Drawn into your Presence. Review by Graham Buchan. This is a very interesting and, in some ways, unique exhibition curated by Jim Grover and Ruth Grover. It links three distinct periods of Christian religious imagery.
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The Nova Exhibition. Review by Graham Buchan. On entering this exhibition visitors are invited to sit on a wooden bench and watch a 5-minute video of revellers at the Nova Music Festival. On the screen are dancers, quite possibly off their heads, arms in the air and smiling from ear to ear.
Refik Anadol. Review by Barbara Lewis. Bruges has no need of more tourists and its art hall BRUSK, which opened in May, does not share the ambition of Bilbao’s Guggenheim to put a city on the map.
Tracey Emin: A Second Life. Review by Graham Buchan. Art moves on and times change. But in the case of Tracey Emin, art is still relentlessly all about the artist. This massive retrospective show will surely attract the crowds and be discussed widely.
The Weight of Being. Review by Barbara Lewis. “Life is hard, that’s why no one survives” is the title of a work by Middlesborough-born artist Gordon Dalton.
Ultimately, even art is not a cure, but it can console, give meaning and even extend our lives. It’s true for us all to varying degrees.
Unseen Photography from the 19th Century. Review by Barbara Lewis. Belgium, which declared independence in 1830, became a forerunner in photographic identification and is home to the oldest preserved mugshots, dating from 1843. As well as using photography to catch criminals, Belgium led the way in putting the technique to arguably criminal uses, including pornography and the wider abuse of power, which sadly finds an echo in today’s AI image manipulation.
Pasolini Painter. Review by Carla Scarano. Pier Paolo Pasolini’s complex personality and multifaceted creativity are displayed in full at the exhibition Pasolini Pittore at Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Rome.
OFFCUMDENS: Sue Wallace-Shaddad reviews a poem & photograph collaboration by Bob Hamilton & Emma Storr
Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear. V&A. Review by Carla Scarano. A fluidity that looks for alternative concepts of masculinity that trespasses traditional roles and expresses the possibilities of the individual is the main focus of the V&A exhibition.
Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser, Victoria and Albert Museum. Review by Carla Scarano. .”..a marvellous but unsettling journey through the origin of Alice’s stories and their adaptations and reinventions in films, art, music, fashion, photography and design.”
A Fine Day for Seeing: ten artists/ten poets. In the wide art world, artists are often inspired by literature and writers write about artworks. This exhibition focuses on the collaboration between ten internationally known artists and ten renowned poets.
Poetry review – THE DINGO’S NOCTUARY: Kimberly K. Williams admires the commitment and passion behind this remarkable book by Judith Nangala Crispin
By Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • books, photography, poetry reviews, year 2026 • Tags: books, Kimberly K. Williams, photography, poetry