Alexei Sayle, On tour
Thatcher Stole My Trousers, the second volume of Alexei Sayle’s memoirs, bears arguably the most quintessentially self-descriptive title of all time. In fact, it’s almost onomatopoeic: we challenge you not to say it out loud to yourself, in an approximation of Sayle’s furiously indignant, slightly manic voice, as you ponder the demise of the GLC, the Falklands war and the shattering impact of the miners’ strike on the British left. If those words strike a chord, these accompanying talks are for you: his latest book covers the period during which Sayle rose through the ranks at the Comedy Store while the Iron Lady tightened her grip on the country’s body and soul. It even boasts a chapter called The Workers United Will Frequently Be Defeated which, with its mixture of battle-cry and shrugged shoulders, sums up the dualities of the period under discussion perfectly. He might be best known as a stand-up comic but Sayle is also a fine writer and fierce raconteur, so expect fireworks on this speaking tour.
PH
The Poetics Of Grime, London
Grime is music that sprang out of UK garage, when the bouncy two-step tracks got darker and stranger, and the kids whose older brothers were going out dancing started rhyming lyrics over the drum breaks in the middle of the tunes in their bedrooms. It was this explicit pivot towards an MC’s ability to instantly come up with witty or tough-sounding couplets – often live on pirate radio before someone else grabbed the mic – that made grime what it is: a hilarious, frenzied art which depends on linguistic dexterity and ingenuity. Like its once-removed US cousin hip-hop, it is, basically, highly competitive poetry, which millions of kids around the world love watching and hearing. Here discussing grime lyricism are spoken-word artists Debris Stevenson and Charlie Dark; ICA associate poet Kayo Chingonyi; and Jamal, who makes grime as Eklipse. Here’s hoping for a Q&A session full of Wiley-isms.
CJ
What’s Important: Art & Politics With Adam Szymczyk, Oxford
The quinquennial exhibition Documenta is arguably the most important event in the international art calendar. For Adam Szymczyk, the Polish curator appointed to helm the 2017 edition, the previous iteration will be a hard one to follow. In 2012, in one of the most lauded shows for years, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev played with, manipulated and stretched the very idea of a show, with projects that took place beyond the usual gallery spaces, in the German town of Kassel, and in Kabul and Bamiyan in Afghanistan. It looks like Szymczyk is rising to the challenge: his show will take place across Kassel and Athens, another politically fragile city. In this talk, Szymczyk will no doubt address the concerns many might have. For example: to what extent is he aestheticising Greece’s economic woes and co-opting the country’s very real ideological battles for a curatorial point. Is this exploitation? Or can art actually enact change?
OB
