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

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Viewing James Barnor: Accra/London – A Retrospective, Serpentine Galleries

The Wick Culture - Drum Cover Girl Erlin Ibreck Kilburn, London Courtesy Autograph, 1966.

Above Drum Cover Girl Erlin Ibreck Kilburn, London Courtesy Autograph, 1966.

The Wick Culture - Sick Hagemeyer shop assistant, Accra Courtesy Autograph, 1971.

Above Sick Hagemeyer shop assistant, Accra Courtesy Autograph, 1971.

The Wick Culture - James Barnor: Accra/London - A Retrospective (Installation view, 19 May – 24 October 2021, Serpentine) Photograph: Zoe Maxwell

Above James Barnor: Accra/London – A Retrospective (Installation view, 19 May – 24 October 2021, Serpentine) Photograph: Zoe Maxwell

The Wick Culture - Members of the Tunbridge Wells Overseas Club, Relaxing after a Hot Summer Sunday Walk, Kent, Courtesy of Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière, 1968.

Above Members of the Tunbridge Wells Overseas Club, Relaxing after a Hot Summer Sunday Walk, Kent, Courtesy of Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière, 1968.

Above Drum Cover Girl Erlin Ibreck Kilburn, London Courtesy Autograph, 1966.

Above Sick Hagemeyer shop assistant, Accra Courtesy Autograph, 1971.

Above James Barnor: Accra/London – A Retrospective (Installation view, 19 May – 24 October 2021, Serpentine) Photograph: Zoe Maxwell

Above Members of the Tunbridge Wells Overseas Club, Relaxing after a Hot Summer Sunday Walk, Kent, Courtesy of Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière, 1968.

James Barnor: Accra/London — A Retrospective
19 May — 24 October 2021
Serpentine Galleries, London

Serpentine’s North Gallery has just the thing for photography lovers — the largest survey to date of the pioneering Ghanaian-British photographer James Barnor.

Barnor’s work, which includes studio portraiture, photojournalism, and editorial and lifestyle commissions, covers everything from social and political changes in Accra and London to domestic scenes of family life. There is, however, a thread that connects his work across six decades: the indelible connection with his sitters.

Organised in broadly chronological order, this exhibition centres on the years between 1950 and 1980. Portraits taken at Barnor’s first studio, Ever Young, are shown alongside his era-defining work for South African anti-apartheid publication Drum. Also on display are wonderful works depicting London life in the Swinging Sixties and images from his time managing the first colour-processing laboratory in 1970s Ghana.

‘James Barnor’s work reminds us how thrillingly expansive life is,’ says Hans Ulrich Obrist. ‘His photographs offer the possibility of connection and exchange across continents and through time.’

Viewing These Passing Things by Steve Messam, Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, North Yorkshire

The Wick Culture - Image: National Trust

Above Image: National Trust

These Passing Things by Steve Messam
Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, North Yorkshire
10 July — Autumn 2021

Fountains Abbey is one of those places that will stop you in your tracks. Set in acres of designed landscape in North Yorkshire, it is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. The Studley Royal water garden is just as breathtaking. Originally designed in the 18th century by the Aislabie family, it features extensive water fountains, majestic woodland and a number of whimsical Georgian follies, architectural structures created to surprise and delight the family’s 18th-century guests.

Currently installed across Studley Royal are three temporary installations by Steve Messam, a British artist best known for his dramatic interventions that respond to landscape or built environments. These Passing Things is no different. The trio of colourful artworks breathe fresh life into the garden and its follies, prompting viewers to stop, stare and reconnect with this remarkable World Heritage Site.

If you’ve got tinies in tow, make a beeline for the vast play area boasting a roundabout, zip-wire and wooden climbing frame. Stop for a picnic before setting off on an afternoon adventure on the High Ride path. It’s time to pack your bags — These Passing Things merits a late summer road trip.

Viewing Tokyo: Art and Photography, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

The Wick Culture - Tokyo. Copyright: Ninagawa Mika

Above Tokyo. Copyright: Ninagawa Mika

The Wick Culture - Doll Festival. Copyright: Shinohara Ushio

Above Doll Festival. Copyright: Shinohara Ushio

The Wick Culture - Simmon. Copyright: Hosoe Eikoh. Courtesy Akio Nagasawa Gallery

Above Simmon. Copyright: Hosoe Eikoh. Courtesy Akio Nagasawa Gallery

The Wick Culture - Uguisudani-zu. Private Collection Copyright: Aida Makoto

Above Uguisudani-zu. Private Collection Copyright: Aida Makoto

Above Tokyo. Copyright: Ninagawa Mika

Above Doll Festival. Copyright: Shinohara Ushio

Above Simmon. Copyright: Hosoe Eikoh. Courtesy Akio Nagasawa Gallery

Above Uguisudani-zu. Private Collection Copyright: Aida Makoto

Tokyo: Art and Photography
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
29 July 2021 — 3 January 2022

The Ashmolean’s major summer blockbuster looks at the art and photography made in Tokyo from the 1600s to the modern day, while charting the city’s evolution from a small village known as Edo to the sprawling metropolis of the 21st century. A vibrant celebration of one of the world’s most creative and innovative cities, it brings together an exceptional range of artwork, from a 17th-century ink sketch to a recently commissioned immersive installation.

As you meander around the galleries, you’ll encounter dazzling prints from Utagawa Hiroshige’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856–9), which show the city’s beauty spots through the seasons, as well as an astonishing array of works depicting the devastating impact on the city of natural disasters including floods, earthquakes and typhoons.

Elsewhere, Pop paintings by Takashi Murakami are shown alongside painted scrolls, cherry blossom prints and provocative pieces depicting Tokyo’s clubbing and sex culture. Also on display are the experimental works of Aida Makoto, who links traditional painting techniques with contemporary manga styles to illustrate contemporary issues in Japanese society. This exhibition offers a captivating insight into the rich and diverse artistic output of a fascinating city.