The compelling collection of poetry and short fiction in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Anthology unites established and emerging literary talent from around the world, and features the finalists from this year’s Aesthetica Creative Writing Award.

In recent years, the National Gallery of Victoria has been criticised for shying away from traditional “art exhibitions” and instead playing fodder to the masses with its interest in so-called “blockbuster” fashion and photography shows.

There are few musicians who can parallel the aesthetic and imaginative influence of David Bowie – master of storytelling, fantasy and re-invention – over the past five decades. The characters and constructions of Bowie’s imagination have transcended the boundaries of music.

From a casual glance at the advertising for Conflict, Time, Photography you might assume it to be an exhibition of war photojournalism; in fact the concept is far more novel. The images on display show the aftermath (rather than the unfolding of) the conflicts they depict.

Ronchini Gallery’s latest exhibition Home is artist Adeline de Monseignat’s second solo show. Curated by Samia Calbayrac, it offers as its focal point an installation piece constructed from the awnings of the artists’ family home. In conjunction with this architectural centre-piece, mixed media pieces explore the nostalgia of childhood memories.

The end of November saw canvas and canapés meet at the opening night of Diversity: Malaysia Arts. Organised by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation, the evening was a cavalcade of speeches and gift-giving intended to showcase the country’s emerging artists.

The Photographers’ Gallery announces Nikolai Bakharev, Zanele Muholi, Viviane Sassen and Mikhael Subotzky & Patrick Waterhouse as the four shortlisted artists for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2015. The annual prize, established by the gallery in 1996, aims to recognise and the work of a living artist who has significantly contributed to photography.

The use of physical theatre by DV8 honours the company’s name. Deviating from any traditional performative categories, it sits between finely tuned body language, as in theatre, and the body as language, as in dance. The company’s method is well suited to John, whose script retells verbatim an interview with the show’s eponymous hero.

Latitude Platform for Brazilian Art Galleries Abroad brings an energetic programme to Art Basel. Over the next few days, Latitude will support 15 Brazilian galleries in presenting leading contemporary art at Art Basel’s 13th Miami Beach edition.

Frederick Wiseman’s National Gallery takes the audience behind the scenes of a London institution and into the heart of a museum inhabited by pieces of Western art from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. National Gallery is the portrait of a place, its way of working and relations with the world.

A Hayward Touring Show with support from the Art Fund, Art from Elsewhere brings together works that depict different realities of profound global change. This Hayward Touring exhibition, curated by David Elliott, runs at the Gallery of Modern Art.

Derek Jarman is one of Britain’s most important and ground-breaking artists of the late 20th century. The Jarman Award celebrates some of the most innovative filmmaking in the UK today. The 10 shortlisted practitioners all demonstrate a spirit of experimentation and inspiration.

The December/ January issue of Aesthetica is available to purchase online and in stores internationally. In Issue 62, we focus on the unconventional. It’s a celebration of practitioners who are experimenting in their field.

Widely known for her elaborate collages that explore and subvert cultural preconceptions of the female body and the feminine. Wangechi Mutu’s practice has been described as engaging in its own unique form of myth-making.

From an early age Stephen J.E. Davies was fascinated by aeroplanes and flight, especially when studying the Airfix artworks by Roy Cross and the paintings of Michael Turner, as well as many comic book illustrations. Inspired by these artists, he began to create work.

At the 2001 Tate Turner Prize, Yorkshire-born artist Martin Creed (b. 1968) presented Work No. 227: The lights going on and off. Consisting of an empty room, the work existed as, quite literally, the lights in the room going on and off every five seconds, cyclically submerging the room in darkness.

Maverick filmmaker Derek Jarman bequeathed his experimental 8mm reels to the producer after his death, but having deteriorated, many of Jarman’s works were in danger of disappearing for good.

BAFTA accredited Aesthetica Short Film Festival showcases international short films, highlighting established and emerging filmmakers across 10 genres.

Representations of pop, advertising, psychology and autobiography through the eyes of photographer Anne Collier.

This book is the first dedicated to Lazar Khidekel’s work and explores the importance of Suprematism in his oeuvre.

The Golden Dream tells the story of three teenagers who jump “The Beast”, the train that illegal immigrants board in a bid to reach the American border.

Brit-caper Hello Carter straddles the lines of standard rom-com fare, with a few belly laughs and a healthy amount of meet-cutes along the way.

Nobody Knows Anything is a much more satisfying listen when in reflective mode, but it maintains a satisfying pace and lyrical intimacy throughout.

Opening with the distant ghostly vocals of lead-singer Lyubov, Everything Else Matters is a soothing and dynamic album.

Almond travelled the world waiting for the right lunar phase, using an extra long exposure to capture nature at night. His quiet observance, still by necessity, has produced hauntingly beautiful results.

Robin Williamson returns with his fourth album for ECM, adding to his solo The Seed-At-Zero and his group discs, Skirting the River Road and The Iron Stone.

Though much has changed for Hinson, still recovering from a near-fatal car accident, these songs have weathered the years with bittersweet grandeur and honesty.

Starting out as Man Ray’s protégé in the 1950s, Guy Bourdin’s influential 40-year career was founded on a unique approach to 20th century fashion.

This fascinating insight into the life of prolific installation artist Yin Xiuzhen consists of a number of interviews and revealing photographs.

The Dardenne brothers’ latest film is an insightful examination into the management of a moral dilemma.

Eugenio Recuenco recounts fantastical tales using exquisite sets and imaginative styling. His fairytale productions combine fine art with high-end fashion, creating theatrically surreal imagery.

Produced on analogue film with no additional staging or editing from the photographer, Todd Hido’s Homes at Night plays on the interaction of artificial lighting with the shadows of night.

An exhibition at the Design Museum Gent showcases the greatest lighting design of the last century and anticipates creative possibilities.

Danish psych duo The Wands deliver a colourful and confident debut album of acid rock, filled with light, haze and just a small amount of darkness.

Electricity opens up the world of epilepsy by creating a unique visual narrative which captures the first-person experience of living with the condition.

The pairing of Austrian artist Egon Schiele with Young British Artist Jenny Saville is an unusual one but this book reveals their stylistic and thematic similarities.

Elizabeth “Gazelle Twin” Bernholz’s new release UNFLESH trades in disturbingly sensual electronica inspired by body horror, puberty and high school sports.

Produced by Art and Theory Publishing, Contemporary Swedish Photography is an overview of the stunning imagery being captured by Swedish artists.

Emily Shur’s sensitivity towards colour and her quiet approach to scenery results in stunningly still images that uncover beauty in the most ordinary subjects.

Julie Cockburn transforms second-hand objects and images to produce entirely new pieces, injecting new life into mundane and forgotten items.

What should be a cut-and-dry kidnap plot by Detroit crooks Ordell and Louis soon goes amusingly awry in this adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 1978 novel The Switch.

The spectre of a nuclear power plant looms large over the lives of the protagonists in this carefully constructed love triangle by Rebecca Zlotowski

Awash with colour, South London trio Dems unleash a brilliant debut in the form of the concise, emotive, Muscle Memory.

The 39th London International Mime Festival focuses on the spaces between theatre and dance, playing with language, and making the invisible visible.

Allan Karlsson has saved Franco’s life, watched A-bombs with Oppenheimer and danced with Stalin. Not that the folk in the care home know anything about that…

In a major survey at The Serpentine Gallery, German conceptual sculptor Reiner Ruthenbeck explores geometric forms found in everyday materials.

The primary coloured houses of the Northern Hemisphere stand out against washed-out streets, and even the most mundane objects become almost mystical half-disguised in the frosty weather.

Frank Gehry, an architect responsible for some of the world’s most visually and technically outstanding constructions, is celebrated.

William Helburn’s appreciation of feminine beauty, combined with his charismatic personality, resulted in a practice that saw him working with most of the top ad agencies in New York.

Contemporary art duo Jake and Dinos Chapman return to the town in which they grew up with previously unseen works and brand new commissions, in an exhibition at Jerwood Gallery.