Arts Festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary, providing a unique opportunity to showcase the exceptional talents of local artists and makers. From 8-16 June, the festival will feature a wide range of events and activities, including open studios, art markets, exhibitions, and workshops, all highlighting the creative achievements of the local community.
Date: 8 - 16 June 2024. Location: Camberwell. Click here for the festival programme.
Chaka Khan. Photo by Jo Metson Scott.
Chaka Khan's Meltdown Festival
The highly anticipated Meltdown 2024 festival, hosted by the legendary Chaka Khan, is opening this week at the Southbank Centre. Celebrating Khan's 50-year career, this 10-day summer extravaganza promises a diverse lineup of jazz, R&B, and soul acts. Join Emeli Sandé, Todrick Hall, and many more for unforgettable performances. Khan will kick off the festival with her iconic hits like Ain't Nobody and close it out with the Nu Civilisation Orchestra.The festival is designed to be a joyous, inclusive celebration with free gigs and family-friendly events. Click here for the full programme of events.
Date: 14 - 23 June 2024. Location: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX.
Courtauld Lates: Summer of Art
Courtauld Lates takes place this Friday, featuring the new exhibition Youth by Roger Mayne, alongside displays of works by Henry Moore and Vanessa Bell. There will also be a pop-up bar serving Courtauld Cocktails, as well as refreshments at the Art Café. A live DJ set will be playing in the Gallery Entrance Hall, providing a unique and lively atmosphere for visitors to enjoy.
Date: 14 June 2024. Time: 6.30pm - 10.30pm. Location: The Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN. Price: £14. U25s: £5. Book now.
Click here for more museum and gallery late openings in London this month.
Nadia Beugre. Photo by Olivier Miche.
Nadia Beugré: L’Homme rare
Nadia Beugré's L’Homme rare, opening at the Southbank Centre this week as part of London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) 2024, uses innovative choreography to explore gender perceptions and body objectification. The piece features five dancers performing with their faces hidden, using pelvic-focused movements to challenge traditional masculinity and examine the historical and ongoing European gaze on Black bodies.
Date: 12 - 13 June 2024. Time: 7.30pm. Location: Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. Price: from £20. Book now.
Wandsworth Arts Fringe
Wandsworth's vibrant cultural scene is celebrating 15 years of artistic excellence! This year's Wandsworth Arts Fringe (WAF) features an impressive 130 events across 40 venues, showcasing the best of new theatre, experimental dance, music, comedy, and cabaret. From parks to pubs, WAF brings bold artistry to the borough, setting the stage for an unforgettable year as London's Borough of Culture 2025. Click here to discover events for WAF 2024.
Date: 7 - 23 June 2024. Location: London Borough of Wandsworth.
BFI Film Festivals
The BFI is currently hosting a trio of film festivals celebrating international cinema. Chasing the Real: Italian Neorealism showcases 20 Italian Neorealist films, including Vittorio De Sica's works. Tigritudes: A Pan-African Film Cycle presents 128 films from 42 Pan-African countries, spanning 1956 to present. Focus Hong Kong highlights classic and new Hong Kong cinema.
Date: throughout June. Location: BFI Southbank, Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XT. Website: bfi.org.uk.
Sketch & Doodle
Internationally acclaimed artist Mr. Doodle, aka Sam Cox, has brought his signature style to the London restaurant, sketch. The vibrant illustrator has covered the reception, walls, and even the unique egg-shaped toilet pods with his signature doodles. But that's not all - throughout June, Mr. Doodle will be performing live doodling sessions, giving visitors a unique opportunity to witness his artistic process firsthand. Click here for more.
Date: until 1 September 2024. Location: sketch, 9 Conduit St, London W1S 2XG.
Sketch & Doodle will be on show at Sketch London from 6 June - 1 September 2024. Image Courtesy/ Mark Cocksedge.
Hampton Court Palace Festival
The Hampton Court Palace Festival returns this week with a star-studded line-up across multiple nights of incredible entertainment. The festival will see performances from renowned acts such as Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Tom Jones, Sam Ryder, Sheryl Crow, Deacon Blue, and Paloma Faith, promising an unforgettable series of events in the great Tudor Courtyard and East Front Gardens.
Date: 11 - 22 June 2024. Price: from £46.75. Location: Hampton Court Palace,Hampton Ct Way, Molesey, East Molesey, KT8 9AU. Book now.
Click here to explore more London festivals this summer.
The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden opens at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre this weekend, bringing a fresh new adaptation of the beloved classic to life on stage. Written by Holly Robinson and Anna Himali Howard, this reimagined tale tells the story of Mary Lennox, a 10-year-old girl who is sent to live with her uncle in Yorkshire. There, she discovers a neglected garden that holds the key to her own healing and transformation.The cast features Hannah Khalique-Brown as Mary Lennox and Jack Humphrey as Archibald Craven, bringing new energy to this iconic story.
Date: 15 June – 20 July 2024. Location: Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, The Regent's Park, Inner Cir, London NW1 4NU. Price: from £15. Book now.
The Flamenco Festival 2024
Experience the fiery passion of flamenco for the last time this week at Sadler's Wells Theatre, as the Flamenco Festival London 2024 comes to a close. This unforgettable celebration of flamenco features a range of performances, including UK premieres, iconic choreography, and innovative fusion of traditional flamenco with contemporary music.
Date: 4 - 15 June 2024. Location: Sadler's Wells Theatre, Rosebery Ave, London EC1R 4TN. Price: from £15. Book now.
Si, Quiero @ Beatrix Mexi Molnar.
Independent Bookshop Week 2024
Independent Bookshop Week 2024 will be held from 15 - 22 June, celebrating independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland. Launched in 2006, this event emphasises the importance of these bookshops in their communities and promotes local shopping for summer reads. Over 700 bookshops will participate, and you can get involved by visiting your local independent bookshop, organising a Bookshop Crawl, and sharing your purchases on social media using @booksaremybag and #IndieBookshopWeek.
Date:15 - 22 June 2024. Website: booksaremybag.com.
Wellness
Open water swimming returns
Open water swimming returns to Middle Dock in Canary Wharf this week! Enjoy a refreshing swim with breathtaking views of iconic landmarks, suitable for swimmers of all abilities aged 10 and above. Click here for more.
Date: 13 June – end October 2024. Location: Middle Dock, Canary Wharf, London E14.
Ready for more swimming this summer? Click here to explore more of London's best swimming spots this summer, including the newly reopened Tooting Bec Lido!
Open water swimming opens in Canary Wharf on 13 June through to the end of October 2024.
Arts & Culture
Opening this week
Ernest Cole: House of Bondage
The Photographers' Gallery is showcasing the groundbreaking work of South African photographer Ernest Cole, who exposed the brutal reality of apartheid. The exhibition features over 100 photographs, including previously unpublished works, curated in collaboration with Magnum Photos.
Date: 14 June – 22 September 2024. Location: The Photographers’ Gallery 16–18 Ramillies Street London W1F 7LW. Price: £8 / £5 concessions (members go free) Advance online booking: £6.50 / £4 concessions. Book now.
Roger Mayne: Youth
The Courtauld Gallery is hosting an exhibition of British photographer Roger Mayne's work, featuring his evocative black-and-white images of young people from the 1950s and 1960s.
Date: 14 June – 1 September 2024. Location: Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN. Price: from £10. Concessions available. Book now.
Men and Boys, Southam Street, London. 1959. Vintage gelatin silver print, 18.5 x 27cm. © Roger Mayne Archive / Mary Evans Picture Library.
Rheim Alkadhi: Templates for Liberation
The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is hosting the UK's inaugural exhibition of artist Rheim Alkadhi's work, which explores the enduring impacts of war and colonialism.
Date: 11 June - 8 September 2024. Location: Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) The Mall, St. James's, London SW1Y 5AH. Price: £6. Book now.
Gavin Jantjes' Retrospective
The Whitechapel Gallery is hosting a retrospective of South African painter and printmaker Gavin Jantjes, marking his largest solo presentation in the UK. The exhibition showcases over 100 works from his five-decade career.
Date: 12 June - 1 September 2024. Location: Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High St, London E1 7QX. Website: whitechapelgallery.org.
Gavin Jantjes, Untitled, 1989, Acrylic on canvas, Arts Council Collection, Image courtesy the artist.
RA Schools Show 2024
The Royal Academy's annual postgraduate programme exhibition opens this week, featuring new works by graduating students, showcasing a range of artistic practices and bold new forms and ideas.
Date: 14 June - 30 June 2024. Location: Royal Academy Schools Studios and Weston Studio, Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD. Price: Free. Website: royalacademy.org.uk.
Click here to discover more art degree shows opening in London this month.
#FLOFavourites: This Week
Pascal Dombis: THE END OF ART IS NOT THE END
Pascal Dombis' debut solo exhibition THE END OF ART IS NOT THE END at the Bluerider ART London gallery explores the relationship between art, technology, and the digital age, featuring interactive installations and new works that question the nature of language, perception, and space in a post-digital world.
Date: 6 June – 25 August 2024. Location: Bluerider ART London , 47 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JW. Price: Free.
Click here for our pick of art exhibitions to see in London this week.
Pascal Dombis, THE END OF ART IS NOT THE END, 2024. Print installation with lenticular sheets, 350 x 275 cm.
Cinema
My National Gallery, London
My National Gallery, London is now open in cinemas nationwide! This heartwarming film celebrates the National Gallery's Bicentenary, featuring interviews with celebrities, staff, and visitors about their favourite artworks. Book now.
My National Gallery London is in cinemas now.
#FLOFavourites: Pick of the Week
FREE EVENT OF THE WEEK
The Great Exhibition Road Festival
Experience the magic of science and art at the Great Exhibition Road Festival, a free annual celebration held in South Kensington. This unique event brings together leading institutions such as Imperial College London, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, and the V&A for a weekend of discovery and fun!
Date: 15 -16 June 2024. Location: Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ. Price: Free. Book now.
Great Exhibition Road Festival will take place 15 -16 June 2024.
Interview of the week
In conversation with Matilda Liu
Matilda Liu.
Matilda Liu is an independent curator and collector based in London. She is the founder of Meeting Point Projects, a curatorial initiative that aims to bring together artists, makers, and creatives from diverse cultural backgrounds to showcase their work and exchange ideas. Click here for the full interview.
Food of the week
Terrasse Ensoleillée by Veuve Clicquot at The Londoner
Terrasse Ensoleillée by Veuve Clicquot is open at The Londoner Hotel. Photo by MTotoe.
The Terrasse Ensoleillée summer terrace has opened at Whitcomb's at The Londoner, inspired by the French Mediterranean. The menu features seafood dishes and vegetarian options, paired with Veuve Clicquot Champagne and specially crafted cocktails. Exclusive Champagne tasting flights are also available, featuring three expertly selected Veuve’s. Click here for a visual preview.
Location: The Londoner, 38 Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7DX. Website: thelondoner.com. Instagram: @whitcombsthelondoner.
Cause of the week
Fair Shot Cafe
Fair Shot Cafe in Covent Garden is celebrating Learning Disability Week (17 - 23 June 2024) with an expanding summer menu throughout June.
Fair Shot Cafe in Covent Garden is celebrating Learning Disability Week (17-23 June 2024) by expanding its summer menu and partnering with local businesses to raise awareness for the theme "Do you see me?", which focuses on being seen, heard, and valued. The cafe, which trains and employs young adults with learning disabilities, is a social enterprise that aims to promote inclusion and accessibility. The new menu items will be available throughout June.
Location: Fair Shot Cafe, 3 Slingsby Pl, London WC2E 9AB. Website: fairshot.co.uk. Instagram: @fairshotcafe.
Global cinema platform MUBI and intersectional feminist publication Polyester kicked off Halloween week with a hauntingly glamorous launch event for the much-anticipated body-horror film The Substance at The Standard.