Cultural Wednesday Wishes
21 May - 27 May 2025
Hello
Welcome to Wednesday Wishes
Flowers feature heavily in this week’s Wednesday Wishes. Well it is the Chelsea Flower Show. You can see floral paintings at Philip Mould. Take in the gardens at Kenwood House and then head inside for a feast of Singer-Sargent portraits in Heiress. Over at the British Museum the sacred art of the Jain, Buddhist and Hindu religions are celebrated. Head to the Courtauld to meet the stars of the Barber Institute in Birmingham here for a long holiday. On the way I have been following the adventures of 86 Jinx Sullivan in Bad Influence by CJ Wray.
I spent this weekend in Copenhagen with my ante natal group. We joined the crowds gawping at the little mermaid, walked through a star shaped fort, saw the Crown Jewels, marvelled at the Design Museum and caught the train to the excellent Louisiana Museum. Most of all we ate excellent food, not one duff dish all week.
Fine food can be found across the Nordic countries. New Nordic Cuisine started in the early years of this century. Locally sourced food, local culinary traditions and non intensive production methods all served in beautiful spaces are what to expect. New Nordic. Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place celebrating all aspects of the movement opens in the National Museum in Also this week. Yet another reason why I want to visit Oslo.
This weekend I am heading down to visit Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely at Hauser & Wirth Somerset. As a family we first encountered Niki de Saint Phalle at the Würth Collection whilst cycling round Lake Constance and have been devotees ever since. This is the first UK exhibition devoted to both artists and I can’t wait.
Up in Wakefield at the Hepworth Helen Chadwick: Life Pleasures opens with a giant vat of bubbling molten chocolate. Not everything sweetness and light in Helen Chadwick’s work, there are glistening intestines elsewhere.
📆 Dates for your diary
Fancy a sleep over in a museum? The Natural History Museum is putting on Dino Snores for grown ups. You get to sleep in the Hinze Hall, there will be games, films and food, take a look at the Natural History Museum website for dates and details.
Another late, but you do have to go home before bedtime for this one. The Palace of Westminster is marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2 with two special twilight tours on 13 June and 11 July. Tickets will cost £10 and need to be booked on the UK Parliament website.
Do you fancy listening to live music in Jimi Hendrix’s bedroom? The Jimi Sessions at Handel & Hendrix offer the opportunity to do just that. I have attended one of these in the past and it is very special. The Sessions take place on evenings of 22 May, 18 June and 17 July, tickets cost £25 and can be booked via the Handel & Hendrix website.
As ever, if you liked this newsletter a quick click on the ❤️ makes me happy (this is for people reading in the substack app). If you really, really like it … how about telling your friends.
Happy Culturing
