Top Tips for a Visit to London in November 2012
If you are hoping to absorb some of London’s visual arts on your visit from Brighton then arriving at Victoria Station, a mere 50 minutes by train, in the ideal place to start.
A swift dash across the ticket hall to the underground, where you can take the Victoria line north towards Kings Cross/ St Pancras (15 mins – The British Library) via Green Park (the Royal Academy), Oxford Circus (for the new Photographers’ Gallery) or Warren Street station (for the fascinating Wellcome Collection with a lovely light Peyton Byrne café ).
A short walk from Victoria Station (est 6 minutes) brings you to The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. Northern Renaissance: Dürer to Holbein opens on 2 November 2012 through to 14 April 2013 and shows over 100 works from the 15th and 16th centuries. A recently conserved painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, Hans of Antwerp, is amongst 27 paintings by Holbein that you can see, along with prints by Dürer, and paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder and Pieter Brueghel the Elder. The Royal Collection is held in trust for the nation so it’s yours for the viewing!
From The Queen’s Gallery you can stroll from the 15th century to the 21st along the Mall toward the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art). From 27 November the ICA presents Bloomberg New Contemporaries, an exhibition of works by emerging fine artists graduating from British art schools. You will see photography, video and watercolour by emerging artists schooled in Leeds, Belfast, and Goldsmiths.
Alternatively take the Circle or District line eastwards for four stops to Embankment where the Hungerford footbridge offers you an enchanting short walk to the bustling Southbank. Stop here for the Hayward Gallery, just behind the National Film Theatre, showing Art of Change: New Directions from China. The exhibition features large-scale installations and performance work until 9 December.
One stop further east brings you to Blackfriars – just minutes from Tate Modern, the small gallery Purdy Hicks, and the Wapping Project Bankside – both in Hopton St. I am not me, the horse is mine opens from 11 November at the Tanks, Tate Modern, is the first display of this eight-channel video installation by South African artist William Kentridge. Purdy Hicks is showing the beautiful photography works of Susan Derges, Alder Brook, from 9 November.
So what will it be – 15th Century Dutch painting followed by British works from the 2010s? Or a dip into the very contemporary modern art scene of China? It’s all within 30 minutes from your arrival at Victoria Station from Brighton.