June Diary: where to go and what to see

June is nearly here, so take it as an opportunity to make the most of the longer days by getting out and going to all the exhibitions, festivals and events happening around the world over the coming weeks. The It’s Nice That team has done all the hard work for you and listed our favourites below – so while you top up your tan, grab some inspiration along the way.

She’s So Giallo

Barbican Centre, London, 7–28 June 2016

Curated by Cigarette Burns, this four-film season showcases rare giallo films, but through a slightly feminist lens in its highlighting of the genre’s leading ladies. Characterised by sexy women and violent deaths, the films have gone one to inspire directors including Quentin Tarantino and Nicholas Winding Refn. Among the films being screened are The Frightened Woman and All the Colors of the Dark.

Manifesta 11
Zurich, 11 June – 18 September

The European contemporary art biennial Manifesta 11 returns to Zurich in June, with the 2016 edition co-curated by chief curator Christian Jankowski with British curator Francesca Gavin. Taking the theme What People Do for Money: Some Joint Ventures, the works on show examines questions about what artists do for money, and what currency the work has for the artist in monetary and personal terms.  

Punk Weekender
The Photographers’ Gallery, London, 23 – 26 June

As part of London’s year-long celebrations of 40 years of punk, The Photographers’ Gallery is holding a Punk Weekender, which will comprise of exhibitions, a live gig with The Raincoats, talks and events. TPG will explore the DIY avant garde spirit that spawned a range of punk subcultures that radically reinvented notions of personal identity and expression. 

9th Berlin Biennale
KW Institute for Contemporary Art (main venue), Berlin, 4 June – 18 September

Taking place every other year at changing locations throughout Berlin, the Berlin Biennale returns for its ninth incarnation. This time New York-based art collective DIS has been appointed as curatorial team, and the festival looks set to explore all genres of artistic output including dance, performance and music as well as more traditional mediums.  

Grear Patterson: True Romance
Marlborough Contemporary, London, 24 June – 23 July 2016

Everybody who’s ever been a teenager loves the film True Romance, now finally – FINALLY – an artist has taken it upon themselves to create a whole body of work inspired by the Tarantino cult classic. The show of work by New York-based artist Grear Patterson, which takes the film’s name as its title, presents auditory and visual recreations of the movie alongside large-scale sunset images. Dreamy.

Venice Architecture Biennale
Venice, until 27 November

Titled Reporting From the Front, the 15th international architecture exhibition is curated by Alejandro Aravena. Over 63 different nations will participate this year as the Giardini becomes the focus of the architectural world. The UK’s contribution to the exhibition is called Home Economics and asks questions of British society and architectural culture that have come about as a result of changes in patterns of everyday life.

East London Comics and Arts Festival 2016
London, 10-12 June

Now in its fifth year, East London Comics and Arts Festival is a platform for emerging talent to gain exposure over the course of three days. With talks from the likes of Laura Chilcott, Senior Digital Producer at Aardman Animations and workshops with design studio Hato and Vincent Mahe, there is a great programme of events planned for the weekend. The event concludes with a talk from Jean Jullien, ELCAF’s artist-in-residence this year, who has also designed the identity for the festival.

Jeff Koons: Now
Newport Street Gallery, London, Until 16 October.

The first major UK exhibition of Jeff Koons’ work since 2009 is currently on display at the Damien HIrst-owned Newport Street Gallery in London. Spanning 35 years of the artist’s career more than 30 works including paintings, works on paper and sculpture are on show. Filling six expansive rooms this is chance to see Koons’ work in one of London’s newest art galleries.

Björk Digital – World Premiere
Carriageworks, Eveleigh Rail Yards at Wilson Street, Sydney,  3 – 18 June 2016

Creative trailblazer, Björk, will premiere her latest Virtual Reality musical art projects created in collaboration with a coterie of upcoming artists, musicians, filmmakers and programmers, as part of an interactive digital exhibition as the centrepiece of this year’s annual contemporary arts, sound and idea — Vivid Syney, at Carriageworks. 

Alongside this most up to the minute work, Björk will also be bringing her interactive Biophilia educational experience, encouraging visitors to interact and explore the physical forces, process and structures inherently interlacing music, science and technology. Having created and curated the content of this two week centrepiece, Björk will further travel to Sydney to host two nights at Carriageworks, performing intimate DJ sets on each Friday 3 June and Saturday 4 June. 

Yayoi Kusama
Victoria Miro and Victoria Miro Mayfair, London, 3 – 18 June 2016

Three brand new mirror room installations created by iconic Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama are being exhibited alongside curated selection of some of the artist’s most recent paintings and pumpkin sculptures, across two galleries and a waterside garden in London. Exploring the notions of infinity and repetition, the show focusses on content over context, allowing the works to speak for themselves as you literally step into the interminable world of Yayoi Kusama.