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

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Viewing Prix Pictet: Fire

The Wick Culture - Brent Stirton, 2013. From the series: Burns Capital Of The World, 2013
© Brent Stirton, Getty Images, Prix Pictet. Courtesy of the artist and
Getty images

Above Brent Stirton, 2013. From the series: Burns Capital Of The World, 2013 © Brent Stirton, Getty Images, Prix Pictet. Courtesy of the artist and Getty images

The Wick Culture - Daisuke Yokota, Untitled, 2016. From the series: Matter / Burn Out,
2016 © Daisuke Yokota, Prix Pictet. Courtesy of the artist

Above Daisuke Yokota, Untitled, 2016. From the series: Matter / Burn Out, 2016 © Daisuke Yokota, Prix Pictet. Courtesy of the artist

The Wick Culture - Carla Rippey, Fire, 2010. From the series: Immolation, 2009-2019 © Carla Rippey, Prix Pictet. Courtesy of the artist

Above Carla Rippey, Fire, 2010. From the series: Immolation, 2009-2019 © Carla Rippey, Prix Pictet. Courtesy of the artist

The Wick Culture - Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, WONDER BEIRUT, The story of a
Pyromaniac Photographer, 1998-2006. From the series: Wonder Beirut,
1998-2006 © Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, In Situ Fabienne
Leclerc, Paris, The Third Line, Dubai, Prix Pictet. Courtesy of the
artists, In Situ Fabienne Leclerc and The Third Line

Above Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, WONDER BEIRUT, The story of a Pyromaniac Photographer, 1998-2006. From the series: Wonder Beirut, 1998-2006 © Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, In Situ Fabienne Leclerc, Paris, The Third Line, Dubai, Prix Pictet. Courtesy of the artists, In Situ Fabienne Leclerc and The Third Line

Above Brent Stirton, 2013. From the series: Burns Capital Of The World, 2013 © Brent Stirton, Getty Images, Prix Pictet. Courtesy of the artist and Getty images

Above Daisuke Yokota, Untitled, 2016. From the series: Matter / Burn Out, 2016 © Daisuke Yokota, Prix Pictet. Courtesy of the artist

Above Carla Rippey, Fire, 2010. From the series: Immolation, 2009-2019 © Carla Rippey, Prix Pictet. Courtesy of the artist

16 December 2021 — 9 January 2022
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/prix-pictet-2021-fire

This annual exhibition features the shortlisted entries for this year’s Prix Pictet, the world’s leading photography award committed to promoting discussion and debate on issues of sustainability and the environment.

On display are twelve series of photographs exploring the theme of fire by 13 international photographers based in five continents around the world. They span documentary, portraiture, landscape and collage, and draw inspiration from both global events and personal experiences.

Exhibition highlights include Sally Mann’s images of wildfires and thick smoke that engulfed the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia in 2008 and Fabrice Monteiro’s The Prophecy, which explores worldwide pollution through staged photographs of figures in costumes made of rubbish and natural materials.

As disturbing as it is beautiful, this show is a good snapshot of what’s going on in contemporary photography — and the world.

Viewing Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s – Now

The Wick Culture - Denzil Forrester Jah Shaka 1983. Collection Shane Akeroyd, London © Denzil Forrester

Above Denzil Forrester Jah Shaka 1983. Collection Shane Akeroyd, London © Denzil Forrester

The Wick Culture - Hew Locke Souvenir 2 (Edward VII in Masonic Regalia) 2019. Courtesy of the artist and Hales Gallery © Hew Locke

Above Hew Locke Souvenir 2 (Edward VII in Masonic Regalia) 2019. Courtesy of the artist and Hales Gallery © Hew Locke

The Wick Culture - Frank Bowling Kaieteurtoo 1975. UK Government Art Collection © Frank Bowling. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2021

Above Denzil Forrester Jah Shaka 1983. Collection Shane Akeroyd, London © Denzil Forrester

Above Hew Locke Souvenir 2 (Edward VII in Masonic Regalia) 2019. Courtesy of the artist and Hales Gallery © Hew Locke

1 December 2021 — 3 April 2022
Tate Britain, London
https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/life-between-islands

This captivating show looks at the relationship between the Caribbean and Britain in art over 70 tumultuous years. It features more than 40 artists, who were either born in the Caribbean or have Caribbean heritage, working across film, photography, painting, sculpture and fashion. It also includes works by British artists inspired by the Caribbean such as Peter Doig, Lisa Brice and Chris Ofili.

There’s a lot to take in here, from the first feature film by a Black British director to Steve McQueen’s earliest work, Exodus, which shows two elderly West Indian men on the 243 bus home. Also shown is an early photo of Bob Marley, Frank Bowling’s famous 1968 work Who’s Afraid of Barney Newman, and bold, brilliant canvases by Aubrey Williams, an artist of the Windrush generation who came to Britain in the 1950s.

The Notting Hill setting appears throughout the exhibition as do powerful black-and-white photographs showing intimate scenes of love, family and social gatherings — and racial and political violence. Also worthy of note is a new iteration of Michael McMillan’s The Front Room, a reconstruction of a fictional 1970s interior, exploring the role of the home as a safe space for social gatherings at a time of widespread prejudice.

Life Between Islands is a superb show that deserves slow and considered looking. Take your time and you’ll reap the rewards.

Viewing Masterpieces in Miniature: The 2021 Model Art Gallery

The Wick Culture - Installation views of ‘Masterpieces in Miniature: The 2021 Model Art Gallery’ at Pallant House
Gallery. Photography: Rob Harris

Above Installation views of ‘Masterpieces in Miniature: The 2021 Model Art Gallery’ at Pallant House Gallery. Photography: Rob Harris

26 June 2021 — 24 April 2022
Pallant House Gallery, Chichester
https://pallant.org.uk/whats-on/masterpieces-in-miniature-the-2021-model-art-gallery/

Peer into this doll’s house-sized exhibition at Pallant House and you’ll see tiny works from over 30 leading contemporary British artists, including Edmund de Waal, Tacita Dean, Lubaina Himid and Damien Hirst. None of the artworks is bigger than 20cm, with some being as small as a pound coin.

These miniature masterpieces are on display in a specially designed scaled-down model art gallery, commissioned by Pallant House in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, alongside two earlier model galleries. The Thirty Four Gallery, made in 1934, features works by the likes of Henry Moore, Ivon Hitchens and Vanessa Bell; while The Model Art Gallery 2000, created to mark the millennium, includes works by such celebrated artists as Antony Gormley, Howard Hodgkin and Peter Blake. Together they chart the evolution of British art across eight decades in miniature form.

‘Most of the artists usually work on a large scale and were excited by the challenge of condensing their ideas into a miniature artwork,’ said Pallant House director Simon Martin, who came up with the idea in lockdown, when artists could not get to their studios and many people spoke of being creatively blocked. ‘And by being part of a such a unique history of modern and contemporary British art.’

The range of works on display is extraordinary, from an expressive 9cm nude by Maggi Hambling to a 13cm spin painting by Damien Hirst. Taking over an entire room of the model gallery is a photographic triptych evoking by John Akomfrah evoking his multi-screen film projects. Don’t let the small size of this exhibition put you off. It is a serious show with big impact.