SKATE AT SOMERSET HOUSE
Along with Norway’s annual Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, the Regent Street lights and Harrod’s windows, skating at Somerset House has become part of the Christmas landscape in the capital.
Its neoclassical courtyard, a location for countless period movies, is transformed into a Dr. Zhivago-esque winter scene, with skaters bundled up in coats and scarves, and the steam from hot toddies rising in the crisp air.
In the evenings, this gives way to a different kind of cool as Club Nights feature Ministry of Sound, Green Man, Soho Radio and dawn disco organisers Morning Gloryville. There’s also a Skate School for skaters of all abilities, including beginners, and kids under 8 can join the Polar Cub Club.
Fortnum’s are also on hand with their Fortnum’s Lodge for eating and drinking, and their Arcade for a host of Christmas goodies and presents to take home with you.
When : From 17th November 2016 – 15th January 2017
Where : Somerset House, Strand, Covent Garden, London WC2R 1LA
Tube : Waterloo or Covent Garden
Information : https://www.somersethouse.org.uk
HAIR BY SAM McKNIGHT
The slicked back look adopted by Princess Diana… Madonna’s Bedtime Stories album cover… Tilda Swinton channelling David Bowie. In a 40-year career, Sam McKnight has designed hair for nearly 200 Vogue covers, countless editorial shoots and catwalk shows, and has defined looks for everyone from Kate Moss and Linda Evangelista to Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell.
Nostalgic, androgynous, romantic, raunchy – this first celebration charts the dazzling array and versatility of his work, and the cultural significance of hair as part of image. It also shines a fascinating light on the process and craft of hair styling.
When : Now on, until 12th March 2017
Where : Somerset House, Strand, Covent Garden, London WC2R 1LA
Tube : Waterloo or Covent Garden
Information : https://www.somersethouse.org.uk
THE RADICAL EYE: MODERNIST PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE SIR ELTON JOHN COLLECTION
Sir Elton has always been an avid collector. So much so, in the late 1980s his vast horde of artefacts (which even included a real vintage tram imported from New Zealand) was forcing him out of his mansions. He brought in Sotheby’s to auction off the lot.
What is less known, perhaps, is that he has been an avid collector of photography, and some of the jewels of his collection have been brought together by the Tate Modern.
Drawn from the classic Modernist period of the 1920s–50s, it includes a remarkable group of portraits by Man Ray, exhibited together for the first time, with portraits of Matisse, Picasso and Breton.
His collection embraces over 70 artists and nearly 150 rare vintage prints on show from seminal figures including Brassai, Imogen Cunningham, André Kertész, Dorothea Lange, Tina Modotti, and Aleksandr Rodchenko.
When : From 10th November 2016 - May 2017
Where : Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Tube : Southwark
Information : http://www.tate.org.uk
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