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23 September 2016

Our Shakespeare Lives programme's charity partner VSO International are helping vulnerable children get to school; two exhibitions of iconic works from the British Council Collection opened this month in Letterkenny and Sligo, Ireland; delegate passes for No Boundaries 2017 in Manchester and Hull are now on sale; earlier this month we launched a new guide to working in East Asia; we have a residency opportunity for an Indonesian artist to work at Blast Theory's studio as part of UK/Indonesia 2016-18; and Art Licks Weekend, a festival showcasing the work of pioneering young artists, curators and galleries opens on 30 September in London. 

 
 

Lose Your Mind heads to Seoul

Our touring exhibition David Shrigley: Lose Your Mind highlights the breadth of David Shrigley’s practice and his darkly witty imaginings.

The exhibition first opened in Mexico last year and is now on its way to Seoul, South Korea where it opens on 6 October.

> Explore the exhibition online

 

 

Skepta wins Mercury Prize

Grime artist Skepta has won the 2016 Mercury Prize for his album Konnichiwa. The competition for the award this year included major releases such as David Bowie’s final album Blackstar, and Radiohead‘s A Moon Shaped Pool. The win celebrates grime's recent move towards the mainstream, from its roots in the housing estates and pirate radio stations of east London. Listen to our podcast with Hyperfrank and Jon Savage comparing the punk and grime scenes and DIY music culture.

Read more
 

Shrigley's Fourth Plinth sculpture

In other David Shrigley news, his Really Good sculpture for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square will be revealed on the 29 September. Cast in bronze, the sculpture is a seven-metre-high hand giving a giant thumbs up. Shrigley hopes that this simple gesture will become a self-fulfilling prophecy, that things considered ‘bad’ such as the economy, the weather and society, will benefit from a change of consensus towards positivity. The Evening Standard's Marcus Field caught up with Shrigley about how the piece came about in this interview.

Read the interview
 

Bella Hardy's China residency

In December 2015 folk musician and composer Bella Hardy took up residency in Kunming, China, as part of the Musicians in Residence programme. The programme is designed to enable innovative British musicians to explore new musical territory, reach new audiences and write new material in the context of a changing international market. In this short film, Bella gives us a snapshot of her time in China, immersing herself in a new culture and taking inspiration at every turn.

Watch the film
 
 
 

 

Putting marginalised cultures centre stage

In this Arts Podcast, we look at two projects bringing marginalised voices to the stage: Hiraeth, a collaboration between Candoco's Jemima Hoadley and Armenia's NCA.Small Theatre, is the country's first ever integrated dance project, bringing together disabled and non-disabled artists. We're also joined by Paula McFetridge, Artistic Director of Kabosh, a Belfast-based company that has been investigating how theatre can empower communities and help to resolve conflict in Africa.

Listen to the podcast
 

Design Connections at London Design Festival

Each year during London Design Festival (LDF) we invite key design industry figures from around the world to join us for our Design Connections programme. In this Arts podcast, produced in partnership with Soho Radio, we hear from three experts from this year's international delegation. The panel reflect on their highlights of LDF 2016 and share some insights on the design sector in their own countries and regions. London Design Festival continues this weekend, and closes on Sunday.

Listen to the podcast
 

In conversation with Jess Thom

We caught up with Touretteshero's Jess Thom ahead of her first foray into stand up, Stand Up, Sit Down, Roll Over, which she performed at Southbank Centre's Unlimited Festival earlier this month. The work was made in response to Jess's own experiences as a live comedy audience member, and challenges comedians and venues to think about who they want to see in their audiences.

Watch the film
 
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