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LondonTown.com: New London museum located in notorious hospital

March 24, 2015 EPR Network Leave a comment

Bethlam Royal Hospital hosts new permanent Museum Of The Mind.

LONDON, March 23, 2015 — /REAL TIME PRESS RELEASE/ — One of the most notorious psychiatric hospitals in history – Bethlam Royal Hospital, which gave its name to the word ‘bedlam’ – will be opening a pioneering gallery and museum on its premises this month. The new displays will be filled with the personal stories – both historic and contemporary – of those who have experienced mental health difficulties and will explore the long, controversial and often misunderstood history of Bethlem, founded 1247 in central London. Bethlem Gallery and Museum of the Mind opens on 19 February 2015. The Bethlam Royal Hospital has occupied various sites, including the building now used by the Imperial War Museum in Waterloo, and is now located in Beckenham, a short journey by train from the centre of London. To see other attractions in the area and learn how to get to Beckenham, as well as finding up-to-date information on hotels in London, see LondonTown.com.

The Bethlem Gallery and Museum of the Mind will occupy the hospital’s original 1930s administration building and celebrate the lives and achievements of those living with mental ill-health. Themed gallery spaces will explore the reasons why people arrive at Bethlem, aiming to inspire discussion, debate and reflection on mental health issues which are as relevant today as they were in the past. The museum will house significant art and historical artefacts, almost all of which will be on display for the first time, as well as works by current artists and hospital service users.

Among the highlights are paintings and drawings by Richard Dadd, Louis Wain and Jonathan Martin, each of whom was a former Bethlem or Maudsley Hospital patient; and the oldest objects in the collection, the imposing statues, ‘Raving and Melancholy Madness’ by Caius Gabriel Cibber (c1676) which originally stood above the gates of the 17th century ‘Bedlam’ at Moorfields. They will now take their place either side of the art deco staircase directly ahead of visitors entering the new museum. Notable paintings from the internationally renowned art collection include ‘The Maze’ by William Kurelek (1953), ‘Sketch of an idea for Crazy Jane’ by Richard Dadd (1855), ‘Numb’ by Lisa Biles (2009) and ‘Phrenology’ by Louis Wain (1911). Each of these will be on permanent display.

The exhibition will include striking images by Victorian photographer Henry Hering of Bethlem patients taken before and after treatment in order to detect their mental health conditions through facial expressions and features. The collection will also feature a key to the gates of the 18th century hospital, 19th century manacles, chains, straitjackets and other physical restraint devices, comments and letters from visitors from the 18th century up until today and 19th century admission and discharge registers.

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About LondonTown.com
LondonTown.com is the number one Internet site for London. With over 18 years of experience assisting visitors to the capital, they pride themselves on their customer service and editorial independence – no banner advertising or paid for content is allowed. The LondonTown.com team assist in finding cheap London hotels, sightseeing tours, ticket information and events. Trusted and with a loyal following, LondonTown.com is a very reliable source of recommendations and advice on what to do in London. http://www.LondonTown.com

Entertainment, Society, Travel

LondonTown.com: London Zoo’s lemurs get brilliant new home

March 24, 2015 EPR Network Leave a comment

In With The Lemurs, a new home for the primates, opens next month at London Zoo.

LONDON, March 23, 2015 — /REAL TIME PRESS RELEASE/ — London Zoo is getting a new attraction next month in the shape of a swanky new walk-through home for the zoo’s playful troop of 16 lemurs. In With The Lemurs is a fine new base for the lemurs at the zoo, nestled as it is in the heart of leafy Regent’s Park, kitted out with the best accessories and with a desirable NW1 postcode. The new lemur attraction opens on Saturday 28th March at London Zoo. For more information on the zoo and other attractions in the area, as well as the best deals for a hotel in London, see LondonTown.com.

The lemur pen will be home to 15 ring-tail lemurs and one black and white ruffed lemur. Designed by the zoo’s expert keepers and horticulturalists, In With The Lemurs will take visitors on a journey through the Madagascan shrub forest where the evolutionarily unique primates will be leaping, climbing and lounging all around them. Renowned sun-worshippers, the lemurs love nothing more than an afternoon spent sunbathing. With this in mind the zoo’s dedicated architects have carefully mapped the path of the sunlight on the new exhibit to ensure their basking platforms are purposefully located to maximise lounging time.

With an uncertain future in the wild, lemurs face a daily struggle to survive due to extensive habitat loss, and over-hunting. In With The Lemurs will give the zoo’s visitors a glimpse of these threats in the exhibit’s replica timber mill, highlighting the devastating effect the industry has on the lemurs’ wild habitat. Ring-tail lemurs are classified as endangered on the IUCN red-list, as are black and white ruffed lemurs, which are also listed on international conservation charity ZSL’s EDGE of Existence programme, due to the threat to their survival and evolutionary distinctiveness. The new attraction will help ensure that London Zoo remains one of Europe’s leading zoos in the way it combines fascinating attractions with sympathetic environments, following recent transformations of the enclosures for lions, tigers and gorillas. For more information on London Zoo, including location, travel information, admission prices and opening times, see LondonTown.com, the best London website for tourists and visitors to the capital.

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LondonTown.com: London prepares for fairy tale exhibition

March 24, 2015 EPR Network Leave a comment

Leicester Square hosts exhibition of props and costumes from Disney’s Cinderella

LONDON, March 23, 2015 — /REAL TIME PRESS RELEASE/ — Leicester Square will be sparkling this spring when it hosts a pop-up exhibition dedicated to displaying costumes and props from Disney’s new live action film of the classic fairy tale, Cinderella.Cinderella: The Exhibition opens on March 21 st at Leicester Square Gardens and will run until 10 th April. The exhibition will be free of charge, but tickets will be required for entry. For more information, see LondonTown.com, where you can also find the latest details on cheap hotels in London, with real-time updates on booking, prices and availability.

The Cinderella exhibition will feature 22 remarkable costumes and hundreds of original props offering people the opportunity to celebrate the film’s British roots first hand. Filmed in the UK, costumes were made by renowned British costume designer, Oscar-winning Sandy Powell, and the film was directed by fellow Kenneth Branagh. Powell’s costumes, as worn by the all-star cast including Lily James (Cinderella), Helena Bonham Carter (the Fairy Godmother), Cate Blanchett (Lady Tremaine) and Richard Madden (the Prince) will be proudly on display for all to see, housed within the recreated sets.

The exhibition is presented by Swarovski who provided Sandy Powell with over 1.7 million crystals for the spellbinding costumes to bring added sparkle to Cinderella’s magical world. At the heart of the exhibition will be Cinderella’s iconic slipper. The dazzling slipper, which plays such a pivotal role in the fairy tale, was hewn from solid Swarovski crystal and features 221 facets in a light-reflecting Crystal Blue Aurora Borealis coating. Powell worked closely with Swarovski technicians at the headquarters of the crystal house in Austria to create the magnificent slipper. “I’m looking forward to people being able to see the behind the scenes magic that went into the creation of Cinderella,” says Branagh. “Sandy Powell has allowed unlimited access to her creative process from the initial sketches to the final creations, including the most iconic costume of all – Cinderella’s incredibly beautiful blue ball gown.”

For more information about this and other film events and exhibitions in London this spring, see LondonTown.com, the best website for tourists preparing to explore the capital in 2015.

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LondonTown.com: Digital talk and avant-garde art at the ICA this summer

March 24, 2015 EPR Network Leave a comment

Two new events announced at the world’s leading multi-discipline avant-garde arts space.

LONDON, March 23, 2015 — /REAL TIME PRESS RELEASE/ — The Institute of Contemporary Arts, better known to Londoners as the ICA and renowned worldwide as one of the great avant-garde galleries, has announced two events that will take place at their Central London premises later this year. Fear of Missing Out: Summit Defining Influences of the Digital Age in 2015 (29th – 31st May 2015) is the title of a special symposium that will explore post-digital anxieties, while Isa Genzken: Basic Research Paintings is the title of an exhibition that will run from 30th June to 6th September in the ICA Upper Galleries. For more about other London events already announced at the ICA in 2015, see LondonTown.com, the website that also allows tourists and visitors to find the latest booking information for cheap London hotels.

Fear of Missing Out will be chaired by Berlin artist and theorist Hito Steyerl, bringing together leading international theorists, academics, social thinkers and artists to discuss post-digital anxieties and the social condition. It will examine the progression and trajectory of technological, economic, ecological and cultural advances by introducing speakers from diverse disciplines to present on topics from Artificial Intelligence to Cyberfeminism. Speakers confirmed include Karen Archey, Erika Balsom, Eleanor Saitta and McKenzie Wark and the summit will also include a screening of work by Harun Farocki. Additional speakers will be announced shortly.
Isa Genzken: Basic Research Paintings will feature the work of one of the most important and influential artists of the last forty years. Since the 1970s, Genzken has developed experimented with a variety of different materials and art forms, to include assemblage and photography, film and video. Her Basic Research paintings feature a frottage technique, similar to that deployed by surrealist artists in search of automatic forms of art production. Having applied a layer of paint to her canvas, she then placed the canvas face-down on her studio floor before rubbing the back with a squeegee. Having peeled the canvas away from the floor, the resulting print shows all the dirt and imperfections of her workspace in near photographic detail. The Basic Research paintings are compelling in that they invite scrutiny. For more information on these London events, plus other events and exhibitions taking place at the ICA, see LondonTown.com.

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About LondonTown.com
LondonTown.com is the number one Internet site for London. With over 18 years of experience assisting visitors to the capital, they pride themselves on their customer service and editorial independence – no advertising or paid for content is allowed. The LondonTown.com team assist in finding cheap London hotels, sightseeing tours, ticket information and events. Trusted and with a loyal following, LondonTown.com is a very reliable source of recommendations and advice on what to do in London.http://www.LondonTown.com

Art, Entertainment, Society, Travel

LondonTown.com: London gallery prepares to explore sex, penguins and much more

September 18, 2014 EPR Network Leave a comment

Wellcome Collection unveils an idiosyncratic autumn events programme for 2014

LONDON, September 17, 2014, The Wellcome Collection, one of London’s most stimulating and unusual venues is preparing to reopen after a lengthy closure for redevelopment and has revealed details of its event-packed autumn programme featuring a busy calendar of exhibitions and one-offs. The Wellcome Collection is located on the Euston Road close to Euston, King’s Cross and St Pancras International stations and features items covering art, science and history from an idiosyncratic personal collection accrued by a pharmacology billionaire on his travels almost 100 years ago. The venue is being extensively refurbished but several areas are open, including some gallery space, a café and bookshop. For more about the Wellcome Collection, see LondonTown.com, where you will also find the best information about London events and exhibitions, as well as London hotels, shops and restaurants.

The Wellcome’s programme includes An Idiosyncratic A to Z of the Human Condition, a free exhibition that runs until 12th October featuring a curious combination of objects, medical artefacts, paintings, photographs, sculptures, and contemporary artworks. Running until July 2015 is the free video installation, Eye Contact, which forms two giant pairs of eyes that stare out from the windows of the Wellcome Trust’s headquarters, winking and blinking at passing tourists and traffic. The eyes will be ‘awake’ and active through the day and will close at sunset to ‘sleep’ through the night – unless they are woken by a passing pedestrian.

The Wellcome will also be running the Age Of Exploration event series, which looks at the history of exploration and the nature of human curiosity. Events include a talk called Into The Unknown on Thursday 11th September (7-8.30pm), that looks at the human desire to question the unknown and the impact this has on our minds and bodies, and The Worst Journey on Thursday 9th October (7-8.30pm), which looks at the formation of Henry Wellcome’s vast hoard of medical curios and features a specially commissioned musical performance that looks at how how Apsley Cherry-Garrard, the youngest member of Captain Scott’s fateful expedition, risked life and limb to collect emperor penguin eggs in the Antarctic winter.

Coming later this year is a new exhibition, The Institute Of Sexology – from 20th November 2014 to 13th September 2015 – which will be a candid exploration of sexuality, featuring more than 200 objects spanning art, archival material, erotica, film and photography. It will be the first ever UK exhibition to look at the work of the pioneers of the study of sex.

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Art, Entertainment, Society, Travel

LondonTown.com: Spectacular London home opens doors this Bank Holiday

September 18, 2014 EPR Network Leave a comment

Dance in the Duke of Wellington’s ballroom and see a nude Napoleon at Apsley House

LONDON, September 17, 2014, Fans of London’s colourful history will going to get an extraordinary opportunity to recreate Regency London at one of the capital’s great historic houses this August Bank Holiday. A special Regency Weekend is being held on Sunday 24th August and Monday 25th August at Apsley House, the former home of the Duke of Wellington, featuring dancing and tours of this historic building. Apsley House is located at Hyde Park Corner, right at the heart of London. Visitors to the city should see LondonTown.com for the best information about restaurants in London, cheap hotel rooms and the best bars and places to shop, as well news about events and exhibitions at other top London attractions.

Apsley House – its alternative address is No 1, London – was home to the Duke of Wellington after his victory over Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, and it retains many of the features and characteristics of those days. The Regency Weekend will allow visitors to view a remarkable interior as well as o ne of the finest art collections in London. Apsley House has paintings by Velazquez and Rubens, a massive nude statue of Napoleon, a wonderful collection of silver and porcelain, the oldest surviving grand piano and, of course, an original pair of Wellington boots.

The weekend is being held of next year’s celebrations that will mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. It will allow visitors to look back at the home life of the powerful men of Wellington’s army and see their wives dressed in all their finery. Families can meet the Napoleonic gentry, learn how to dress as a regency gentleman, discover more about their style and taste and witness the life of ladies during this period. There will also be opportunities throughout the day to learn how to dance Jane Austen-style in the grand ballroom of this spectacular building. For more information, see LondonTown.com

Art, Entertainment, Society, Travel

LondonTown.com: Tate galleries in London prepare for another bumper year

September 16, 2014 EPR Network Leave a comment

Sculpture, painting, photography and Pop Art all lined up for 2015 programme

LONDON, September 16, 2014, London’s Tate galleries have announced the highlights of their 2015 exhibition programme. The two galleries, which are among Europe’s leading cultural attractions, will be holding major exhibitions on sculpture, Pop Art and photography, featuring the work of the likes of Barbara Hepworth, Alexander Calder, Frank Auerbach and David Hockney. Tate Britain in Pimlico and Tate Modern in Borough are both located on the River Thames and are connected by a ferry service that travels between the two galleries. For more on this and other attractions and exhibitions to look forward to in 2015, as well as news about London hotels, restaurants, shops and museums, see LondonTown.com, the city’s best guide for tourists.

The first half of 2015 at Tate Modern features three major retrospectives by prominent modern and contemporary painters. Sonia Delaunay (1885 – 1979) celebrated the modern world of movement, technology and urban life as a significant figure of the Parisian avant-garde from the 1920s. American minimalist painter Agnes Martin (1912-2004) came to prominence in the 1960s with her subtle, evocative canvases marked out in pencil grids and pale colour washes. And Marlene Dumas’s (b.1953) paintings reflect contemporary anxieties about life and death, gender and sexuality, and the influence of mass media and celebrity.

Tate Modern’s later exhibitions will include Alexander Calder: Performing Sculpture, the artist’s first major retrospective in the UK. Calder was a pioneer of kinetic sculpture and played an essential role in reshaping the history of modernism. The World Goes Pop will tell new and different stories about Pop art from the 1960s and 1970s. It will reveal how one of the world’s most accessible art movements was often a subversive international language for criticism and public protest.

At Tate Britain in Pimlico, the first retrospective in London since 1968 of the work of Barbara Hepworth opens in the summer. One of the most successful sculptors in the world during the 1950s and 1960s, it will emphasise Hepworth’s prominence and significance in the international art world. Frank Auerbach (b.1931) has made some of the most resonant and inventive paintings of recent times, of people and of the urban landscapes near his studio in Mornington Crescent. Tate Britain is working closely with the artist on an autumn exhibition of works from the 1950s to the present day. From the autumn, the group exhibition Art and Empire will present art of the last three hundred years, including contemporary works, associated with the British Empire.

There is an emphasis on photography at Tate Britain in the spring of 2015. Salt & Silver: Early Photography 1840-1900 is devoted to original salted prints, one of the earliest forms of photography. Nick Waplington and Alexander McQueen is the result of a unique collaboration between photographer Nick Waplington and acclaimed fashion designer Alexander McQueen. For more on these exhibitions at Tate Modern and Tate Britain, see LondonTown.com.

Art, Entertainment, Society, Travel

LondonTown.com: Spectacular theatre in Cutty Sark hold unveils autumn line-up

September 16, 2014 EPR Network Leave a comment

Actress Diana Rigg and presenter Nicholas Parsons among those due to perform.

LONDON, September 16, 2014 , The Cutty Sark, the world’s sole remaining tea clipper and a major London landmark, has announced a new season of performances for autumn 2014 to be held within the ship. The Cutty Sark is located in Greenwich, close to numerous London attractions such as the National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory, as well as a wide range of hotels, bars and cheap London restaurants. For more on the attractions of Greenwich, see LondonTown.com.

The Cutty Sark‘s lower hold, where precious cargoes of tea and wool were stacked over a century ago, now features a studio theatre and this is where the performances will be staged. During the daytime, the hold contains displays of tea chests and other artefacts relating to the ship’s extraordinary history. In the evening, the central section is transformed into a 92-seat studio theatre, offering cabaret, comedy, music, special lectures and small scale-drama. The Michael Edwards Studio Theatre is now set to welcome a series of renowned performers and personalities for its autumn season.

Among those due to perform at the studio are the actor Diana Rigg, who will discuss her remarkable life in film, TV and theatre on 17th October, and veteran comedian and presenter Nicholas Parsons, who will talk about some of the highlights from his long career on 18th October. On 26th October, the writer Charles Connelly will talk about his recent book, of Attention All Shipping: a Journey Round the Shipping Forecast, in which he explored the history and locations mentioned in radio’s shipping forecast.

Other performers include broadcaster Andy Kershaw, musical duo Anna Noakes and Gabriella Dall O’Lio, comedians Quincy and Dane Baptiste, and magician Matthew Stirling. “The opening fortnight was a huge success with every show a complete sell-out” says Yvette Griffith, Cutty Sark Studio Theatre programmer. “We’re really excited to welcome another host of famous performers and fresh talent to the ship for the new season, and further developing the Cutty Sark’s reputation as a unique arts venue as well as a renowned historic landmark.”

Art, Entertainment, Society, Travel

LondonTown.com: Amazing chance to see rare and extraordinary creates at London Zoo

September 15, 2014 EPR Network Leave a comment

Annual photography exhibition set to take place later this month.

LONDON, September 15, 2014, London already bests brilliant annual photography exhibitions for space, wildlife and portraiture, and recently London Zoo has got in on the act with the Zoological Society of London’s Animal Photography Prize Exhibition, which is now in its third year. The winning images for the 2014 competition will go on display from Friday 19th September. London Zoo is located in Regent’s Park in central London, close to numerous restaurants, bars, shops and hotels. To find the best deal for a hotel in London, see LondonTown.com, the London website that has everything a visitor needs when they are staying in the capital.

The exhibition will celebrating some of the world’s most spectacular new animal photography and celebrity animal enthusiast Kate Humble and ornithologist Bill Oddie have both returned this year to judge the fierce competition that sees entrants battling to catch the judges’ attention and win the six categories’ top prizes. The annual exhibition boasts a £10k prize fund and features six categories, including the poignant Last Chance to See? and unpredictable Weird and Wonderful.

Previous photos have included amazing shots of manatees swimming through murky waters, gorillas getting behind the camera and tiny ants displaying Herculean acts of strength. First launched in 2012, the exhibition was created to inspire photographers both professional and amateur, young and old, to capture the magic of the natural world. The exhibition is free for all ZSL London Zoo goers to enjoy alongside the usual animals and events that make it one of the world’s greatest zoos. For more information on this and other events at London Zoo, see LondonTown.com.

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LondonTown.com: Best events in London in September 2014

September 11, 2014 EPR Network Leave a comment

London Design Festival and London Fashion Week bring style to the city

LONDON, September 11, 2014, The brand new Totally Thames, London Design Festival, London Fashion Week and Open House Weekend are among the 56 top LondonTown events starting this September. Anyone are planning to travel to the city in September can find great London hotel deals on accommodation at a wide variety of hotels across the city.

Totally Thames, a brand new month-long festival which celebrates London’s main waterway, brings over 100 river-related events to London including the Greenwich Tall Ship Regatta, Fire Garden at Battersea Power Station, and The Great River Race – the rowing equivalent of the London Marathon.

The London Design Festival encompasses over 300 events and exhibitions across London including 100% Design. And if you like design you’ll love London Open House Weekend which gives a sneaky peak behind closed doors – see inside buildings like No. 10, and Anthony Gormley’s extraordinary Room at the brand new Beaumont hotel in Mayfair.

Lindsay Lohan takes centre stage in Speed-the-Plow, just one of the many new theatre shows beginning in London this September. Sofie Grabol, best known as Sarah Lund in ‘The Killing’, stars in the third of Rona Munro’s The James Plays, a trio of new history playing in rep at the National Theatre where Enda Walsh’s Ballyturk is staged, featuring an all-star cast of Cillian Murphy, Stephen Rea and Mikel Murfi.

Electra with ‘The English Patient’ actress Kristin Scott Thomas in the title role begins at the Old Vic, ‘King Charles III’ transfers to the West End where ‘Evita’ returns, reopening the Dominion Theatre following a multimillion pound refurbishment, and Steve John Shepherd, best known as Michael Moon in BBC1’s ‘EastEnders’, stars in ‘Albion’ at the Bush Theatre, one of London’s best fringe theatres.

The British Museum stages ‘Ming: 50 Years that Changed China’ as its blockbuster autumn exhibition, monumental paintings and installations by German artist Anselm Kiefer are at the Royal Academy of Arts, while ‘Constable: The Making of a Master’ is at the V&A. Nicole Farhi swaps fashion for sculpture, and the free London Art Book Fair showcases beautiful artists’ books.

It’s not just Kate Bush hitting the music headlines, the iTunes Festival brings a month of free concerts by big bands like Elbow, Rudimental and Pharrell Williams every night of September. Massive Attack, Frank Turner, Imelda May and Athlete entertain the crowds at brand new festival On Blackheath, and Alt-J play a sold out gig at Alexandra Palace.

There’s a chance to see the Berliner Philharmonkier before the Last Night of the Proms on Saturday 13th September. Tickets to the famous Last Night are like gold dust so if you can’t get one join Sir Terry Wogan at Proms in the Park where special guests include Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo, Rufus Wainwright and legendary American funk band Earth, Wind & Fire.

Opera highlights for September include ‘Anna Nicole’ at the Royal Opera House, Nicholas Hytner’s Olivier Award-winning production of ‘Xerxes’, and a new production of Verdi’s ‘Otello’ staged by English National Opera to celebrate Shakespeare’s 450th anniversary.

In dance, Sadler’s Wells’ Elixir Festival celebrates the contribution of older artists with an appearance by the Company of Elders while the Royal Ballet marks 40 years of Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon.

Top designers from across the globe descend on the city for London Fashion Week which is a trade-only event but anyone can go to London Fashion Weekend which takes place on the same site and offers catwalk shows, designer clothes, and talks by industry insiders.

For more information on these and other great events beginning in London in September 2014, go to LondonTown.com where a wide choice of London hotels to suit all budgets is given as well as information on restaurants, attractions and all the latest London happenings.

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