URBAN NATION: Connect. Create. Care.

Bülowstraße in Berlin's Schöneberg district is home to the impressive HQ of URBAN NATION, an initiative breaking boundaries in the art world by helping to provide connections to young international urban artists.

Art :
​A force for unification?

In increasingly uncertain times I take a look at developments in the art world - from expanding institutions in London to blue nudes in Hull.

new york new york:
the city of dreams?

The Big Apple.  The City that never sleeps. Whatever you call it, New York’s reputation is as giant as the buildings which shape its skyline, but does it live up to expectation?

Raising the bar on BGT:
Another Kind of Blue

Animation and dance might seem like an unlikely pairing, but not to choreographer David Middendorp.
​I catch up with him after Another Kind of Blue's stunning BGT audition.

Salt & Honey:
It's all in the detail

North of Hyde Park sits Salt & Honey, a neighbourhood bistro true to its name. Keen to dine at a place where the devil is in the detail?
​Here's your spot.

behind the little yellow door:
68 notting hill gate

Less of a pop-up and more of a stay-put, The Little Yellow Door is celebrating its six-month lease extension this Spring. I went to the heart of Notting Hill to see if it lived up to the hype.

capturing the essence:
​dan kitchener

Essex-born street artist Dan Kitchener (DANK) caught my eye a year or so ago on Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch. I got in touch with Dan to talk about his work and to hear what inspires him.

lumiere london
​image gallery

As London's first major light festival draws to a close,  look back over some of the works which illuminated the capital's landmarks and dazzled Londoner's over the past 4 days.

What a HOOT! : Eccentric Events and Innovative Tech

​Creative Entrepreneur Seb Lyall is at the forefront of London's weird and wonderful events business. I explore what he has to offer to neighbourhood development and the events industry in 2016.

‘Straight’ Talking:
​Ai Weiwei

As Ai Weiwei's first UK show draws to an end at The Royal Academy, I look back on his most powerful work, Straight, and Weiwei's mantra 'everything is politics, everything is art'.

a fascination with faces:
​jilly sutton

Jilly Sutton’s distinctive sculptures have been exhibited internationally and are in public and private collections across the UK and abroad. Ahead of her Wimbledon show, I spoke to Jilly about her thirty year career.

Roaring Trade, Park theatre

‘Roaring Trade’ is the latest play to grace the stage at Finsbury Park’s intimate neighbourhood theatre venue, Park Theatre. It shines a spotlight on Canary Wharf, exposing the ugly dog-eat-dog world where money is everything and humility is unheard of.

in conversation with james pimperton: painting is not dead

Three years after his first London show I meet up with artist James Pimperton to see his Chelsea MA Fine Art show. We discuss how his practice has developed, and most importantly, why painting isn't dead.

Hampstead Pergola: North London’s Hidden Gem

Quite literally off the beaten track, the grandeur of this lesser-known gem may have faded, but its perfection has not. Taking you so far away from the city, a trip here has you forgetting you’re even in it at all. 

Of Soil and Water: 
Kings Cross Pond Club

The Kings Cross development area is now home to the UK's first bathing-pond-cum-art-installation. A chilly paddle on a typical London summers day reveals more. 

Wholly Trinity: Leeds

Four years after graduating I return to Leeds to see that the final piece of the city jigsaw has fallen into place around a previously overlooked landmark.

art for instagram's sake?

Are digital platforms changing the gallery space?
​Are visitors visiting for the spectacle or genuine experience? And what role does curation play?
Move over art for art's sake. Instagram is in town.

Eat, Walk, See
​A snippet of New York

Musings about my favourite places in NYC - from restaurants to galleries, city wanderings and
​street art.

the beautiful interaction:
teamlab

Can digital technology expand art and encourage more positive relationships? I speak to multidisciplinary collective teamLab to find out why they think the answer is most definitely yes.

String Quartet in G:
​Sensing music with Bittersuite

Is it possible to taste music, to feel rhythm? For a unique classical music experience I took to Leake Street Tunnel to learnt what it means to listen with the whole body, not just the ears and eyes.

Into the dark
with 'all that fall'

Camden Girls School hosts theatre company Out of Joint for its modern day interpretation of Samuel Beckett's radio play All That Fall, culminating in a uniquely meditative performance.

Playing with the mind: 
​Theatre Ad Infinitum’s ‘Light’

If no secrecy means no threat and no fear then surely state surveillance is harmless. But is it really? What if increasing state control creates dystopia?
​Theatre Ad Infinitum investigates.

Arts & Culture UK Blog
​award finalist 2016

SLMpickings has officially made the shortlist for the Arts & Culture UK Blog Awards 2016, with over 73,000 votes being cast in total across the categories. See which other great blogs also made the shortlist...

In the Moment:
viewer as art

I review some of the best participatory art to grace London's stage in 2015, from colourful mist at the Wellcome Collection to immersive work in Bankside's Railway arches, and advanced digital technology in Mayfair.

Afternoon tea, darling:
​sketch london

Turner Prize winner David Shrigley gives meaning to the name of this iconic afternoon tea hot spot based in Mayfair...the perfect place for ladies that lunch.

Breathe responsibly: 
alcoholic architecture

Architectural Foodsmiths Bompas and Parr have been up to their old tricks again, this time bringing a walk-in cloud of breathable cocktails to Borough Market, Monk-style. 

the writing on the wall:
The canvas cafe

A cafe on Shoreditch’s Hanbury Street is turning the negative association of graffiti on its head by allowing visitors to complete the blank canvas of its walls...all in the name of wellbeing and self-expression.

Breaking Good : ABQ London

Hackney Wick is home to Breaking Bad inspired bar ABQ, allowing participants to 'produce a chemically pure and stable product that performs as advertised' in an all-too-familiar RV.

british beach hut bites

As London goes beach crazy my pick is a seaside-themed experience with a difference. Think fish and chips and ice cream galore, all washed down with classic cocktails in your own private beach hut.

Operation Buster:
Evans and Peel

Evans & Peel use their detective work to uncover a beloved lost dog. Some Shrubblemakers and Cold Fashions later, the case remains open.

Here to see the Captain?:
​cahoots

All aboard for London's newest Speakeasy! Step into 1940s post-war London with Kingly Court's Cahoots for something a little different.  

Place Apps 2015 : The digital escorts

Apps designed to sign-post us in the right direction of the hidden gems we’re all too keen to feast our eyes on are increasingly emerging. Check out my pick of 4 recently released apps and see what they have to offer.

 21 years of the chelsea art fair

Celebrating 21 years of Chelsea Art Fair with my pick of artworks from the 2016 show, including works by Carl Melegari, Paul Wright, Min-Seek Kang and Gabriela Aguilo Firehammer.

the city garden:
rebecca louise law

Floral Installation Artist Rebecca Louise Law reminds us that Spring has officially sprung, with her installation at St Christopher's Place last week, and 'The City Garden' exhibition, opening in April.

The bizarre cocktail 'Champagne Life' & the poignant REVELATIONS

As the Saatchi Gallery turns 30 I review it's first female-only exhibition featuring 14 female artists, and ponder on the need for gender specific exhibitions at all.

sharing the cultural wealth:
the poppies come to yorkshire

Paul Cummins and Tom Piper received outstanding reviews for their 2014 ‘Blood swept lands and seas of red' at The Tower of London. As the poppies tour the rest of the UK visitor numbers are soaring - everyone wants their share of the cultural wealth.

The City Canvas:
​Street art

A changing collection of photos documenting the ever evolving street art of cities visited, from the streets of London to Leeds, Brighton, Amsterdam, Vienna and beyond... 

challenging perceptions of utopia 
at the roundhouse

Camden’s Roundhouse takes a look at the values we hold dear in the modern day world. Casting a microscope on one city and its many stories it walks the fine line between utopia and dystopia.

Agora - occupying space and interlinking realities

My review of Richard Wentworth's Agora at Peckham's multi-story car park as part of  Bold Tendencies' Summer 2015 arts programme.
The Situation Of Art - Artlyst blog

Thumbs up to the 7 fingers

As the Canadian circus troupe The 7 Fingers (Les Sept Doights) close their London show ’Traces’ at Holborn’s Peacock Theatre this evening they’re sure to be celebrating what can only be described as a feat.

When is a slide not a slide : 
Carsten H öller

‘The guy that makes the slides’ is back in town, whipping up a media frenzy with his current exhibition 'Decision' at Southbank's Hayward Gallery and triggering the age old question ‘but is it art?!’

Supersymmetry:
brewer st car park

Discover Japanese electronic composer and visual artist Ryoji Ikeda and his illuminating art showcasing the potential for art to be overwhelming in today's digital age.

The Play That Goes Wrong

My take on the Olivier Award Winning play, which sees actors playing actors acting in a play.
​Still with me? Read on.

The  rules of the game

Can football be art? I take a look at the beautiful game and see if it truly has artistic value, with a little help from Alain de Botton and American brick/Lego artist Nathan Sawaya.

Where the  walls have ears

Central St Martin’s Daisuke Nakazawa exposes gentrification sensitivities alive and kicking in Brixton with his participative sound piece 'Passage Tells'. 

Walking the Line

Explore London's first dedicated contemporary art walk from Stratford to North Greenwich, along the Greenwich Meridian Line.

Adventuring:
​shoreditch

Random wanderings around the creative heart of London pose questions about the area's reputation and its future.