Meet Oslo Architecture Triennale in London |
ZHA Architects, Talk, 24 June: Ahead of the 9th Oslo Architecture Triennale in September, the Triennale team takes on London Festival of Architecture next week. Meet them in conversation with ZHA Architects and AKT II, on the topic "What endures: From local knowledge to global futures"
The panel will look at historical preservation - not as a fixed time capsule, but as the ongoing adaptation of techniques, materials, and ideas. From traditional clay to emerging technologies such as 3D-printed concrete, what does it take to truly work with locally adapted materials? Drinks and refreshments will be served. Panelists: Line Ramstad, Director, Oslo Architecture Triennale
Melodie Leung, Director, ZHA Architects
David Watson, Technical Director, AKT II Photography: Riksantikvaren's Library in Oslo, by Trond Isaksen |
Ida Ekblad: Eat an Eggplant |
London, Galerie Max Hetzler, until 8 August: Galerie Max Hetzler presents EAT AN EGGPLANT, a solo exhibition of new works by Ida Ekblad. This solo exhibition is the artist’s sixth exhibition with the gallery, and her first in the London space.
Taking a distinctly painterly approach to a wide range of media, Ekblad presents new oil on linen paintings, oils on paper, enamel on steel works, hand-painted bronze sculptures, and a large glass lantern.
Ida Ekblad (b. 1980, Oslo) is an Oslo-based artist educated at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts and the Mountain School of Arts, Los Angeles. She has exhibited widely at major international institutions and participated in the Venice Biennale in 2011 and 2017. Her work is held in leading museum collections worldwide, including the British Museum and Centre Pompidou.
Looking ahead, a major survey of Ekblad's work will open at The Hepworth Wakefield later this year, travelling to Aalborg in 2027.
Ida Ekblad, FULIGIN SMARAGDINE, 2026, oil on linen, in artist frame. Courtesy the artist and Galerie Max Hetzler Berlin | Paris | London | Marfa. Foto: Uli Holz |
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Ahmed Umar: Glowing Phalanges |
London, Holtermann Fine Art, until 1 August: Glowing Phalanges is a solo exhibition by Ahmed Umar, part of his ongoing project Forbidden Prayers (since 2018). The show features sculptural works in glass and mixed media, each set within casts of the artist’s right hand.
The project is rooted in Umar’s experience of two Islamic traditions: Sufism (Sudan) and Wahhabism (Mecca). While Sufism embraces prayer beads and amulets, Wahhabism rejects them, instead emphasizing counting prayers on the fingers. Umar draws on the belief that these fingers—or phalanges—will glow on Judgement Day as proof of devotion, which inspires the exhibition’s title. The work has been widely exhibited across Europe, and Umar has received major recognition, including participation in the 2024 Venice and Toronto Biennales and the Baloise Prize at Art Basel 2024.
Ahmed Umar (b. 1988, Sudan) is an Oslo-based cross-disciplinary artist who earned his MFA from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts in 2016. His work explores identity, religion, and cultural values, often drawing on personal experiences to address themes of oppression, alienation, liberation, and self-ownership. He is also an important public voice for queer Muslims in Norway and Sudan.
Photo: Ahmed Umar, credit: Agnete Brun. |
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Ole John Aandal and Dev Dhunsi:
Book launch and conversation |
London, Veranda Books, 19 June: Join us to celebrate the release of two new photobooks by Norwegian artists Ole John Aandal (Oslo Arkiv) and Dev Dhunsi (Mixed). Aandal and Dhunsi will talk about their different photographic and book-making practices in a discussion moderated by Bruno Ceschel, publishing director of SPBH Editions. The launch is held in collaboration with KORO (Public Art Norway) and Fotogalleriet.
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Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir |
London, York, Lincoln, Ely, 19 - 25 June: Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir (Nidarosdomens Guttekor) bring the thousand-year tradition of Nidaros Cathedral to England. From 19 to 25 June , the choir's singers, aged 10 to 79, will sing in some of the country's most storied churches and cathedrals, from Kensington and Westminster to York, Lincoln and Ely.
On Sunday 21 June the choir sings at a celebration service at St Olave Hart Street in the City of London, together with the Norwegian Church Abroad. The service marks 75 years to the month since King Haakon VII laid the foundation stone that began the church's restoration after the Blitz — the same church where the King worshipped during his wartime exile in London, and which is dedicated to Saint Olav, Norway's patron saint and the saint over whose shrine Nidaros Cathedral itself was raised.
All performances are open to the public and free of charge. The Choir warmly invite Norwegians across Britain - and all friends of Norway - to come and hear a piece of home.
Fri 19 June, 19:00 — Our Lady of Victories, Kensington (joint concert with the Schola Cantorum of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School)
Sat 20 June, 18:00 — Mass, Westminster Cathedral
Sun 21 June, 11:00 — Celebration service, St Olave Hart Street (with the Norwegian Church Abroad)
Mon 22 June, 17:00 — Choral Evensong, York Minster
Tue 23 June, 17:30 — Joint Choral Evensong, Lincoln Cathedral
Thu 25 June, 14:30 — Performance, Ely Cathedral (Lady Chapel) |
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6 dates in the UK, 6 - 14 July: Celebrating the legacy of a true great of modern music, Sonny Rollins, and his iconic ‘The Bridge’ record, Oslo-based Bridge Quartet return to the UK following their debut tour in 2025.
Bridge Quartet brings together British guitarist James Girling and saxophonist Dave Edge with formidable Scandinavian drummer Emil Norman and bassist Andreas Svabø.
6 July – Spice of Life, London
9 July – Band on the Wall (Copper Bar), Manchester
11 July – Zeffirellis, Ambleside
12 July – The Globe, Newcastle
13 July – Studio recording with British trumpeter, Aaron Wood
14 July – Jazz At HEART, Leeds |
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MORE DATES FOR YOUR DIARY |
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Happening Now:
▶ For her debut solo exhibition in the UK, Oslo-based artist Ann Iren Buan investigates the materiality of drawing, the emotional and atmospheric potential of colour, and the tension between surface and structure. At Siegfried Contemporary in London until 18 July.
▶ The exhibition Nomenclature for the Time Being gathers the work of Sandra Mujinga and over ten other artists whose practices span sculpture, performance, writing, photography and video. At Raven Row in London until 6 September.
▶ 23 June, London
Organist Victoria Ulriksen is giving a recital at Lichfield Cathedral, before returning to the UK for performances in August starting with St Paul's Cathedral in London on the 16th.
▶ 27 June, Snape
Vilde Frang and Friends at the Aldeburgh Festival: the Norwegian violinist joins with other leading string players for a programme of Hungarian and German chamber music.
▶ 2, 4, 7, 9 July, Kilrenny, Crail, Leeds, Cheltenham
First Prize winners at the 2025 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, Norwegian-Swedish quartet Opus 13 are performing at East Neuk Festival, Leeds Chamber Concerts, and the Cheltenham Festival.
▶ 24 July, London
Cellist Jonathan Aasgaard makes his Proms debut as soloist, as John Wilson and his Sinfonia of London return to the Proms for the first of two concerts, performing Respighi’s trilogy of Rome-inspired tone-poems alongside Walton’s rhapsodic Cello Concerto.
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