celebrating 150 years of german-japanese diplomatic relations, the you are here - berlin tokyo festival will showcase cool contemporary art + culture straight from the creative eurohub of berlin at various venues across tokyo in october 2011. heralding this massive event, the launch event takes place today [6pm-9.30pm] at vacant with a preview and a live sound performance by danish artist jacob kirkegaard. location: 3-20-13 jingumae [harajuku].

today paul smith aficionados converge at the daelim contemporary art museum where inside paul smith opens, an elaborate photo exhibition of one britain’s iconic fashion designers. an avid snapper himself, the show features 320 of his own photographs. additionally, a range of kooky gadgets he received from a dedicated fan are put on display and in a section of the exhibition the designer’s london studio has been semi-recreated. all of this gives the viewer an intimate insight into paul smith’s creative world [on until nov 28]. location: 35-1 tongy-dong [chongro-gu].

artist tammy rae carland’s solo show funny face, i love you opens at silverman gallery on fri - sep 10 [6pm-8pm]. on display are new photographs, mixed media works and a cast porcelain sculpture. inspired by the history of female comedians, and the artist explores questions of humor and desire, juxtaposing images of empty stages with singular figures caught mid-act. these works isolate the body, focusing less on the artifice of public personas than the sheer spectacle of performing corporealities. location: 804 sutter street [nob hill].



© silverman gallery / tammy rae carland - i’m dying up here #3 [glitter drapes] - [2010]

the architecture biennale in venice launched last week, showcasing a plethora of architectural concepts and ideas from across the planet in this scenic mediterranean town. this 12th edition is themed people meet in architecture and by focusing on the radical changes that take place in today’s society it aims to clarify new values and a new lifestyle for the present through architecture [on until nov 21]. click [here] for more info. one of the presentations that we’d like to see is 50 years after brasília, an homage to the city of brasília and held at the brazilian pavilion.



photo: oscar niemeyer’s palácio da alvorada in brasília [the first building to be inaugurated in the city in 1958]

anyone interested in tokyo’s super-advanced fashion scene can’t miss out on tokyo! look!, a collab event organized by the asia society and new york-tokyo during new york fashion week, and held on thu - sep 9 [6.30pm-10.30pm]. after a discussion + panel with invitees, sociology professor yuniya kawamura, tokyo fashion expert dan baily and designer nicole michalek, there’ll be a party and fashion showcase by candy, one of the japanese capital’s edgiest fashion stores. location: asia society, 725 park avenue [upper east].

aaron rose knows urban art like no other. best known as a curator and film director, he will now be showcasing new works at circleculture gallery. his show trouble opens thu - sep 9 [7pm], showcasing a particular obsession of his: painting on suitcases, especially those from the 1950s-1970s which were made in mustard yellows and army greens. rose calls these works object paintings. mind you, some of them are stuffed with surprise goodies for buyers to walk away with. location: gipsstrasse 11 [mitte].



© circleculture gallery

following last year’s stints in new york and washington d.c., experimental music and media festival sónar returns to the u.s. with an event in chicago on sep 9-11. the festival features more than 30 events, including concerts, lectures and screenings at various venues in town. participating artists include oval, faraón and jimmy edgar. click weblink for program and more info.

on thu - sep 9 an exhibition of photographer loretta lux opens at galleria carla sozzani, celebrating the gallery’s 20th anniversary. and later this year a book will released to commemmorate all bygone installations, openings and behind the scenes moments at the gallery in text and photos plus reproductions of many of the show invitations. location: corso como 10 [porta garibaldi].

get set you movie buffs, the singapore short film festival kicks off today at the substation! obviously aiming to promote the art of short movies, this sixth edition features nearly 100 interesting titles from both singaporean and international directors in 17 different categories [on until sep 5]. location: 45 armenian street [city hall].

note: click image for more info

you in tokyo? don’t miss out on pitchoun violence, a fun, musical massacre kind of party that takes place tonight [11.30pm-5am] at chelsea hotel. dj lineup includes hoshina anniversary, vodkatronic, xu, a zombie at my door and reloadreload. and don’t forget: dress to impress! location: 4-7-b1 udagawa-cho [shibuya]

naomi has left town but sleepy the hague has a new big event up its sleeve. it’s the dual exhibition of dutch illustrators martyn f. overweel and gijs kast, opening at lief hertje en de grote witte reus on sat - sep 4 [7pm]. both artists work for a variety of dutch publications and are known for their raw, in-your-face style of illustrations. location: stationsweg 55 [centrum].



© martyn f. overweel

launching at the kw institute for contemporary art [1] on fri - sep 3 [3pm] is the second edition of miss read. organized by the venue in collab with berlin-based publishers argobooks and michalis pichler, it’s an interesting showcase of artist books by a slew of international publishers and artists, including edie fake [chicago], samandal [beirut] and mediabus [seoul].

and if you’re craving for more, why not also check out unter dem motto? this related book event is simultaneously held at chert gallery [2]. location [1]: auguststrasse 69 [mitte]. location [2]: skalitzerstrasse 68 [kreuzberg].



© claudio vogt - miss read [2009]

berlin-based musician + dj richard cameron impulsively took up painting in 2009. his show, rather wittily called early works - painting people i know, opens at chiellerie on fri - sep 3 [5pm] features a selection of portraits of friends that he painted during the past year. location: raamgracht 58 [centrum].



© richard cameron

nagoya may be lacking the excitement of tokyo or osaka’s swagger, japan’s third largest metropolitan area is steadily bulking up, and creating a cultural buzz all its own. today sees the launch of the inaugural edition of the aichi triennale, an international arts festival that aims to convey the latest trends in contemporary arts and presented in various forms and presentations at different venues across town.

aichi triennale’s first edition is themed arts and cities and as such the event expands into the streets, parks and public squares without limiting itself to museums and theaters [on until oct 31]. click the weblink for more info and full program.

acclaimed indian photographer ketaki sheth’s exhibition twinspotting opens today at photoink. with the photos displayed at the show the photographer explored her roots within the indian diaspora, when she moved to london in 1995. when chancing upon a telephone directory listing 30,000 patels in the u.k., she set out to make portraits of patel twins that she counterparts with portraits of patel twins back in india [on until oct 16]. location: 1 faiz road [jandhewalan].



© ketaki sheth - ramesh and suresh, in ramesh’s house, wembley, middlesex [1997]

get ready for an uncompromising creativity injection at rojak session #16 on sat - aug 28 [7pm-late] at had waterloo centre. as usual a string of cool creatives share their current projects and thoughts, this time including the likes of boo junfeng, frayn yong and justin zhuang. bring drinks + friends! location: 261 waterloo street [dhoby ghaut].

elevators are so last year…at least at the standard hollywood. following the opening of her vivid fiction show at merry karnowski gallery, japanese artist lady aiko took up a one-week residence at the hotel to transform its bland stairway into a lilac graffiti gallery full of floral designs, girlish cartoons and street + pop culture images. location: 8300 west sunset boulevard [west hollywood].



© yoshi

you in singapore? this weekend’s not-to-be-missed party takes place tonight [10pm-3am] at la maison. the dj lineup features two iconic fixtures from paris nightlife and subculture scenes, andré saraiva a.k.a. monsieur a and gildas loaec. see you there! location: 55 fairways drive [bukit timah].

prior to his not-to-be-missed retrospective that launches at the asia society [1] on thu - sep 9, the public will be able to see japanese cult artist yoshitomo nara in action on aug 23-27 [4pm-7pm] at park avenue armory’s drill hall where he’ll stage his version of an artist’s studio [2]. his nobody’s fool exhibition at the asia society occupies the entire museum, featuring over 100 works, from drawings, paintings and sculptures to record album covers and large installations.

the presentation draws connections between the artist’s work and the sensibilities of youth subcultures worldwide, particularly in relation to rock and punk music, the inspiration and subject of many of the artist’s works. location [1]: 725 park avenue [upper east]. location [2]: 643 park avenue [upper east].



© museo d’arte contemporanea donna regina / yoshitomo nara - untitled [2000] - oil on canvas

macau’s streetwear, lomography and bmx depository headz celebrates its second anniversary with a party and an exhibition of various works by kooky hong kong-based creative duo graphicairlines. the landing macau show opens on sun - aug 22 [6pm-9pm]. mind you, the two have even designed a special tee for the occasion. location: beco da arruda, flat c [são lazaro].

the boys of :phunkstudio team up with japanese master keiichi tanaami for a large-scale collab installation. dubbed eccentric city - rise and fall, it explores the visualization of the artists’ vision of their respective home cities of tokyo and singapore, communicated through the use of mixed media and the site-specific installation of tatebanko. the unique showcase launches on wed - aug 18 [7pm] at lasalle college’s ica gallery while the very next day [6.30pm-8pm] the artists will engage in a public chat at the venue’s block f, room #302. location: 1 mcnally street [doby ghaut].

cities on speed is a documentary series initiated by the danish film institute and focusing on the urban development of megacities in the non-western world. the series consists of four films, each directed by a different filmmaker and dedicated to a different city. screening at the strelka institute tonight [9.30pm] is mumbai disconnected [2009], a film by camilla nielsson and frederik jacobi, and focusing on mumbai [english with russian subtitles]. the indian megacity is predicted to have 28.5 million inhabitants by 2020, making it one of the planet’s biggest urban conglomerates. location: bersenyevskaya naberezhnaya 14 [yakimanka].



© martin roemers

on the 20th anniversary of his death, there are various commemorative exhibitions with keith haring’s iconic work held accross the planet. one of them is keith haring - selected works, a show currently staged at caixa cultural são paulo that focuses on the artist’s works on paper. on display are over 90 works that have never been exhibited in brazil before. interestingly, there’s also a series of haring’s personal belongings put on display [on until sep 5]. next stop is the caixa cultural rio de janeiro late september. location: avenida paulista 2083 [cerqueira césar].



image: keith haring - apocalypse 19 [1988]

note: click image to rsvp

artist christian noah møller’s exhibition made in france opens at galerie goutte de terre on tue - aug 17 [5pm]. the artist has an interest in the environmental and waste problem issues and uses waste material for his artwork. while doing so, he attempts to free himself from any obvious limitations and create art just for art’s sake. location: 46 rue cavaignac [bastille].

if you were asked to drop everything and just go…could you? would you?

in september 2010, iconic jeans brand wrangler will challenge four members of the u.k. public to stop thinking and do something extraordinary. for one adrenaline-fuelled day, hearts will pump faster and synapses will fizz with energy. every moment will crackle with raw emotion. challenging our innate human fears of height, depth, speed and fear of the unknown, wrangler will push participants to their limits through a series of top secret events. the truth about humans will be revealed: we are animals. think you have what it takes?



to proceed, you must meet a few basic requirements:

1. you’ll need your own valid passport
2. you’ll need to be healthy enough to pass a basic medical [touch toes, cough three times]
3. you’ll need to drop everything at a moment’s notice [no consulting the diary]
4. you’ll simply need to stop thinking!

are you ready to come with wrangler? start the adventure from mon - aug 16 at stop thinking.

exclusively dropping in adidas original stores in melbourne [1] and sydney [2 + 3] on sun - aug 15 are superhot new original by original designs by the likes of jeremy scott, kazuki kuraishi and david beckham. location [1]: 576 chapel street, shop 3 [south yarra]. location [2]: 455 george street, shop g52 [town hall].





© adidas originals / designs by jeremy scott

artist eric joyner seizes the corey helford gallery with robots, donuts and cupcakes. on sat - aug 14 [7pm-10pm] his donut logic solo exhibition opens, featuring 20 new oil-on-panel paintings, including a rare portrait of a female robot from the classic science-fiction film metropolis [1927]. with his new works the artist explores new territories as it reveals the secret life of robots: they sport tattoos, balance careers and families, and expose their hidden desires. location: 8522 washington boulevard [culver junction].



© eric joyner

if you’re powershopping at comme des garçons‘ magnificent store in osaka today, pop in its upstairs art space six. why? because american film director david lynch’s exhibition darkened room opens there! on display are a series of his peculiarly dark art works and some 12 of his equally dark short and feature films will be screened [on until oct 9]. location: shinsaibashi fuji building, 2nd floor, 3-12-22 minami senba [shinsaibashi].



photo: still from the alphabet [1968]

disorder disorder is a brilliant not-to-be-missed show, opening at penrith regional gallery on sat - aug 14 [5pm-7pm]. curated by joe allen of sydney’s quirky monster children gallery, it features a slew of works by 20 renegade artists from across the planet, including misha hollenbach, tomoo gokita, jonathan zawada, steve powers and stefan marx. the latter two fly into town to create site-specific work and attend the opening bash! rsvp mon - aug 9 on (02) 4735-1100 for access. location: 86 river road [emu plains].

party: summer love [vanity x faline]
date: sat - aug 14 [11pm-laaaate!]
location: ever, 6-2-9-b1 minami aoyama [aoyama]
live gig + dj lineup includes c’zama bang, baby mary + kj, cherry boys, paul james, dirty rich girls

opening today at parco factory is the uk? ok!! group exhibition [1]. curated by the peeps behind the rocket creative collective, the show focuses on developments in graphic design in the u.k. between 1980-2010 [on until aug 30]. on display are works by a slew of leading designers and design studios such as neville brody, eat sleap work / play and wood mcgrath. a few related events are organized, one of them being the icao spelling alphabet show at rocket gallery [2]. in this show, graphic design studios eat sleap work / play, julia and inventory studio have each reinterpreted the letters of the icao spelling alphabet. location [1]: parco part 1, 6th floor, 15-1 udagawa-cho [shibuya]. location [2]: 6-9-6 jingumae [harajuku].

launching today [6pm-9pm] at pure evil gallery is the very first u.k. solo show by new york-based urban artist extraordinaire specter. he has made a name for himself creating installations and street artwork in abandoned buildings and obscure urban spaces to draw attention to urban problems and issues. on display will be a series of new paintings and drawings. location: 108 leonard street [shoreditch].



© pure evil gallery

you in new york city? if so, don’t miss out on downtown top rankin’ tonight [10pm] at happy ending, a special edition party presented by stüssy and this time celebrating jamaica’s independence. gig and dj lineup includes downbeat the ruler, johnny osbourne, wayne smith, cosi and pete rock. location: 302 broome street [soho].

party: the playground vs. super super
date: sat - aug 14 [9pm-3am]
location: koko, 1a camden high street [camden]
dj lineup includes kavinsky, kap bambino, autokratz, teenagersintokyo, is tropical
click [here] for tickets

get ready for the photo event of the year! we’re talking the 2010 vice magazine photo show, launching at the scion installation l.a. gallery on sat - aug 14 [7pm-10pm]. this ninth edition, curated by jonnie craig of the magazine’s u.k. edition, is entirely dedicated to still life photography. participating snappers include sean vegezzi, valerie phillips and seth fluker. location: 3521 helms avenue [culver junction].



© alex olson

the relief-cutting and screenprinting dudes of cannonball press invade 99% gallery to showcase a huge pile of new limited-edition prints, two massive woodcut collages, and huge new 4×8 foot woodcuts on canvas. the opening party of the born under a bad sign exhibition is aptly held on fri - aug 13 [7pm-10pm]. location: 99 north 10th street [williamsburg north].



© 99% gallery and art center / cannonball press - donkey basketball - woodcut on paper-mâché

holt renfrew knows corporate fashion psychology best. the luxury department store just launched you better work!, a new window installation at its stores across canada. inspired by scott adams‘ witty dilbert comic strip, the holt renfrew windows illustrate imagery of tongue-in-cheek corporate discourse through literal visual installations mixed and matched with some of next seasons’ hottest looks.





© holt renfrew