2 days Ago
Lisbon maps JR's street art, London showcases the rare 'Film Décors Of The Quay Brothers', Will Smith returns with his first album in 20 years, and the TV show every movie lover should be watching...
All that and more in this week's cultural agenda. The clocks have officially sprung forward, meaning brighter days are ahead - and there's no more time to waste not doing cool things (even if we're tired). Alongside this week's recommendations, be sure to [slow-mo run in a swimsuit] towards the London Design Museum's new exhibition, along with the Centre Pompidou's wonderful and their influence on Paris' cultural scene from 1950 to 2000.
Seeing as we missed you last week, there are a few things to catch-up on - namely Seth Rogen's 'The Studio' on , a brilliant new comedy about Hollywood moviemaking hypocrisies. In the world of cinema, gory-fun thriller starring Jack Quaid was released last Friday (28 March) and for your eardrums' pleasure, we highly recommend Japanese Breakfast's 'For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women)'. Until next time, have fun, let us know what you get up to, and stay .
Underdogs Gallery (Lisbon, Portugal) 28 March – 19 April 2025 In the early 2000s, artist JR, real name Jean-René, found a camera on the Paris Metro and began applying its images large-scale to the streets of Paris, turning the city into an open air gallery. In the decades since, he has launched increasingly ambitious street art projects all around the world, one of the most notable being 2011’s ‘Inside Out (The People's Art Project)’, which saw hundreds of thousands of people contribute works of art and personal stories, displayed in landmark locations like the Louvre. A new exhibition at Lisbon’s Underdogs Gallery maps JR’s remarkable career and its profound impact on helping local communities.
From working with refugee camps to conflict zones, it's a reminder of all the ways in which the 42-year-old's striking works have left a lasting legacy across the globe, driven by an unwavering desire for meaningful sociopolitical change. Swedenborg House (London, UK) Until 4 April 2025 For fans of the surreal, uncanny and generally psychologically unnerving things in life, the Quay brothers are essential. The identical twins are renowned for their idiosyncratic cinematic career, which began in the 1970s and taps into a uniquely somnambulant vision of Europe, infused with haunted folklore and dusty anxieties.
As part of Poland’s Kinoteka Film Festival, the Quay's fascinating creations are being temporarily housed within London’s atmospheric (and historically spiritual) Swedenborg House, including film sets and hand-crafted puppets. It’s a rare opportunity to step inside the imaginations of two of the world's most famous stop-motion animators, witnessing up close the creepily constructed fragments of their filmography. Palazzo Strozzi, (Florence, Italy) Until 20 July 2025 Turner Prize-nominated British artist Tracey Emin has made her Italian debut with an exhibition showcasing over 60 works under the themes of sex and solitude.
Paintings, sculptures, photography, drawings, neon installations and more capture a raw narrative that’s both deeply personal and universally tangible, bringing to light reflections on desire, body image, love and loss. Renowned for her ability to produce audacious art that confronts the ugliest husks of existence, Emin’s career has been shaped by an honesty that is both sad and beautiful - but always life affirming. Read our .
Bouillon, Belgium 1 April - 30 April 2025 Seafood lovers, Bouillon is a truly trout-standing place to spend April. Every year the Belgian city hosts its gourmet trout festival, dedicated to the freshwater fish in all its culinary capacities. All the local restaurants take part along with those in surrounding villages, serving the dish à la meunière to Ardennes-style to baked with almonds.
More than anything, it's a great communal event, bringing everyone together to appreciate the joys and endless possibilities of the humble trout (any finn is possible!) European cinemas 4 April Ok, we know what you're thinking. A Movie? A movie based on that eyeball-ache of a kids' game from the 2010s? Why oh why?! And we'd have to agree - we're not feeling overly optimistic (the square-headed pandas alone are making us feel weird). But putting aside any video game adaptation cynicism, it also looks like bizarre fun, starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa as part of a group who are pulled into the strange cubic world via a mystery portal and must use their imaginations to navigate back home.
At the time of writing, the jury's still out on whether it'll manage to mine its way into leagues - or be more of an exploding creeper at the box office. Surely, it can't be as disastrous as ? If you haven't seen Gints Zilbalodis’ magical and animation yet, get on it right meow! Fresh off its , many cinemas around Europe are hosting screenings of the film, which first premiered at Cannes last year. It follows a little cat (which as Zibalodis has pointed out online, is actually grey) attempting to flee a flood and finding camaraderie with other charismatic animals along the way.
Dialogue-free and nostalgically blocky in design, it's a heartwarming film that's a little stressful, but ultimately so soul-soothing. It also very much deserves to be seen on the big screen! Apple TV+ Now Cinephiles won’t find a more enjoyable TV show right now than The Studio. Starring (and also co-created by) Seth Rogen as Matt Remick, a newly appointed head of the fictional ‘Continental Studios’, he is immediately tasked with making a movie based on Kool-Aid by his idiotic but terrifying boss Griffin Mill (Bryan Cranston), who’s chasing the franchise-to-film success of .
Featuring a stacked cast that includes the ever-wonderful Catherine O’Hara alongside cameos from the likes of Martin Scorsese, Charlize Theron, Steve Buscemi and Sarah Polley, it’s an astutely hilarious and authentic insight into the tenuous balance between artistic integrity and mainstream commercialisation at the heart of profit-driven Hollywood. Once a beloved Fresh Prince of Bel Air, now forever known for at the Oscars - it's been a rough three years for Will Smith. Could in his first album in twenty years? “The past couple of years, I’ve been doing a very deep exploration of who and what I truly am,” Smith stated in a social media teaser video ahead of the record's release.
“The process of this album is really allowing myself to be more honest with myself than I ever have about who and what I actually am. This is about to be the greatest artistic creative period of my entire life.” There are countless songs about lovemaking, but few have dared tackle flatulence during the act - until now.
Featuring the lyrics: , 'Hot On My Tail' is a lead single from The Darkness' eighth album release - and sets the tone appropriately. Ever since hitting it big with 2003's rock opera-riffing 'I Believe in a Thing Called Love', the British band have always played on the cheesy aestheticisms of late 70s and early 80s icons like Queen, producing a discography that's genre-swirling, silly and smartly self-aware. This latest release keeps nostalgia at its core, with a nice thick spread of creative humour and high-energy.
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