Our top picks of exhibitions together with cultural spaces and places, both online and in the real world.

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Viewing Sophie Taeuber-Arp at Tate Modern

Above Embroidery, c. 1920

The Wick Culture - Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Composition of Circles and Overlapping Angles

Above Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Composition of Circles and Overlapping Angles

The Wick Culture - Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Geometric and undulating, 1941

Above Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Geometric and undulating, 1941

The Wick Culture - Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Coloured Gradation, 1939

Above Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Coloured Gradation, 1939

Above Embroidery, c. 1920

Above Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Composition of Circles and Overlapping Angles

Above Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Geometric and undulating, 1941

Above Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Coloured Gradation, 1939

15 July — 17 October 2021
Tate Modern

For a dose of mesmerising art, see Sophie Taeuber-Arp at Tate Modern, the first major UK exhibition of the abstract artist to date. Born in 1889, Taeuber-Arp carved out a career as a painter, architect, teacher, writer, and designer of textiles, marionettes and interiors in a time when women in the industry were often overshadowed. Now she is little-known outside of art world circles. This show aims to change that.

Bringing together over 200 objects from across her career, this magnificent new survey reveals her to be one of the most innovative artists and designers of the 20th-century avant-garde. Her vivid, geometric compositions and embroideries are shown alongside decorative works, spanning textiles, jewellery, rugs, interior design and more.

A key member of the Zurich Dada, Taeuber-Arp also explored performance art, dancing at the legendary Cabaret Voltaire and creating marionettes for the avant-garde interpretation of the play ‘King Stag’. These are on display alongside the splendid interior design commission for the Aubette, a modernist entertainment complex in Strasbourg, created in collaboration with her husband, the artist and poet Jean (Hans) Arp, and Theo Van Doesburg. It’s gratifying that she’s finally getting the recognition she deserves. An eye-opener, for sure.

Viewing There’s no place like home, Magnum

The Wick Culture - There’s no place like home

Magnum Gallery, Online

Above There’s no place like home Magnum Gallery, Online

Magnum Gallery, Online

19 May — 31 August 2021

Bringing together works by Magnum photographers including Martin Parr, Alec Soth and Alessandra Sanguinetti, this online exhibition reflects on the notion of home as a central place for solace, security and creativity. It also explores how the home can engender optimism and happiness during times of hardship or uncertainty.

There’s a rich mix to sink your teeth into. Antoine d’Agata’s critically-acclaimed series Virus, in which he documents the devastating impact of the Covid-19 outbreak in Paris, evokes the anguish and fear experienced by millions over the past year. Bruce Gilden’s iconic black-and-white image of a woman in a bikini, on the other hand, is likely to raise a smile.

Don’t miss Peter Marlow’s poetic images spotlighting the loneliness of elderly people and Harry Gruyaert’s lively compositions of public celebrations from the early 1980s. All of this and more at the click of a mouse. Sounds like just the thing to while away those extended summer lunch breaks!

Viewing Ken Nwadiogbu: Journey Mercies, The Bomb Factory Art Foundation

The Wick Culture - Ken Nwadiogbu: Journey Mercies

Above Ken Nwadiogbu: Journey Mercies

The Bomb Factory Art Foundation

8 — 25 July 2021

Nigerian artist Ken Nwadiogbu is the subject of a new solo show at The Bomb Factory Art Foundation in London. Central to the presentation is an installation of stacked cardboard boxes. Each box is painted with the face of someone the artist has met on his travels.

For Nwadiogbu, it is a metaphor for global trade and the migrant experience: ‘Our individual lives may be self-contained but, essentially, we stand on each other’s shoulders journeying to a different continent and bringing with us values that shape the culture and ideas of these spaces’.

Painted in vibrant colours, the boxes stack in a way that references traditional African woven fabrics, while the title of the exhibition pays homage to the Nigerian custom of saying prayers for a traveller about to embark on a long journey.

‘Journey Mercies highlights the struggles and joys, gains and losses of Migration,’ explains the artist. ‘This is particularly applicable to those of us with dreams, values and hope who flee our countries due to the insecurity, lack of infrastructure, and scarcity. But the stacked structures we build are intact. The communities are rich with diversity and beauty.’