AGI’s weekly events column is back and ready to get you started for the 7 days to come with a load of new Asia-related things to do. Have your pen handy to schedule in a few dates on your calendar…. Note: This week is slightly Korea-centric due to the official state visit of South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye to the UK.
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Asian Art In London (finishing on Nov 9) brings together over sixty of the world’s top dealers, major auction houses and museums for an annual ten-day celebration of the finest Asian art. Visitors converge on London for this prestigious international event offering gallery selling exhibitions, auctions, receptions, lectures and seminars. Please see the official website for full details.
‘Beneath the Surface: The Culture of Cosmetics in Japan’ will take place over two days (Nov 7 & 8) at the Japan Foundation. For the first time in the United Kingdom, Noriyo Tsuda, Chief Curator of POLA Research Institute of Beauty and Culture, will explore the culture of cosmetics in Japan. In two special talks, Tsuda, an expert in comparative studies on the history of cosmetic culture in both Western and East Asian countries, will discuss how the production, application and use of cosmetics illuminates the cultural, social, and aesthetic changes that have taken place in Japan through the centuries. More info here. Registration is required.
The British Council’s UK – South Asia Season 2013 promotes opportunities to connect, create and collaborate in the fields of education and culture between the UK and countries across the region, namely India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Iran. There are a whole host of different and exciting events (the closing night of the excellent South Asian Literature Festival was one) going on right through to December. Unfortunately, many of them are by invitation only, but you can find out more about the programme here. Coming up this week is a screening of the documentary film ‘A Village in a School’ and conversation between Workshop Architecture and Vicky Richardson in advance of the exhibition ‘Not What, But How’ featuring Project Hariharpur, India (8 November, 7:30pm, at the Architectural Association, London).
The Korea Brand & Entertainment Expo is almost here, but if you haven’t registered already for the special hologram perfomances by PSY and 2NE1, or the live concert by 2NE1, then you may be out of luck as registration has closed and most of the tickets have been sold out. However, you may still be able to get in to the rest of the main event at the door. There will be plenty of other things to see. In conjunction with this event, the legacy of video artist Nam June Paik and the “electronic superhighway” will be at the heart of a new exhibition being held in from November 4-6 at the Old Billingsgate Building in the City of London. During the Crystallize – New Media Art Lab Korea & UK exhibition, artists from Korea and the UK will explore how contemporary artwork is expressed through science, IT, social media and cinema. The three day exhibition explores how creative technology offers a common language for artists working in two different cultures. The work, featured in the historic vault at Billingsgate illustrates how contemporary artists across the globe are harnessing technology and using it to empower and express a global culture.
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The London Korean Film Festival will run from November 7-22 (the closing night in London is on November 15, then some of the films will travel to other cities in the UK). Full schedule and ticket information for the festival is now available, and four of the 32 films can be booked for free here. Many popular actors and directors will be attending and participating in Q&A sessions after their respective films. The festival opens with ‘Hide & Seek’, a home-invasion thriller, and closes with the dramedy ‘Boomerang Family’. If you like this sort of thing, you may also want to check out the London Iranian Film Festival (multiple venues, until Nov 9) and the Jewish Film Festival (multiple venues, until Nov 17) on now.
Cutie & The Boxer is a candid New York love story exploring the chaotic 40-year marriage of a Japanese couple – famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. This documentary will be playing at 6 cinemas around London from Nov 5, including the Institute of Contemporary Arts.
If you have an event you would like to share, please contact us.
Information compiled by Tim Holm
