Freud's theories through masterpieces

For the first time, the exhibition Eros & Thanatos–Drives, Images, Interpretations, on view at the Sigmund Freud Museum and in the Historic Library of the Liechtenstein Museum, thematizes Freud’s theory of drives through exceptional works of fine art. Paintings, drawings, prints, enamels and sculptures by artists including Dürer, Rubens, Bellucci, Klimt and Schiele illustrate the interplay between the life and death drives. The exhibition in both museums runs until October 13, 2009.
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Between Metaphor and Object

An exhibition from the IMMA Collection, featuring sculptures and installation works from the 1990s, is on display at the Irish Museum of Modern Art until April 4, 2010. Between Metaphor and Object provides new perspectives on the diversity of practices represented in the IMMA Collection from this period, explores its particularities, and considers them in the context of international trends of the decade.
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Brussels set for the Design September

Launched 2006 within the framework of the Fashion and Design year, the Design September festival brings together fifty events focusing on all kinds of applications of industrial design: furniture, objects, industrial products, graphic design, architecture, the discipline is enormous and affects a broad public. For the fourth consecutive year, from September 10 to October 2, 2009, a crowd of associations, institutions and other independent organizations tune up their violins in Brussels to offer a rich and varied programme of exhibitions, conferences, private showings, film screenings, debates, visits to designers’ studios, flea market, city tours, pecha kucha, and so on.
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London’s best theatre in Malta

'A masterpiece of deep feeling and cutting intelligence, an irresistible blend of magic, psychological insight and moral judgment' is according to the Sunday Times the National Theatre production of William Shakespeare’s All's Well That Ends Well that is presented at London’s Olivier Theatre this season. For one performance only, October 1, Maltese theatre goers can enjoy this marvelous play directed by Marianne Elliott, at the St. James Cavalier Centre in Valletta.
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A star studded gala with a cause

It’s been a tradition for the last three years and it should not be missed. The third Cyprus-Russia Charity Gala takes place once again on September 11 at the Presidential Palace Gardens in Nicosia, Cyprus, under the auspices of First Lady Elsie Christophias. The 150 euro entrance fee guarantees not only an unforgettable night of good entertainment but also an important contribution to charity. So, try to be there.
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Greece’s two ‘invisible’ biennials

The northern Greek city of Thessaloniki had always felt in rivalry with the nation’s capital Athens. Being the country’s second largest city with a population of one million, Thessaloniki has a long tradition as a center of the arts and culture in northern Greece. This year, the two “rival” cities are both presenting the second editions of their international art biennials. There’s only one tiny problem. Very few in Greece have any knowledge that they are happening!
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Meet Tarzan in Paris

Who doesn’t know Tarzan? The hero created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912, when the very first book was published became a literary phenomenon of the 20th century having appeared in comic strips, radio programs, television series and films. The character, who features in many media such as posters, figurines, CDs and even games, continues to fascinate and fuel our vision of an imaginary, fantasy Africa. See how and why in the exhibition Tarzan! or Rousseau and the Waziri at Paris’ Musée du Quai Branly, until September 27.
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Art for the Millions

In conjunction with this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair (Oct. 14-18), which makes focus on China, the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt presents the spectacular sculptural group Rent Collection Courtyard, seen for the first time in Europe as a whole. This ensemble of more than one hundred life-size figures is among the most important works in modern Chinese art history and is firmly fixed in China’s collective memory. You can view it from 24 September 2009 to 3 January 2010.
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Afghanistan's Gold at Met Show

Ancient Afghanistan -located at the crossroads of major trade routes, where it attracted invading armies and nomadic migrations- was home to some of the most complex, rich, and original civilizations on the continent of Asia. Opening at The Metropolitan Museum of Art this summer, the traveling exhibition Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul, celebrates the country's unique role, as both the recipient of diverse cultural elements and the creator of distinctive styles of art from the Bronze Age into the Kushan period. Don’t miss it in New York until September 20, 2009.
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Madonna nudes in London

In 1979 the as yet unknown 20 year old Madonna posed nude for just $30 for New York photographer Martin Schreiber. Later when she had become a global icon the shots appeared in Playboy, catapulting Schreiber to fame. Thirty years on, the original photographs are on show in Seven Dials, London, as Madonna fever hits town ahead of her Sticky & Sweet tour on July 4-5. The nude photographs will be on display from 2 to 19 of July, coming to London from Brighton, where they were exhibited as part of the city’s Festival Fringe.
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Van Gogh speaks

A landmark exhibition to celebrate the publication of the new international edition of the complete correspondence of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) is to be presented at the Van Gogh Museum’s Rietveld building in Amsterdam from 9 October 2009 to 3 January 2010. In the exhibition Van Gogh's letters: The artist speaks, some 120 original letters will be exhibited alongside the works that Van Gogh was writing about.
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Relax… it’s just Porn

The ab-fab and outrageous musical that took Malta by storm during its first run last March is ready to roll again with just seven performances to be given at the Argotti Botanical Gardens in Floriana, just outside the capital city of Valletta, from July 27 to August 2, just before the team takes the show up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Ladies and Gents, please welcome –again- Porn, the Musical!
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Barefoot Diva takes Cyprus by storm

It comes as a cliché, but Cesária Évora perfectly fits the stereotype. She’s a diva and she performs barefoot in support of the poor of her country, and so this is exactly how she became known internationally. Now this peculiar performer who combines qualities of Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday and Bessie Smith together, comes to Cyprus for the first time to give a live concert in Larnaca’s Pattichion Amphitheatre as part of the city’s summer festival. The day is July 27 and the event will soon be sold-out. So, hurry up!
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Christopher Summer Festival comeback

What particular genre or type of music does the Christopher Summer Festival most represent? This is a question that neither the festival‘s artistic director Donatas Katkus nor the loyal audiences, who have been enjoying this summer musical fiesta for 15 years, could answer. Because the Christopher Summer Festival loves all kinds of music, from classical to jazz, and from ethnic to folk. This year, the festival runs from June 28 to August 30 and its 41 concerts take place in various venues in Vilnius and another five Lithuanian cities.
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Monet and Japan: the time of Water Lilies

The lush blues, greens, pinks and purples of Claude Monet's Water Lilies series are at the heart of a Milan exhibition which explores the French impressionist's relationship with Japanese art. With 20 large paintings by the father of French Impressionism from the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris, 56 Japanese prints from the Musée Guimet also in Paris as well as a selection of 19th-century photographs of Japanese gardens, the exhibition Monet and Japan, the Time of Water Lilies at Milan’s most prestigious venue, the Palazzo Reale, runs until September 27, 2009.
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Francis Bacon's messy studio

If you believe your workplace is in a complete mess, think again. Francis Bacon’s own studio at 7 Reece Mews in South Kensington, London, where he worked for 30 years, was in an absolute chaos! You can have a glimpse of what chaos means at the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery in Dublin, which transplanted and reassembled every paintbrush and speck of dust, along with the walls and floorboards of the famed studio from London to Ireland. Visit this unique exhibition in Dublin that took three years to reconstruct.
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Tracking Traces... in Helsinki

Traces can be found near and far, on the human body, in advertising imagery and in the urban space. They can be consciously or accidentally created signs and imprints that we leave and encounter every day. The Tracking Traces... collection exhibition at Helsinki’s Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art examines people, nature and culture through traces. The works on display until February 2010 convey an intimate experience in a public space that invites us to comment and listen.
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Robert Capa returns to Budapest

Universally regarded as the greatest war photographer of all time, Robert Capa is known across the world for his shots of the landings of the Second World War, of the civil war in Spain and of the liberation of Paris. From July 3 to October 11, 2009, the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art (Lumu) in Budapest pays tribute to the Hungarian-born artist with an exhibition of 937 pictures from the so-called Robert Capa Master Selection III bought by the Hungarian National Museum last year from the International Center of Photography, together with 48 original prints by Robert Capa.
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Černý’s back!

After unveiling his scandalous Entropa installation in Brussels last January, creating uproar throughout Europe and insult to the sense of European political correctness by depicting stereotypes of EU member states, notorious Czech artist David Černý strikes back with an exhibition at Prague's newest international gallery of contemporary art, Dvorak Sec Contemporary, on show until the end of September.
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Greece's dream comes true

Never again in this century has a single building meant so much for the Greek nation as the New Acropolis Museum has. Three decades and countless legal controversies and adventures after the original idea was born, Greece proudly welcomes a state-of-the-art museum, worthy of the cultural treasures it is going to host. The New Acropolis Museum is delivered to the Greek people and the world on June 20, 2009, with a lavish opening ceremony that is going to be remembered for years to come.
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Bozar’s birthday party with famous friends

One of Brussels’ most respected cultural institutions, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, or simply Bozar, as Belgians call it, became eighty years old this year and this is a good reason for celebration. The beautiful Art Nouveau palace built by architect Victor Horta, has brought up from its archives portraits of the remarkable figures, who have created its history and built its international reputation, and presents them in a small but very interesting exhibition you should not miss until September 13, 2009.
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Latvia’s hot summer of folk culture

Latvia, like the other two Baltic countries, is a nation of tradition. A non-Latvian would be amazed to discover how many traditional and folk culture groups and ensembles are active in this small country of two and a half million. This summer two of the most popular folk festivals are taking place and there’s a lot of anticipation by many. If you happen to visit the country in July or August, do not miss the Baltica and Sudmalinas international festivals, both full of colors, music, dance and fun.
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Salvador Dalí: Liquid Desire

The first comprehensive retrospective of the work of Salvador Dalí ever to be staged in Australia, exclusive to the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, brings together more than 200 stunning works by Spanish master Salvador Dalí in all media including painting, drawing, watercolor, etchings, sculpture, fashion, jewelry, cinema and photography. The Salvador Dalí: Liquid Desire exhibition runs until October 4, 2009.
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The best of Romanian dance in 4 days

Some of the best dancers and choreographers Romania has produced over the recent years participate in this year’s Romanian Dance Platform, organized by the National Dance Centre-Bucharest (CNDB) in Bucharest from 17 to 20 of September 2009. The crème de la crème of Romanian contemporary dance will appear on the stage of the Roundhall and the Studio of the CNDB, in twenty performances in four days.
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Mapplethorpe images at the temple of Form

Twenty years since the death of celebrated American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence pays tribute to his talent with the exhibition Robert Mapplethorpe: Perfection in Form, featuring 93 images until September 27, 2009. This is the first time that the works of this great internationally renowned artist of photography are exhibited in a temple of Form like the Accademia of Florence, known worldwide as the ‘Michelangelo Museum’, next to the most emblematic Renaissance icons.
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Pharos kicks off new festival

A new classical music festival is introduced into Cyprus’ cultural life and this thanks to the very active Nicosia-based Pharos Arts Foundation. The First International Contemporary Music Festival is destined to promote what its title suggests: music of the 20th and the 21st centuries by avant-garde composers from all over the world. You can enjoy its five concerts on five consecutive evenings, from 26 to 30 of August 2009 at the Shoe Factory, Foundation's recently established venue for intimate chamber concerts, an ideal setting for contemporary music events.
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Gilbert & George: Jack Freak Pictures

The crisp suits, scatological motifs, stern aesthetic and gay icon status of Gilbert & George resonate throughout Berlin's art scene this summer. This exhibition at the Arndt & Partner Gallery until September 18, 2009, is their first show in Berlin since some 14 years and features 20 of their largest Jack Freak Pictures to date. These massive collages are nationalistic self-portraits of the pair cloaked in the red, white and blue of the union jack set against recurring imagery of medals, emblems and trees.
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Journey around the world in 80+1 days

Imagine it is 1872 and you are Phileas Fogg setting out on your Journey around the world in 80 days; the transport you rely on to win your bet comprises horses, railways, steamers, even a balloon. Can you make it? Inspired by Jules Verne’s classic, Ars Electronica, voestalpine and Linz09-Cultural Capital of Europe dispatch the city of Linz on a similar journey around the world. But this does not entail any physical travel; travel takes place via optical cables and satellite links, and the stops along the way will be 20 locations, each one of which stands for a theme of crucial importance to our future. Learn how you can join in from June 17 until September 5, 2009.
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Islam reconquers Spain with art

Fourteen centuries of a breathtaking history that extends from the Iberian Peninsula to the Far East unfold in Madrid these days, thanks to the stunning exhibition hosted at the CaixaForum Madrid, at the Paseo del Prado. This amazing exhibition that was inaugurated June 4 by the King and Queen of Spain, is jointly organized by the "la Caixa" Social and Cultural Outreach Projects in cooperation with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture –the cultural arm of the Aga Khan Development Network.
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Gulbenkian shows Henri Fantin-Latour masterpieces

Seventy five works among Henri Fantin-Latour’s masterpiece paintings, as well as some of his sketches, are presented in large monographic exhibition at Lisbon’s Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, from June 25 until September 6, 2009. After Lisbon, the exhibition, which is jointly organized with Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, will proceed to Madrid where it will remain on display from September 28 2009 to January 10, 2010.
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Drum’n'bass revolutions in Burgas

An exiting new festival on the stunning white sands of Bulgaria's Black Sea coast is not asking, but demanding your attention! After its virgin edition last year, the Spirit of Burgas festival was rated by YOUROPE as the best in the old continent for 2008! Now, the time has come for this three-day event at Burgas’ two-mile long central beach and its adjacent sea garden, to prove that it deserved the title. You can judge by yourselves from 14 to 16 of August, when leading international acts like the Fun Lovin' Criminals and Faith No More line up on the stage!
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Jazz do it in Portugal!

Summertime is Jazz in Portugal. From May to September, from north to south, seven different jazz music festivals invite the lovers of the genre to experience the magic of distinguished and internationally renowned musicians from all over the world. If names like Chick Corea, Al di Meola, Madeleine Peyroux, Richard Galliano, Vaya con Dios, Eliane Elias, Mariza, Lisa Ehdhal, Nublu Orchestra, James Taylor and many other mean nothing to you, then you don’t need to go. The rest of you, pack your bags and book tickets!
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René Magritte’s playful photographs

Few know that Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte’s favorite hobby was photography. But unlike his contemporaries Man Ray or Paul Nougé, Magritte wasn’t interested in exploring photography as an art. His relation with it was rather spontaneous and playful. Therefore, the photographs taken by Magritte and presented in the exhibition La fidélité des images at the National Museum of Art of Romania (MNAR) until July 19, may allow us to know the great surrealist artist in personal moments with friends and family.
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How the Dutch see New York

Stunning and highly original images of New York and New Yorkers created by 13 prominent Dutch photographers is on view in Dutch Seen: New York Rediscovered, one of three exhibitions at the Museum of the City of New York organized in conjunction with the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s epic 1609 voyage into New York Harbor, and the original Dutch colonies in New York. The exhibit, on view through September 13, is presented in association with one of the world's leading photography museums, FOAM_Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam and is organized by Photo Editor of The New York Times Magazine, Kathy Ryan.
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Berlin celebrates 20 years of freedom

The images of people dancing and cheering as the Berlin Wall came down 20 years ago is one of the most poignant and moving moments of the late 20th century. The 1989 events triggered a dynamic change that is reflected throughout Germany today. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of "The Fall of the Wall," Berlin is hosting special festivals, exhibitions and events, making 2009 a theme year. Let’s see together what is going on in the German capital and why 2009 is the best year to visit this stunning metropolis.
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Three-day Pohoda partying!

Slovakia's largest and most prestigious three-day music festival with over 100 bands and DJ's appearing on seven different stages kicks off once again this year July 16. Crowds will be heading to the beautiful site in the Vah river valley near the city of Trenčín to take in an exceptional show comprising a line-up of epic musical diversity, a host of interactive art forms and a series of renowned chill-out zones. Ladies and gents, enjoy the Bažant Pohoda Festival!
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Futurism turns 100 at Tate Modern

Don’t miss the opportunity to see the first large-scale showing of Futurism in Britain in thirty years, as presented in a ground-breaking exhibition at the Tate Modern in London, on view through September 20, 2009. The exhibition is celebrating the centenary of the publication of The Founding and First Manifesto of Futurism in 1909, by Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the father of that movement that set out to modernize Italian art and social attitudes spreading its influence across Europe and beyond.
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Music of heavenly grace

For centuries, the word of God and the divine grace have inspired musicians to create cantatas, oratorios and musical poems thus bringing new meaning to these words through musical expression. For 12 years, Latvia celebrates this kind of music with a very successful festival. This year, the International Sacred music festival, organized by the State Choir Latvija includes 5 concerts held from August 10 to September 3, 2009.
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The Social Being of Truth

Without being a retrospective, the exhibition presented at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC) in Bucharest until the end of August, serves as an ample installation of video art: it selects only seven of the pieces created by famous Romanian artist Aurelia Mihai between 2002 and 2008 to answer questions that many video-artists, curators and critics have been trying to answer. You can visit the exhibition The Social Being of Truth until the end of August.
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Marketing political leaders

Approaching fast its official opening in 2010, the brand new Museum of Design and Fashion or MuDe in Lisbon’s Rua Augusta, is giving a foretaste of what to expect with an exhibition on the first floor that is coming directly from the Museum of Design Zurich where it was presented earlier this year. Head to Head. Political Portraits shows the communicative patterns that politicians use to curry favor with the electorate. Visit it until September 13 and pose next to Angela Merkel, Barak Obama or Mao Zedong.
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Luxembourg's all that jazz

It comes as a surprise to know that there are so many jazz musicians, ensembles and aficionados in a tiny little country like Luxembourg. If you want to know some more about the very active jazz scene in the Grand Duchy this summer, all you have to do is attend one of the many free concerts by local jazz artists given at the Neumünster Abbey’s brasserie on Sunday mornings and Friday evenings, from June 5 to September 27. You’ll be amazed…
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Ülo Õun: Artist Interrupted

An overview exhibition of the oeuvre of one of Estonia’s most unconventional and original modernist sculptors, Ülo Õun (1940-1988), whose use of material and uniqueness of conceptual thought are unrivalled in Northern Europe, is on display in Tallinn this season. From June 19 until November 1, 2009, visit the exhibition Ülo Õun. Artist Interrupted at the Great Hall of the Kumu Art Museum and have your mind twisted around his amazing shapes and configurations.
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Cut my legs off and call me shorty!

It’s been quite a while since we last had the opportunity to listen about an exhibition with a good sense of humor. Thirteen Sweden-based artists seem to have what it takes and joined forces to present the Cut my legs off and call me shorty! exhibition on show at the Tensta Konsthall in the northern Stockholm borough of Spånga. Visit it from June 17 to September 19 and leave the venue with a smile on your face.
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Helmut Newton’s back!

Helmut Newton’s photographic fantasies were always larger than life so it was fitting when in 1999 German publishing house Taschen produced Sumo, a 464-page monograph in limited edition of 10,000 signed by Newton. Now, an exhibition on view at Berlin’s Helmut Newton Foundation until January 31, 2010, commemorates the 10 years of Sumo, with an exhibition of 394 photographs from its pages. The work of Newton’s protégés Mark Arbeit, George Holz, and Just Loomis –the Three Boys from Pasedena- is also on show.
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Shakespeare magic in Slovak

When it was first presented in 1994 in Prague, no one would have ever guessed that fifteen years later it would have become one of the biggest festivals in Europe dedicated to the greatest English playwright of all times. After Prague, the Summer Shakespeare Festival expanded to the Czech cities of Brno and Ostrava, before coming to Slovakia. Now, theatre lovers in Bratislava too -as well as in the cities of Košice and Zvolen- can enjoy top theatre productions by Czech and Slovak companies. Enjoy them from July 2 until August 8, 2009.
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Summertime rendezvous in Budapest

This summer you have one more reason to go to Budapest, one of Europe’s most charming capitals. The city’s summer festivals for 2009 have gathered dozens of the most welcoming productions to serve locals and visitors alike on the warm weekends of June, July and August. The Budapest Summer Festival in Margaret Island and Városmajor Theatre, the BudaFest at the Hilton Dominican Court, the St. Stephen Square and the Hungarian Opera House, and the Vajdahunyadvár Summer Music Festival have something for everyone.
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A New City Face for Vilnius

A conceptual presentation of contemporary fine arts in strategically significant public spaces of Vilnius is the idea behind the project New City Face, which is curated by Aušra Petroškienė, Rita Mikučionytė and Linas Liandzbergis, as an action of the Vilnius-Cultural Capital of Europe 2009, running throughout the year. The project is realized by the 2nd Quadrennial of Contemporary Lithuanian Fine Arts, organized by the Lithuanian Artists’ Association.
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Ljubljana’s Summer in the Castle

Fifty-six years and thousands of events after the Ljubljana Summer Festival appeared for the first time to the Slovenian capital’s cultural life, the institution is more mature than ever. This year’s edition runs from July 6 to August 27 and hosts 31 shows -operas, musicals and many concerts of chamber and symphony orchestras- by over 2,500 performers from more than 20 countries, who appear onstage at the beautiful castle of the city and many more prestigious venues (Križanke Summer Theatre, Cankarjev dom, Slovenian Philharmonic, Ursuline Monastery & Church of the Holy Trinity).
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Damien Hirst’s Requiem shocks Kiev

This summer sees a of Damien Hirst -the most popular brand of today's art scene and the symbol of contemporary British art- open in Kiev under the title of Requiem. The show comprises over a hundred works. This seems to be the most extensive representation of Hirst's art, tracing his career from the 1990s to the present day. You can view it at the PinchukArtCentre until September 20, 2009.
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