Read, Watch & Listen

Isamu Noguchi’s Akari light sculptures are a familiar sight in homes worldwide and have spawned many imitations. This is the story behind the icon.

As 'Can We Talk About Power?' begins, cultural thinker Suzanne Alleyne takes over Nothing Concrete this week for a special episode and another fascinating conversation about the power of power with Mia Bays and Michael Holding. 

Ahead of our 'Can We Talk About Power' events series, presenter Swarzy Macaly meets cultural thinker Suzanne Alleyne to discuss what power means, our different experiences of power, and how power permeates every second of our lives.

This week, we have a special guest episode from the Autism Through Cinema podcast as they discuss everything from autistic characters on screen, how filmmakers can make film sets more inclusive to whether there’s an autistic aesthetic in cinema.

Guitarist Sean Shibe plays the world premiere of Daniel Kidane’s Haze, commissioned by the Barbican, in an empty Barbican Hall.

Amplified DJ collective member Ahmed Akasha has curated a playlist of songs that act as a provocation on power. Expect tracks from artists old and new, that will have you considering the wide-ranging ways in which power and life are intertwined.

Assistant Curator at The Noguchi Museum in New York, Kate Wiener introduces the life and work of Japanese American sculptor, Isamu Noguchi, drawing from Noguchi’s autobiographical writings and documents from The Noguchi Museum Archives.

Barbican Cinema curator Matthew Barrington, explores the history behind this classic of 70s African American cinema, directed by legendary director, Melvin Van Peebles.

In this short film, we explore the striking parallels between the life and works of Dubuffet and Basquiat.

We remember the time in April 2018 when Thurston Moore led an orchestra of twelve string guitarists and sonic dreamers in a symphony to the earth and the stars. 

Submit to Love Studios member Chris Miller shares the impact art has had on his life following his stroke, and reflects on the work of Dubuffet and art brut.  

Curator Thyago Nogueira and Barbican curator Alona Pardo discuss the exhibition, Claudia Andujar: The Yanomami Struggle, in The Curve.