Tuesday 24 June (7pm)

@ London Review Bookshop, 14 Bury Place, WC1 (020.7269.9030) Tube: Tottenham Court R./Holborn

Here is an extra-curricular opportunity to brush up on yer post-colonial, post-structuralist critical theory -- come one, come all! Or, Loveable Irish Late Review Regaler, Tom Paulin, meets Indian novelist and critic Amit Chaudhuri to discuss his latest book D.H.Lawrence and "Difference" plus an evening of no-nonsense discourse. It's highbrow stuff admittedly but will easily prove to be worth your 300 pennies. Tom Paulin will provide a familiar laconic foil to Chaudhuri's expansive take on Lawrence as a "foreigner" and subsequent "post-Leavis" reconstruction of the literary canon. It is also billed as a "general discussion" touching on Lawrence as a whole and Chaudhuri's own work. So although the antagonists are likely to be pretty chummy, (Paulin wrote the preface) expect the tone to be Paxman rather than Bashir, just don't expect histrionics or smashed chairs -- after all there are free wine and nibbles afterwards.

Tuesday 24 June (7pm)

@ BFI London Imax, 1 Charlie Chaplin Walk, South Bank, SE1 (020.7902.1234 ) Tube: Waterloo

So often when selecting for the Academy Awards, the Best Picture always goes to an "epic" film. If there was any film that embodied such a standard, it would have to be David Lean's masterpiece -- and we do not use this term lightly here -- Lawrence of Arabia. Played by a highly androgynous Peter O'Toole, it is based upon the biography of soldier, intellectual, gentleman and author of The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence. Focussing on the period of the Arab revolts depicted in his book, it's not just the romantic tale, the sublime desert landscape, the dubious heroism and cast of thousands -- no digital anything to be found here -- that raises Lean's film but the humanitas and gravitas that he draws out of his characters as well as the sheer largess and audacity in which his tableau tells Lawrence's tale. Stephen ET Spielberg considers Omar Sharif's Arab chief, Sherif Ali riding out of the desert, one of the great cinematic introductions of all time. Recently restored to it's 70mm glory with the help of cognoscenti like Martin Scorsese , this is one of those films to definitely see in one sitting at the big screen. Yes, they sure don't make them like the used to.

NB: This film runs for 228 mins., with a 15 mins. interval. Note that it is not in IMAX format. For more info on Lean see the bfi's comprehensive microsite.

Tuesday 24 June (8pm also Wed 25 @ 8pm)

@ Union Chapel, Compton Terrace, N1 (020.7226.1686) Tube: Highbury & Islington

If you've never been inside Islington's atmospheric Union Chapel, then the eclectic combination of sounds and styles from Japanese musical tour de force Ryuichi Sakamoto are a good reason to go see why it's so special. Award-winning composer and musician (actor, model and DJ too) Sakamoto has experimented with diverse musical styles since the '70s, consistently pushing the boundaries of popular, classical and cinematic music, and unexpectedly juxtaposing genres from Opera to Bossa Nova to Techno. He has collaborated with everyone from Bowie (Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence's soundtrack), Burroughs, to Almodovar and Bertolucci -- his score for The Last Emperor won him a Grammy. This week's shows reflect his love for throwing a whacky combination of ingredients into the musical melting pot, as he gives his unique take on the musical greats of Brazil, playing a combination of classics and devised pieces. He'll be filling the vast, shadowy spaces of the Chapel, accompanied by cellist Jaques Morelenbaum, singer Paula Morelenbaum, guitarist Luiz Brasil and Marcelo Costa on percussion. Okay, so that's a world-class Japanese composer, playing groovy Brazilian classics in a church in North London. It's got to be worth a look.

NB: Ryuichi Sakamoto plays two nights at Union Chapel -- Tue 24/06 and Wed 25/06.

Tuesday 24 June (8:40pm)

@ National Film Theatre, South Bank, SE1 (020.7928.3232) Tube: Embankment/Waterloo

Tonight Gaham Gussin gives a special presentation of recent film and video works that make reference to the cinematic medium while maintaining a likeable distance from the institution of film. Following his installation at this year's Venice Biennale, this overview provides insight into the range of methods Gussin employs to sustain his trademark lightness in dealing with issues of translation, transmutation and movement. In addition to the dialogue created around travel and stasis, Gussin explores the opposition that exists between fantasy and the real by emphasizing an indefinite passage between two points. This is an opportunity to catch a concise collection of Gussin's work over recent years as introduced by the artist himself. Among the works shown will be Remote Viewer, Road Movie and Spill, finishing off the sequence with a peek at his Venice installation (part of Stopover which is curated by The Henry Moore Foundation).

NB: Graham Gussin's Beyond The Infinite is currently being screened at Sketch, London -- part of the group show Anemic Cinema (Ends 05/07).

Wednesday 25 June (6:30pm)

@ Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1 (020.7887.8008) Tube: Pimlico

Cities have long been a source of inspiration for artists, writers and musicians. One must look only to the Surrealists, and their love affair with the hidden passages of Baron Haussman's Paris in order to understand the poetic potential of The Metropolis. Whether romanticised or vilified, these melting pots of architectural design provoke in their inhabitants a plethora of psychological reactions. As part of Architecture Week (till 29/06), novelist Toby Litt, leading cultural and architectural theorist Richard Sennett, and artist Rut Blees Luxemburg, will discuss how the urban experience has come to inform their own work.

NB: Well known for her esoteric, nocturnal photographs of deserted cityscapes, Luxemburg will also be included in Presence/Absence: Architecture In Contemporary Photography at Chapelle du Rham, Luxembourg, from 26/09 till 27/10. To purchase tickets for the talk call 020.7887.8888 or email ticketing@tate.org.uk.

Thursday 26 June (6:45pm)

@ ICA, The Mall, SW1 (020.7930.3647) Tube: Charing Cross/Piccadilly

History is a kind of writing, and like all writing -- to be readable -- has it's protagonists as well as antagoinsts, but note it is also the construct of an author. Yes this is basic historiography, and can be "benign" except when it's a question of interpreting history for political reasons; so it should be that Beckham isn't the only one concerned with image rights -- but that's for money not power. There are -- so contends Norman Finkelstein, a child of Holocaust survivors -- some that exploit the Holocaust for their own ends, and give that Bush's "road map to peace" hit another stumbling block this week, there will be camps that support the notion that the current Israeli government may not be keen on peace. At the ICA, Finkelstein -- author of The Holocaust Industry and more recently Image And Reality Of The Israel-Palestine Conflict will be speaking on this "road map" and it's history, no doubt through the findings of his recent book. As some consider the region as incidiary, and judging by the Bush government's current interest in it, Finkelstein's voice of resistance like his mentor Chomsky's, is an important one.

NB: His respondents will be Dan Shaham, Director of Public Affairs at the Israeli embassy; David Cesarani, professor of 20th century Jewish history and culture, and member of the executive of British Friends of Peace Now; and Christine Chinkin, professor of International Law at the LSE. All chaired by Matthew Reisz, editor of Jewish Quarterly.

Thursday 26 June (7pm)

@ Forum, 9-17 Highgate Rd., NW5 (020.7344.0044 ) Tube: Kentish Town

De La Soul, with their '98 debut 3 Feet High And Rising, were arguably the first real Hip-Hop act to combine UK commercial success with underground acceptance. That album, masterfully produced by Prince Paul (Stetsasonic, Gravediggaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School), combined an astounding array of unlikely yet delightfully catchy samples, razor-sharp party funk beats, obtuse pop-culture references, and an array of in-jokes that would at times leave all but the most astute listeners bewildered. Stand-outs included "Me, Myself and I", "Say No Go", and "Buddy". Following in the footsteps of the Jungle Brothers, they formed the most visible part of the Native Tongues, the afro-centric group of rappers consisting on the aforementioned JBs, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, and some-time affiliates Black Sheep. Their five albums since then haven't quite reached the same levels of undiluted quality, but each nevertheless has been generally been well-received and always contains at least a few gems. Suffice to say that De La Soul are the real deal; a Hip-Hop group with their roots in Hip-Hop's golden age and a canopy of songs very much as relevant today as they ever were.

Thursday 26 June (7:45pm)

@ Barbican Centre, Barbican Centre, EC2 (020.7638.8891) Tube: Barbican

If the World Cup whetted your appetite for all things Japanese, you'll be pleased to find a long-awaited cultural fix at the Barbican's BITE:03 festival. Complicite's The Elephant Vanishes brings us snapshots of life in Japan, but elects to focus on the surreal and extraordinary in everyday existence. It's vintage Complicite, a zany lot who have built their reputation on combining good old-fashioned physical theatre with rather clever multi-media tricks. The Elephant Vanishes is an adaptation of short stories by national hero Haruki Murakami and has already garnered a brace of high calibre plaudits: Murakami is ranked as one of the planet's greatest living novelists (at least according to the Guardian) and Stephen Daldry rates director Simon McBurney as 'one of the most important directors working anywhere in the world'. If nothing else, you'll find the experience will extend your knowledge of Japanese beyond 'sushi' and 'Asahi', as it will be performed in the mother tongue with English subtitles.

NB: The Elephant Vanishes runs from Thu 26/06 till Sun 06/07.

Friday 27 June (6:30 - 10pm)

@ Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Rd., SW7 (020.7942.2000) Tube: South Kensington

Sense and the City Too, part of Architecture Week (till 29/06), promises an intriguing array of architecturally-themed multimedia set against the grand backdrop of the V&A. There will be a special lecture by world-famous architect Daniel Liebeskind (sold-out), in conversation with Peter Carl. In case you weren't aware, Libeskind has been selected to design a new building at the site of NYC's World Trade Center. Then there's Urban Samples by Greyworld: twelve sound stations containing urban materials such as concrete and gravel sending city noises around the gallery, creating sonic representations of London. Eve Dent will install herself into the architecture of the V&A, acting as a human sculpture, whilst artist Isabel Rocamora will hang from the balcony in the Pirelli Garden, interweaving herself between the garden's arches and high ledges. Down below in the garden itself, Saint Etienne will be providing aural ambience. And last but not least there'll be a tour around of the V&A with top architects, including Eva Jiricna and Eric Parry, who'll be talking about how their personal favourites in the V&A's collections have inspired their work. For a well-rounded and decidedly fun snapshot of architecture today, Sense and the City Too looks hard to beat!

Friday 27 June (7pm - 3am)

@ Cargo, Kingsland Viaduct, 83 Rivington St., EC2 (020.7739.3440) Tube: Old St./Liverpool St.

This instalment of Cargo's Barrio hails the return of the Nortec Collective's musical contingent of Fussible and Hiperboreal. The collective are a bunch of folk, practising various artistic disciplines to promulgate Mexican art and culture. They make a conscious effort to bring the traditional talents oozed by north-western Mexico and Baja California into sync with a modern "cut and paste culture"... so this is what we get for a taster: Fussible provide us with some nicely chilled but dancefloor savvy, urban Mexican rhythms. Having one foot soaking in a bucket of electronica and the other firmly embedded in traditional Tijuanan funko-exotico leaves plenty for delectation by fans of both the organic and electronic. This is no starvation diet of bleeps and blips, but neither is it a bland showcase of some well-fermented cheesy funk rock. What we get is a smooth balance of urban-funk rhythms, spliced with a jazz-tinged echo of the lovely Fender Rhodes. This is easy listening for urban relaxation, and live it's just enough for you to shift comfortably from one foot to another. Hiperboreal present somewhat more upbeat salsa-samba loops; agogo bells and timbales spicing up what may otherwise prove to be some pretty basic dance-floor plant. This is probably more what one would expect a modern Mexican dance band to sound like -- the repetitive danceability is all there; the familiar structure of break-ups and break-downs over a BPM that makes sure your heart rate raises to a comfortable speed. Sprinkle a few jazz solos over the top and you've got a nice twist on regular dance chart music.

Sunday 29 June (Frida 1:30pm & Pollock 4pm )

@ Watermans Art Center, 40 High St., Brentford, TW8 (020.8232,1010)

Film biography is usually an unsuccessful project let alone one devoted to the visual artist -- but occasionally even Hollywood gets it right: prime examples being Pollock and Frida. The expressionistic citations of Pollock and the innovative, magical allusions of Frida links the two films in a world where life turns into art, and art turns into life -- literally and metaphorically. Neither film seeks to over analyse or spoon feed the viewer, and both films were a labour of love by two actors -- both involved on and off screen -- in great awe of two artists. In addition, this screening screening at Watermans leaves good weather to be desired. The multipurpose arts centre on the river bank supports a great location overlooking Kew Gardens (which is one location in London much more exciting than it sounds), so make Sunday a full day out.

Monday 30 June (7:30pm)

@ Barbican Centre, Barbican Centre, EC2 (020.7638.8891) Tube: Barbican

As an ensemble they blew each other off the big screen and straight into your cafe's sound system on interminable repeat. They must be the most widely toured geriatrics after the Stones. Well, Eliades Ochoa is more than just another gem in the diadem of performers brought to us (courtesy of Ry Cooder) in Wim Wenders' seminal "rockumentary", Buena Vista Social Club. Eliades was the one in the cowboy hat, often seated, making a guitar do, oh-such beautiful things. Dusted down and polished up, Eliades will be presenting his sublime fingering as part of the Barbicans World & Roots series. We hear your apathy Flashers, but don't give in to Buena Vista Fatigue just yet. We know they're over played, still somehow ubiquitous 5 years on and so heavily promoted it's a miracle they don't have a Top Trumps pack, but this is just a truly wonderful musician displaying his gift to the world. He's great, he looks like a gaucho and he plays guitar like a GOD (more Orpheus than Axeman). What more can you want?

Ends Saturday 28 June (Mon to Fri 10am - 6pm, Sat until 5pm)

@ Lisson, 52-54 Bell St., NW1 (020.7724.2739) Tube: Edgware Rd.

This week marks the close of Anish Kapoor's Painting exhibition at the Lisson Gallery, which follows his Marysas installation in the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern. As with much of his past work, this recent collection addresses issues of spirituality, being and beings existing in space. In his most recent work, he manipulates the surfaces of concave objects so that they take on an amorphous and quite disorienting illusionary nature. The effect, dizzying though it may be, creates a sort of spatial suction, similar to that of Marysas, but without relying on the vastness of the object to create a visual vortex. In this series, there seems to be a new tactical element to Kapoor's work and the way that he challenges perception and spatial relationships. The new works, in particular the large monochromatic concave discs, seem to create a layer of perception that exists between the viewer and the work. This layer is where the visual disruption takes place and as such activates the work. Painting is a must see exhibition for admirers of Kapoor's work, with emphasis not on the objects but the space between.

NB: Ends Sat 28/06.

Ends Sunday 29 June (Wed to Sun 12 - 6pm)

@ Tablet Gallery

The exhibition by American sculptor Jessica Broas currently in its final week at the Tablet Gallery in Notting Hill, coincides with the Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition at the Science Museum. Broas explores the relationship between the sentimental and the irretrievable in a body of work that draws parallels between literal and the fantastic. Broas' ships, a series of makeshift objects hand-crafted from found objects and household materials in the likeness of sea-faring vessels, at once broach the subjects of tragedy and domestic obsession while maintaining a sense of whimsy and self-referentiality. Viewed in connection with the Titanic exhibition Broas' work also engages in the traditional dialogue around loss at sea. Maintaining a measured distance through her use of humour, particularly in her animated work, Broas extends this sense of loss into the context of current global politics. An enlarged newspaper clipping, the backdrop for the sculptural set, alludes to September 11th (a subject still largely left untouched in the wake of recent events) and its visual and literal connections to the sinking ship. Broas' work merges issues of tragedy and comedy and finds its acute relevance in the centre of antiquity and catastrophe.

NB: Ends Sun 29/06.

Wednesday 2 July (8pm - 1am)

@ Cargo, Kingsland Viaduct, 83 Rivington St., EC2 (020.7739.3440) Tube: Old St./Liverpool St.

Arigato takes its theme from the Japanese cult movie Battle Royale -- in which contestants participate in a game where the aim is to eliminate each competitor. However, tonights players will be armed with strictly vinyl weapons as they go into turntable combat. One of this evenings main players is Japans very own prominent deck warrior DJ Krush. Described as a Hip-Hop composer of sorts, Krush's style can be recognised by his use of abstract apocalyptic beats, ghostly vocals and skewed horn samples, all weaved together in a dark, moody cinematic soundscape, transcending many musical genres. During tonight's battle with opponents, Jawa and special guests, expect Krush's artfully executed sounds & beats to constantly shift tempos and textures throwing the enemy into un-chartered territory.

NB: Battle Royale will be shown as a back-drop to the event.

Wednesday 2 July (8:30pm)

@ Barbican Centre, Barbican Centre, EC2 (020.7638.8891) Tube: Barbican

The sun is out and the Barbican Jazz summer series reunites two old school jazz heavies. Herbie Hancock and Bobby Hutcherson, living legends of jazz piano and vibraphone respectively, can be seen in concert as a part of a new quartet performing live together for the first time this year. The rhythm section is comprised of relative newcomers, the performers are nonetheless at the forefront of their game. On double bass we have Scott Colley, and Terri Lynne Carrington on drums -- both long time accompanists and pivotal members of Hancock's various projects, the resulting sound is sure to please even the most reluctant ear. This versatile group of jazz/fusion musicians takes us back to Hancock's era of watermelon men and sorcerers. Hancock returns to his Blue Note roots with a brand new crew once again to highlight Barbican Jazz this summer.

NB: On Tue 08/07 catch Joshua Redman and the Dave Holland Quintet (part of the same series of Barbican Jazz concerts).

Wednesday 2 July (9pm)

@ The Spitz, Old Spitalfields Market, 109 Commercial St., E1 (020.7392.9032) Tube: Aldgate East/Liverpool St.

The City of London Festival presents the return of one of New York's Trip-Hop pioneers DJ Spooky. Spooky aka Paul D. Miller, pedals a unique style within the trip-hop genre via molto molto drums and fine dub technique. There is plenty here of the pick-up and the slow-down -- Spooky has it covered from a base of laid back Reggae-tinged trip hop to some rocking dub-drum-feasts bordering on the DJ Shadow... which should cater for all moods in between. Behind all this, Miller is rumoured to be a conceptual multi-artist, using a number of media forms to put across his ideas, which allows him plenty of creative depth and credibility. But save the philosophical conversations for after the gig, eh?

NB: Also on Fri 04/07 at the Spitz, Christian Marclay plays in London for the first time in twelve years. This gig coincides with his show at at both Inside the White Cube (Mon 02/07 till 02/08) and White Cube (Thu 10/07 till 06/09).

Ends Saturday 5 July (Tue to Sat 10am - 6pm)

@ White Cube, 48 Hoxton Square, N1 (020.7930.5373) Tube: Old St.

In their pale veils and morphing forms, Neal Tait's beautifully muted and forlorn images candidly reveal the numerous dead ends and lucky moves that punctuate a painters journey towards any formal resolution. Tait celebrates these choices and unexpected U-turns, making the mental processes inherent in picture building his subject. While the resulting selection of reductive portraits, still lifes and outdoors scenes are perhaps consequentially, and necessarily arbitrary, they all share an overwhelming poignancy and warm nostalgia. His dry brushwork, and limited palette draws obvious comparisons to the work of Luc Tuymans, and like his Belgian counterpart, Tait similarly explores how we see and come to interpret form. Although Tait uses photographs or magazine reproductions as source material, his point of departure often seems left to chance, via a quasi-Surrealist automatic drawing technique. We begin to hunt for clues in the strokes that came to determine a delicate interior with a lamp. By playing with our expectations of scale and perspective while remaining within the realm of figuration, Tait nimbly abstract mundane and recognisable objects.The assumptions and imaginings of the Spectator are then allowed to carry any subsequently imposed narratives into any number of directions.

NB: Ends Sat 05/07.

Ends Sunday 6 July

@ Various locations check website (Deptford Bridge DLR, New Cross BR, New Cross Gate BR & Deptford BR)

Venice too hot for you? The thought of brushing against sweaty artniks too much? Well for a major international art occasion, there's a far smaller, more exotic local only a train ride away... South of the river: Deptford X. With Vogue naming Deptford as the new Montmartre sans silhouette-cutters, and now in it's 5th year X truly marks the spot. Among hundreds of multinational artists and multiple venues, which include Will Self -- yes that one --translation of the French newspaper l' Ennui using an official EU translation program, Polymath (KF for strange-dude) and locally-based Steven Pippin's 3-screen, rotating mechanical construction which shows the earth's rotation, Paul Hosking's pair of gigantic mirror-balls of a bear and wild boar which should reflect light up the Deptford nites and Chris Marshall's room constructed out of cigarette filters, and indigenous galleries like Hales and Museum of Installation putting on shows, why travel south of this country when you can travel south of the city! Deptford for the last decade has been an enclave for artists, and many will be opening their studios in collaboration with the festival. This is an opportunity not only to catch what's out there, but also what's not to be seen; afterall this year's X-er may be next year's Biennale star.

NB: Make sure to check the website for special weekend activities and the various 24 hr window displays all along Deptford High Street. Festival ends Sun 06/07.

Wednesday 20 August (7pm)

@ Brixton Academy, 211 Stockwell Rd., SW9 (020.7771.3000) Tube: Brixton

Beck Hansen is 40 years of American music distilled (by the cowboys at Jack Daniels) into a small, waif-like frame. With his wasted southern drawl and devil's haircut, Beck peddles his own brand of re-bottled Folk, swinging from Appalachian Folk through neon Electronica to New York Hip-Hop in a single track. This alt. musical alchemy is matched by a chameleon persona -- a strutting funkmeister one minute, a whistling bluegrasser the next -- whose lazy guitar is accompanied by harmonicas, electro-banjo and his own seering, almost hysterical falsetto (most memorably on "Debra"). It's bizarre then, that such an impossibly cool musician inspires the sort of Beck-head fanaticism that prompts the tragic formulation of Beckology and spawns webrings such as the Pixelated Doctors. Beck's forthcoming tour to London, Reading, Leeds and Dublin rides on the back of the release of Sea Change, a brooding, thoughtful and downright lonesome album about crying into your beer over a lost love. It lacks the fanciful poetry and fiendish wordplay of Midnite Vultures or Odelay, but could this be what the fans are hungry for after all them sex-crazed, zebra-headed, banjo-playing robots?

Ends Sunday 14 September (Daily 10am to 6pm)

@ Serpentine Gallery, Kensington Gardens, W2 (020 7298 1515) Tube: Knightsbridge, Lancaster Gate

As an ongoing part of Architecture Week (till 29/06), the Serpentine Gallery has just opened its annual pavilion. Designed by the legendary Modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer, with its zigzag ramp leading up to a tent without walls, it's a structure somewhat resembling a slightly extended folding chair. This is his first ever building in the UK. The past three pavilions have been by Zaha Hadid (2000), Daniel Libeskind/Arup (2001), and Toyo Ito/Arup (2002), thus it is very interesting to think about this year's choice. If we methodically analyse the pavilion it is not really the most exciting structure, but the building carries an emotional charge (almost sentimental) that is very important for the Serpentine and the promoters. Maybe in the moment of fashion and of the "new" we have become insensitive to things that are not shocking. The pavilion is more of an homage to Niemeyer than anything else. In this sense we think that it is great that the Serpentine risked not building something radical and flashy... this decision has surprised a lot of people.

NB: In the evenings during the next few months the pavilion will be a place for late night open-air film screenings, live readings and architecture talks. This highly commendable progamme of architecture talks is truly flashworthy but very few tickets remain, so we advise you to get hold of your tickets faster than you can say "Pritzker Prize" (which Niemeyer was awarded in '88). Tickets are available through ticketweb.co.uk or by calling 08700.600.100 (the Serpentine has already completely sold out of their allotment for the architectural talks):

Wed 04/07 -- Oscar Niemeyer: Architecture as Fashion
Caroline Bos art historian and Director, UN Studio; Nigel Coates architect; Mark Wigley Professor of Architecture, Columbia University GSAP; Chair: Alice Rawsthorn Director, Design Museum.

Wed 18/07 --Oscar Niemeyer: The Modernist City
Sean Griffiths architect, FAT; Richard Sennett Chair, Cities Programme, LSE; Alejandro Zaera Polo architect, Foreign Office Architects; Chair: Rowan Moore Director, The Architecture Foundation.

Wed 25/07 --Oscar Niemeyer: The Cult of Structure
Richard Deacon artist; Jan Kaplicky architect, Future Systems; Tim Macfarlane engineer, Dewhurst Macfarlane and Partners; Chair: Adrian Forty Professor of Architectural History, The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.