Tate Britain
Price: Free

This free exhibition showcases Turner’s exploration of methods and techiniques, of colour and line. It follows Turner’s travels through Europe and his responses to different places, lighting and materials available. This ongoing exhibition will change exhibits every 6 months.

http://london.londinium.com/91509

Soho Theatre

This sell-out event is proving Russell Howard as a big star in the comedy world. The star from Mock the Week, Russell Howard is even better on stage. His new material is great, and when he gets on a roll his comedy is some of the best around!

http://london.londinium.com/73870

Imperial War Museum
Admission: Free

Marking the 60th anniversary of the arrival of the MV Empire Windrush to Britain, this exhibition tells the story of Black men and women from the West Indies and their involvment in WWI and WWII.

http://london.londinium.com/90056

Imperial War Museum
Price: Free

Breakthrough is an art exhibition showcasing British art from both WWI and WWII, focusing particuarly on non-official and contemporary work. Official works shown will include some by Paul Nash, CRW Nevinson, John Piper and Eric Ravilious. Until the 28th June an additional display ‘The Neo-Romantics At War’ will also be on show, exploring the rise of British Neo-Romanticism during World War Two.

http://london.londinium.com/90055

British Museum
Cost: Free

This exhibition features coins, images and other objects illustrating Isfahan’s rich history, from its pre-Islamic foundation until the present day.

http://london.londinium.com/88710

Science Museum

In this exhibition, Wallace and Gromit guide you through a world of inventions – some simple ideas that a life changing, some wacky objects, and some of the first ever patented inventions from the Science Museum’s collection.

http://london.londinium.com/88639

Science Museum
Cost: Free

The exhibition has four sections focusing on 100 years of making plastics: The Birth of Plastics, Plastic Dreams, Plastics Now, and Plastic Futures.

http://london.londinium.com/88638

Science Museum
Cost: Free

This temporary exhibition showcases 20 examples where F1™ technology is impacting on our lives, from changing the way we look after patients and design our sports equipment, to maintaining the heating systems in our homes.

http://london.londinium.com/88637

Science Museum
Cost: Free

This exhibition showcases ERNIE 1 – the first random number generator machine created for premium bonds. It explores its development and popularity, its link to the first digital electronic computer – the code-breaking Colossus – and the role of random numbers in computing today.

http://london.londinium.com/88636

Science Museum
Cost: Free

This exciting new temporary exhibition explores the role played by technology in creating post-war Britain.

http://london.londinium.com/88635

30th April – 1st May 2009

Kensington Town Hall,

Hornton Street, London W8 7NX. UK
Featuring: Drew McLellan, Folkert Gorter, Jim Coudal,  Mark Boulton,  Molly Holzschlag, and Robin Christopherson.
We’ve got some amazing speakers lined up for you this year and a few more to be announced! It’s gonna be bigger and better than ever. Don’t miss out.
So what’s on the Agenda? Great speakers and in depth workshops and a wealth of new contacts and information.

Agenda

* The Future of Web Standards: Is There One?
* Typography IS the web
* Easing the path from design to development
* Building Beautiful Websites with ExpressionEngine
* Designing for All in a Web2.0 World
* Tearing up the Web Design rule book
* Effective ways to raise your profile in the web design industry
* Unleashing the power of Art Direction in Web Design
* Designing Effective Mobile Interfaces

http://london.londinium.com/78010

Thu 23rd Apr  – Sun 6th Sep  2009

PACCAR Gallery, British Library

Price: Adults £9 (concessions £7 / £5)

This unique exhibition looks beyond the myths and stereotypes surrounding Henry VIII, to address the inner intellectual journey of Henry’s monarchy and re-examine our perceptions of the great Tudor monarch. Through fresh interpretation of rich source material the exhibition will examine the extraordinary transformations – personal and political, intellectual and religious, literary, aesthetic, linguistic – of Henry’s reign. Books, manuscripts and letters written or annotated by Henry will offer an unprecedented insight into the mind of the king, revealing the driving forces behind his actions, and telling the story of his reign from his own perspective.

“This exhibition draws on the British Library’s rich collections – including the books that Henry himself chose, read and annotated – which outline the revolutionary change in ideas that took place during the reign of Henry VIII and take us, as nothing else can, into the King’s own mind.”

Dr David Starkey

Learn more about Henry VIII through the Library’s vibrant and engaging events programme: a rich mix of performances, talks, family events, screenings and more. Highlights include: a Henry VIII Day – an open house for all the family featuring Tudor re-enactments, sports, games and workshops; a celebration and late opening with live music by Alamire marking 500 years since the coronation of Henry; and a series of three lectures by Dr David Starkey.

http://london.londinium.com/78008

FASHION, JEWELLERY & ACCESSORIES
Magnificence of the Tsars, Magnificence of the Emperors: From The Moscow Kremlin Museums Collection

10 December 2008 – 29 March 2009, Fashion, Room 40,
The grandeur of Imperial Russia is captured in this display of the dress and uniforms of Emperors and officials of the Russian court. Starting in the 1720s with the lavishly embroidered coats and elaborately patterned silk banyans from the wardrobe of Tsar Peter II, the display spans a period of almost two centuries.

Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones.

24 February – 31 May 2009, The Porter Gallery
Working with radical hat designer, Stephen Jones, the V&A presents an ‘anthology of hats’. Drawn from V&A and international collections and ranging in style and period from a 17th-century Puritan’s hat to a 1950s Balenciaga couture piece to hats by Jones and his contemporaries including to the latest creations by young milliners such as Noel Stewart, the exhibition investigates the cultural and historic importance of millinery. The exhibition is arranged in four main themes – Inspiration looks at the myriad of sources including historicism, exoticism and the natural world; Creation explores the techniques, materials and processes; The Salon focuses on the buying and selling of hats and the millinery shop; and The Clients which examines the wearing and etiquette of hats and features headgear worn by well known clients of some of the world’s top milliners including Audrey Hepburn, Anna Piaggi, Dita von Teese.

The Olympic Stadium Project – Le Corbusier and Baghdad
9 October 2008 – 29 March 2009,  Architecture, Room 128a
This display examines one of the last projects by Le Corbusier, begun in 1957, his fascinating design for a sports stadium in Baghdad. With specially commissioned models, it gives a sense of what this marvellous structure would have looked like had the project come to fruition. The stadium was planned around a set of innovative radially arranged ribs or “voiles”, the designs for 20 of which also feature in the display.
Le Corbusier regarded athletes as metaphors for modern man, and with Pierre Jeanneret he created an experimental design for a huge stadium for 100 000 people for athletic/cultural use. Le Corbusier referred to it as a “civic tool for a modern age.”

‘Seasons through the Looking Glass’ Tunnel Installation
28 March 2008 – 29 March 2009, Tunnel Entrance
Alice’s adventures began when she fell into a tunnel that unexpectedly twisted downwards to form a deep well. She landed abruptly on a heap of sticks and dry leaves. This notion of mythical underground spaces is the subject of CJ Lim’s installation, a multi-sensory and tactile intervention which explores the spatial possibilities of a subterranean garden.

Libraries of Light: Photographic Books from the V&A Collection
24 April 2008 – 19 April 2009, Photography, Room 38a
Photographic books are almost as old as photography itself. Indeed, one of the inventors of photography, William Henry Fox Talbot, was also author of one of the very first books to include photographs, The Pencil of Nature (1844). This display features highlights of historic, classic and contemporary photographic books from the Museum’s library alongside prints from the photographs archive.

The Booker Prize, 6 September 2008 – 17 May 2009
This display celebrates the 40th anniversary of the leading literary award, The Booker and Man Booker Prize. It presents winning and shortlisted books from the past forty years, alongside promotional material and the original Booker trophy, created by the artist Jan Pienkowski. It explores the practice of collecting Booker Prize books, featuring signed limited first editions and proof copies from the collection of the literary agent and book collector Peter Straus. The display demonstrates how the design of book jackets has changed since the first prize was awarded in 1969 and includes examples of bespoke bindings of shortlisted books created by members of one of the foremost societies devoted to the craft of fine bookbinding, the British Society of Designer Bookbinders.

Capturing the Moment. Photographs by Reg Wilson
18 March 2009 – 10 January 2010, Theatre and Performance Temporary Exhibition Gallery, Room 104
Reg Wilson is one of Britain’s most prolific performance photographers.  From the 1960s he has recorded four decades of the performing arts in all their richness and variety, capturing the great and the good on stage, backstage and in the studio. This selection from Wilson’s archive, chosen by the artist, shows every aspect of the performance process from the studio to the finished product.  It also demonstrates a range of techniques, from the staged photo-call to the snatched backstage shot and includes some of the earliest stage photography and colour productions.

Contemporary Drawings ‘Wine, Women and Song 1′, Martin Fuller,
7 March – 30 July 2009,Leighton, Room 102
The V&A has recently acquired an extensive group of contemporary drawings by artists who work across all the fine art disciplines: painters, sculptors, printmakers, photographers and installation artists. The drawings in this display are very diverse, ranging from the figurative, to the abstract, to the conceptual. What connects them is the versatile medium of drawing itself, the essential foundation of all art practice.

Medieval & Renaissance highlights – Makers and Markets
26 March 2007 – 27 April 2009 Sculpture, Room 117
This small display highlights the growing market in 16th century Europe for decorative goods – from costly lustreware, enamels and sculptures to more modest domestic stoneware pots. Works by some of the greatest sculptors of the period, such as Michelangelo, Benvenuto Cellini and Giambologna, are included. These artists were celebrated figures in their own lifetimes and princes, popes and the rising merchant classes were keen to acquire works by such celebrated masters.

Cultural Connections: Africa
July 2008 – June 2009, Sackler Centre, Room 220
This display presents a diverse group of objects with links to the African diaspora interpreted by an invited artist. Maria Amidu is interested in the relationships between people and public collections. Here she reflects on the role museum curators play in determining what appears on display and how it is presented.

The Art of Drinking
26 September 2007 – 26 April 2009, Room 66,
For the past 500 years drinking has stimulated a rich material culture. Specific situations and drinks require particular vessels, from stoneware beer mugs to jade wine cups and silver goblets. This display explores the varied and often curious designs of drinking vessels in order to explain their function and importance.

Fragments
10 November 2008 – 8 November 2009, Room 116, The Belinda Gentle Metalware Gallery
The metalwork collection includes fragments of objects. These are often beautiful, intriguing and revealing in their own right. On first seeing them, we often wonder what they are. By examining a detail we can understand more about the whole object, what it is made of, and how it was made. This display showcases fragments of objects and looks at how they were made.

http://london.londinium.com/1833

The british Library  holds 14 million books, 920,000 journal and newspaper titles, 58 million patents, 3 million sound recordings, and so much more.

April Events
John Cage was all the rage,  30th Mar 2009, 18:30 – 19:30
Price: £6 / £4 concessions
John Cage (1912-1992) was one of America’s most renowned composers and among the most influential thinkers in the field of 20th-century arts and media. Peter Dickinson explores Cage’s work with illustrations in the fields of music, literature and visual art.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat!  Poetry events for children, Sun 5 Apr 2009, 14.30 – 15.45
Price: £6 / £4 concessions
To accompany the Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat! exhibition, families are invited to hear popular poets read some of their favourite classics. Performers include Roger McGough.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat! Poetry events for children, Mon 6 Apr 2009, 14.30 – 15.45
Price: £6 / £4 concessions
To accompany the Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat! exhibition, families are invited to hear popular poets read some of their favourite classics. Today’s performers include John Hegley.
The art of great speeches, Tue 7 Apr 2009, 18.30 – 20.00
Price: £6 / £4 concessions
An exciting and informative panel discussion that asks the questions: ‘what makes a great speech, and how do the great orators achieve maximum emotional resonance?’
Poetry workshops for children, Tue 7 Apr 2009 – Thu 16 Apr 2009, 10.30 – 12.00 and 14.30 – 16.00
Price: Free, no booking required
Accompanies the Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat! exhibition. Join us for rhymes, rhythms and verse in these fun-filled poetry workshops for families.

The Canterbury Tales, A retelling by Peter Ackroyd, Wed 8 Apr 2009, 18.30 – 20.30
Price: £6 / £4 concessions
Join Peter Ackroyd and special guests as they re-tell the popular and timeless Canterbury Tales in their own unique and entertaining way.

India 09: Through fresh eyes, Cities in literature, Sat 18 Apr 2009, 14.30 – 16.00
Price: £6 / £4 concessions
With over half of the world’s population now living in cities, and Mumbai set to become the world’s largest by 2015, what is it about cities that inspires so much writing?
India 09: Through fresh eyes, Gender and sexual politics in India and beyond, Sun 19 Apr 2009, 14.30 – 16.00
Price: £6 / £4 concessions
Has the impact of globalisation affected issues of gender and sexual politics in India? A diverse panel will discuss.

India 09: Through fresh eyes, Travel writing, Mon 20 Apr 2009, 19.30 – 21.30
Price: £6 / £4 concessions
Join leading writers, journalists and critics from India and Britain as they discuss the primal human instinct to move from place to place.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat! Poetry and childhood conference, Mon 20 Apr 2009 – Tue 21 Apr 2009, 09.30 – 18.00
Price: See more information for prices
This two-day conference brings together International academics, including Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, to discuss children’s poetry and its influences.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat! Poetry events for children, Sat 25 Apr 2009, 14.30 – 15.45
Price: £6 / £4 concessions
As part of the Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat! exhibition, families are invited to hear popular poets read some of their favourite classics. Today’s performers include Michael Rosen.

The Tudors: Special preview screening, Tue 28 Apr 2009, 18.30 – 20.30
Price: Free, booking recommended
A special premiere screening of the first episode of the third season of ‘The Tudors’
Conservation advice clinic: Care and storage of textiles- an introduction, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 14.00 – 16.30
Price: Free, booking essential
The seminar offers basic knowledge for the care and storage of textiles such as embroideries, costume, wedding dresses and rugs.

http://london.londinium.com/817

The 23rd London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

Welcome to the 23rd London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, one of the highlights of the BFI’s cultural programme, which this year also sees us welcoming three new programmers to the Festival. The combined efforts of our committed and talented curatorial team have ensured that the 2009 edition does indeed celebrate the best in new queer cinema, with dramatic and entertaining features from 25 countries, acclaimed and insightful documentaries, a wealth of shorts and special events - and singing! Alongside these there are some reclaimed and about to be re-released gems from years gone by, spanning the breadth from Ron Peck to Rita Hayworth. Truly international in scale, and properly diverse in scope, the LLGFF helps the BFI in our ambition to present the broadest spread of moving image work to the most wide ranging audiences, both in London and beyond. We aim for the Festival to be inclusive and in-touch, an event where celebration and cultural engagement can comfortably co-exist. We offer huge thanks to the many people whose contributions shape the Festival and make it possible - to the filmmakers whose creativity offers inspiration, provocation or downright pleasure; to the festival staff, whose work is truly a labour of love; to our partners, funders and sponsors whose support is so invaluable; and to our loyal and enthusiastic audiences. Thank you all for bringing the Festival to life and making it such a unique and vibrant event.

http://london.londinium.com/76483

Madness & Modernity: Mental illness and the visual arts in Vienna 1900

European Modernism reached its purest and most concentrated expression in Vienna at the turn of the century. This was a tumultuous period of transition in which the arts, literature, architecture and philosophy blossomed; a time when Sigmund Freud, among others, pioneered new ideas about the self and psychiatry. This multidisciplinary exhibition explores the influence of psychiatry on early Modernism and how these formative attitudes still influence the way we think about mental illness 100 years on.

http://london.londinium.com/75579 – Madness and Modernity

Bobby Baker is one of the most widely acclaimed and popular performance artists working today. She began her diary drawings in 1997 when she became a patient at a day centre. Originally private, they gradually became a way for her to communicate complex thoughts and emotions that are difficult to articulate to her family, friends and professionals.

The drawings cover Bobby’s experiences of day hospitals, acute psychiatric wards, ‘crisis’ teams and a variety of treatments. They chart the ups and downs of her recovery, family life, work as an artist, breast cancer and just how funny all this harrowing stuff can be.

This exhibition is free.

http://london.londinium.com/75579 – welcome collection

Riverside Studios and Toby Gough present      “Havana Rumba!”

The young musicians and dancers of Havana Rumba! bring their show to London celebrating the emotions of rhythm, rumba and reggaeton live on stage! This is an intoxicating show featuring Cuban music and dances that gives you the feeling of being part of a great party night in the streets of Havana.

With the right groove in their hips, the young dancers – Cuba’s new generation – showcase their skills. With power and precision, modern salsa and rumba rhythms are put in the spotlight. The full use of physical strength and the lively dance style are contagious and intoxicating. The interplay with the new generation of musicians from Cuba absolutely celebrates today’s Cuban street life and infects the audience with a high-spirited cheerfulness. With dance and music, Havana Rumba! celebrates the past and present of rumba – from the roots in the African fertility dance which was once danced by slaves on the sugar cane plantations to the rumba finding its way to the shipyards of Havana and Mantanza to today’s rum-filled rumba nights in Havana’s streets.

The quality and exuberance of the dancing is staggering. Havana Rumba! offers an exhilarating and infectuous slice of today’s Cuba. ***** – The Scotsman

Cuba in all its blatantly sexy, sweaty, booty-shaking glory. **** – Metro

http://london.londinium.com/6344

A mother. A daughter. 3 possible dads. And a trip down the aisle you’ll never forget!

Over 32 million people all around the world have fallen in love with the characters, the story and the music that make MAMMA MIA! the ultimate feel-good show!

Writer Catherine Johnson’s sunny, funny tale unfolds on a Greek island paradise. On the eve of her wedding, a daughter’s quest to discover the identity of her father brings 3 men from her mother’s past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago. The story-telling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship, and every night everyone’s having the time of their lives!

http://london.londinium.com/19541 – Mamma Mia

This exhibition explores a fascinating but relatively unknown type of portraiture that flourished in Georgian and Regency Britain between the 1730s and 1830s.
It features intimate portraits by Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds, John Downman, Richard Cosway, David Wilkie and many others, all drawn from the collections of the National Galleries of Scotland and the British Museum, many never exhibited before.

Free

http://www.londinium.com/london/68773.html

This major exhibition explores seventeenth-century Iran through the reign and legacy of one of its most influential rulers, Shah ʿAbbas I (reigned AD 1587–1629).

http://www.londinium.com/london/68727.html

This exhibition will be the most significant overview of American artist Roni Horn’s work to date. Horn trained as a sculptor but this exhibition will show the full range of her practice as a photographer, draughtsman, installation artist and writer.

http://www.londinium.com/london/68665.html

Rodchenko & Popova: Defining Constructivism will explore the work of Alexander Rodchenko and Lyubov Popova between 1917 and 1929. Arguably two of the Russian avant-garde’s most influential and important artists.

http://www.londinium.com/london/68664.html

This visually sumptuous exhibition brings together some of the finest and most magnificent paintings that Van Dyck produced during his years in Britain. It also reveals his continuing visual legacy through portraits by artists from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, including Sir Joshua Reynolds and John Singer Sargent.

http://www.londinium.com/london/68604.html

As nearly a billion people go to bed hungry again tonight, the question of feeding the world has never been more urgent. But is genetically modified food a good choice to have on the menu for our planet? Or does it leave you feeling queasy? This new exhibition explores the science and technology that could boost crop yields. Do we need GM to increase food production in the future, or are there other options? Weigh up the benefits and risks – then step up to the table and have your say. This exhibition is supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.

http://www.londinium.com/london/65673.html