The genteel environs of Le Botanique play host to a celebration of Francophone culture for three weeks in March. The bill, which features 30 different acts, caters for very eclectic tastes. Highlights include the sparse folk-rock of Senegalese protest singer El Hadj N’Diaye, the blues of Boubakar Traoré from Mali, the techno of French group Bosco and the electro-Arabic marriage arranged by Tunisian chanteuse Amina. Indigenous Belgian talent is also well-represented with Daniel Hélin, William Dunker, Marc Morgan and Vive La Fête.
Archive for September, 2008
The Turner Prize 1999
Tracey Emin is ahead of the pack by miles; the others present work in a single medium that explores a single idea. Jane and Louise Wilson intercut shots of the tunnels beneath the Hoover Dam with lounges of Caesar’s Palace. But, without the tension inherent in videos such as ‘Stasi City’ and ‘Gamma’, the interiors are reduced to a series of visually pleasing patterns. Steven Pippin’s ‘Laundromat-Locomotion’, a series of photographs taken with washing machines as cameras comes across better as a book; the installation seems too sparse and empty. Steve McQueen shows ‘Current’, a slide projection of a bicycle lying in shallow water which, though beautiful, seems pointless. Emin has one subject – herself; but she takes you beyond the realm of narcissism. Her eight videos offer more than the other exhibits put together. At the centre of her installation is an unmade bed with dirty sheets. Grotty slippers nestle among condoms and KY jelly, a tampon and stained knickers, aspirin, alcohol and a pack of Marlboro Lights. Humour alleviates the blackness of drawings that often consist only of captions, a form of thinking out loud. Most impressive is the variety of work. ‘Every part of me is bleeding’ is written in baby blue neon. ‘No Chance’ is an appliquéd blanket that says goodbye to ‘Thanet Planet’ and ‘Welcome to the World.’ Welcome to my tip for the Turner Prize winner.
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Irish Spectacular
It’s not even St Patrick’s Day for another week and the Irish have massed in numbers already. This afternoon is billed as a two-hour feast of Irish music, song, dance and humour, with appearances by The Three Irish Tenors, Jan Curry’s Twenty Dancing Colleens and Brian Doyle with his own puckish brand of comedy. The event is hosted by local radio DJ Bob Rogers, with musical backing by the NSW Irish Pipe Band and the GIO Concert Orchestra.
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No Panic 2: The Girls are Back in Town
This ‘one and only boat-comedy on the Amsterdam canals’ begins as an innocent sightseeing tour, but soon descends into chaos as it becomes apparent that the tour guides are actually bad girls in rehab. When they find a pill stash on board, things turn from bad to worse as the audience becomes hostage to a high-speed and high-slapstick chase through the city…
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HeimatFilm
Films made by ‘non-German’ directors take centre stage at this four week festival of independent film. Held in conjunction with a major arts festival, involving artists and performers of ‘foreign’ parentage, HeimatFilm is an opportunity too see some of the brightest and most innovative films to come out of Germany over the last four years. It includes such gems as ‘Plus Minus Null’, a comedy set in contemporary Berlin by Irish director Eoin Moore. Also featured is ‘AprilKinder’, by director Yüksel Yavuz, which tells the story of a young Kurdish immigrant torn between two worlds.
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El Café Que Pone Muebles Navarro
This is a quiet, very spacious, converted furniture store serving drinks and imaginative sandwiches just off the Rambla. Air-conditioned, done up in cool pastel colours and with comfy sofas and armchairs laid out for customers, the café is an ideal place for a quiet chat and a nibble on a New York lox. Prices are fairly reasonable given the bar’s opening hours. Poetry readings and art exhibitions are scheduled on a regular basis.
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Leonardo’s Madonna dei Fusi
Leonardo da Vinci spent some five years living and working in and around Arezzo and the city is proud to host his painting ‘La Madonna dei Fusi’ for five months. The painting was commissioned in 1501 by Florimond Robertet, secretary of state to Louis XII. It is now privately owned by an American collector and is particularly dear to the Aretino heart as the background features local countryside.
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Macy Gray
Not even James Brown could make soul music seem so joyously sexy as 31-year-old Nathalie McIntyre from Canton, Ohio – better known by her adopted moniker: Macy Gray. Last year’s album, ‘Macy Gray on How Life Is’, saw her fusing gospel with the sounds of the ghetto to become a runaway success. A curly colossus, she dances with the grace of Giant Haystacks in a leather thong, and her clothes are more garish than Austin Powers’. But with music so undisputedly groovy, such sartorial sacrilege is forgivable.
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