The ICA welcomes artists Sonia Boyce and Helen Johnson

The ICA is pleased to announce solo exhibitions by artists Sonia Boyce and Helen Johnson from Wednesday 1 February to Sunday 16 April 2017.

Sonia Boyce’s We move in her way explores questions around power and play between audience and performer within a live improvisation, then uses the documentation to create a multimedia installation.  We move in her way involves the exploratory vocal and movement performances of Elaine Mitchener, Barbara Gamper and her dancers : Eve Stainton, Ria Uttridge and Be van Vark, with an invited audience. The title of the work suggests two possible readings: that ‘she’ dictates our movements; or that we obstruct ‘hers’, with both interpretations suggesting power is at play.

Helen Johnson: Warm Ties uses painting to highlight the relationship between Britain and colonial Australia. Johnson places the viewer in a space in which to reflect on the mentality of British colonisers in Australia. Warm Ties is a solo exhibition of Australian artist Helen Johnson, in collaboration with Artspace, Sydney. Johnson weaves and overlays historical and contemporary signifiers creating points of tension and reflection through the medium of painting. In this exhibition, the complex colonial relationship between Australia and Britain is dealt with on the level of the body, using large- scale paintings mounted to a structure that zigzags through the space.

For more information on ICA please visit https://www.venues-london.co.uk/venues/institute-of-contemporary-arts/.

Image credit: Sonia Boyce’s We move in her way. Photograph: George Torode

Fashion-forward RIBA Venues hosts Wales Bonner

RIBA Venues, the conference and events arm of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), based at 66 Portland Place in London, recently played host to the Wales Bonner fashion show on 8 January 2017.

The event, which took place during London Fashion Week, showcased Wales Bonner’s 2017 winter/ autumn collection to 150 guests in the venue’s RIBA Gallery. 

Acclaimed fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner won the L’Oréal Professional Talent Award for her graduate collection and Emerging Menswear Designer at the British Fashion Awards in 2015. Her work explores representations of black male sexuality and identity which is informed by research that encompasses critical theory, composition, literature and historical sources.

Grace Wales Bonner said: “The Florence Hall was a very impressive space which allowed me to be ambitious with the show concept. The venue and location are beautiful and inspiring, it was a pleasure to work with the RIBA team.”

RIBA Venues head of venues, Moya Maxwell, said: “We were delighted to welcome such an acclaimed fashion designer to RIBA Venues. This further consolidates our offering as a great venue for high-profile fashion events, as well as conferences and meetings.”

To find out more about RIBA Venues click here.

Cavendish Venues looks forward to a great year with WVC

Westminster Venue Collection board member and director of sales at Cavendish Venues discusses a successful 2016 and looks ahead to the next 12 months as part of the consortium.

We at Cavendish Venues are proud to be a member of the Westminster Venue Collection with the Cavendish Conference Centre located in the Borough of Westminster.

As a board member of WVC, it has been exciting to take on the role of website chair throughout our recent rebrand to oversee not only the long-awaited rebranding of the collective’s name but the launch of the new website.

With a strong and diverse collection of 33 prestigious, unique and unusual venues in the London Borough of Westminster, the rebrand has allowed us to reinforce the nature of the group being, at its core, about venues. With this being a key focus for 2016, significant investment was made on a new website using a contemporary new colour palette and a slicker brand identity in line with a new vision for the WVC’s development.

As a board, we listened to our members and clients, took their valued feedback on board, and constructed a functionality that streamlines the user journey and allows only specific enquiries to be received per venue, saving venue members and event bookers’ time significantly.

The new website, launched at the #WVC2016Launch Showcase in December, also gives autonomy for member venues to promote themselves with a portal where they can edit imagery, criteria and special offers as frequently as they need to.

Significantly, the portal will also allow members to track the number of specific enquiries received via the WVC website, there booking status, the number of confirmations and ultimately confirmed revenue for return on investment.

2017 is set to be a fantastic year for the collection. Don’t forget to sign up to our monthly newsletter for event information, venue news and unmissable special offers and promotions!

Regent’s to unveil 2017 summer BBQ packages at January event showcase

Visit Regent’s Conferences & Events on stand B1 at the London Summer Event Show taking place from 24-25th January 2017 at Banking Hall. If you organise or write about events in London, this is the first show of 2017 that should be in your diary.

Designed to give you the latest industry insights, new venue knowledge and event inspiration it’s the perfect way to kick off your year in events and a must attend for anyone wanting to stay ahead of the game.

Regent’s Conference & Events will be unveiling our new summer 2017 event packages. This is a show with a difference; the show has a party feel and includes food, drink, seminars, creativity workshops and more

Show space is limited so follow the link below to register for your free ticket and to reserve your place. https://www.londonsummereventshow.com

Alternatively contact Regent’s Events team directly to check venue availability, request a free quotation, or for further info on our summer packages.