This year's London Korean Festival was held in Trafalgar Square on Sunday 9 August between 12:00 - 20:00. The cultural event had Korean food, music, performances, art and activities.
The stage had music from K-Pop and Rock music bands f(x) and Guckkasten as well as breakdance performances from Jingo Crew and Soul Mavericks. Other performances given came in the from of traditional Korean dances by Yung Myung Hwan Dance Company as well as modernised performances from the Yeon Hee Company. Instrumental music performances were provided by PAN and 4 in Nori. The stage was designed as a catwalk to also showcase the Korean fashion.
There are four "themed zones": Tourism Zone, Food Zone, Contents Zone and Brand Zone. The Tourism was completely packed and there was hardly any way of getting there without a long wait. There were chances to enter a competition with GoKorea for a trip for two to South Korea. I got there around peak lunchtime so queues for the Korean food stalls were lining up along the walls of the Square. The Contents Zone had activities ranging from reading Korean comics through physical books to mediums of technology to fashion. The Brand Zone showcased the latest Korean-based car brands and technology.
The K-Music 2015 festival is to be held later this year with music and performances across London through September. You can find out more about it at serious.org.uk/K-Music.
#LondonKoreanFestival
Southbank Centre lay host to their own Festival of Love with art, activities and workshops. With a series of installations as part of their “Art Across the Site”, it explores the different types of love that we may encounter from family and friends to complete strangers.
1. Love Flags – Mark Titchner
Flags that spell out “LOVE” are displayed on the rooftops of the Royal Festival Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall. They incorporate the spectrum of colours from the rainbow.
2. Reverie – Nike Savvas
Made from a combinartion of wood, wool and plastic, they form thousands of ribbons made from a spectrum of different colours that represents “ hundreds of different paintings being made around you”.
3. Arcadia – Gabriel Lester and Martine Vledder of the design studio PolyLester
The installation is made up from translucent plastic strips found in industrial settings. The installation is lit by sun during the day (that is IF there is sun) and lit by a beacon from within during the night. What Lester said of love is that is “a heart should be colourful, open and light to let in love”.
4. Dil Phaink – PeaceNiche
The installation’s name means “to throw your heart out to work”, explores the different side to Pakistani culture through street design, cinema, visuals and matters of the heart. The installation takes away from the negativity that the media presents their focus on and looks at the artistry and quirks of Pakistani life.
5. Film Kiosks – Lyn Atelier and Restoration Station
The television screen shows different forms of love ranging from ones between siblings to unexpected connections made between strangers. The kiosk was designed by Lyn Atelier and the furniture made by Restoration Station.
6. This is a Public Service Announcement – Sarah Crane
Projected on screens across the Southbank site, the installation explores the interactions between people in our day-to-day-lives. The installation prompts people to “look up” as a way of looking at the positive connection made between strangers.
7. Love Story – Richard Woods
The colourful timber-encased pillars draw attention to the hidden venue of the Southbank Centre.
8. Love the Yarn – Lasmin Salmon in collaboration with Celia Pym and ActionSpace
Lasmin Salmon worked collaboratively with Celia Pym to gradually grow this piece of installation made with balls of yarn.
9. Ludus Folly – Simon and Tom Baker
The installation plays on the playful and flirtatious form of love, which is made up of a mirrored wall, maze and tower in all style of colours. It is based on the two chemicals (Serotonin and Dopamine) which are produced by the brain when we play and are in love.
10. Provocation – Mark Titchner
Plastered above one of the entrances to the Queen Elizabeth Hall is the Provocation.
11. Pulse and Bloom – Shilo Shiv Suleman
The installations are of Lotuses which a symbolism of beauty, prosperity and fertility. Each lotus is built with two hand sensors that transmits a heartbeat of LED lights up the stem to the lotus flower. Beats faster if two hands are placed on the adjoining flower of the individual lotus.
12. Squeeze – Linda Bell in collaboration with Sam Haynes and ActionSpace
Bell used different techniques to create and form different shapes to explore the tactile versatility of different materials. Bell and Haynes were asked to create a site-specific series of sculptures.
13. Vespers – Jones Bulley
A sound installation made from a musical score of thoughts, text and sound, celebrates the combined creativity that stems from the web. Bulley describes it as “a real-life moment ofg togetherness that reflects the digital togetherness provided by the web.
#SouthbankforLove
The Turbine Festival held at the Turbine Hall in Tate Modern
was held this year on Saturday 25 July 2015. The Festival is subtitled “One
City One Day” bringing audio-visual experience to anyone that attends.
The event encourages everyone to get involved with the art
installations, workshops and activities on display. The day included photography,
music, art and technology as they explore different ways to explore different
facets of experiencing from using the Oculus to transport to another virtual
plane to DJing on a makeshift art turntable to getting your hair styled completely
different to what you came in with.
What I particularly liked was FREE2Dance created by Evan
Ifekoya where you are given headphones and encouraged to dance like no one is
watching. Which I do most of the times anyway!
Live performances come from the main stage set up right at
the end of Turbine Hall and I managed to catch Juneau Projects performing as
they used their electronic instruments built from perspex, arcade machines and
drum triggers.
They’ve created the My
Culture Museum as an exhibition where anyone can submit an image of each
individual’s culture representation, which could be anything that they wanted
it to be. The image would then be displayed in the My Culture Museum exhibition.
#TurbineFestival
