Somerset House

Fancy eating your sad office sarnies in a cacoon of bamboo? Somerset House is turning its bombastic neoclassical courtyard into a garden full of the panda food which you can frolic about in for free to enjoy a quick picnic, a moment of calm in your busy work day, or an inevitable photo-op. The immersive installation is a new large-scale commission from Hong-Kong based artist Zheng Bo that ‘invites visitors to temporarily disconnect from their fast-paced, hyper-connected everyday lives by immersing themselves in the biosphere’. The idea is that people draw while they’re in the urban jungle, selecting a bamboo leaf from a variety of species to sketch, with the completed drawings becoming fertiliser for the garden ‘completing a loop of creativity and ecology’. 

Have you noticed that everyone’s wearing kilts at the moment? It’s partly down to Glaswegian fashion designer and radical creative Charles Jeffrey, whose fashion brand Loverboy reimagined the textile, creating checked lewks that were more high club night than Highland fling. It’s been 10 years since Loverboy began as a label and a cult club night. Jeffrey started the night while studying at Central St Martins with the late-night shenanigans with fellow artists, performers, musicians, drag queens and poets informing and influencing his bold collections. This exhibition – fittingly at Somerset House, where Jeffrey has a studio – will go behind-the-scenes, exploring how Jeffrey built the brand from scratch. Expect intriguing sounding ‘sensorially led spaces’ full of archival artefacts from Jeffrey’s unique collections and newly commissioned works. Plus, it’s pay what you can, so everyone can appreciate the fabulousness. 

Somerset House Summer Series is back for another year. Held in the Edmond J. Safra Fountain court, in the enclave of the iconic Neoclassical building, this open-air series of gigs has long held space for both exciting up-and-comers and well-known trailblazers from the UK and beyond. When is Somerset House Summer Series 2024? Somerset House Summer Series with American Express is spread out over eleven nights, starting July 11 and ending with a final gig on July 21. How much are tickets? Generally, tickets are selling for around the £30 - £40 mark, plus booking fee. If you’re feeling fancy, you also could even drop an additional £25 to get exclusive access to the Enhanced Bar and along with a complimentary drink, but note that these tickets are limited. Check the website for the full range of tickets and prices. Who’s on the lineup? From homegrown R&B singer Pip Millett to punk musicinan and poet Patti Smith, 2024’s line-up caters to a wide range of tastes, highlighting a vibrant selection of some of today’s coolest, most original musical artists operating today. Here’s the lowdown: Thursday July 11: Pip MillettFriday July 12: Special guest – TBASaturday July 13: DBN Gogo & guests Sunday July 14: Corinne Bailey Rae Monday July 15: SminoTuesday July 16: The AmazonsWednesday July 17: Hania RaniThursday July 18: The Big MoonFriday July 19: Cory HenrySaturday July 20: Hak BakerSunday July 21: Patti Smith Quartet What time does Somerset House Summer Series start? As a rule, doors wi

Somerset House has a history of creating intruding and carefully-curated exhibitions about Black and queer culture. This autumn, it’s at it again with this deep dive into the largest cultural and historical archive of Black LGBTQ+ people in Britain: rukus! Curated by artist and filmmaker Topher Campbell, the exhibition is a chance to see items from the award-winning rukus! archive (currently housed at the London Metropolitan Archives), including material showcasing the activism, artistic events and private lives of Black Queer Britains, work from UK Black Queer pioneers from the 1970’s until the present day, newly commissioned work and pieces from the ‘first out generation’ who have created greater visibility for the Black LGBTQ+ diaspora. The exhibition opening coincides with 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair and is a wonderful and rare chance to get acquainted with an intimate slice of Black queer history in the UK that’s not often seen in public.