Summer in Soho

Overview

Sex shops, a bit of Chinatown, some good book stores, a nice cinema, the edge of the theatre district. Today’s Soho is still an inviting London neighbourhood, but the present-day place stands a long way from its more dangerous, anarchic and subversive past incarnation. The Art Gallery of NSW brings a bit of this historic disorder to in its Wednesday night Summer in Soho series, accompanying the Gallery’s foray into the world of Soho resident Francis Bacon.

Artists, speakers and performers linked to or knowledgeable in Bacon’s boho Soho will be gracing the Gallery’s main stage, every week, with a neat film program alongside. Not least on the speaking line up is January 9th’s powerful double act of Aussie alt artist Anthony Lister preceding reminiscences of Bacon, the man, by Wendy Whiteley. February 6, singer Bertie Blackman will share stories of her famous father Charles‘ time as Bacon’s neighbour, while on February 13, Barabara Dawson, talks about the Olley-like endeavour of moving Bacon’s creatively messy workspace from London to Dublin.

Full details on the gallery site. Artists talks usually start at 5.30, celebrity talks usually at 6.30. Image by Mario Sanchez Prada.