Check out these five London galleries in weird spaces, including a hair dressers and a toilet.
For two days only this month, Audible is putting on a very intriguing exhibition indeed. Set up in the basement of a central London record shop, Audible Live: Hag presents eight original short stories that have been especially penned for the podcast platform by award-winning and Sunday Times best-selling female authors. Curated by Carolyne Larrington, a professor at the University of Oxford specialising in old Norse legends and British fairy tales, each story is based on little-known British and Irish folklore that's been reworked with a modern, feminist twist.
The coolest part? Each short story from the 'Hag' podcast has been given its own Insta-ready installation, surrounded by immersive art and sound. You'll get the chance to explore a beautiful, eerie and smog-filled woodland, take a seat in a custom-built row boat as it balances on a wave of electric blue trinkets, and make your own wiccan posies using a selection of traditional herbs, plants and ferns.
How much bang do you get for your buck?
Considering this is a free London event – a shed load. But even if it wasn't free entry, you wouldn't want to miss out on the art installations and sound recordings, which come together to create one helluva unique listening experience. As well as looking pretty, the displays serve to showcase the 'Hag' podcast series and will also be accompanied by interviews between each author and Professor Larrington.
Who are the authors featured?
Amongst the group of incredibly talented writers onboard is Liv Little, founder and editor of gal-dem, a publication aimed at women and non-binary people of colour. She presents her tale 'The Sisters', as read by Michelle Tiwo. Plus 2016's Lambda Literary Award-winner Kirsty Logan, who has Maggie Service and Cameron Crighton narrating 'Between Sea and Sky'; the Man Booker Prize's youngest ever nominee, Daisy Johnson with 'A Retelling' recorded by Amy Lunn; and Irish novelist Eimear McBride, who bagged the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2014 and can be heard reading her own short, 'The Tale of Kathleen'.
When, where and how do you get there?
Audible Live: Hag takes place later this month on Friday August 30, 6-7pm and Saturday August 31, 10am-6pm. You'll find it at The Vinyl Factory, which is accessed via Soho's coolest music store: Phonica Records. While tickets are free, entry will be hourly, so make sure you get the slot you want by reserving yours beforehand at universe.com.
Can't make the event? You can still get a piece of the action by pre-ordering the Hag short story collection at audible.co.uk/hag, which new Audible users can listen to for free during a 30-day trial period.
