Culture Agenda: The best things to do, hear, see or watch in Europe this week
Alongside this week's suggestions, we also recommend checking out the Mauritshuis museum's showcase of 60 charismatic takes on Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring', and Centre Pompidou's celebration of Black artists in Paris.
Following the sad news of Val Kilmer's passing, there's never been a better time to watch (or re-watch) some of his classics - put Kiss Kiss Bang Bang at the top spot. Speaking of cinema, keep in mind that this Thursday is the announcement of this year's Cannes Film Festival line-up... And it's already looking mighty promising. Keep your eyes peeled for our full coverage.
Until next time, have a great week.
José María Velasco: A View of Mexico
Where: National Gallery (London, UK)
When: Until 17 August 2025
To see a José María Velasco painting is to fall in love with Mexico, every brushstroke an encapsulation of the country's natural beauty and evolving state. The 19th-century polymath was renowned for his landscape works, combining fascinations in geology, archaeology and botany (to name a few) alongside commentary on creeping industrialisation. What resulted were deeply personal, intellectually textured and elegantly detailed studies of a place few had truly ever seen before, caught in periods of both gentle and dramatic transformation.
Coinciding with the 200th anniversary of Mexico and the UK establishing diplomatic relations, this is also the first exhibition to be dedicated to a historical Latin American artist at the National Gallery.
Inner child
Where: Opera Gallery (London, UK)
When: Until 5 May 2025
Openness on social media alongside a gradual shattering of stigmas around mental health have led to increased discourse on the concept of the inner child, a way for people to reconnect with and process early experiences and their ripple effect. It was an idea born from Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist Carl Jung's 'child archetype', who would have been 150 this year. The subject is explored in-depth at Opera Gallery's latest exhibition by two artists: Yayoi Kusama and the late Niki de Saint Phalle.
A total of 41 artworks depict the playful, eclectic whimsy of childhood while sometimes subverting it, capturing the ways in which returning to our childlike selves opens up a renewed worldview that's both liberating and conflicting, tangled fragments resurfacing. A merging of creativity and psychology, it's a vibrant visual reminder of how art can help us to find and heal ourselves.
War Child's Secret 7" 2025 exhibition
Where: NOW Gallery (London, UK)
When: 11 April – 1 June 2025
For their 2025 exhibition, the charity organisation War Child will display 700 specially designed record sleeves to be auctioned on 1 June 2025. Contributors include The Cure, Gregory Porter, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Jessie Ware, in collaboration with artists Yinka Ilori, Sir Paul Smith and Antony Gormley. It's the ultimate record sale for those looking to add something completely one-off to their collection while donating to a good cause. There's also an element of surprise: buyers only find out which artist designed their album cover after the auction ends.
For those simply looking to admire, the exhibition includes a dedicated listening space where visitors can tune in to all seven records included, as well as the entire Secret 7" archive.
Milan Design Week
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Where: Milan, Italy
When: 7 - 13 April 2025
The world's biggest design festival somehow feels even bigger this year, featuring everything from striking modular lights by designer Michael Anastassiades, an installation by filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, and a collection of exquisite urns by acclaimed architects and designers like David Chipperfield and Audrey Large. While the main event is focused around the Salone del Mobile furniture fair, there are a plethora of diverse events happening all around the city, including plays, talks, and even an exhibition where visitors can live and sleep in the gallery - good to know, we'll undoubtedly need a nap after exploring everything here.
Barcelona Beer Festival
Where: Barcelona, Spain
When: 11 April - 13 April 2025
Beautiful Barcelona and bountiful beer? Need we convince you more?! An idea brewed up by four friends in 2012, the BBF has become the largest craft beer event in Spain. More than 100 breweries from all over the world take part in this yeasty haze of tastings, workshops, talks and good old fashioned communal spirit fuelled by a shared love of sipping something refreshing in the heady glow of Spring. Did we mention that there are also over 600 craft beers on tap (including limited-edition brews)? Cheers to that - and drink responsibly, of course!
Drop
Where: European cinemas
When: 11 April 2025
Ever been sitting on a train when someone airdrops you a meme of a cat wearing sunglasses, leaving you feeling deeply unsettled but also ever so slightly amused? Just us? Ok. Well, imagine that scenario BUT you're on a first date and the airdrops become increasingly sinister, asking you to murder the man you're with else they'll kill your son and sister. Ain't nothing amusing about that. This is the basis for Christopher Landon's latest horror film, Drop. It stars Meghann Fahy as Violet, a widow enjoying a fancy date with Henry (Brandon Sklenar) when the mysterious and nerve shredding events mentioned above start to unfold. A good reminder to switch off your phone when watching - and avoid dating?
Death of a Unicorn
Where: European cinemas
When: Out now
Don't mess with unicorns - especially ones with girthsome horns. This latest release from A24 stars Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as a father and daughter trying to repair their rocky relationship when they accidentally crash into and kill a unicorn. This leads to the revelation that it has mystical abilities to cure cancer - something Rudd's boss (Richard E. Grant in full Saltburn mode) is excited to exploit, leading to gruesome consequences when the creatures retaliate. Out critic David Mouriquand wrote: "From the premise alone, there's plenty to love about Death Of A Unicorn. Caricatures of pharma arseholes getting bloodily impaled while a fractured father-daughter dynamic gets healed in the process. It sounds like something Roger Corman would have saluted." Then he liked it less... Read the full review here.
The Last of Us
Where: HBO
When: 13 April 2025
After two long years, the wait is finally over baby girls. We last saw Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) during that explosive finale that had the rebel Fireflies militia dropping like, well, (fire)flies. Based on the seminal post-apocalyptic franchise by Naughty Dog, it takes place in a world ravaged by a mutated fungus called Cordyceps that transforms people into rabid zombies, with Ellie's character harbouring a rare immunity. Four years on from the events of season 1, we're now following Ellie on a revenge mission alongside her girlfriend Dina (Shannon Woodward). Expect more high tension, heartbreak and screaming 'holy shiitake' at the screen (we hope the book of puns returns too).
Bon Iver: SABLE, fABLE
When: 11 April 2025
Bon Iver has always captured transitions; the pause between thoughts, between moments, between who we were and who we're becoming. It feels like perfect timing, then, that we get this new album at the advent of spring, as softer realisations blossom from the chilly ruminations of winter. Recorded in Justin Vernon's hometown of Wisconsin at the tail end of the COVID pandemic, 'SABLE, fABLE' completes last year's EP release, which we called 'an achingly lovely confrontation of anxiety and change.' Through his trademark repetitions, reverberations and layered harmonies, Vernon soothed the restless emotions of a generation - and from the album's already released tracks, like 'If Only I Could Wait', it's clear we're about to be collectively healed once again.
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