The sun has got its hat on, and – as if by magic – everything is looking better… London, especially! Throw into the mix a stellar line-up of visual arts and a rainbow party via Pride’s annual parade, and you’d be hard pressed to beat it. However, if by chance you do fancy a change of scenery, we’d suggest heading north to Durham’s Bowes Museum, where something big is about to happen…

Michael Jackson: On The Wall
Michael Jackson would have been celebrating his 60th birthday this August, and The National Portrait Gallery has gone all out to commemorate the late King Of Pop.

Sponsored by Sony Music and Hugo Boss (fun fact: that slick white suit ‘Jacko’ donned for his 1982 Thriller album cover was actually a BOSS number), the new major exhibition honours his legacy through an exploration into the legendary artist’s gargantuan influence on the contemporary art world – officially he is the most-depicted cultural figure – curating world-class pieces that serve as an ode to him.

Expect to journey back to 1984 with the silk screen-print portraits that Andy Warhol created for Time magazine, and through to the present day (via David LaChapelle and Maggi Hambling) to as-yet-unseen pieces including Kehinde Wiley’s awe-inspiring oil painting ‘Equestrian Portrait of King Philip ||’, which was the final commissioned portrait of Michael Jackson and was started in the months prior to his passing.

Michael Jackson: On The Wall runs until 21 October, 2018 at The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin’s Place, London, WC2H 0HE. Main image 'Dangerous' by Mark Ryden, courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery.


Image courtesy of David Nash.

Pride in London Festival

As if we ever needed a reason to slap on fluorescent body paint and glitter and dance to our heart’s content – but, if you were in need of one, the annual Pride in London parade is just the occasion.

Rounding up a month of festivities to celebrate that #LoveHappensHere, 2018 sees the LGBT+ celebration return bigger and better with its new campaign #PrideMatters – a reflection on how far equal rights have come, as well as how far they still have to go. Happy Pride!

The Pride in London parade is on 7 July, 2018. 


Image courtesy of Chris Moore, 1993 © Catwalking.

Catwalking: Fashion through the Lens of Chris Moore 
Chris Moore knows a good runway shot when he sees one. For over six decades, the legendary 84-year-old shutterbug (quick to the punch, starting at aged 20 at Vogue Studio) has been in the photographers’ pit at global fashion weeks, snapping historical style in the making. You name it, Chris has captured it – from the early days of ready-to-wear in the 1960s to iconic Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Christian Dior shows in the 1990s, and right up to last season.

Now, in collaboration with acclaimed fashion critic and editor of AnOther Magazine, Alexander Fury, the photographer has done the impossible, and whittled down his extensive archive to just 200 images for you to see in the flesh at Durham’s Bowes Museum – all appearing alongside a selection of those very pictured outfits.

The exhibition runs from 7 July – 6 January, 2019 at Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Durham, DL12 8NP.  Photography by Chris Moore, 1993 © Catwalking.


Image still from 'Tomorrowland, 2018' video installation, courtesy of Yuan Goang-Ming.

Yuan Goang-Ming: Tomorrowland
Forecasting advancements in the future is fascinating – and an imaginary future, based on the rather weighty philosophy of ‘being-towards-death’ by way of Taiwanese video artist Yuan Goang-Ming, even more so. Taking up residency at the Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery, the new media pioneer highlights the complexities and conflicts of our globalised world and continues his study of ruins, homes and dwellings through three recent videos in what marks his first solo exhibition in the UK

Get deep and drop in for a stimulating experience to leave you questioning your very existence and what the future holds...

Yuan Goang-Ming: Tomorrowland runs until 6August, 2018 at The Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, 337-338 Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX. 


In case you missed it, read our picks of what to see at COS x Serpentine Park Nights 2018.