Diary

September 1, 2011

London

Indonesian Eye: Fantasies and Realities

The Saatchi Gallery is hosting what is said to be the first-ever European exhibition of contemporary Indonesian art (running until 9 October). It was put together by a joint team of UK and local curators, and has already been seen in Jakarta. In showcasing the work of 18 leading artists from right across the archipelago, it demonstrates the highly distinctive creativity of a country in transition. Abstract and realist pieces mingle with bold appropriations of the Indonesian cultural heritage, expressed in a fresh and sometimes deceptively naive new language, drawing on myth and child's play. Indonesian Eye forms part of the Saatchi Gallery's wider programme to showcase cutting-edge art from unexpected parts of the world.

Castletown

The 20th Annual Appalachian and Bluegrass Music Festival

The Ulster American Folk Park, a museum close to Omagh, now hosts the largest bluegrass festival outside North America. In 2010, the event drew about 10,000 visitors. This year's festival takes place on five covered and open-air stages from 2 to 4 September. Among the 14 acts on the bill are Dailey and Vincent, arguably the biggest bluegrass band in the world and winners of seven honours at the 2008 International Bluegrass Music Awards, as well as lesser-known talents from Ireland, Italy and the Czech Republic. There will also be a "Spirit of Bluegrass" gospel concert featuring the Malpass Brothers. The organisers are hoping for "an electric atmosphere throughout the museum all weekend".

London

Exhibition #4

The Museum of Everything is committed to the idea that there are dynamic pockets of creativity, hidden from view all around the world, where self-taught artists are at work making important discoveries. Exhibition #4, Britain's first-ever survey of progressive studios from across the planet, brings together over 200 drawings, paintings and sculptures - from Hans-Jorg Georgi's vast flying cities to Giovanni Gall's voluptuous female conspirators and ceramicist Alan Constable's oven-baked cameras. It will take place in Selfridges department store from 2 September to 25 October, in the Ultralounge exhibition hall and the store's front windows. Meanwhile, on the ground floor, the Shop of Everything will sell an array of customised products to benefit the museum and its artists.

London

Terrence Malick

Terrence Malick is modern US cinema's great poet-philosopher, a visionary who combines uncannily beautiful imagery with a determination to address the most profound issues of human life. His most recent film, The Tree of Life, interweaves the story of a 1950s Texas family with an account of the origins of the world, and was widely acclaimed as a masterpiece. It will be shown at BFI Southbank (formerly the National Film Theatre) from 23 September to 12 October as the climax of a wider Malick season that begins on 2 September. Also on show are his other four feature films: Badlands (1973), in which a young couple go on an apparently mindless killing spree; Days of Heaven (1978), a "pastoral" set on a Texas farm; the epic war movie The Thin Red Line (1998); and The New World (2005), a highly original version of the story of Pocahontas.

London

Woyzeck on the Highveld

Although Woyzeck was unfinished at the time of Georg Buchner's death in 1837, the harrowing story of murder, madness and the fierce prejudices and snobberies that destroy a young soldier's life has since become one of the most influential of all German plays. It was turned into an opera by Alban Berg and a film by Werner Herzog. In a new multi-media adaptation by artist William Kentridge and the renowned Handspring Puppet Company, it has been transposed to 1950s South Africa, where a migrant worker struggles to survive in an inhospitable urban landscape. The performances, which take place at the Barbican Theatre from 6 to 10 September, will feature hand-carved puppets, animated film and haunting music.

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