Artsy things to do this Summer! Recommendations from the NRG Committee
Words by the Norman Rea Committee
Struggling to find fun ways to see you through the long Summer ahead? Look no further - the NRG Committee has compiled the Creative’s Comprehensive guide to the coming months. Inspired by a combination of tried-and-tested activities and bucket-list wishes, Committee Recommendations range from favourite films to exhibition plans. Whether you’d rather paint a Pointillist piece en plein air or promenade with a parasol and a podcast, read on to discover your summer of Art.
‘A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte’ Painting by Georges Seurat, 1886
EVIE’S Recommendations! (Co-Director)
READ:
‘Women in the Picture: Women, Art and the Power of Looking’ by Catherine McCormack - “one the best books on art history that I’ve read! So good I read it almost all in one go whilst getting the train back home for Christmas last year”.
‘Asunder’ by Chloe Aridjis - a fiction book following the life of a museum guard at the National Gallery in London - a lovely, cosy read!
LISTEN:
‘Silhouettes: A Fashion History Podcast’
‘The Curious History of your Home’ podcast
VISIT:
The Treasurer’s House in York
‘Six Lives’ exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London (20th June - 8th September 2024). Featuring historic paintings by Hans Holbein and contemporary photography by Hiroshi Sugimoto
The front cover of McCormack’s ‘Women In The Picture’, 2021. Referencing Velasquez’s ‘Rokeby Venus’, 1647
IRIS’ Recommendations! (Co-Director)
READ: ‘An Apprenticeship or The Book of Pleasures’ by Clarice Lispector
VISIT:
‘Mari Katayama’ at the Tate modern
‘Unravel: the Power and Politics of Textiles in Art’ at the Barbican
LISTEN: ‘Hot & Bothered’ podcast by Not Sorry productions - all about romance literature and film!
Mari Katayama, bystander #23 2016, printed 2020
CHARLOTTE’S Recommendations! (Member’s Officer)
VISIT: ‘Gardening Bohemia: Bloomsbury Women Outdoors’ Garden Museum in London (15 May - 29 September)
WATCH: 3 part series on BBC iplayer ‘Andy Warhol’s America’
READ: ‘Playing to the Gallery’ by Grayson Perry
LISTEN: ‘Stuff about Things: An Art History Podcast’ by Lindsay Sheedy
BUY: Student Art Pass!!! https://www.artfund.org/ <3
Book Cover for ‘Playing to the Gallery: Helping Contemporary Art in Its Struggle to Be Understood’ by Grayson Perry, 2014
JULIANNA’S Recommendations! (Press and Publicity)
VISIT: ‘Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920’ Tate Modern Exhibition
WATCH:
Series: ‘Ripley’, available on Netflix - featuring many masterpieces by Caravaggio!
Derek Jarman’s ‘Blue’
READ:
‘Penance’ by Eliza Clark
‘Boy Parts’ by Eliza Clark
LISTEN: The ‘Guilt and Shame’ podcast
Poster for the ‘Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920’ Exhibition at the Tate this summer
LIZZY’S Recommendations! (Gallery Assistant)
READ: ‘This is How You Lose the Time War’ by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar
VISIT: ‘Toulouse-Lautrec and the Masters of Montmartre’ exhibition in Bath
WATCH: ‘Made you Look’ (A documentary about art fraud!)
BONUS: A history podcast called ‘The History Chicks’ - “my favourite episodes are Marie Antoinette and Catherine the Great, but they also do episodes on artists such as Artemisia Gentileschi!”
Poster for the ‘Toulouse-Lautrec and the Masters of Montmartre’ Exhibition in Bath this summer
MADELEINE’S Recommendations! (Head of Blog)
VISIT:
The ‘Sargent and Fashion’ Exhibition at Tate Britain
‘The Last Caravaggio’ at the National Gallery
READ:
‘The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking’
‘The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh’
WATCH:
Kubrick’s ‘Barry Lyndon’ (partly for the outfits!)
‘Russian Ark’ by Alexander Sokurov (again, the historical outfits form a big part of the allure. The film also privileges you a tour of the Hermitage Museum in Russia)
‘Antony and Cleopatra’ at the Globe - from the 4th August to 15th Sept
Outtake from Kubrick’s film ‘Barry Lyndon’, 1975. Reminiscent of Hogarth’s ‘The Rake’s Progress’ (1735) illustrations!
MADDIE’S Recommendations! (Graphic Designer)
VISIT: ‘The Great Exhibition Road Festival 2024’ at the V&A - Opens Saturday 15th June
READ: ‘Patchwork: A Life Amongst Clothes’, Claire Wilcox
WATCH: ‘The Magic of Dance: Margot Fonteyn’, available on BBC iplayer. A history of dance and how it has changed over the course of the 20th century.
Margot Fonteyn in Stravinsky’s 'The Firebird’
BELLE’S Recommendations! (Gallery Assistant)
READ: ‘The White Album,’ Joan Didion
VISIT:
‘Gardening Bohemia: Bloomsbury Women Outdoors’ Exhibition at Garden Museum
‘Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind’ Exhibition at Tate Modern
WATCH: ‘The House of the Devil' by Ti West - set in the 80s, you wouldn’t know it was made in 2009 until Greta Gerwig pops up on the screen!
Poster for the ‘Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind’ Exhibition
EV’S Recommendations! (Graphic Designer)
VISIT:
Speke Hall in Liverpool - a Tudor National Trust property
The Walker Art Gallery, also in Liverpool
READ: ‘Ariadne’ by Jennifer Saint - the story of the Cretan princess from the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.
WATCH: ‘The Fall’ by Tarsem Singh - a little girl with a broken arm is told a story by an injured stuntman whilst in hospital of six extraordinary heroes.
LISTEN: ‘Malevolent’ podcast by Harlan Guthrie - Arthur Lester, a private investigator, wakes up blind with an unknown entity controlling his eyes and guiding him.
Sculptures in the Walker Art Gallery
JOY’S Recommendations! (Events Officer)
READ:
NOVEL: ‘My Cousin Rachel’ by Daphne du Maurier. Just such a good story and so well written.
NON-FICTION: ‘The Secret Lives of Colour’ by Kassia St Clair. A book you can dip in and out of, perfect for a quick flick through before bed!
WATCH:
BBC Series on iPlayer: If you haven’t watched it already, then ‘Race Across the World’ is sooo addictive.
BBC iPlayer: ‘Fake or Fortune?‘
West End Show: ‘Guys and Dolls’ at The Bridge Theatre - go on TodaysTix website for cheap(er) tickets!
VISIT:
The Courtauld permanent collection, London
If you’re in Holland, then the Mauritshuis Museum.
Book Cover for ‘The Secret Lives of Colour’ by Kassia St Clair
