The Whitechapel and Parasol unit have teamed up to present First Thursdays, a hybrid event of late night East End gallery openings, performance, parties and art hunts. The inaugural event for what promises to be art-day on the first Thursday of every month provides no shortage of stuff to do -- from pillow fights to art tours there are plenty of treats on offer. Art Hunt swaps clues for prizes along with details of a secret after-party courtesy of London art-world favourite aka Gary's Place. In all it's an evening that attempts to unlock the lid on a series of interventions and hidden artworks via some of the capital's most respected leading contemporary galleries -- expect surprises along the way. Galleries to watch out for include Ancient & Modern, Herald Street, Kate MacGarry (new location), Chisenhale, Keith Talent and Hotel, not forgetting Hauser & Wirth's massive Coppermill space that plays host to new works by former Turner Prize winner Martin Creed. If you want balloons you will certainly find them there. Happy hunting.

NB: this event takes place at 70 of the top galleries and institutions in east London.

Since the Romantic era, the concept of the sublime has inspired writers and artists to engage with the landscape around them -- the most famous "sublime" artist, Caspar David Friedrich created vast, awe-inspiring panoramas. In recent years, filmmakers such as Ridley Scott have adapted this concept to create urban spectacles on the big screen. The notion of the cinematic sublime opens up a multitude of aesthetic and cultural angles from which to view our environment. This event brings together leading theorists in the field, who discuss the technological sublime. Stephen Barber explores the capacity of the film fragment to evoke memories, with reference to his new book Forgotten Cities; Mark Bould looks at science fiction through a range of contemporary films, from Event Horizon to Minority Report; and Matthew Gandy of the Urban Laboratory at UCL sets the sublime in the context of films by Antonioni and others. Together, they invite us to look with fresh eyes.

Fresh out of dance school, 12 promising young talents take their first professional steps as part of Transitions Dance Company. Following 24 years of successful touring, TDC, founded by Bonnie Bird, will take to the stage the works of some of today's most acclaimed choreographers, among them Henri Oguike (UK) and Pablo Ventura (Spain). Past choreographers include: Richard Alston, Lea Anderson (The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs), minimalist Rosemary Lee, and Rafael Bonachela, famous for shaking his booty with Kylie Minogue. The show is a mixed bill of four pieces ranging from pure dance to dance theatre. This is also a great opportunity to discover or rediscover Herzog & de Meuron's beautiful Laban centre and its Bonnie Bird jewel-like theatre -- a space that contrasts dramatically with the rest of the building and creates a very welcoming arena for new work and young artists.

NB: Transitions Dance Company runs for three nights from 02/05 till 04/05. Another dance event this week is Breakin' Convention 2007 which runs at Sadler's Wells from 05/05 till 07/05.

The Lyric Theatre's production of Colin MacInnes' 1958 novel revives a series of events set a stone's throw away from Hammersmith in Notting Hill. The central character is a teenager, back when being one was a rebellion in itself, who watches the establishment ignore the racism that surfaces in Britain as the Empire crumbles. Though unwilling to condone the destruction of multicultural life, he is also scared to live up to the full potential of the teenage challenge to society until his own relationships are threatened by more than his bickering rivalry with Teddy Boys. This is no lazy production; set, staging and choreography are all innovative. The script cuts out most of MacInnes' argot, but leaves in enough to remind the audience of an abusive racist vocabulary of the recent past. That said, a red pen could have been wielded to good effect, as the text allows the morals of prostitution to be glanced over while the feel-good finish plays out painfully slowly. One also hopes that the teenagers on stage learn to be a bit more adolescent; one surly snarl from Patsy Kensit could have more attitude and unfathomable angst than most of the actors put together during the preview performances.

NB: Absolute Beginners runs till 26/05.

Her label may be slowly shedding its reputation as the first port of call for electronica in this country, but thankfully there's still room amongst the !!!s and Maximo Parks for the weird and wonderful music of Mira Calix. Having spent the past couple of years orchestrating insects and collaborating with the London Sinfonietta, her most recent album Eyes Set Against The Sun saw a retreat to her Suffolk cottage to fuse the natural sounds of her environment with piano, strings and electronic sounds. This Friday's show at The Luminaire will be the first time the album has been performed in public and should be an enthralling night of experimental music with everything from delicate folk, avant-garde classical sounds and bruising electronica thrown into the mix.

Despite getting off to a slow start in 2007 (we were on the edge of our seats for what felt like forever waiting for Cassy) spring has sprung and Sud Electronic's bringing out the beats fast and hard. For any of you who missed last week's night out with Todd Sines, their much anticipated House Party will bring Sud back to their roots. The line-up is a combo of the usual suspects and some treats to clear out the last few cobwebs. European prodigy Move D will be playing an inspired set of warped techno, and will be supported by Tresor's minimal ace Todd Bodine and his own meticulously mapped-out sound. The venue is one very chic but friendly (and by friendly we mean tight, very, very tight) warehouse type space in the East End where Sud first began to really do their thing. We don't need to tell you how good the tunes will be, and this intimate site is a great way to get right up close and personal with them, but be ready for a squeeze.

NB: for more great techno check out Audion (aka Matthew Dear) playing live along with DJ sets by Magda and Craig Richards among others at Fabric the following night (05/05).

Richard Billingham has visited zoos across the globe in locations as varied as Antwerp, Addis Ababa and Tel Aviv. Zoo looks at animals watching and being watched, existing in captivity and appropriated environments. In the darkened downstairs gallery, a floor to ceiling projection offers a close-up of the grey body mass of an elephant loping from side to side. To the right, about 5ft from the ground, a small screen of hazy blue occasionally reveals itself to be an aquarium as seals emerge and disappear into its depths. Here the codified conventions of viewing animals start to unfold, as behind in the darkness the head of a tapir rocks back and forth. Repetitive behaviour in animals relates strongly to stress. The psychological disturbances revealed in these works are uncanny in their mediation of both the beauty of animals and the acerbic undertones of our continued infatuation with them. Upstairs are a series of immaculately composed photographs; in one a rhinoceros plays host, behind bars, to an architecturally magnificent disused indoor swimming pool; in another baboons sit in a grass enclosure with a painted African savannah decorating the wall behind.

NB: runs till 05/05 (Zoo will also be showing at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery from 15/09 till 10/11, and from 05/05 till 16/06 you can catch newly commissioned work by Richard Billingham at the Town Hall Galleries in Ipswich). While in the West End check out Lee Lozano at Hauser & Wirth (till 05/05) and Andreas Gursky at White Cube (till 05/05) and also at Spruth Magers (till 12/05).

Roman Polanski is a rare manifestation of the "art-imitates-life-imitates-art" dilemma, in which it is unclear whether his work contributed to or was simply motivated by the cyclone of strange and terrible things that happened to him, and to those close to him. A troubled man, obsessed with incarnations of evil and the darker, more sinister core of the human character, Polanski's films give a chilling indication of the life of the man who made them. Like tarot cards or hieroglyphs, his films assume a different meaning when read in a different sequence...

This particular series provides an intriguing cross section of his life's work, beginning with Knife In The Water (05/05), his first (and some would say his most successful) feature film. Next is Repulsion (12/05), the tragic and surreal tale of alienation and paranoia in London, and the darkly comic, romantic ordeal Cul-De-Sac (19/05). The enigmatic Chinatown (26/05), with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway changed the way the world watched film noir, and set the stage for the epoch of the intellectual cynic's thriller. The last film in the Polanski festival is the horrific and beautiful WWII drama The Pianist (02/06), in which Adrien Brody portrays a famous Jewish musician stricken by the horrors of war. If you are a die hard Polanski fan, then this string of films fits well together and excludes (along with one or two gems) the bulk of the "fluffy stuff." For the newcomer, any one of these films stands on its own as one of his best.

NB: the Barbican's Roman Polanski festival runs from 05/05 till 02/06 (screenings are every Saturday at 3:30pm). Films of note released this week are Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs Miller (new print), Dans Paris and Zizek! On general release make sure you catch The Lives Of Others, This Is England, Curse Of The Golden Flower, The Painted Veil and Half Nelson.

Londoners produce 3.4 million tonnes of rubbish a year, enough to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool every hour. As global concerns about our environment take hold, the third SonicRecycler promotes a showcase of artists applying the idea of recycling found sound within electronic music. Hosted by exploratory promoters Sprawl in union with the Brentford Recycling Action Group, it's a whole day of beautiful rubbish. Germany's Stephan Mathieu debuts his Radioland work, producing evocative hissing soundscapes of tension; Rothko lead with their post-rock ambience; and Flying Lizards' squad leader David Cunningham continues to surprise with his always pleasurable flights of creativity. With video showings by Semiconductor and Pimmon, DJ sets by Jasmine Guffond, Eric Namour and Ed Pinsent, it's a chance to consider our disposable culture whilst supporting a positive cause.

Barring invitation to an art student's squat party, the sole excuse for being in New Cross has until now been falling asleep on the East London Line. Even the Klaxons' success hasn't yet fully magnetised the area, but this year's New Cross festival might go some way to drawing the more dedicated among the boho-muso crowd. Stretching across 15 locations including a rooftop "somewhere in Deptford", the gathering boasts a stack of zeitgeisty electronic and art rock acts that will sit well with the area's grubbier-than-thou image. Goldsmiths College is definitely stealing a few points in street cred from Central St Martin's et al by having Justice, the Gossip and Soulwax on the doorstep for a day. Beyond the headline fodder, there's home-grown punk and jangly guitar posing to chew on in the shape of Whitey, the Rumble Strips and Ebony Bones, all of whom are deservedly hovering on the cusp of a bigger radar. Neu London's show might be stolen by Canadian electrofunk outfit Chromeo, though, who will storm the after-party with the moustachioed mash-up maestros. Just head for the rooftops and stop when you hear the sound of buses snoring. You're not from around here, are you?

NB: takes place at 15 venues in New Cross and Deptford (transport info click here).

The wily foxes at Kitsune Music started out five years ago paying for tracks from their favourite artists to make compilations. Now having made Hot Chip, Digitalism and Simian Mobile Disco household names, each instalment of their Maison series is an effervescent soup of "what's next" tunes. Their deft ability to pluck out hits from the underground is topped only by founder Gildas Loaec's shrug that he regards Kitsune as a "side project". The jeunes artistes perhaps still feel like dilettantes under the shadow of Daft Punk, to whom Loaec dedicates the rest of his time alongside Pedro Winter, boss of the equally unavoidable Ed Banger label. Appropriate, then, that this warehouse tie-up between Kitsune and east London electro institution Trailer Trash will officially thrust Bangalter and de Homem-Christo into grandparent territory. Loaec and co-head Masaya Kuroki will introduce their latest spawn -- bopping techno Londoners Autokratz, Punks Jump Up and Jerry Bouthier -- before taking over themselves. Expect a barrage of rock, rave and electronic treats made sweet enough to swallow whole. Somewhere in this belle epoque there's also room for audiovisual tricks from mythical character Rex the Dog and Trailer Trash's Mikki Most and Ian Robinson, too.

Elvis Costello reckoned "writing about music is like dancing about architecture" but the ever-growing army of bloggers out there obviously disagree. Whilst traditional print magazines continue to fold, the ranks of the enthusiastic amateur continue to swell in the rush to embrace Web 2.0. On the downside this means more barely literate narcissistic scribblings fighting for webspace with pictures of cats, on the plus side it means the occasional blog like Fluokids which is not only a decent read and source of MP3s but can also respond to musical developments as they happen, making traditional media seem stale and out of touch by comparison. Of course, even the best writing in the world can't compare to the real thing which is where Blogger's Delight comes in. Organised by Fluokids Casper C and Skull Juice, this monthly party has made a name for itself by playing host to both the bloggers and many of their subjects with big names like Justice dropping in unannounced. This Sunday, whilst the mainstream is belatedly cottoning onto the Ed Banger crew, Blogger's Delight are already putting shame in their game showcasing the new wave of French electro talent with debut UK performances from the hotly tipped DatA, Pedro and Panama and Relish Records' Yuksek.

Cast two of France's hottest actors as brothers then have one torment himself with depression while allowing the other to gallivant around with a succession of hot French actresses much as you can imagine he does in real life. Director and children's author Christophe Honore was responsible for Ma mere and here he films both Romain Duris (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) and Louis Garrel (Regular Lovers) with an almost melodramatic hand, focusing much of the action in the family home, and featuring so much slamming of doors it's like watching vaudeville theatre. Garrel plays the rakish younger brother to perfection and there are some cute homages to New Wave films, although this is probably a rite of passage for any young French director. Recommended for the simple fact that it's a showcase for two performers in their prime and Honore's willingness to experiment with the form.

NB: Dans Paris is released in London on 04/05. Other films of note released on the same day are Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs Miller (new print) and Zizek! On general release make sure you catch The Lives Of Others, This Is England, Curse Of The Golden Flower, The Painted Veil and Half Nelson.

"Nature vs Nurture..." begins the ICA's billing of this intriguing event, which also happens to be the title of a sculpture (a football table featuring gruesomely skewered lines of stuffed animals and toys as its players) currently showing at Standpoint Gallery in N1. A tidy, if worrying, omen perhaps for political cartoonist Martin Rowson, for who would welcome "psychogeographer" Will Self into the sprawling wilderness of their early years? Rowson's memoir Stuff is the reason for this meeting of minds. Appointed "Cartoonist Laureate for London" by Ken Livingstone, Rowson's illustrations have appeared in all the major British papers and, amongst many other publications, two books penned by Self. Hopefully, then, as a friend and fellow satirist, he has some idea of what he is letting himself in for?

Above all else, The Battle Of Algiers is hailed for its stunning visual execution -- and rightly so. Director, and member of the Italian communist party, Gilles Pontecorvo and his cinematographer Marcello Gatti masterfully reconstruct a devastating period from the war of independence in what was then French ruled Algeria. Filmed in edgy black and white and with hand-held cameras out on the streets of Algiers, it feels as if they were actually there in 1954 as events unfolded. This astonishing film achieves not merely a totally convincing newsreel tempo and feel, but a grainy realism unmatched by the average news footage and all too rarely approached by even the better attempts at cinema verite. Just as important is Pontecorvo's objectivity in showing both the exhilaration and the heart-break of a fight for liberation by the Algerians from the French colonialists, with neither the oppressed nor the oppressor able to survive at ease with his conscience. A dramatic score by the great Ennio Morricone deservedly helped Pontecorvo's film gain a nomination for the Best Foreign Language Oscar in 1966.

NB: this special screening will be followed by a discussion with the film's producer Saadi Yacef in conversation with film academic Peter Matthews. The Battle Of Algiers is then re-released in London at the ICA on 11/05.

Brighton quartet Electrelane recently received a massive boost to their already considerable profile when offered support to Arcade Fire on their European tour. Having been a band for almost ten years now Electrelane have acquired cult status; their fusion of post-punk, Sonic Youth, garage rock and the krautrock movement has elevated them to almost iconic status. Their sound is characterised by heavy bass lines, driving percussion and an incredibly dynamic guitar sound -- which veers from walls of sound to subtle harmonic interplay to huge pulverising riffs. What is consistent and is at the heart of their distinctive appeal is the dense textures and commitment to avoid conventional structures -- they can be loud and quiet, aggressive and calming, menacing and sweet, slow paced yet frenzied. Although this date will feature tracks off new, just released, album No Shouts, No Calls, they will undoubtedly retreat to their strong back-catalogue at will, hopefully playing choice tracks from their 2001 debut, Rock It To The Moon, and their previous release, the Steve Albini produced Axes. Support comes from psychedelic outfit The Early Years and Brakes (featuring members of British Sea Power and The Electric Soft Parade).

A Hawk And A Hacksaw are back over in the UK again, but this time, they're bigger. Instead of just Heather Trost on violin and the incredible Jeremy Barnes on accordion / percussion at the same time (making your average one-man-band seem uncomplicated) -- they'll be joined by The Hun Hangar Ensemble, specially recruited from Hungary to add bagpipes, clarinet, saxophone, taragoto (Hungarian instrument related to the clarinet), trumpet, drums, accordion, upright bass, viola and violin. It'll be interesting to find out what they sound like with such large forces, as their previous sets have been intimate. This has been the result of the band's wanderings in Eastern Europe to record an album and collaborate with the locals, and they should hopefully have retained the authenticity and rawness of Eastern European folk music, and brought it back as a souvenir. Support will be in the form of the top notch bluesman Jack Rose.

Having just escaped closure, BAC bursts back onto the London scene with a sparkling array of experimental theatre and music experiences. The End Of The World is announced for Saturday as a trashy multi-art-form bingo blow-out bringing together theatre-makers, comedians, scientists, filmmakers, activists and DJs putting climate change top of their agenda. Emotionally charged Spanish Train (16/05) sees Reckless Sleepers dealing with the aftermath of the Madrid train bombings. New York-based Peggy Shaw (co-founder of lesbian feminist theatre company Split Briches) brings Menopausal Gentleman (08/05), a cross between stand-up comedy and blues lounge act that explores the tribulations of a 53-year-old grandmother who passes for a 35-year-old man who likes the ladies. Burst also leaves room for BAC's trademark open platform of experimentation and adventure in groundbreaking theatre-making: Scratch (02/05 and 03/05), featuring three of the godfathers of the experimental scene, Station House Opera, Ridiculusmus and Uninvited Guests. Finally, taking you into the virtual world of Injured Party (19/05), They Are Here invites you to become friends of virtual twins Oni and Ayo on their MySpace pages in order to join their party VIP list. Don't scratch you head any longer, get down there and party!

NB: BURST 2007 runs from 02/05 till 20/05.

Fascinated by the rituals of life in small communities and groups, Rosalind Nashashibi has turned her camera to Mexican migrant workers, the NYPD and the members of a Palestinian household during Ramadan. Inspired by the mythologising of seafaring in literature, painting and film, Batchelor Machines Part 1 records the everyday life of sailors aboard a cargo ship sailing from southern Italy to Sweden. The film begins with an undulating vista of a crane against a grapefruit coloured sky, moving slowly up and down with the rhythm of the sea. In small vignettes Nashashibi focuses on each and every aspect of the voyage: the crew at work, eating and conversing together, the open sea and weather, and the ship itself as a living, breathing machine with its creaking doors and humming control room. Her lingering shots portray the ship's crew as a micro-society, adrift from the rest of the world on their own island for some months. Zooming in on the sailors' faces, she captures their flickering thoughts and smiles, registering even the slightest occurrences of communication between the men, though with a distinct lack of discernable speech, we are left out of their conversation.

NB: runs till 27/05.

Although Russian Futurism, beginning in 1914, lasted no less than 29 years, spanning a time of deep political, social and economic crises for the country, as an artistic movement it tends to get eclipsed by Russian Constructivism. But Futurism in Russia was interesting precisely because it marked a time (post 1917 revolution) when art and politics were supporting the same utopian ideals. Whereas Italian Futurism was concerned only with the dynamism of an emerging modernity, in Russia the tension between tradition and the new was evident in work that integrated folkloric elements and the glorification of peasantry so fundamental to Lenin's communist regime. Russian Futurism also saw the emergence of performance art and crossovers between disciplines. Zaum verse was integrated into opera librettos, as in the infamous opera Victory Over The Sun, featuring radical designs by Malevich and libretto by Kruchenykh. The show also narrates the development of Supremativism (pioneered by Malevich, Tatlin et al) and the return to Primitivism in Natalia Goncharova's designs for the Ballets Russes in the '20s. Goncharova is a constant source of fascination throughout. Her early dramatic lithograph series Mystical Images Of War (1914), her response to the Balkan Wars, was for us a highlight of this wonderful show.

NB: runs till 10/06.

KultureFlash is a free, weekly newsletter covering contemporary culture in and around London. Each week we track down some of the more unusual and interesting events taking place in the capital and deliver them straight to your inbox. Featuring art, gigs, films, talks, clubs and more -- we are committed to bringing you an eclectic mix of the most stimulating events in London.

If you want to tell us about an upcoming event please do so by sending an email to: events@kultureflash.net. We receive many emails and thus please realise that sadly we cannot reply to all of them. Every single email receives attention and we will contact you if we need anything further. Please note that KultureFlash is not a listings ezine and we do not receive any payment from venues, artists, managers or promoters.

Please send all press releases, invites, books and CDs to:

KultureFlash Ltd.
52 Cranmer Court
Whitehead's Grove
London SW3 3HW