From a fascinating retrospective of the small but powerful portfolio of conceptual artist Hamad Butt in Ireland, to the classic comforts of stop-motion duo Wallace and Gromit, and season finale of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ – there was never a better time to reflect and escape through art as the world winds down.
And as an extra stocking-filler, we’ve been busy curating our favourite albums and films of the year (more on that below) – guaranteed to give you the best cultural taste at any yuletide gathering.
However you are celebrating the holidays, may it be full of merriment and great things to do, see and hear – beyond the jingle bells.
Exhibitions
‘Hamad Butt: Apprehensions’ at IMMA, Dublin (Ireland, Dublin)
The first retrospective exhibition of British artist of Pakistani heritage Hamad Butt, whose works were a defining part of the 1990s and Young British Artist (YBA) movement, this is also the first time they’re being displayed outside of the UK.
Dying aged 32 from AIDS-related complications in 1994, he’s best known for four key sculptural installations, and left behind a prolific portfolio of drawings, paintings, writings and installation ideas that can be viewed here. Infusing chemical and scientific techniques to weld striking installations that feel both otherworldly and tangible, Butt was a disruptive and formative figure within conceptual art – someone caught in the middle of greatness.
On at the IMMA until 5 May 2025, the exhibition will travel to London’s Whitechapel Gallery from 4 June to 7 September 2025.
‘Napoleon, the Immersive Saga’ at Paris’s Bank of France (Paris, France)
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a conversation with Napoleon Bonaparte? Perhaps glean some motivation for the new year in the form of quotes like, “Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.” Well, thanks to a virtual reality (VR) experience at Paris’s Bank of France – an institution established by the former French Emperor himself in 1800 – you can!
220 years on from “the Little Corporal” crowning himself at Notre-Dame Cathedral, establishing the birth of the French Empire, this immersive show aims to mark a key moment in the country’s history alongside Napoleon’s continuing legacy. Through a combination of technology and historian-informed storytelling, visitors are guided through some early 19th century highlights and have the opportunity to ask an AI-powered virtual Napoleon questions. It will also tour Brussels and Lille in 2025 before returning to Paris.
Will Ridley Scott attend? Probably not.
‘Ilona Keserü: Flow’ at Muzeum Susch, Switzerland
This is the first large-scale international retrospective dedicated to Hungarian artist Ilona Keserü outside of her native country. A leading post-war abstract artist, Keserü’s career spanned more than seven decades and reflects the trajectories of modern European art, combining Baroque architecture, Hungarian folk traditions and textiles to imbue canvases with cultural heritage.
Heavily guided by folkloristic motifs, Keserü was also one of the first artists of her generation to employ sewing as an artistic medium in the 1960s, pioneering a canvas-embossing technique that became her hallmark. Her use of colour and texture create swirling, symbiotic portals into old and new worlds, examining everything from human skin tones to Renaissance painting techniques like cangiante. On until 26 November 2025.
Movies
Euronews Culture’s Best of Movies of 2024
It’s been an incredible year of film, so choosing a top 20 was no easy task.
From Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance to Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap and Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig, we were treated to cinema that subverted and stunned, bringing life to a box office previously weighted by reboots and franchise fatigue.
And sure, there were some serious duds – Joker: Folie à Deux and Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis perhaps the most memorable, even if the latter did at least provide us with some great memes about going back to the club.
As that weird limbo period between Christmas and New Year approaches, there was never a better time to settle down with some leftover snacks and start watching your way through this list.
‘Mufasa: The Lion King’
Ask any millennials that grew up on a diet of Disney in the 90s what their most traumatic cinema memory is – they’re likely to recount Mufasa falling to his death in The Lion King. It was a scene so gut-wrenching, it remains hard to think about even now.
Alas, it’s become the circle of life that any beloved childhood movie must become a prequel, draining it of any magic until our collective nostalgia withers to a hardened husk.
Following the 2019 live action remake of The Lion King, Mufasa tells the story of the orphaned cub (Aaron Pierre) that will one day become ruler over the Pride Lands, a chance encounter with a young lion named Taka AKA Scar (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) kickstarting an adventure towards destinies we know all-to-well. Promisingly, it’s directed by Barry Jenkins of the Oscar-winning Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk and soundtracked by Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda, but still, one mane (sorry) thought persists: Sometimes imagination (and painful memories) are enough!
But it’s almost Christmas and the kids/restless adults need something to do so… Hakuna matata, we guess.
‘Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl’ (Netflix)
Nothing screams Christmas like Aardman Animations’ delightful duo, Wallace and Gromit. Their 1993 film, Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers, is a post-Christmas dinner staple for many – nothing helps digestion like watching a plot involving an evil penguin and some techno-trousers. It even won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. Now, 31 years later, we have a sequel. This time feature-length, Feathers McGraw returns while Wallace invents a ‘smart gnome’ that develops autonomy – especially topical in a year of artificial intelligence-dominance! Stop-motion shenanigans aplenty, it’s in UK and Irish cinemas now, and on Netflix.
Television
‘What We Do in the Shadows’ (Disney+)
Brilliant and batty, ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ is a mockumentary-style TV series spin-off from Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s 2014 film of the same name. Now in its sixth and final series, it stars Matt Berry, Natasia Demtriou, Kayvan Novak and Harvey Proksch as a group of vampire roomies living in Staten Island, with Guillermo de la Cruz (Harvey Guillén) their human bodyguard. This time, Laszlo Cravensworth (Berry) is playing Frankenstein (though he insists he’s never heard of him) and making a monster in the basement, while Guillermo is looking to finally move on with his life.
It’s silly, kooky spookiness that remains a reliable source of comfort and laughs. We’ll be sad to see it go, but fangs for all the good times – and preparing us to face the emotional vampires around the Christmas dinner table.
Euronews Culture’s Best Albums of 2024
As the year slows to an end, so do album releases – making it as good a time as any to reflect on all the incredible musical treats of 2024.
As part of our end of year round-ups, we’ve compiled out top 20 albums, featuring everything from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ ‘Wild God’ to Kendrick Lamar’s ‘GNX’ and, of course, Charli XCX’s zeitgeist-stealing ‘Brat’.
There was a lot to choose from, but adhering to strict rules (no EPs, no live albums, no re-editions and no OSTs), this is list we agreed on – a sonic selection that helped guide us through 2024’s highs and lows.
Oh, and just to end on a Christmassy note, if you’re sick of hearing Bing Crosby, Band Aid, Mariah and all the old classics, fret no more. We’ve curated a list of the best Christmas albums that counter the tired selection – everything you need in your life (and ears) during the holidays. Don’t say we don’t treat you.
Enjoy the holidays!
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=6766915ca87d4543b33cc115e198e4c1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.euronews.com%2Fculture%2F2024%2F12%2F21%2Fagenda-the-best-things-to-do-hear-see-or-watch-in-europe-this-week&c=17386694505234104197&mkt=de-de
Author :
Publish date : 2024-12-20 22:10:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.