June cultural highlights include a pop-up Chanel nail bar, a celebration of 30 years of Japanese fashion and Gary Hume at Tate Britain...
1. Seasons in the Sun: The Heyday of Nikkatsu Studios, throughout June
Throughout June, the BFI is celebrating the centenary of Nikkatsu Studios, the oldest studios in Japanese film history. Featuring cult classics that went on to influence modern directors such as Wong Kar-Wai and Quentin Tarantino, the programme encapsulates how Nikkatsu’s output defined a post-war "golden age" of cinema in Japan and reflected the dramatic change to the landscape of Japanese culture.
2, Gary Hume & Patrick Caulfield at Tate Britain, June 5 - September 1
Two new exhibitions opening at Tate Britain this month will run in parallel, allowing visitors the chance to enjoy the works of two complemetary British artists from different generations – namely Patrick Caulfield (1936-2005) and Gary Hume (born 1962) – with one ticket. The Caulfield display will trace the artistic development of the celebrated painter of modern life, bringing together over thirty of his works to represent the key moments of his career. While the Hume exhibition will consider the artist's innovative use of line, colour and surface over the past twenty years through a display of both his iconic and lesser-know paintings and sculpture.
3. Worlds in Transit, June 6-9
In June 2012, the creative science agency super/collider took a select group of artists, filmmakers, astronomers, photographers, choreographers and curators to a remote location to witness an once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event: the transit of Venus. A year on, the participants’ observations and artistic outputs from this rare event will form the basis of a publication and exhibition launching at The Wayward Gallery this June, which will include a real time screening of the transit.
4. Visions of the Universe, June 7 - September 15
A major new exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich will offer visitors a unique chance to view over a hundred beautiful and awe-inspiring images of space, from stunning galaxies and nebulae to glittering stars. Looking at the development of telescopy, photography, and our understanding of our place in the cosmos, the show will include the latest cutting edge images from NASA, the Russian space programme and some of the world’s most powerful telescopes.
5. Friends of London, June 7 - August 3
This month, a new exhibition at the David Roberts Art Foundation will shed light on the vibrant, little-known Latin American art scene that existed in London in the 60s and 70s, as captured by Argentine artist, David Lamelas and his peers. Featuring a mix of fashion photographs and personal portraits by Lamelas and a number of artworks, letters, documents, interviews from other London-based Latin American artists, the display demonstrates the incredibly fertile and symbiotic relationship established between these innovators, some political exiles, and their new London environment.
6. Chanel Pop-Up Nail Bar at Selfridge's, until June 12
A treat for nail polish fans, Chanel has opened a two-week pop-up nail bar in Selfridge's, offering a shape and paint from Chanel nail experts in the latest Le Vernis shades, as well as a self-paint area for the DIY-inclined. A limited edition collection of vibrant, irridescent hues will also be available – featuring BEL-ARGUS (a celestial blue), AZURÉ (a deep blue/green combination) and LILIS (a luminous coral), each inspired by butterfly wings.
7. Affordable Art Fair Hampstead, June 13-16
For its first ever summertime event, Affordable Art Fair will provide a relaxed and friendly environment for anyone who wishes to adorn their walls with an original art work, all wrapped up in a day of sunshine at London’s Hampstead Heath. Boasting over 100 galleries under a single roof, you’ll have the chance to view a wide range of paintings, original prints, sculpture and photography, by both established names and emerging talent, all at affordable prices ranging from £40 to £4,000.
8. Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion, June 27 - September 8
This summer, Seattle Art Museum will bring together more than 100 costumes by an array of celebrated Japanese designers, including Rei Kawakubo and Issey Miyake, as well as some of the country's most talented new designers, for their exhibition, Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion. The display – shown at the Barbican 3 years ago – aims to highlight the tremendous innovation behind Japanese fashion design, from the early 1980s to the present day, and its revolutionary impact on the global fashion industry.
9. The Gourmand Issue 2
Don't forget to pick up the newest issue of delectably original food publication The Gourmand, this month featuring, among others, John Baldessari, Ned Beauman, Sam Bompas and artist Jamie Julien-Brown, whose beautifully crafted installations depict the five cocktail families and their signature components.
10. Southbank Centre's Festival of Neighbourhood, May 4 - September 8
A summer-long celebration of neighbourhoods and communities, this year's Southbank Centre’s Summer Festival will see the landmark site transformed into a mini neighbourhood, complete with allotments, fruit trees and a local pub. The programme highlights include Yoko Ono’s Meltdown take over – featuring performances from Yoko Ono Plastic Band, Siouxsie Sioux and Iggy & the Stooges – and the Hayward Gallery’s Alternative Guide to the Universe.
Compiled by Edward Moore and Daisy Woodward
