Culture

The KAH in Bonn is well known for its great exhibitions, but in the coming months there’s a double whammy of good things to see. ‘Art and Design for All’ is a cooperation with London’s famous Victoria and Albert Museum.

One of the foremost artists of 19th century France, Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889), is featured in his first exhibition at the Wallraf-Richartz museum in Cologne. In cooperation with Musée Fabre in Montpellier, the Wallraf presents over 60 works by a man who rose from the rank of a lowly carpenter’s son to become court painter to Napoleon III. To give these graceful works by the last of the great salon painters just the right ambience, the Wallraf has secured the services of a star designer Christian Lacroix to design a special interior exclusively for the exhibition.

The Bonn Kunstverein is an association of art lovers who enjoy sharing their discoveries with others. Founded in 1963 to promote contemporary art the kunstverein shows the work of local and well known international artists, as well as up and coming newcomers. You can become a member and enjoy free admission to all exhibitions and receive personal invitations to special events.

Think you know all there is to know about your new home town? Here's some interesting facts and trivia from around Cologne, Düsseldorf and Bonn to entertain, inform and amuse your friends and family:

Local film production company Middle Name Productions, are bringing out a new film called 'Room to Breathe' on the 1st November. The première will be in Mönchengladbach, the city where much of the movie was filmed, and we have TWO tickets to give away for the star studded première - read on to find out more. Middle Name Productions is a growing team of independent film makers made up of both Germans and Brits. They've already produced one full length feature film, 'The Receptionist' and they also offer media production services.

Our very own Johnny Hollywood has hopped back into our special interview corner and interviewed the very talented Karen Savage, founder of The Savage Soul Contemporary Dance Theater and almost an 'echte Kölner', take it away Johnny:
JH: Karen, where are you originally from?
KS: I was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the USA, that's where I started all my dance training. I lived in Philly most of my life with my family and that where my creative world is rooted., and to advance my dancing I moved to NYC for a while.

Flashback 30 years. Portable video units had just come out, making it possible for ordinary people to record onto tape. That was the start of a boom in the following decade: Video Art was born. These early and later works from well-known and lesser known video and also film artists is on show right now at Museum Ludwig in Cologne. Taken from their collection of the past 30 years, the museum is showing 55 installations with ca. 270 works of moving imagery art.

10 tell-tell signs that show you're very slowly, going native.....

1. You can't think of a better word to use when something is 'Kapput'
2. You call your mobile phone a 'handy'
3. Your questions are just statements with 'oder' at the end
4. When walking down the road with a beer bottle in your hand is no big deal
5. When you stop getting annoyed that the shops are closed on Sundays and actually enjoy the peace and quiet
6. You start paying for tickets on the tram – before you even see the inspectors coming

Cologne is full of little curiosities and one of my absolute favourites is the Kallendresser. Stand outside number 24 Altermarkt and look up and you'll see the bottom of the Kallendresser - literally. The little figure of a man pulling his trousers down and poking out his bottom has been a part of Cologne history since the middle ages, but this particular bronze figure was put up by architect Jupp Engels after the war in 1956.

Swedish installation artist Matts Leiderstam presents some of his older works (1997 to 2008) at the Kunsthalle in Düsseldorf. Inspired by the portrait and landscape painting of the 18th and 19th centuries, Leiderstam takes paintings and graphic art out of their original collection and presentation contexts, and positions them anew within institutional exhibitions.