The end of February means that spring is on its way. The days are getting longer, the weather a little brighter so to celebrate get out and about and see what London has to offer with our pick of what’s on in London in March
1Savage Beauty, V&A, South Kensington
This spring the V&A will present the only major retrospective in Europe of the work of the visionary fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen. Savage Beauty, opening on 14 March, will feature a wide range of his designs, including some early rare pieces. See more at vam.ac.uk
Danish Design Month celebrates great designs like Hans Wegner’s Wishbone chairs
2Danish Design Month, Aram, Holborn
From Chelsea’s design week to Denmark’s Design Month. Holborn’s interior store Aram will be holding a celebration of Danish design throughout March recognising anniversaries of some of the country’s most iconic furniture designs like Hans Wegner’s Wishbone chair and the Series 7 Chair for Fritz Hansen. There will be a workshop with Carl Hensen’s master craftsman on 10 March plus special offers and exclusive designs sold throughout the month.
Simon Terrill’s London Fields, courtesy of The Fine Art Society; faslondon.com
3Ghosts at The Fine Art Society, Mayfair
The Fine Art Society’s contemporary new exhibition Ghosts presents six contemporary artists whose collective work looks at the social effects of urban regeneration. The show explores the failed project of modernism with a particular focus on London and the consequences of regeneration there. Ghosts runs from 4 March to 10 April at The Fine Art Society’s gallery on Bond Street.
4Cheese & Wine Festival, Business Design Centre, Islington
It’s not just the French who can’t get enough of cheese and wine. Now in its fifth year, the Cheese & Wine Festival returns to London from 25 to 27 March with a new location at Islington’s Business Design Centre. Visitors will browse and taste cheese and wine from over 30 shops including some of London’s best artisan cheese shops the likes of which include Paxton & Whitfield and La Cave a Fromage. Boutique wine merchants will be selling varieties from the Old and New Worlds plus there will be organic and biodynamic wines to try, ciders, beer and spirits. La Cave a Fromage will attempt to break the world record for the most cheese types on a cheese board – a gigantic cheese board with over 70 types of cheese. There will also be tutored tastings from wine personalities including Patricia Michelson and Jane Parkinson.
Cocktails and cinema at Pop-Up Screen’s Notting Hill speakeasy
5Pop-Up Screens, Notting Hill
Throughout March, Pop Up Screens will be taking over the 20th Century Theatre in Notting Hill and turning it into a speakeasy cinema showing classic films with classic cocktails. The drinks will be themed to complement the movies, for example on Saturday 14 March, visitors can watch Anchorman while sipping The Sex Panther or The Wolverine Purr, will Cocktail viewers will be treated to a Red Eye and White Russians accompany The Big Lebowski. Tickets cost £22 per person and include three cocktails, plus nibbles.
6Pampering with Kensington Mums, Vos Beauty Salon, Chelsea
Parenting blog Kensington Mums is hosting a pampering morning at Vos Beauty Salon on 2 March. Mums and expectant mums are invited to join the team at the salon for either an express blowdry and style; mini manicure, threading, mini massage or head and shoulder massage. Tickets cost £12 per person.
Combine a visit to Rubens & his Legacy at the RA with dinner at sketch’s Library and Lecture Room
7Cake and culture, sketch, Mayfair
Sketch and the Royal Academy of Arts have partnered to offer tickets to the museum’s latest exhibition, Rubens & his Legacy: Van Dyck to Cezanne, and a three-course two-Michelin starred lunch in the Library and Lecture Room. Priced at £52 per person and running until the 3 April, the offer will see diners enjoy a seasonal Gourmet Rapide menu that changes every week.
Rosewood Hotel’s courtyard will become a traditional food market every Sunday
8Slow Food & Living Market, Rosewood London, Holborn
From 1 March, Rosewood London hotel will be hosting a Slow Food & Living Market in its courtyard every Sunday from 10.30am to 3pm. Showcasing a mix of food and drink, plus fashion, accessories and homeware producers, the event aims to recreate a traditional market at the hotel. There will be over 30 different merchants including meat and charcuterie providers Gastronomica, O’Shea’s Butchers, fish from Hansen & Lydersen, cheese from Wildes Cheese, bread from Olivier’s Bakery and flowers from Field of London.
The Great Home Hack at Fulham Palace celebrates the world of upcycling
9The Great Home Hack, Fulham Palace, Fulham
Brancott Estate is celebrating 40 years since it pioneered the Original Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, by launching the UK’s first home hacking event. The Great Home Hack at Fulham Palace from 13 to 15 March will feature new and original works from leading designers, artists and creators within the world of upcycling. Curated by Channel 4’s Max McMurdo, the weekend will include masterclasses in home hacking, live demonstrations and of course, tastings of Brancott Estate’s award winning wines.
The House of Holi returns to the Cinnamon Kitchen in March
10House of Holi, Cinnamon Kitchen, City
The fabulous Indian festival of colour is being celebrated again this year by Cinnamon Kitchen in the City. The House of Holi encourages visitors to step out of their suits and into boiler suits for 30 minutes of pelting powdered paint at one another. From 5 to 14 March the pop-up will inject a slice of colour to Devonshire Square and Cinnamon Kitchen has created a fitting menu to celebrate Holi. The five-course menu costs £45 per person and will include the likes of chargrilled sprouting broccoli with almonds and rose petals, tandoori king prawns with coconut and mustard curry and lamb pasanda with rock moss and all spice. Holi is a traditional Hindu festival that celebrates the arrival of spring, all across Indian families and friends gather for their annual paint fight. Tickets to Cinnamon Kitchen’s House of Holi cost £8 per person, or £15 including a cocktail and canapés. There are also children’s sessions from 12-12.30pm and 3-3.30pm on Saturdays.
READ AN INTERVIEW WITH CINNAMON KITCHEN’S CHEF VIVEK SINGH
11Desire Fair, Chelsea Old Town Hall, Chelsea
Chelsea Old Town Hall will be adorned with the works of 90 jewellers and silversmiths during the Desire Fair from 6 to 8 March. Browse and buy from the artisan jewellers, who include exciting up and coming designers and those who are more established. There will also be the opportunity to commission bespoke pieces of jewellery and create your own designs with the jewellers.Desire Fair runs from 10 am – 6 pm Friday, 10 am – 5 pm Saturday and Sunday. Admission is £6.
Boomerang at The Serpentine Sackler Gallery
12Boomerang, Serpentine Sackler Gallery, Hyde Park
See the first London solo show from Cameroon-born, Belgium-based artist Pascale Marthine Tayou as he exhibits at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery from 4 March – 17 May. Demonstrating the artist’s versatility, the diverse array of sculptural forms unite Pascale’s ideas about individual and national identity, and global consumption. Known for his playful approach to craftmanship, and his use of archetypes, made and found objects and traditional craft, the show will feature materials such as cloth, organic matter and consumer waste.
York Dance Project at Sadlers Wells
13York Dance Project, Sadler’s Wells, Islington
York Dance Project continues its relationship with Robert Cohan CBE, one of the giants of modern dance, who this year celebrates his 90th birthday. The company’s spring programme includes the world premiere of Cohan’s Lingua Franca, his first new work in a decade, and heads to Sadler’s Wells on 10 March. sadlerswells.com
14Design Week, Chelsea Harbour, Chelsea
London Design Week 2015 returns to Chelsea Harbour next month from 8-13 March. Chelsea Harbour’s interiors showrooms will open their doors to the public to preview new designs and give an access all areas insight into the designer homeware brands. There will also be talks and presentations by top interiors experts.
The Affordable Art Fair returns to Battersea (picture Envie d’Art by Florent Touchot)
15The Affordable Art Fair, Battersea
The Affordable Art Fair returns to where it all started at Battersea Park from 12-15 March, featuring an extensive selection of paintings, original artist-made prints, sculpture and photography on sale from £100-£5,000. Those new to art buying can be introduced to the UK’s ‘friendliest fair’ with guided tours, education centres and workshops.Discover more at affordableartfair.com/battersea
See The Ionian Singers in West Dulwich
16 A Sequence for Lent, All Saints’ Church, West Dulwich
The Ionian Singers, with conductor and organist Timothy Salter, perform A Sequence for Lent in West Dulwich on Saturday 14 March. JS Bach’s great funeral motet Jesu, meine Freude and Purcell’s Hear my prayer continue the Lenten theme, alongside three motets for Maundy Thursday by Rubbra and Warlock’s part song All the Flowers of the Spring and more. 7.30pm. Tickets £12, concs £10. All Saints’ Church, Rosendale Road SE21 8LN. To book call 020 8693 1051 or email info@ioniansingers.co.uk.
Icons & Legends at Art PoweRed, Greenwich
17Icons & Legends, Art PoweRed, Greenwich
Artist San B heads for Art PoweRed in Greenwich this month with Icons & Legends, an exhibition of portraits created from Swarovski crystals. The artist’s portrait of Michael Jackson used 2,680 crystals alone! San B also designs clothes and has created bespoke garments for the Wu-Tang Clan and Bruno Mars. The exhibition runs from 27 March for four weeks. Art PoweRed, 125 Greenwich South Street SE10 8NX; 020 8856 6182
Andrew Bruce and Anna Fox’s John Major Pigment Print 2015 courtesy of James Hyman Photography London
18Spitting: Photographs, James Hyman Gallery, Mayfair
In the lead-up to the UK General Election in May, James Hyman Gallery presents Spitting: Photographs by Andrew Bruce & Anna Fox, an exhibition of never-before seen photographs of puppets from popular 80s and 90s TV show Spitting Image. When the programme ended James Hyman began to collect the puppers for his private art collection and collaborated with photographers Andrew Bruce and Anna Fox to bring the politicians and famous faces back to the public eye. Key works in the exhibition include Margaret Thatcher, her predecessor Edward Heath and successor John Major, and cabinet ministers Cecil Parkinson, Norman Tebbit, Michael Heseltine, Leon Brittan and Douglas Hurd. It has recently been announced that a brand new six-part series, entitled Newzoidsand featuring modern-day personalities such as Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and Russell Brand, will air in 2015.
The Country Living Spring Fair comes to Islington in March
19 The Country Living Spring Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington
The Country Living Magazine Spring Fair returns from 18-22 March at the Business Design Centre, once again full of fresh bright things and creative ideas that can bring a touch of the countryside into the home. What’s more, we have ten pairs of tickets available, worth £33 per pair, and are eligible for a single visit any day including the Gala evening. To be in with a chance, email tickets@articulate.co.uk with ‘Angel competition’ in the subject line. Winners will be drawn by 12 March and notified via email. Those who would like to book advance tickets can pay £12 (as opposed to £16.50 on the door) by quoting the code CLS152. Find out more by calling 0844 848 0160 or visiting countrylivingfair.com
Women of the World Festival at the Southbank Centre
20Women of the World Festival
To coincide with International Women’s Day the Southbank Centre is holding its fifth annual Women of the World Festival from 1 to 8 March. A stellar line up of famous, powerful and brilliant women will take to the stage to sing the praises of women the world over. Everything from politics to science, to sex will be covered by the likes of Caitlin Moran, Sarah Millican, Juliet Stevenson, Shami Chakrabarti, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC and Sandi Tovsvig among others.
Yoga at the ArcelorMittal Orbit, Stratford
21Yoga at the ArcelorMittal Orbit, Stratford
From 7 March the Olympic Park’s ArcelorMittal Orbit will be hosting Hatha Yoga lessons from its 80m high platform above the city. There will be two morning sessions, an advanced class at 7am and a beginner’s at 8.15am. Hatha Yoga specialist Rebecca Spooner will lead the yoga classes in this unusual location, setting up workers for the day and balancing the body through physical postures, breathing, mindfulness and relaxation techniques. Yoga at the ArcelorMittal Orbit cost £17.50 per class or £80 for a course of six.
A Women’s Place by Kristina Clackson Bonnington
22The Girl at The Door: Equality, Gender & Society, UCL, Camden
From 6 to 7 March, London’s top art schools (including Slade School of Fine Art, Central Saint Martins and The Finnish Association of Sculptors) come together for a two-day creative festival that explores the legacy of suffrage and investigates the relationship between art and social change. There will be workshops, talks, walks and performances and everything is free. The inspiration for the event originated through the work of artist Kristina Clackson Bonnington’s that explores the legacy of suffrage and changes in social equality since 1910. Kristina Clackson Bonnington said “This all started with a painting I came across in the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge in Canterbury. It’s a life-size painting of a little girl standing at a door, painted in 1910. The painting has such a presence and immediately struck me as being of huge social significance. In 1910 the little girl standing at that threshold was excluded from so many places, but big changes were about to come. I want to explore what all of these changes have actually amounted to. By working with hundreds of people, from primary school pupils to Parliamentarians, I am investigating what changed as a result of suffrage.”
MORE FREE THINGS TO DO IN LONDON