Slice of the City Magazine - Autumn 2023

SLICE OF THE CITY NEIGHBOURHOOD NEWS, INSIGHTS & INVITATIONS FROM THE DOYLE COLLECTION

ISSUE 17 AUTUMN 2023

Come autumn it always feels good to

GIVING THANKS Thanksgiving may traditionally be a family affair, but there’s no law you have to make yourself a martyr to the cooking. The Dupont Circle welcome families large, small, biological, chosen, and workplace to sample our delicious Thanksgiving menu, served in The Pembroke (right). doylecollection.com / hotels/ the-dupont-circle-hotel

catch the last slanting rays of summer wrapped up, ideally, in super-soft Chanel tweed (if, like us, you don’t own any, feel free to dream after a visit to the new V&A retrospective), or curled deep into the custom sofa in The Westbury’s new P.V. Doyle Suite. Or why not get out and about? In the art world we’re profiling Frieze London and Cork Street Galleries and, for kids, celebrating all things Halloween.

of London, Dublin, Bristol,

At The Bristol we’re offering a chance to discover the cultural and maritime history of the city’s storied Harbourside Quarter with a two-hour private guided walking tour that is pleasingly followed with a glass of Champagne and delicious canapes for two in The River Lounge. https://

Washington DC and Cork

www.ghadiscovery.com/

THE CROKE PARK

Explore our portfolio of Irish family-owned luxury hotels superbly located in the centre

News & Views WINE & DINE September 27th sees us hosting a Winemakers Dinner at Wilde Restaurant, showcasing Rathfinny wines, alongside a five-course tasting menu. Rathfinny is the first grower and producer of sparkling wine to be awarded B Corp status and have distilled their South of England micro-climate and freedraining chalky soil into something extraordinary in barrel and bottle. The grapes are hand harvested, matured slowly and bunch pressed, and the process prefers minimal intervention, so it’s hard to explain their exceptional sparkling wines as anything less than an alchemy. Come, listen to Rathfinny Founder Mark Driver and experience the flavours. Booking is essential. Wilde.ie

Whether you’re coming from overseas to reconnect with your ancestral home (joining a starry list from Barak Obama to Mariah Carey, Robert DeNiro to Nicole Kidman), or simply finding out more about your Irish roots, enjoy a private consultation with a genealogist at the Cobh Heritage Centre, set in a refurbished Victorian Railway Station by the sea.

doyle-collection/the-bristol/ GET IN TOUCH

experiences/stroll-and-sip-

Website

in-bristol

doylecollection.com

PARTNERS IN DRAMA The Gate Theatre Dublin was founded in 1928 by actor and director, Micheál MacLiammóir and his actor partner, Hilton Edwards, to bring a unique programme of world theatre to the city; and has been Dublin’s most consistently innovative space ever since. Always an artist-led organisation, The Gate challenged convention from the start with a first season featuring seven productions from internationally renowned playwrights including Ibsen (Peer Gynt), Eugene O’Neill (The Hairy Ape) and Oscar Wilde (Salome). While the varied programme proved a draw, The Gate also launched many a stellar career, including that of James Mason, Orson Wells, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Michael Gambon. Today, under the creative leadership of the indefatigeable Róisín McBrinn, The Gate 2

continues to put on incredible work - such as its adaptation of The Great Gatsby, above, develops and supports emerging and established artists, produces new work and functions as a ‘world theatre’, ‘reinvigorating existing works from the Irish and International canon’. All very laudable, but for the visitor it’s the brilliant productions that keep them coming. So, building on The Doyle Collection’s long history as a supporter of the Arts, The Croke Park is delighted to be named official accommodation partner for The Gate. Most excitingly, we will be launching our 15-minute Dublin package, including tickets to The Gate’s Winter programme, headlined by the retelling of Peter Pan by iconic Dublin author, Roddy Doyle. doylecollection.com/hotels/thecroke-park-hotel

Instagram

CURATED CORK

@thedoylecollection

Our special Curated Weekends

Facebook

in Cork are proving extremely

TheDoyleCollection

popular.

Especially

the

one

with Sunday Times CLIMATE ON THE COVER

supplement editor and advocate for all things low impact, Jo

Yellow Cube by Kit Line. See

Linehan. Find out more at

https://www.ghadiscovery.

Frieze Art Fair and Emerging

doylecollection.com/cork

com/doyle-collection/the-

artists feature on p.12

river-lee/experiences/irishheritage-experience-with-

Slice of the City is

cobh-heritage-centre

published on behalf of The Doyle Collection by Rivington Bye Ltd.

A LITERARY TEA

Reproduction without

There’s something in the elegant Georgian garden squares surrounding The Bloomsbury, spawning as

permission is strictly

they did the fascinating history of literary titans, The Bloomsbury Set. There’s no single answer to the

prohibited. All details

question ‘why here?’, but a private tour with your very own Blue Badge Guide paints a fascinating picture

correct at the time of

of a cultural movement that punched well above its weight. The tour is followed by The Bloomsbury

publication but may change.

Afternoon Tea created by Head Pastry Chef (and Afternoon Tea of the Year finalist) Chris Dodd.

For all editorial enquiries:

https://www.ghadiscovery.com/doyle-collection/the-bloomsbury/experiences/private-walking-tour-

enquire@rivingtonbye.com

and-afternoon-tea-in-the-coral-room

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““Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.”

Gabrielle

CHANEL

Fashion Manifesto

is this autumn’s No.1 exhibition at the V&A. We explore.

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Coco Chanel’s early training as a seamstress meant that from the start she worked like a couturier, forever ripping seams and remodelling them to get

C

omfort has always been something of a dirty word in fashion, often seen as giving up on style. But Coco Chanel never made anything she wouldn’t wear herself, and when she cut her clothes to move with fluidity, naturally with the female body, comfort was a radical concept. Not to mention one that helped her fashion house endure for over a century. As the first UK exhibition to celebrate fashion designer and cultural icon, Coco Chanel, opens at the V&A, we take a look at her life, loves, work and penchant for many the bon mot.

“My life didn’t please me, so I invented my life.” Chanel’s start in life (born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel in 1883 in a Saumur poorhouse to laundress, Jeanne Devolle, and Albert Chanel, her peddler paramour) was unlikely to please anyone. But few could have imagined the reinvention into a phenomenally successful businesswoman, an early female founder of a modern fashion house, a fiercely intelligent patron of the arts and the effortlessness with which she shattered the class ceiling in France and Britain, too.

Chanel always obfuscated her humble origins, but the early death of her mother and abandonment by Albert left her just 11 years old in a Catholic orphanage. The nuns were taskmasters but the orphanage gifted Chanel both an education and the ability to sew.

Upon leaving Aubazine in 1901, she found work as a tailor’s seamstress (immersing herself in the functionality and cut of menswear) by day, and a cabaret singer by night, dropping the ‘Gabrielle’ for ‘Coco’ along the way. While her singing voice was reportedly not up to much, her spirit and her style captivated one-time cavalry officer and (handily) textile heir, Étienne Balsan, and she became his mistress at 23.

“The most courageous act is to think for yourself. Aloud.” While the life Chanel was shaping may have started in a rather cliched way, she had absolutely no intention of following in the footsteps of the mistress she ousted, dancer and actress, Émilienne d’Alençon. What Chanel wanted was to work, so she had Balsan set her up in business; initially as a milliner.

Overleaf Dorothy and Little Bara (priest).

Left Marie-Hélène Arnaud in a tweed suit from Chanel’s AutumnWinter 1959 collection with Chanel shoes and the now iconic quilted 2.55 Chanel handbag. Right In order for the garments to appear as relaxed as intended, the team at Palais Galleria in Paris selected a mannequin with an arched back and tested and re-tested, adjusting both slip and dress to within a millimetre to obtain the correct

After decades of being trussed up in corsetry, bodices, hoops, underskirts and overskirts – restricted, decorative, unable to move freely - women were crying out for something new. Taking on men’s work during the first world war and experiencing the freedom of overalls only exacerbated the feeling. And as a woman, Chanel instinctively understood.

flow and drape. Far Right The exhibition was originally conceived to reveal Gabrielle Chanel’s development from the pleated silk dresses of the early twenties to the wool bouclé suits of the fifties and sixties.

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It was in Deauville (holiday destination of the beau monde) that Chanel started her fashion house proper. Backed by a new lover, wealthy English polo player, ‘Boy’

CREDITS: (VOGUE) © 1960 WILLIAM KLEIN / PATRIMOINE DE CHANEL, PARIS © CHANEL / PHOTOGRAPHY: NICHOLAS ALAN COPE

every proportion just so… JUSTINE PICARDIE

“It is always better to be slightly underdressed” GABRIELLE CHANEL

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“Coco Chanel’s vision was to allow women the same sartorial comfort, dignity and ease only previously available in men’s tailoring.”

“The most courageous act is to think for yourself. Aloud.”

GABRIELLE CHANEL

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CREDITS: © CHANEL / PHOTOGRAPHY: NICHOLAS ALAN COPE/ COURTESY OF VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

Capel, she became known for her effortless, body-skimming pieces, uniquely cut from jersey (at this time only used for men’s underwear). Her designs make women feel stylish, modern and emancipated, and saw them flocking to her boutique.

While Chanel was too instinctive a designer to have an actual fashion manifesto, the codes of her house were clear and consistent from the very start, allowing her the freedom to create first after first.

In the 1920s, black was the colour of mourning. But Chanel saw it as chic and invented the little black dress – to be revisited season after season and becoming the lynchpin of every stylish woman’s wardrobe.

Her pearls were fake and layered – seemingly contradicting her oft-quoted aphorism, “Elegance is refusal”, but designed to satirise wealth. And her iconic 2.55 handbag was the first shoulder bag for women, freeing their hands for more important endeavours.

Created over 100 years ago (2021), Chanel No. 5 changed the face of fragrance. Gone

Far Left Hand-knitted wool costumes designed by Gabrielle Chanel for the ballet Le Train Bleu and below as worn by Lydia Sokolova, Anton Dolin, Bronislava Nijinska and Leon Woizikowsky after the first performance in London at the Coliseum Theatre, 1924 Left, top A red cotton velvet dress designed

by Gabrielle Chanel in 1932 Left Gabrielle Chanel invented the concept of the modern boutique at 31 rue Cambon, Paris, where she was photographed by Roger Schall in 1937. Right One of Gabrielle Chanel’s best known designs, a braided wool tweed suit from her Autumn/Winter collection of 1964

JUSTINE PICARDIE

were the timorous single notes of Rose and Lavender and soft romantic imagery. In their place, a complex fragrance for grownup women, co-created with French-Russian perfumier, Ernest Beaux. Inspired by a lab bottle (with the lid said to mirror the Place Vendôme), its packaging was an essay in beautiful functionality, and it was the first fragrance to feature its designer’s name, along with the crisp and modern ‘No. 5’.

Tweed was an unlikely addition to the female wardrobe – reserved as it was for men’s country tailoring. But, during a ten-year relationship with the Duke of Westminster, Chanel discovered the offduty sportswear of the English aristocracy - traditional tweeds for shooting and fishing in heather and mizzle and galloping through the countryside on horseback.

Naturally, Chanel put her own spin on it.

Her tweeds were light and soft, cut into her flattering, practical skirt suits and snapped up by women all over the world. To this day tweed is a cornerstone of the house and reinvented for every season.

Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 16 September 2023 – 25 February 2024, is presented in collaboration with Palais Galleria in Paris, and Chanel and brings together more than 200 looks from public and private collections, as well as some rare pieces from the V&A’s own archive. Tickets will be almost impossible to secure. At The Kensington we have partnered with the V&A and are offering tickets to the show as well as hosting a series of talks with Justine Picardie, writer and Chanel expert, who will be celebrating the launch of a new edition of her bestselling biography of Coco Chanel to coincide with the exhibition.

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HEAVEN’S ON THE 6TH FLOOR The launch of the new P.V. Doyle Suite at The Westbury is redefining luxury for the 21st century traveller…

P

reviously known as The Presidential Suite, The Westbury’s sixth floor destination has long been one of Dublin’s finest accommodations - chosen by Heads of State, global politicos, captains of industry, sporting legends, musical icons and Hollywood’s finest - including the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Pavarotti, Pelé and David Bowie, to name but a few.

Despite this starry list the time had come for a full reimagination, renaming the space to commemorate Doyle Collection founder, P.V. Doyle, and embracing a new level of luxury in keeping with The Westbury’s place as an established member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Works from some of Ireland’s most celebrated artists adorn every wall, thoughtfully curated and complemented with finely crafted furniture and furnishings, while the jewel-like bar in the living/dining space, adds serious glamour to a place where supreme comfort is king.

In the words of Doyle Collection Chairman, Bernie Gallagher, “Light, elegant design touches create a sense of calm, an oasis above the bustling streets of Dublin. Plus our curated selection of antiques and artworks present themes of travel, exploration and discovery and it is these details which, I believe, make our guests feel truly at home when they stay with us..” @westburydublin doylecollection.com/hotels/the-westbury-hotel

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Overleaf Mid-century design (in shades of green and muted orange) is celebrated in the bespoke, handwoven rug, while the custom crystal chandelier, jewel-box like art-deco style bar, vintage Angelo Mangiarotti sculptural Italian marble coffee table and some seriously fine art add glamour to the space.

Left The art’s the star – two mono lithographs by Louis le Brocquy, and, above, just visible in the entry hall, his tapestry, Sol y sombra; adorning the back wall, Fount, a silkscreen on canvas by Patrick Scott. Top Behind the vast bed, a flexible space, perfect for working out, for use as a dressing room or even a bedroom (a murphy bed makes it ideal for little ones). Above The pristine Kolkata marble that lights up the large ensuite bathroom is sourced from a single Italian quarry.

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Q WHY DO GHOSTS LIKE TO GO UP IN LIFTS? A BECAUSE THEY RAISE THEIR SPIRITS

N T WH E A E G U YO ND AT DO VAMPIRE A ITE H W Q SS A A FROSTB O R C YOU MAN? W O N S

Q WH Y DI DN ’T THE SKELE T O A HE HAD N THE PARTY? TON GO O BOD Y TO G O WIT H

me days I ’m o s

colour & cutout werewolf mask

HORRIBLE

HALLOWEEN

EXT

R A WIT CH

witch badge

Who knew the festival of all things spooky, scary and spidery had its origins in The Emerald Isle?

I

reland is famous for loads of things – it’s literally green, there’s dancing, music, books and poetry, the Giant’s Causeway, horse racing, shamrocks, pots of gold, peat, potatoes and a million other clichés. But Halloween?

In fact, it was the ancient Celts that first celebrated All Hallows Eve, believing the 31st October to be the day when the wall between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. To keep spooks at bay, bonfires were lit, sweets were eaten (not sure how this might protect anybody from ghouls and ghosts, though), and costumes would be worn to ward off evil spirits.

While Celts came from many parts of Europe it was those in Ireland that took the tradition to America. And where else but the US of A would Halloween become an event that, by 2022, saw people spending over 10 BILLION DOLLARS on fun, fancy dress and 266 MILLION kilos of sweets.

SPOOKY!!

Washington DC is one of the scariest places in the USA to celebrate. Staying at The Dupont Circle you’ll find all kinds of activities for kids and their adults, from graveyard tours to spookily dressed dog shows, pumpkin carving, Jack-O-lantern trails, witchy puppet shows, haunted labs (Science museum), Halloween on ice (watch out for ghouls and ghosts on skates), pumpkin races (on wheels), Boo at the Zoo

and miniature ‘eye spy trains’ to ‘Transylvania’.

If you’re at The Kensington, check for spooky tours of the haunted corridors of Hampton Court Palace and scary trails through the museums. From The Marylebone take the train to The Harry Potter Experience, for terrifying tours and there’s some serious boo! to be had at London Zoo, too.

At The Bloomsbury you’re minutes from the British Museum, so check out their famously fearsome Egyptian mummy sleepovers for Young Friends, and local spooky walks and trails. Wherever you are, have a wander, look out for illuminated pumpkins on doorsteps and knock loudly. Also, obviously, ask your concierge. They love Halloween.

WORD SEARCH

CREEPY FACT

See if you can find the spooky hidden words WORD LIST BANSHEE

OGRE

BAT

PHANTOM

CYCLOPS

SHADOW

DEMON

SNAKE

GHOST

SPIDER

GOBLIN

TROLL

KRAKEN

VAMPIRE

MEDUSA

WITCH

MONSTER YETI MUMMY

Q WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU DIVIDE THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF A JACK-O-LANTERN BY ITS DIAMETER? A PUMPKIN PI…

ZOMBIE

Your mind can sense someone staring at you even when you’re asleep. Which explains why you can wake up in the night for no apparent reason

Y

AND, FRIEZE As Frieze celebrates its 20th anniversary by welcoming thousands of global art connoisseurs to the capital, we take a look at one of the world’s most influential art fairs - barely minutes away from The Marylebone…

I

t’s not often the dress ‘code’ (more guidance) for the art event of the season, magnet to collectors from all over the world, as well as global movers and shakers in arts and culture is, simply, sensible shoes, but at Frieze, you ignore it at your peril. With two large marquees in The Regent’s Park, a sculpture trail and 59 participating galleries all over London, including many in recently revitalised Cork Street, pedometers will reach new heights.

While Autumn’s Frieze Art Fair, this year celebrating its 20th year of drawing tens of thousands from all over the world, always pops up as a top place for ‘celebrity spotting’, it’s the art you’ll be gazing at. Aside from the opening party, which keeps the Evening Standard Insider photographer and online editors very busy, you’re much more likely, in the midst of an appreciative reverie, to feel the desire to turn to the stranger next to you and sigh in mutual appreciation only to discover they own a very familiar face. In such an eventuality, we recommend styling it out. After all, everybody’s there for the same noble purpose. Art.

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While the Frieze Art Fair in the capital has become the art event of the year, it’s worth remembering that Frieze started as, and still is, a magazine. Launched in 1991, Frieze was the first magazine dedicated to contemporary art, especially the scene mushrooming in 1990s Britain. Dominated by enfants terribles, the Young British Artists (YBAs) – there was something of a DIY ethos, it was all big ideas with value measured in shock – despite the emergence, fuelled by Charles Saatchi’s more New York approach to art collecting, of some big fat cheques.

According to British Art Critic Jonathan Jones, “In the ‘90s the British Art scene was quite punky and raw. There were comparatively few commercial galleries in Britain. Then Frieze (art fair) came along and took it to this global level”. It was an innovation about which the YBAs themselves, while benefiting hugely from the sales, exhibited mixed feelings. As Damian Hirst was alleged to have said at the time, “The art world is full of scoundrels peddling rubbish to idiots”.

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Today, the word most commonly used to describe Frieze is ‘influential’. Galleries grow their global reputations here and artists lucky enough to have a Frieze moment are made, as are millions by artists, dealers and collectors. Ultimately, though, Frieze has entirely transformed the British art scene and its place in the world. In 2023, the global art market is valued at $67.8 billion (Art Basel/UBS Global Art Market Report), with the UK (at 18%) ranking second behind the USA’s 45% market share.

Divided between art and auction house sales, the lion’s share of the market is made from contemporary art, though US and European Old Masters continue to grow as a share.

Which is one reason why Frieze Masters was added to the Frieze mix in 2012. Frieze Masters covers six millennia of arts, from stuff you’ll see in museums to dinosaur skeletons. For 2023, Frieze Masters, led by Nathan Clements-Gillespie, partnered with 130 galleries to present everything from antiquities and Old Masters to rare and antiquarian books, Asian art, Medieval manuscripts, antique arms, even Renaissance pottery. Frieze Masters represents 18

Acres of marquee dominates The Regent’s Park, groaning with art.

The experience isn’t one for the faint hearted and can take days to take it all in. While everything is for sale, prices are not displayed and works are selected with the serious collector in mind.

Also, most pieces are headed for private ownership, so it’s an opportunity to view works that may never be seen in public again.

Artist-to-Artist is the latest iteration of Frieze’s well-established artist-led programming, with some of the world’s best-known selecting an emerging artist they wish to bring to global attention.

So, Simone Leigh presents Deborah Anzinger, Wolfgang Tillmans has nominated Mark Barker, Haegue Yang chose Ayoung Kim, and Olafur Liasson, Favian Knecht. Thai artist, Rirkrit Tiravanija showcases the late Wantanee Siripattananuntakul, Anthea Hamilton presents Carlos Villa and Tracey Emin CBE RA picked the visceral Vanessa Raw. And all are shown at the fair.

While Frieze Masters is always fascinating and Frieze Sculpture is the dog-friendly, free, in the park arm of the festival, Frieze London is absolutely the main event. And for its anniversary year, Director Eva Langret has conjured up some fascinating initiatives alongside a sensational selection of contemporary art, presented by over 160 galleries from 40 countries, together with works by this years’ recipient of the life-changing Frieze London Artist Award – Egyptian born, London-based multimedia artist, Adham Faramawy.

Elsewhere, new galleries feature in ‘Focus’, ‘Editions’ presents affordable prints from established artists, ‘Modern Women’ shares works by women dated 1880-1980, ‘Standout’ challenges traditional hierarchies of media in art, and ‘Studio’ focuses on the artist’s place of making – with a number of working artist’s studios, integrating archival images and objects essential to the creative process. Go, take it all in. Then head to Cork Street (via The Marylebone for a cocktail or afternoon tea) and visit all the small galleries. frieze.com/fairs/ frieze-londoncorkstgalleries.com

a unique opportunity to see such an eclectic, expertly curated collection all in one place. And what a place.

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ONES TO WATCH Here are five emerging, collectible artists whose work is still within reach at least for now…

FRANCES PINNOCK A London-based artist with a practice encompassing drawing, sculpture and movement, translating thoughts around the body and space into objects worked, primarily, in leather. instagram @francespinnock

SHADI AL-ATALLAH Explores ‘connections between the Queer ballroom scene and folkloric dance traditions from African diasporic communities in the Arabian Peninsula’, plus it’s gorgeously figurative.

Instagram @ramenate

JOSEPH MOBOLAJI AINA Graduate of the RCA, Joseph analyses the presentation of black culture within the western world surrounding the loss of ‘Blackness’ and identity crisis. jmartspace.com

KIT LINE Recognising the potential in discarded materials

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often found on the Thames foreshore, his artworks develop

GINA SODEN Obsessed with abandoned structures and

their story with an analytical feel, a sense of piecing

locations, Gina travels to secret sites throughout Europe to

together, like a puzzle in which colour highlights texture.

produce photographs exploring beauty, decay, nostalgia and

Instagram @kit.line_sculpture kitlinesculpture.com

neglect. Instagram @ginasodenartist

BUYING AFFORDABLE CONTEMPORARY ART With works presented at Frieze fetching up to seven figures, to shop is much more the preserve of a preternaturally youthfullooking mid-lifer with a super-yacht tan and private jet luggage than of a regular traveller, even one well used to enjoying the finer things in life. Having said that, the commercial galleries affiliated with Frieze present much more of a spectrum spanning spaces from Harlesden to Hoxton and almost all of the price points, from an entirely affordable limited-edition print or ceramic pot, through to epic, expansive canvases suitable only for lofty interiors and the deepest of pockets. But buying from galleries isn’t the only way to invest in art. Despite a move, post pandemic, back towards purchasing art in person, for many years digital sales have grown steadily, both via online gallery spaces and, of course, on Instagram from artists direct to buyers. In addition, the capital is rarely without open studios and art fairs offering a huge number of works by a large variety of artists, introducing buyers to artists direct, making art accessible to those who prefer to avoid the faff that so often accompanies a wellrepresented artist on the rise.

OPEN STUDIOS We’re huge fans of the open studio both for contemporary art and artisan crafts – they’re great for gift buying and finding interesting pieces to add to collections. There are so many in London you really are best off googling, but you can’t beat Cockpit Arts for craft @cockpitstudios, and for art, ACME (with studios all over London) @acme.art and Apt studios @aptgallery.

SOCIAL MEDIA Influencing isn’t just shots of smoked mango and balsamic berry smoothies - art influencers have enabled followers to discover art digitally at their own pace. Here are some of the best. govisually.com/blog/art-influencers-on-instagram AFFORDABLE ART FAIRS Affordable Art Fairs have changed the face of art buying, opening it to a wider audience and enabling many talented artists looking to connect directly with buyers. With so many different artists to choose from we recommend doing some research first then walking round with a completely open mind. @affordableartfairuk 21

Events & Happenings

Museum, the Palais Galliera

HUMAN CONDITION

YBAs, and their trademark

energy crackles through her

in Paris and premiered in

It’s hard to believe we’re four

of having plenty to say and

Tate Britain retrospective, but

Step out of your hotel and into our pick of this month’s most captivating events

2020. While the clue is still in

decades on since Sarah Lucas

headline-grabbing ways of

what really hits home is her love

the name, the V&A presents

arrived amidst the fearless,

saying it. Today, Lucas’ drive

of humanity. It’s a must see.

Chanel’s philosophy in

ferocious assurance of the

and ferocity are undimmed and

Sarah Lucas

partnership with Palais Galliera

Tate Britain

(and supported by CHANEL)

28th Sept – 14th Jan 2024

with the addition of some

tate.org.uk/whats-on/

MIRROR, MIRROR

iconic pieces from the V&A’s

tate-britain/sarah-lucas

A world premiere on the

own collection.

London stage is always

Gabrielle Chanel.

exciting but when it’s a brand-

Fashion Manifesto

new play by Sam Holcroft, led

V&A South Kensington

by rising stars, Tanya Reynolds

16th Sept - 25th Feb

and Micheal Ward, anchored by

vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/

MOVIES AND SHAKERS

the evergreen Jonny Lee Miller,

gabrielle-chanel-

For eleven days every Autumn

directed by Jeremy Herrin and

fashion-manifesto

London transforms into a

The Bloomsbury

put on by the frankly always

celebration of moviemaking.

REBEL YELL

This year is the 67th BFI (British

we defy it not to fly. Go!

To celebrate 30 years of BFC’s

Film Institute) London Film

A Mirror

NEWGEN, the Design Museum

Festival and the programme

Almeida Theatre

has curated an exhibition to

is as diverse, ground-breaking

15th Aug – 23rd Sept

celebrate the radical talent

and entertaining as always, with

almeida.co.uk/whats-

of its recipients. Where Lee

screenings in theatres (and pop-

McQueen led, almost 300

up tents!) all over the capital,

designers followed – all

Q&As and talks featuring the

supported by NEWGEN -

very best up-and-coming

and show highlights include

filmmakers, alongside veterans

Bjork’s swan Oscar frock, Sam

of their craft. Go online, plan

Smith’s HARRI inflatable latex

and book.

suit and works from rebel

BFI London Film Festival

royalty spanning JW Anderson

5th-16th Oct

to Christopher Kane, Molly

whatson.bfi.org.uk

FRIENDS REUNITED Even musical refuseniks can’t deny the brilliance of the great and, sadly, late Stephen Sondheim. His passing in 2021 was commemorated by the cream of London’s luvvies, in a brilliant tribute conjured

by Matthew Bourne. Too

black and white photography,

renamed Young V&A and

calendar, London’s Open

good to be a one-off, it’s been

using long exposures to

reopened in July 2023 as ‘a

House Festival gives all comers

revived, recast for a longer run,

give an epic sense of time

visionary interactive space

the perfect opportunity to

and will grace the stage of the

captured. This Hayward

dedicated to creativity,

uncover the secrets of the

Gielgud Theatre.

Gallery retrospective will be

inspiration and play’, for kids

city’s best-known buildings

Stephen Sondheim’s

extraordinary.

aged 0 to 14 years. Visit for all

by choosing from a selection

Old Friends

Time Machine

this and its brilliant inaugural

of walking tours guided by

Gielgud Theatre

Hayward Gallery

exhibition, Japan, Myths to

expert historians to unpick

16th Sept – 6th Jan

11th Oct – 7th Jan

Manga.

and evoke neighbourhoods

gielgudtheatre.co.uk

southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-

Japan Myths to Manga

that have evolved organically

on/art-exhibitions/hiroshi-

Young V&A

over hundreds of years.

sugimoto-time-machine

Opens 14th Oct

Open House Festival

vam.ac.uk/young

All over the city

TIME MACHINE Born in Tokyo in 1943, Hiroshi Sugimoto is quite the

FOR THE YOUNG

6th-17th Sept

Renaissance Man. Not only

Built in 1868 with profits

open-city.org.uk/open-

a photographer, he is also a

from The Great Exhibition,

house-festival-2023

renowned architect, sculptor

The Bethnal Green Museum

and set designer. Influenced

became the Museum of

by Duchamp, Dada and

Childhood in 1974 and

OPEN HOUSE

Show of the season, Gabrielle

Surrealism, Sugimoto is best

now, after a three -year

One of the most popular

Chanel, Fashion Manifesto

known for his exploration of

reimagination, has been

festivals in a city-lover’s

was created by Paris Fashion

The Kensington

FASHION MANIFESTO

Matty Bovan, Spring/Summer 2019. Model Fran Summers, Hat Stephen Jones for Matty Bovan, Dress Matty Bovan. Photo © Rebecca Maynes Hiroshi Sugimoto, Sea of Buddha 049 (Triptych), 1995, Lightning Fields 225, 2009 © Hiroshi Sugimoto, courtesy of the artist.

excellent Almeida Theatre,

on/a-mirror

22

The Marylebone

Goddard to Wales Bonner.

Rebel Design Museum 16th Sept - 11th Feb designmuseum.org/ exhibitions/rebel-30years-of-london-fashion

Left Discover The Black Friar as part of a pub walking tour during Open House Festival.

Top Matty Bovan Dress from Rebel at The Design Museum Right The extraordinary photography of Hiroshi Sugimoto at The Hayward.

23

AND, FRIEZE

Bristol

Frieze is ‘the world’s leading

in an interconnected series of

town, Bath, is always worth a

IRONBOUND

WOMEN BETWEEN WORLDS

archetypes of womanhood and

Anne Madden

industrial spaces. It’s remit, an

visit, but especially so when

As part of Dublin Theatre

For far too long known only

all things chthonic comes into

IMMA

platform for modern and

MURDER, MYSTERY, MUSICAL

international contemporary

the 100+ visiting authors

Festival, The Abbey Theatre

as the wife of the renowned

the spotlight. Find out more in

24th Aug – 21st Jan

contemporary art, dedicated

No motives. No suspects. They

art centre for the people of

include Sir Lenny Henry to

presents Ironbound, written by

Irish artist Louis le Brocquy,

this new exhibition at the

imma.ie/whats-on/anne-

to artists, galleries, collectors

don’t know anything… Who

and visitors to Bristol, it’s the

Chris Riddle, Holly Jackson

Pulitzer Prize-winning Polish

Anne Madden is enjoying

Irish Museum of Modern

madden-seven-paintings-2

and art lovers alike.’ With their

to Katherine Rundell.

playwright, Martyna Majok,

a renaissance, receiving

Art (IMMA).

bibles, Frieze magazine and

Bath Children’s

exploring the challenges

accolades as her own work

Frieze Masters magazine, four

Literature Festival

faced by immigrants making

inspired by myth, nature,

international art fairs, a rolling

All over the city

a new life. The moving,

programme of talks and their

29th Sept – 8th Oct

darkly funny piece tells

own Cork Street gallery, Frieze

bathfestivals.org.uk/

the story of Darja, a

London is hosted under canvas

childrens-literature

Polish woman finding her way in New Jersey

in The Regent’s Park and galleries throughout the city.

FESTIVAL OF FILM

and how her hopes and

Frieze London

Birthplace of Aardman, Bristol

dreams are shaped by her

The Regent’s Park

is the home of animation,

experiences over 20 years

11th – 15th Oct

and Encounters is the UK’s

and three relationships.

frieze.com/fairs/frieze-london

leading festival of short films,

Ironbound

animation, and VR, providing

Abbey Theatre

LYONESSES

a platform for new and

3rd Oct – 4th Nov

For us, the idea of seeing

emerging and established

abbeytheatre.ie/

Kristin Scott Thomas and

filmmakers to share their

whats-on/ironbound

Lilly James reprising their

work, meet and expand

Rebecca chemistry live on the

their networks. Featuring a

SECOND BEST

London stage would be draw

jam-packed programme of

With its first production

enough. But when we heard

screenings, Q&As, events,

an award winner,

the description by brilliant

masterclasses and workshops,

any outing for Martin

writer Penelope Skinner of her

and the opportunity to see

McDonagh’s Hangmen is

comeback tale as a ‘flipped

something completely new.

a draw, especially at The

revenge tragedy about the

Encounters Film Festival

Gaiety Theatre. It’s the

person on whom revenge has

Various Locations

fictional story of Britain’s

been sworn’ we were absolutely

27th Sept – 2nd Oct

second-best hangman (and

intrigued. Ian Rickson directs.

encounters.film

Oldham publican) who, as the

Lyonesse

play opens, is cursed on the

Harold Pinter Theatre

knew solving a murder could

perfect setting for a major

17th Oct – 23rd Dec

be so hard? This is the murder,

monographic exhibition

haroldpintertheatre.

mystery, musical tale of Kathy

celebrating five decades

co.uk/shows/lyonesse

and Stella, hosts of Hull’s ‘least

of the mythically magical,

The Westbury

innocence, and, as it unfolds, becomes subject, in his own

The Croke Park

pub, to the strange events

successful true-crime podcast’.

vibrant works of Colombian

HAKUNA MATATA!

and old rivalries that follow.

OPEN HOUSE

IS THAT JAZZ?

But when their favourite author

artist, Ofelia Rodríguez.

Based on the Disney classic,

Hangmen

Hosted by the Irish Architecture

Well, it’s a question we’ve

is killed, they are thrust into a

Ofelia Rodríguez

The Lion King musical has

The Gaiety Theatre

Foundation, Open House

all asked and one that is

whodunnit of their own! Can

Spike Island

been playing to packed houses

19th Oct – 4th Nov

Dublin is Ireland’s biggest

comprehensively answered

they crack the case before the

30th Sept – 14th Jan

in New York and London

gaietytheatre.ie

architectural festival when

by the brilliant London Jazz

killer strikes again…?

spikeisland.org.uk/programme/

for decades. The touring

events/hangmen

some of the city’s most

Festival, draw to some of the

Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder

exhibitions/ofelia-rodriguez

production has played in 100

fascinating buildings are open

best performers from over the

Bristol Old Vic

cities in 20 countries over six

to all. From foreign embassies

world, along, of course, with

13th - 30th Sept

STORY TIME

continents and is coming

to university buildings, private

some excellent home-grown

bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/

Britain’s most brilliant writers,

back to the Bord Gáis

homes to usually off-limits

talent. With over 40 gigs,

kathy-and-stella-solve-

creators and illustrators from

Theatre for an other

hosted at some of the capital’s

a-murder

the world of young people’s

exciting six-week run.

Left London Jazz Festival.

also features talks and

books are coming to the West

The Lion King

Above Bath hosts 100 top

guided tours. Admission is

very best music venues,

24

gallows by a man declaring his

public buildings, the festival

you’ll be spoilt for choice.

SPIKED

Country, throughout the city

Bord Gáis Theatre

writers at its terrific Children’s

free but you should book.

London Jazz Festival

Spike Island makes the most

of Bath. Just 11 minutes on

28th Sept – 11th Nov

Literature Festival.

Open House Dublin

10th - 19th Nov

of its Dockyard setting in a

the train from Bristol, and 40

bordgaisenergytheatre.

Right Death of Anne Lovett by

7th - 15th Oct

efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk

former tea-packing warehouse

by car, the golden stone spa

ie/show/the-lion-king

Anne Madden at IMMA.

openhousedublin.com

25

SPOOKY!

THE WRITTEN WORD

the written word and this is

science, non-fiction and, of

SIDE BY SIDE

marvel at some extraordinary

27th – 30th Oct

features and shorts, plus classic

For those of you who didn’t

Punching well above its

celebrated every year in Dublin

course, fiction, across multiple

Cabaret meets play in this

basketball. It’s a great day out.

guinnessjazzfestival.com

films in a themed retrospective,

realise one Bram (Abraham)

population weight, Ireland

with a festival established

venues including libraries and

celebration of the works of two

Check dates online

Stoker was Irish and born

is closely associated with

in 2006 which has grown to

bookstores, centred in The

of the enduring greats of the

commanders.com

ALL EYES

Guilty Pleasures, as well as film

in Dublin, you’re not alone.

literature and the power of

incorporate history, poetry,

Printworks at Dublin Castle.

modern American Songbook,

mlb.com/nationals

The Crawford Art Gallery is

strands for family, schools and

Immortalised for his Gothic

Dublin Book Festival

Joni Mitchell and Leonard

nba.com/wizards

re-hanging its collection of

mental wellbeing. Go! It’s always

horror tale, Count Dracula,

All over the city

Cohen. Long-time friends and

Stoker himself is celebrated

8th - 12th Nov

one-time lovers, Mitchell and

every Halloween with spooky

dublinbookfestival.com

Cohen wrote some of the most

tours of historic Georgetown.

portraits and for this exhibition

interesting.

Choose yours carefully.

the clue’s in the name as from

Cork International Film Festival

each portrait the sitter looks

Venues around the city

the viewer unflinchingly in

9th – 19th Nov corkfilmfest.org

happenings, dark experiences

powerful songs of the last half

and all manner of scary fun.

century and their ‘conversation’

Bram Stoker Festival Various locations

The Dupont Circle

27th – 30th Oct

in song, is beautifully brought to life by musicians, Robbie Schafer and Dannielle Werz.

HOLIDAY

Both Sides Now

There’s always something worth

Signature Theatre

WHAT A DRAMA

watching on the Arena Stage.

1st – 13th Nov

Founded way back in 1957,

Despite stiff competition from

sigtheatre.org/events/202223/

The Dublin Theatre Festival

The Notebooks of Leonardo

both-sides-now-joni-mitchell-

is one of the world’s longest

Da Vinci and The Tina Turner

and-leonard-cohen

running, and the biggest date

Musical, our pick of the season

in Ireland’s theatrical calendar,

is Holiday, a stage adaptation of

BE AFRAID

bringing together artists,

the 1938 movie (starring Cary

It’s fall. Halloween is just

theatre-makers and audiences

Grant and Katharine Hepburn)

around the corner. So, it must

from all over for a celebration

telling the story of a self-made

be time to take a scary tour

of Dublin and its vivid cultural

Wall Street lawyer and the

of Washington. And when

landscape. In 2022 the event

contrasting expectations of him,

it comes to ghosts, ghouls,

hosted 300 performances from

his fiancé, her unconventional

the paranormal and good,

nine countries across 20 venues

sister and her family.

old-fashioned vampires,

drawing crowds of over 36,000.

Holiday

there’s a surprising amount

Dublin Theatre Festival

Arena Stage

of choice – with spine tingling

28th Sep – 15th Oct

7th Oct – 6th Nov

retelling of terrifying tales.

dublintheatrefestival.ie

https://washington.org/visit-

There are private tours, public

dc/ghost-tours-washington-dc#

tours, tours in graveyards and

bramstokerfestival.com

Scary Tours

The River Lee

All around the city

26

culinary cinema, Green Screen,

Check website for

ALL THAT JAZZ

the eye returning their gaze

dates and times

Cork Jazz Festival hosts three

from another time and place.

https://washington.org/visit-

days of large concerts and little

The subjects are luminaries,

GO TO GAOL

dc/ghost-tours-washington-dc

sessions featuring some of

both contemporary and from

With its beautifully restored

the biggest names in jazz. For

hundreds of years ago, but from

interior, Cork City Gaol is a

ALRIGHT, SPORT?

2023 you’ll see stellar names

each portrait, eyes lock.

handsome stone fortress which

Tis the season to watch

from Macy Gray to Morcheeba,

All Eyes on Us

was built in 1824 to house the

sport, and DC offers some of

Corinne Bailey Rae to Gilles

Crawford Art Gallery

city’s ‘disreputables’ before finally

the best in the country. The

Peterson, while Cork City Hall

28th Oct – 28th Feb

closing in 1923. Restoration was

Washington Commanders

is headlined by The (not so

crawfordartgallery.ie/

completed in the 1990s and today

Above The Washington

(previously the Redskins)

jazzy) Charlatans. Meanwhile,

exhibitions-upcoming

it is a museum telling human

Commandos in action in DC.

play incredible American

The River Lee is hosting a

Left The world of Bram Stoker

Football (or ‘football’ as it’s

roster of musical performances

MOVIE TOWN

fascinating place and a real Cork

comes alive in Dublin.

known there), the Washington

including our legendary Brass

The 68th CIFF, this is Ireland’s

must-visit.

Right Appreciate the quality of

Nationals play baseball for

Brunches in The Mirror Room.

first and largest film festival,

Cork City Gaol

Irish film-making at The Cork

trophies, and the Washington

Cork Jazz Festival

showcasing the latest and

Open daily. Book a guided tour.

International Film Festival.

Wizards are the place to

Eight venues across the city

best Irish and international

corkcitygaol.com

tales of a time long past. It’s a

27

24 HOURS

WEEKENDER IN WEST CORK There’s so much to see near The River Lee. So, why not make a weekend of it?

FRIDAY 19:00 CHECK-IN Cocktails on The River Terrace and dinner in The Grill Room. doylecollection.com/hotels/the-river-lee-hotel SATURDAY 08.30 ROOM SERVICE! Rise and shine. Savour some breakfast. Make for the car.

Go West. Follow the coast road.

11.00 BLOWN AWAY From the dramatic clifftops of Mizen Head the Atlantic Ocean views are stunning, while the beach at Barleycove Bay was formed by a tidal wave following a 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Today it’s just golden. Surf or swim.

13.30 DEEP SOUTH A short drive takes you to Crookhaven - for a pint and a bite of good home cooking at Ireland’s Southernmost pub, O’Sullivans. osullivanscrookhaven.ie 15.30 SCHULLWARD HO! Have a potter round the village, then head to the Schull Harbour Hotel, a 30-minute drive away. Check in. schullharbourhotel.ie 17.30 LEVIS CORNER HOUSE Take a taxi to Ballydehob and start your evening at the absolute icon of an historic pub that is Levis. leviscornerhouse.com 19.30 RESTAURANT CHESTNUT You might not expect a Michelin-starred tasting menu with wine pairings in a village with a population of under 300, but that’s what chef (son of a charcutier and pickler extraordinaire) Rob Krawczyk’s intimate little Ballydehob restaurant delivers. Obviously book ahead. restaurantchestnutwestcork.ie SUNDAY 11.00 ROAD TRIP On to a vibrant town on a bay, Clonakilty. From the Michael Collins Museum to a model railway, the town distillery to whale watching there’s so much to see.

14.30 LUNCH ON THE BAY Whether you choose the farm-to-fork Irish roast, or its lauded seafood, lunch at Dunmore House is to be savoured. dunmorehousehotel.ie .

16.30 INCHYDONEY BEACH Just ten minutes’ walk takes you to one of Ireland’s most beautiful beaches, stretch your legs before driving back to The River Lee and a Martini in The River Club.

28

DUPONT CIRCLE, WASHINGTON DC. 1922

THEN The Circle was included in the original ‘old city’ plans, mapped around 1791 by architect, Pierre Charles L’Enfant. City development was only partial until after the American Civil War when the arrival of waves of new residents made it essential. Development was driven in the 1870s by the rather infamous Alexander ‘Boss’ Shepherd who envisioned the

& NOW

Today, the Dupont Circle is one of DC’s most vibrant destinations, home to some of the city’s best stores (from clothing to food, art to books), restaurants, bars, galleries, while the fountain (heart of the circle) is the place, when the weather is fine, to meet, relax and people watch. A local Sunday morning treat is the weekly, year-

then ‘Pacific’ Circle as epicentre of a fashionable neighbourhood.

Building commenced in earnest in 1882, when the Circle was formally re-named to commemorate Rear Admiral Samuel Francis DuPont.

This image dates from 1922, by which time the great and the good of DC had flocked to build fancy mansions around the perimeter. The ‘Boss’ would have been delighted.

round Dupont Circle farmer’s market. Old Washington hasn’t moved on, just north of the circle one can walk ‘Embassy Row’ (take a tour), while those who work in the corridors of power can be found shooting the breeze (discreetly, we’re sure) in The Dupont Circle’s dining destination, The Pembroke (top left hand corner of the image).

DUPONT CIRCLE, WASHINGTON DC. 2022