Malta’s first art biennale, Copenhagen’s converted Carlsberg district, the first cultural capital of the Arctic Circle. . . This year a festival of cultural activities
Germany celebrates the 250th birthday of one of its most beloved painters, the Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). His paintings depict mountains, ruins, and tumultuous seas, with human figures, such as The Wayfarer on the Sea of Fog. Exhibitions are running in Hamburg (until April 1), Berlin (April 19 to August 4) and Dresden (August 2 to 4 to January 5, 2025), where Friedrich lived for four years; he is buried in the city’s Trinitatis Cemetery. In his hometown of Greifswald, a festival (from 31 August to 1 September) and three exhibitions will be held at the Pomeranian National Museum (from 28 April). Visitors will also be able to follow in the artist’s footsteps: literally, because he liked to travel on foot, sketchbook in hand, to places where he painted, such as the island of Rügen or the Swiss National Park saxonne. germany. travel
Step aside, Venice: Malta opens its first biennale this spring. The event has already caused a stir in world art, attracting programs from more than 2,500 artists from 75 countries. The final number has not yet been set, but the organisers have promised that they will be showcasing “a number of world-renowned artists”. Themed around the olive groves of the White Sea, the artworks will explore fashionable Maltese and Mediterranean identity. Contemporary art will be exhibited in ancient settings, most of them classified by UNESCO (the total of Valletta, the capital, is classified as a world heritage site with 320 ancient monuments). Several venues are being remodeled into exhibition spaces for the first time, adding the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta, the Armory in Birgu Old Town, and the megalithic temples of Ġgantija in Gozo. From March 11 to the end of May, maltabiennale. art
For the third year in a row, three cities share the name European Capital of Culture, adding Tartu, the second largest city in Estonia and the oldest city in the Baltic countries. The first written records of the city date back to the year 1030 and have long been the cultural center of the country, with the first university, newspapers and the National Theater. Today, it is still filled with concert halls, exhibition halls, theaters, and museums, with academics making up a quarter of the population. More than 1,000 occasions are planned for the Year of Culture, from the opening rite on January 26 to the final birthday party on November 30. Summer is a wonderful time to visit, when Vabaduse Avenue, one of the main streets along the river, is closed to cars (July August 6-11). The car-free street will feature a hammock maze, art workshops, children’s activities and a series of concerts by Estonian and internationaux. tartu2024. ee musicians.
The Carlsberg neighbourhood (pictured) in central Copenhagen has been evolving since the brewery stopped there in 2008 and is still more or less complete. The restored commercial buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries are complemented by nine new high-end buildings. Animated structures rise across San Gimignano in Italy, the city of towers. Visitors who opt for architecture will find plenty of other things to stay there. There are designer boutiques and concept stores, an art gallery, a spa, and the boutique hotel Ottilia. Many places to eat include a Danish café smørrebrød (open sandwich), a gastropub in the old malt silo, a burger spot in the boiler room, and a “new Nordic” restaurant at the site of the herb springs. , the charm of Visit Carlsberg reopened as Carlsberg House after five years of modernization. There’s a new interactive exhibit, a dining spot, and a bar, as well as winery tours and dégustations. wonderfulcopenhagen. com
Ghent is the European Youth Capital 2024 and has a lot to offer young people making a stopover. Top attractions include the Castle of the Counts, a medieval castle with a moat and a bloody collection of torture tools; Werregarenstraatje, also known as Graffiti Alley, a public canvas for street artists; and the Bell Tower, with 254 steps to climb up to a stop at a dragon, the city’s mascot. Families can also download the Fosfor the Dragon app for a two-hour scavenger hunt around the city. Just outside the center is the Blaarmeersen sports and sports center. recreational park, which features a lake with a sandy beach, a water park, a skating rink, and much more. Kids will either love or hate cuberdons: syrupy, raspberry-flavored delicacies invented by a pharmacist from Ghent and still sold only in Belgium. en. gent. be scale
Bad Ischl, in the Salzkammergut region of western Austria, is another cultural capital. Bad Ischl, the spa town and summer residence of Emperor Franz Joseph I, joined forces with 22 rural Alpine communities. Among them, Lake Attersee, which animated Gustav Klimt and Gustav Mahler. Program highlights of the year include Salt Lake Cities, an artist residency program that aims to bring 12 decommissioned exercise stations back to life with installations, exhibitions, and pop-up projects. Another notable place is Reise der Bilder, an exhibition of three sites of looted World War II art from Salzkammergut. Other major events include a street music festival, a theatre festival, and an experimental music and virtual art festival. Finally, to celebrate the 200th birthday of Upper Austrian composer Anton Bruckner, a concert will be held in a giant salt pan in Ebensee. salzkammergut-2024. at
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Those who missed the National Gallery’s Artemisia Gentileschi exhibition in 2020-2021 (it was cut short due to the pandemic) can travel to Genoa this spring. The Ligurian city hosts a major exhibition of the 17th-century revolutionary artist, with more than 50 of his paintings from across Europe and the United States. The exhibition takes place in the Doge’s Palace, which was, in various bureaucracies, the apartment of the Doge of Genoa from the 12th to the 18th century. It has a vaulted atrium, a wide corridor with enormous chandeliers, a frescoed chapel, dungeons and a tower with views of one of the largest medieval centers in Europe. This is just one of the many palaces in Genoa: 42 of them make up the Palazzi dei Rolli, declared a World Heritage Site. The biannual Rolli Days are open to the public (the next occasion from January 19 to 21). Artemisia Gentileschi: courage and passion, until April 1, palazzoducale. genova. it
The third capital of culture is Bodø in northern Norway, the first city north of the Arctic Circle to have held the title. It is aiming to be the most sustainable capital of culture ever, and many events are outdoors – on both land and sea. The opening ceremony on 3 February is on a floating stage in the harbour. There is a concert in a submerged cave, where audience members must be accredited divers (it will also be livestreamed), and a new 10-metre-high sculpture of poet Petter Dass on an islet, best seen by boat. On dry land, highlights include a mass-participation outdoor event called Midsummer Mischief, Europe’s only land art biennale and Nordland’s first winter light festival. Sámi culture is celebrated with a trilogy of plays by the Southern Sámi Theatre, while Bodø City Museum is becoming a Sámi museum for the year.bodo2024.no
Perfectly timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Abba’s victory, Sweden is hosting the Eurovision song contest this year. The host city, Malmö, will be buzzing on the weekend of the final, on 11 May, as Eurovision fans descend en masse, but it has plenty of culture all year round. The Malmö Konstmuseum showcases Nordic art, furniture and handicrafts; the Moderna Museet Malmö features work by Dalí and Picasso, plus contemporary exhibitions; the Form/Design Center focuses on architecture, design and craft; and, half an hour’s drive away, the excellent Falsterbo Photo Art Museum has photography by Helmut Newton, Robert Mapplethorpe, Anton Corbijn and others. Slightly less highbrow is the Disgusting Food Museum, which has 80 stomach-churning exhibits, from Sardinia’s maggot-infested cheese to Iceland’s rotten shark.visitmalmo.se
In April, Genoa will pass the baton to Strasbourg as the e-book capital of the world. Over the next 12 months, more than 200 e-book-related events will take place, such as the Arsmondo Utopia festival – named after Thomas More’s e-book – at the Strasbourg Opera. , which offers operas, concerts, film screenings, meetings and debates. Other venues include the Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame, a museum of sculptures and stained glass, and the Array featuring works by Magritte, Monet, and Rodin. The city itself has a lot to motivate budding novelists, with its charming island setting (the centre is surrounded by the River Ill and a canal), its half-timbered houses, and its gigantic Gothic cathedral, praised by writers such as Goethe and Victor Hugo. April From 23 April 2024 to 22 April 2025, lirenotremonde. strasbourg. eu