Thursday 8 July (7:30pm)

@ The Horshoe Inn, 26 Melior St., SE1 (020.7403.6364) Tube: London Bridge

At first glance, it looks like the corporations have won. We sell more and more of our time just to stay in the game, and even our private spaces are invaded by the banal imperatives of advertising. But beneath the surface different sensibilities are forming a resistance. Characteristic of these is an appetite for words used with skill and honesty, and without an eye on profit. Institutions like Poems on the Underground, Big Arts Week and National Poetry Day are getting poems read. Presuming ourselves to be articulate and independent from the consumer mob, maybe part of the appeal for us Flashers is that poetry waves a flag for the individual. Barry Schwabsky and Simon Smith are poets whose words work, in the sense that they lend their audience a new set of eyes and ears. Language seems wondrous and prismatic in Smith's poetry, forged with a lightness of touch but containing myriad meanings. Schwabsky's books have no weakest link -- each poem is a unique and skilled exploration of the aural and visual appeal of words. Hearing poetry read is a rare pleasure. These are two important voices in a poetry movement that is growing in numbers and confidence... help spread the word and most importantly, enjoy.

NB: this is officially our second KF-originated event (in collaboration with Walther Koenig Books Ltd.). Simon Smith will be reading from Reverdy Road and Barry Schwabsky from [Ways] and Opera.

Thursday 8 July (6:30 - 9pm)

@ Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 (020.7887.8008) Tube: Southwark/Blackfriars

Edward Hopper reveals the reality behind the American dream like no other 20th-century painter. In his art, his intention was to reveal "the sweltering, tawdry life of the American small town, and behind all, the sad desolation of our suburban landscape". His paintings of isolated figures in apartments, bars and offices offer a glimpse into transient exchanges, gestures and expressions. Narratives are suspended in time and the contemporary viewer is invited to fill the gap in dialogue with their imagination. The current Hopper exhibition at Tate Modern -- the first for 20 years -- displays a luminous array of works, including Nighthawks (1929), that classic snapshot of a few people sitting in an all-night diner. The interior glowing with yellow and green lights, displays the cinematic qualities that have inspired film directors Sam Mendes and Wim Wenders. While Hopper's earlier works document the gritty reality of life in working-class America, his later ones such as Morning Sun (1952) focus on the poetic qualities of light. In this lecture, Mark Ford -- who has written the poetry collections Landlocked and Soft Sift -- will read a selection of poetry, which relates to the scenes and sentiments in Hopper's paintings.

NB: the exhibition runs till 05/09.

Giveaway: we have two exhibition catalogues to give away. They'll go to two randomly picked Flashers who can tell us who wrote Nighthawks at the Diner.

Thursday 8 July (7:30pm)

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

This summer The Royal Society is offering a plethora of science exhibitions, from lectures concerning the mechanics of volcanoes to the search for plants in space. Yet it is doubtful that at any of these events a young man will come on stage and scream "I wanna f*!ck your mother" at the audience. Perhaps this is why a new Royal Society has been set up, the Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster's Royal Society, to which we are all cordially invited to join. The great thing about the lengthily titled Brighton purveyors of rock is that they seem to have no particular peers, and offer a very British kind of rock, with none of the styled nostalgia of the straight trousered, mulleted, Shoreditch endorsed bands that pervade the live scene at present. Expect more energy and sweat than can be good for one group of people and no microbiology lectures. Possibly.

NB: "The Royal Society" tour visits the ICA on 08/07 and returns to the ICA on 12/08.

Thursday 8 July (8 - 9:30pm)

@ Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1 (020.7729.9616) Tube: Holborn

A long tradition of "cleverness" in the visual arts has left many of us with a distinct skepticism for the role of wit in contemporary art. In fact, we might even go so far as to say that we're becoming allergic to artistic witticism. There are exceptions, however. For all of the audio-visual one-liners that are engulfing and diluting the concept of depth in art, there is still a resistant type of allegory that is engaging, somewhat disturbing, and -- yes -- clever. Mark Leckey, Bonnie Camplin and Mark Titchner present a critical observation of the schism undermining communication and language. Titchner engages in the dialogue of the democratic madman -- the paranoid language of public opinion and its interpretation. Leckey indulges a twice-adapted chronicle of Graham Greene's The Destructors in slide show format and Bonnie Camplin uses a blackout as a definitive moment in human communication in which there is no language. This meeting of minds and media is hosted by Book Works, and is intent to prove that there is depth to the communicative power of the artwork beyond the aesthetic epigram.

NB: in order to ensure that there are seats for all, please RSVP via email to maria@bookworks.org.uk.

Friday 9 July

@ various cinemas across London

At the height of his presidency, George Bush senior had one great heckler, the comedian Bill Hicks whose anti-gulf war jokes are now sorely missed. Fortunately love him or loathe him, Michael Moore, the Democratic equivalent of Rush Limbaugh and current bugbear to all things conservative and unenvironmental, is not only having a bigger impact but doing some significant damage to the credibility of Junior. Sure there're some factual inaccuracies and massaging of the truth, not to mention the "look at me" American style, but don't many politicians do that as well? Following hot on the hits of Stupid White Men and Oscar-winner Bowling for Columbine is Fahrenheit 9/11. As its title suggests, it's an expose of certain government discrepancies during 9/11. Already numero uno in America and the first documentary to win a Palme d'Or in 50 years -- itself a political statement by the Cannes jury -- like his previous documentaries, Fahrenheit 9/11 is part-agit-prop, part-performance, part-hammy act, and all heart and satire. Sure he gets his laughs but more often than not gets Joe Bloggs to take note of things he doesn't wanna consider, and in an election year, this could be -- at least from this side of the pond -- very, very amusing. And we hope as poignant as Roger and Me.

Friday 9 July (6:30 - 7:30pm)

@ Royal Academy, Burlington House, Piccadilly, W1 (020.7300.8000) Tube: Piccadilly Circus

Comparing the influence of calligraphy to a fascination with the moving body, choreographer Siobhan Davies will enter conversation (titled: Drawing Out: Permanence and Transience in the Mark-Making Process) with artist David Ward and sculptor Bill Woodrow on processes used by artists to delineate space. The topic may seem a little abstract, but will provide an ideal starting point for a conversation concerned with a seemingly basic act. With Davies and Ward discussing their collaboration Bird Song, which, inspired by the theme of what sound would look like written down, sees dancers performing part-rehearsed, part-improvised movements to patterns made by sound and light. Much of Ward's previous work has proved that markings can take the form of a re-thinking or renewing of the city space, thus proving this issue to be a much broader topic if one looks at how people mark "their" cities, be it with buildings, statues or rubbish. Bill Woodrow's use of found objects and materials, usually referring to industry, twist the markings made by a throw-away culture and demarcates a new territory, while his drawings perhaps prove the permanence of one of our earliest methods of "making our mark". But in the course of things, how permanent are these markings? Aren't they just transient exchange?

Friday 9 July (7pm onwards)

@ The Courtroom, Toynbee Studios, 28 Commercial St., E1 (020.7247.5102) Tube: Aldgate East

When Steve Kurtz rang the paramedics on 11/05/04 because his wife was in the spasms of a heart attack, they, upon noticing the lab equipment in his home, later notified the FBI. Kurtz was "detained" for being a suspected bioterrorist. A founding member of the Critical Art Ensemble, he was in the process of creating a piece for MassMoCA's The Interventionist exhibition. The work, at that moment in Petri dishes (simple bacteria) and test tubes, was intended to be part of Free Range Grains, a piece designed to question genetically modified foods. Since then, the charges of bioterrorism have been dropped in place of others. Of course, it's obvious that any bioterrorist would ring the paramedics with his weapons all laid out... All this highlights the problems of the recent American Patriot Act. As part of a series of international fund-raisers for the payment of his defence, critic and poet Barry Schwabsky (co-editor international reviews, Artforum and KF contributing editor), Warren Neidich (visiting artist at Goldsmiths from NY) and Anjalika Sagar (artist, UK), with The Arts Catalyst and Artsadmin have organised drinks and food (donated by *Story) and celeb speakers as well as exclusive footage of Kurtz speaking. Music will be provided by si-cut.db and a DJ set by Kodwo Eshun. Your support is required!

NB: so they can accommodate the KF hordes, please email info@artscatalyst.org or ring 020.7375.3690. (They request a £24 donation.)

Friday 9 July (8pm - 3am)

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

Re-acquaint yourself with the cutting edge this Friday, as Train Non Stop present a cracking line-up at Cargo. Luke Vibert received great acclaim for his acid house album, Yoseph on Warp, and his collaboration with pedal-steelsman BJ Cole. His latest project, Kerrier District (Rephlex), is similarly exciting. Although it conjures images of a Puerto NY ghetto, it's actually named rather more prosaically after Vibert's local county council in Cornwall. Expect a similarly revisionist take on the disco blueprint replete with wiggly acid and loopy techno. Sterling support comes from Tim Wright, whose gloriously overblown 2-step/techno uses monster bass in a similar manner to electro exemplars Debasser (Mute) and Dexter (Klakson). Finishing you off will be Train Non Stop residents Nick Phillips (aka Box Saga) and Gabriel Olegavich -- founder of current punk-funk darlings Spektrum. Train Non Stop, selflessly driven by Ben Osbourne for the past three years, currently holds the Guinness world record for the most DJs to play in one set. Whether you'll give a toss when you're off your tits having the time of your life is debatable.

Saturday 10 July (Sat 10/07 and Sun 11/07 at 8pm)

@ Hoxton Hall, 130 Hoxton Street, N1 (08700.600.100) Tube: Old Street

How to prepare yourself for the unexpected and the destruction of preconceptions are the distinct and exciting concerns of these three installation/theatre pieces that integrate elements of dance, theatre, improvisation and live art. The triple bill will be by turns psychological and sensual, occasionally with an emotional ambience or humorous twist, sometimes edgy, sometimes simply beautiful. Whilst not necessarily narrative, the performances are rather more concerned with taking risks in their portrayal of contemporary subjects. Kicking off with Rajni Shah Theatre, The Awkward Position, featuring performers Sally Marie, Yvonne Naughton, Dimitris Papakyriazis and Rajni Shah, raises questions of what are we doing here. Forget macrocosmic/philosophical questions, instead think Prodigy's remix "Right here, right now" to discover what the present moment and space we are in at a specific time allows us to experience. Next, the challenging and compelling Ooff by Rotozaza. Featuring Silvia Mercuriali and two different guest performers each night, we will experience the fascinating difference between a rehearsed and a non-rehearsed, instructed performer, in an engaging piece that tests the boundaries of performance. Saw/Sore/Soar is a solo performed and choreographed by Nikki Tomlinson based around the notion of change. Expect visual intrigue and rigorous theatricality on all accounts.

NB: Still, It Matters runs for two nights, Sat 10/07 and Sun 11/07.

Saturday 10 July (9pm - 4am)

@ The Lifthouse, 85 Charterhouse St., EC1 (020.7251.8787) Tube: Farringdon/Barbican

Not content with running and playing nights left, right and centre, Kinky Voodoo are taking things furthur (sic) with the second night of their new venture, Carte Blanche, at the Lifthouse. Promising two rooms of "avant hard acid fried electro pop and hip-hop", there's a veritable feast of mouthwatering musical treats on the menu. Deep down and dirty sounds in the basement come courtesy of Jazz Fudge's pimp wizard Long Distance Dan, Surrey's best kept secret mixmaster Bendyman, love.is.audio's Ben Smith and Furthur/Kinky Voodoo's very own man-mental John Power -- satisfying those hip-hop, funk, breaks and disco cravings. Upstairs is catering for those with a chunkier digi-electro appetite with electro schaffelbitch luminaries Snapmouth aka Posthuman (Seed/Skam) providing the live twisted mash-pop alongside multi-coloured, pop-inspired, discoid mentalist Cursor Miner, whose new album sees him playing god. And If you're still peckish a half-inch helping of illegitimate pop and skewed electro-punk from Frenchbloke & Son and the debut performance from Robots in Disguise (wheels instead of hooves' H00f_1 and Furthur's Optimus Grime) should fill you up good and proper. With folks like Bjork and Mr. Aphex Twin turning up at previous Kinky Voodoo events, purely for the dancin', you gotta be there.

NB: for those Flashers out there looking for some more mainstream clubbing and good old fashioned techno then head to The End to hear Jeff Mills (Sat 10/07 from 11pm - 7am).

Sunday 11 July (IA I at 4:15pm and IA II at 6:20pm)

@ NFT, South Bank, SE1 (020.7928.3232) Tube: Embankment/Waterloo

Tired of those predictable Hollywood fares and not wanting to be reminded of life's miseries, but looking for something with some grit and bite? For those who haven't heard the hype or read the reviews, Infernal Affairs is one of the most successful Hong Kong thrillers of late. A tale of betrayal, deceits and double deceits, superstars Andy Lau and Tony Leung -- like De Niro and Pacino -- stare each other down as two moles infiltrating the triads and police respectively. A common theme perhaps, but this is one of the more polished, stylish HK flicks about, and with Brad Pitt's production company and Marty Scorsese involved in the US remake, volumes II and III have already been huge successes in Asia. With the former, a prequel, and the latter, set between the two so as to unite all the cast, it's already being touted as an action Asian Godfather trilogy. Both Leung and Lau bring the best of that stylised HK action acting, while being engulfed in strong Hollywoody style and art direction. Intrigued, or perhaps a bit confused, this is your chance to catch the first two parts before the third sweeps us by...

NB: Infernal Affairs I screens at 4:15pm and Infernal Affairs II screens at 6:20pm.

Sunday 11 July (5pm - 12am)

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

KultureFlash has yet to decide whether it's more exited by the "Ragga Twins barbecued jerk chicken" and "DJ Ron Thai sweet and sour pork ribs" on the menu for this event, or if the actual line-up should take precedence over any culinary distractions. As it is, the legendary Afrika Bamabaataa will be headlining this event and it's doubtful that the Zulu King would take kindly to being upstaged by a barbecue, although he's rumoured to be making a cameo prodding the meat with his Zulu tongs. Bamabaataa hails from New York and was, of course, responsible for the visceral and revolutionary sounds pounding out of his compound back in the early '80s, which were to shape the history of hip-hop and electro. Having continued to strive to keep it in the family, headlining alongside him at the BBQ and on decks is his son, TC Izlam, with the Ragga Twins. Over the decades, this organisation created by Bambaataa has dedicated itself to urban survival, but not through the more conventional and regrettable means of streets gangs and associated violence. Oh no... Afrika took the unprecedented step of using parties and bouncing b-boy battles to create a vibrant cultural equilibrium, and a balanced Planet Rock. The man is a legend: expect your meat to be grilled and your ears to be roasted.

Tuesday 13 July (7pm)

@ London Review Bookshop, 14 Bury Place, WC1 (020.7269.9030) Tube: Holborn

It goes without saying that we all want the poor to be better off, have easy access to good medical facilities and not worry about getting old; how we achieve this is up to much debate. Whether we're part of Europe, a special country like the Swedes or even the Swiss, it'll have some knock on effect on all these matters. Tony got on George's bandwagon, perhaps inadvertently because he wanted to persuade him not to fall into a difficult war, or worse, perhaps he felt the tug of that special relationship we've had since Churchill got some help. Today it seems that America is "the" superpower, and all this business with Europe is just to shore up our economic defence against that which lies to our West and the rising powers to our East -- after all, China is now one of the world's largest markets. In his latest book, political writer and modern historian Timothy Garton Ash is offering some thoughts on the various special relationships on both sides of our shores. Being for free trade, liberalism and responsible environmentalism, Garton Ash's very readable Free World calls for a middle ground for England that is neither Anglo-American nor European, rather more global in its outlook.

Ends Sunday 11 July (Thu to Sun 12 - 6pm)

@ Vilma Gold, 25B Vyner St., E2 (020.8981.3344) Tube: Bethnal Green

Blame the Chapman bros, but Goth and horror have remained popular genres in contemporary Brit Art, seeming both childishly naughty and grimly reflective of the "human condition", and a little bit political as well if you're lucky. Axxxpresssunizm, Vilma Gold's group show of "new Goth and pop expressionism", like a particularly good B movie or Haunted House ride, gets this funny/alarming balance spot on. A one-legged mannequin, spoof horror flick, sex and gore galore, one piece more than any other, however, will give you nightmares well into your summer holiday. A PC sits on a pre-fab desk along one wall of the gallery -- part of a fairly banal installation. You ignore it until the gallery assistant comes up to you, and -- rather menacingly -- says, "I'm sure he'd really like to speak to you". The PC, you're told, is linked to a bedroom in New York, where a very disturbed, cellophane-masked man waits hungrily for contact with the next gallery visitor. Put on the headphones, pick up the microphone and engage in some very intimate conversation (in full hearing of the rest of the gallery) with a complete stranger who, in such an unassuming setting, makes Hannibal Lecter look like John Major. A little treat for you sado-masochistic Flashers out there.

NB: runs till 11/07.

Ends Thursday 15 July

@ various cinemas across London

Winner of a Golden Lion at last year's Venice Film Festival, The Return marks an auspicious debut for first-time director Andrey Zvyagintsev. Set in provincial Russia, the story centres on two brothers whose mollycoddled lives are transformed when their father mysteriously appears after 12 years of absence. Their father aims to instil a sense of discipline into the likeable Andrey (Vladimir Garin) and stubborn Ivan (Ivan Dobronravov) by taking them on a short trip to a desolate island where they set up camp in the wilderness and learn lessons in survival. The coming-of-age journey soon assumes biblical significance as the film reaches its tragic climax. The assured director draws remarkable performances from the leading actors. Konstantin Lavronenko is superb as the brooding and enigmatic father, while the young actors appear larger than life. The muted grey tones and lingering shots of the characters travelling through a beautiful landscape create an evocative elegy to the significance of growing up. The film appears even more poignant in the light of the tragic death of Garin -- a rising star.

Thursday 15 July (7pm)

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

Sacre-bleu! Zeez fine purveyors of live experimental electronica, [no.signal] -- who recently furnished our ears with a show by Matmos and friends, and performed their Civil War concept album at the Scala last month -- next week pick up a host of acts from just across the Channel and drop them into the Spitz for a night of "musique electronique et experimentale" (we need not translate). Alors [no.signal] nattily becomes [sans.signal] for the evening. With a focus on lo-fi production values, this melodic and not-so-melodic selection showcases a range of musical explorers on the current French electronica circuit. The line-up includes detuned distortions from energetic brother duo dDamage, real-time sonic digital processing from Heller and Sebastien Roux, a distorted cello overture by Mrs Pilgrimm, and Discom, who whizz pop melodies into the blender and spit them out the other side with a sting in the tail. Not forgetting new kid on le block, Noun, and, in the spirit of DIY, a Pez sweet dispenser orchestra created by Anne Laforet. Tres bon (bon).

NB: this event is a precursor to London Placard, a 14-hour international "headphones festival" which returns to London for the second year running on 17/07.

Ends Thursday 29 July (literary events are on Fri 09/07 and Sat 10/07; films screen till 29/07)

@ NFT, South Bank, SE1 (020.7928.3232) Tube: Embankment/Waterloo

Right from the start there was always something cinematic about Graham Greene's fiction. "When I describe a scene", he told an interviewer, "I capture it with the moving eye of the cine-camera rather than with the photographer's eye which leaves it frozen. In this precise domain I think that the cinema has influenced me." Unsurprising, then, that so many of his novels were adapted for the screen. The stories, with their suspenseful plots and memorable characters, suited the medium, and it didn't take long before Hollywood came knocking. The results were mixed, although This Gun for Hire (1942), memorably pairing Alan Ladd and Veronika Lake, became a film noir landmark. It was the homegrown product, however, which came closest to capturing the full resonance of his work. His collaboration with the Boulting Brothers produced Brighton Rock (1947), and with Carol Reed The Fallen Idol (1948) and the immortal The Third Man (1949). Without Greene, cinema, and in particular British cinema, would have been much the poorer.

NB: the season (runs till 29/07) includes a new BBC Arena documentary on the making of The Third Man, as well as a series of literary events led by Maxim Jakubowski focused on the "crime scene". Highlights include A Margery Allingham walk beginning at the BM (Fri 09/07 at 6pm), an argument against Patricia Cornwell's allegation that Sickert was the Ripper (Sat 10/07 at 2:15pm), and a discussion with Mo Hayder, controversial author of The Birdman (Fri 09/07 at 3:15pm). For details click here.

Ends Saturday 31 July (Tue to Sat 10am - 6pm)

@ Victoria Miro, 16 Wharf Rd., N1 (020.7336.8109) Tube: Old St.

If you're only going to learn one new thing this summer, then let it be Alice Neel (1900-84). With this, her first European show, and quite likely one of a handful outside her native America, collects a group of paintings and drawings from 1950-76. Throughout her life, Neel worked within a very simple genre, portraiture, but the eccentric bohemian and great lover of cats matured creatively when America was beginning to fall into the thrall of Abstraction, large-scale work and a more "rational" approach to art-making. Yet her work is remarkably modern in that it possesses great psychological depth, albeit imbued with humour and shrew paint-handling. In another period and country, it might have been termed "Expressionist", but today and in this country, she's closer to Lucien Freud -- even with the wonky drawing, loosely filled backgrounds and soft colour. However, where the latter seems mean and even cruel with his harsh light and naked demands on the subject, Neel's results appear more sympathetic in capturing some aspect of the subject's character. Of course even within American terms, Neel is quite unique. (Runs till 31/07.)

NB: currently there is a room dedicated to Neel in the Naked/Action/Body section at Tate Modern, all of which provides a taster for her retrospective at the Whitechapel in 2007.

Giveaway: we have three exhibition catalogues to give away. They'll go to three randomly picked Flashers who can name the art historian painted by Neel.