Padova – Net Center – Hotel B4 Sunday, Oct 26 2008 

Padova - Net Center - Hotel B4

London Midtown skyline Wednesday, Oct 22 2008 

London Midtown skyline

Odaiba/Tokyo Sunday, Oct 19 2008 

Odaiba/Tokyo

Architecture-2275 Friday, Oct 17 2008 

Architecture-2275

Gomez + Beulah Wednesday, Oct 8 2008 

Their critically acclaimed self-produced 1998 début ‘Bring it On’ garnered Gomez piles of Brit pop awards. That’s created a heavy dose of expectation for ‘Liquid Skin’ to live up to, and their second album doesn’t disappoint, with heavily textured pop soundscapes whose giddily diverse influences and inspirations create songs within songs within songs. Having suitably impressed the tastemakers, Gomez may find themselves taken to downtown Manhattan’s bosom. San Francisco’s edgy popsters Beulah, who have inspired comparisons with everyone from the Beach Boys to the Velvet Underground, provide support.

Opera: The Art of Emotion Monday, Oct 6 2008 

Angels’ wings on a coat rack provide an intriguing entrance to this exhibition, celebrating La Monnaie’s 300-year history as an opera house. Old stage props and memorabilia are combined with works by nine contemporary artists. Of the latter, the most arresting are suspended dandelions arranged by Michel François, and the slide images – also on a floral theme – of Peter Fischili and David Weiss. One old picture depicts how La Monnaie was severely damaged by fire in the 1850s. Visitors to this exhibition will rejoice that it has been painstakingly restored.

Pink Films Thursday, Oct 2 2008 

In Japan, pink is the colour of sex, in the same way that blue is in the west. Because the restrictive censorship laws here (all filmed pubic hair must be hidden or digitised), film-makers, artists and cartoonists have long been forced to come up with ingenious ways of being erotic without actually showing anything. Nowhere is this more true than in the field of gay cinema, where the showing of on-screen sex is simply not an option. Instead, Japanese gay erotica tends to be mild and suggestive, a sort of visual Mill and Boon. Video has dealt what may be a fatal blow to this gentle sub-genre, so if you’re curious, catch it while you can at the venue below, one of the stalwarts of the gay community. All films are in Japanese. Tickets on sale at vending machine.