#365DaysofLondonBaby- Day 28- A Georgian Seductive Valentine’s at the National Maritime Museum Greenwich

Valentine’s Day is approaching fast and love is in the air! If you don’t have any plans yet, why not do something different this year- go to a museum! A Museum??? Yes! For a night of Love, Romance and Friendship,  The National Maritime Museum Greenwhich has timed up with the two wonderfully witty Ladies of the Georgian Dining Academy for a special event.

Miss B and Miss Kitty Pridden are known for their jolly and delicious Georgian Dining nights (see our post here)  but this time, they  prepared an evening of conversation and entertainment by artists, authors and much more. And of course in costume (you can even get a discount when hiring one!).

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#365DaysofLondonBaby- Day 24-Yayoi Kusama@Victoria Miro

Good Morning Art Lovers! If you do only one thing this week….get in line at the Victoria Miro Gallery in Wharf Road (at the  Old Street Basin of the Regent’s Canal) – to see what might be the most popular Gallery Exhibition of the summer, if not the year.

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Yayoi Kusama is one of the most important Japanese Artists of the 20th Century and even though she is 87 years already, this is all new work on display. Kusama is most famous for her Polka Dots and has become known to the London public through her exhibition at Tate Modern in 2012 and her collaboration with Louis Vuitton, transforming Selfridges Windows in 2013.

In this exhibition, there are a few of her sculptures and paintings, but the true draw are the large installations, one in the garden (see above) as well as 3 “infinity rooms” – mirrored rooms where one feels like Alice in Wonderland. They are absolutely stunning in their visual effects reflecting pumpkins and chandeliers millionfold (the pictures below don’t do it any justice).

Last but not least, the gallery space as such is also stunning to experience, a transformed wharf house at the canal basin, making the most of its large spaces and the canal-side garden.

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If you want to know more about Yayoi Kusama, check out her Website or Wikipedia. If you want to really know more and see her art in a new context, her autobiography, titled “Infinity Net” is an impressive and touching read.

If you want to visit, the exhibition is open until 30th of July on Tuesdays- Saturdays 10am-6pm. On Saturdays, it can get very busy and there will be a “one in-one out” policy, meaning you’ll have to stand in line (could be up to 1 hour) to get in. Inside, there is more waiting, as the infinity rooms can be viewed only by a handful people at once (but its absolutely worth  the wait).

More information on exhibition and gallery can be found at the Gallery Website.

#365DaysofLondonBaby – Day 23 – Greenwich & Docklands International Festival (GDIF)

Good morning! I’ve been wanting to write a post again for a long time but somehow never managed, as I was out and about, exploring, travelling etc. Now I realised I am massively late for an event that I’ve been wanting to showcase for a long time (but posting in the middle of the winter did not make sense) – The Greenwich and Docklands International Festival.

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It’s my absolute favourite festival of the year. Its a festival in Greenwich and the Docklands, set over 2 weeks, featuring street (park!) performances of theatre, acrobats, dancers, pantomime, art installations etc. with the best performers of all of Europe.

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A walk through Poplar – Brutalism and Beyond

Last week Sunday at this time, I was in the middle of sunny Poplar to take another guided walk. Poplar, you might ask- why? It’s easy. I have been to the area on two occasions in “interactive games” – one time at a treasure hunt with A Door In a  Wall in the Lansbury Estate and one time at an immersive Macbeth Theatre event in the Balfron Tower. In both occasions, i had become curious on what is behind these (on the first view) so grim masses of concrete.

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Balfron Tower is part of the Brownfield estate and one of Poplar’s most popular buildings.

Luckily for me, Andrew Parnell of Footprints of London is offering an architectural Walk through the social housing estates of Poplar, called “Stock Bricks to Brutalism: Housing Design History in Poplar” – so this was the perfect opportunity to learn more. Not that I am any expert in Architecture – far from it. But I am interested in seeing the design of housing, see patterns and ideas behind the planning and – how it has turned out in reality (and as Poplar Shows, the planned effects have not always been reached).  Continue reading

#365DaysofLondonBaby – Day 17- The Doodle Man Exhibition – back again!

Great news! The Doodle Man is back in Hoxton Gallery this Weekend (4th March-6th March) – come back again or see it if you haven’t…..

This year’s art season is in full swing, with many great exhibitions around town. If you are in the mood for something different, you have until Wednesday 24th of February to head down to Old…

Source: #365DaysofLondonBaby – Day 17- The Doodle Man Exhibition

#365DaysofLondonBaby – Day 17- The Doodle Man Exhibition

This year’s art season is in full swing, with many great exhibitions around town. If you are in the mood for something different, you have until Wednesday 24th of February to head down to Old Street for a fine, little and fun exhibition.

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During a recent stroll through Shoreditch, I saw a street artist in Great Eastern Street taking on the Herculean task of covering (at least) one massive wall in tiny doodles. He was so focussed on the task at hand, that I didn’t dare to interrupt him.

Today, I saw him back quite unexpectedly – in his very own art Exhibition at the Hoxton Gallery in Old Street.

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Here, The Doodle Man, as he is known, presents his very own version of the last supper.  Continue reading

#365DaysofLondonBaby – Day 8 – Ai WeiWei Exhibition

Fall is coming with big steps and often that means your weekend explorations have to slowly shift to inside activities. No problem, as there are many museums, exhibitions and galleries to explore.

wpid-wp-1445889204408.jpgThis fall’s “must-see” exhibition is definitely Ai WeiWei’s first large UK show in the Royal Academy. It has received rave reviews Continue reading

#365DaysofLondonBaby- Day 1 – The Geffrye Museum

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Good morning and Welcome to this very first post of #365DaysofLondonBaby!

As a start, I wanted to introduce to you the Geffrye Museum. In my almost 5 years in London, I cycled past it many times, always planning to go, but never did. At the beginning of this month, I finally did and I was not disappointed. While its a place to go all year round, I wanted to start with this tip- as the Museum Garden closes at October 31st for its Winter Hiatus, so go before and have a  look to see this jewel!

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Quick and sweet (as is the plan for #365DaysofLondonBaby 🙂 – what is the Geffrye Museum? I

wpid-wp-1445672104290.jpgIt’s a “Museum of London Living” through time. Situated in an old Almshouse (with beautiful gardens) and a stunning new architecture wing for the 20th century exhibition , it features 11 “period rooms” – living rooms from 1630-1998 with original furniture, accessories etc. Each room is preceded by an explanation how a London house and room would look like in these times to provide some background and understanding.

wpid-wp-1445672059080.jpgThe Garden is likewise styled in different styles of English gardens and is a tranquil Oasis that you would certainly not suspect to find in this bustling part of Kingsland Road.

The Museum is situated in 136 Kingsland Road, EC2 8EA and all information on visiting can be found here.

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Your Halloween Guide to Theatre Land

London’s West End is one of the most famous Tourist Destinations in London. An unrivalled number of Plays and Musicals attract countless visitors and Londoners alike, and the area is always buzzing. But there is more than meets the eye….as the days get shorter and the nights get longer, the Ghosts of Theatre Land awake…

As London Baby is unfortunately not specialised in Ghosts and Theatreland as such, we have teamed up with the ticketing website www.fromtheboxoffice.com . To be honest, I have not personally used them yet to buy tickets (I have been so busy running around discovering new places that there was no time for theatre :)) but I love their blog – rather than being a bland sales channel, one can really tell that they have a passion for theatre land- bringing not only the latest news on shows, but also tell background and historical facts about plays, theatre land and much more.

So enjoy their guest post, where they take you into haunted theatre land and give you a rundown of the best shows going on at the moment! If you feel like heading to one of the shows, you can always check their website for tickets. I do want to clarify that I have not received any benefits, commission or anything for posting this, but I am happy that in this way, I can bring some different than usual tips and stories for you!

Theatreland’s Greatest Ghosts Continue reading

#litfest launch -A walk through Shakespeare’s London

Imagine you walk on the Southbank, just passing the Globe Theatre- you blink with your eyes and as you open, the scenery has changed. Out of the Globe Theatre sounds a massive noise – a crowd yelling and commenting on the latest play, some firecrackers exploding. Next thing you see is a bear being paraded through the field, cheered on like a modern day celebrity. Welcome to 1603!

#litfest launchThis is the walk that Dr. Matthew Green took us on by presenting one chapter of his book “London- A Travel Guide Through Time” during the launch event of the Literary Walks Festival (#litfest) on Monday night (my first blogger’s invite, yeah :)) Who knew that Bear fighting was one of the most popular past times of the Londoner’s back then, only to be rivalled by a visit to one of thousands (!) “Tobacco Houses” where the “Tobacconists” indulged in consuming the “holy herb” in an almost meditative fashion…

It was a great “walk” we took and I am looking forward to “walk” through different time periods in the book. However, I hope that I will make it to at least one of more than 50 walks of the #litfest! In case you need some more inspiration, read Rob’s Sneak preview post on the festival here.

Happy walking (or reading)!