Set in Moldova, which houses some of Europe’s most deprived people, this dark tale charts the loaded and complex friendship between two young women.

Murderopolis  is the third album from Glasgow-based trio Sparrow and the Workshop, and it is a leap forward in craft and assuredness.

It is still up for debate whether Carlos Reygadas’ Post Tenebras Lux is a richly rewarding tapestry of connubial complications or an indulgent self portrait.

Beginning his career with the unconventional decision to redesign hospital doors, Gary Hume’s signature style was established early.

Cornelia Parker’s work presents lines of enquiry and invites viewers to consider the fragility of the human experience.

Sorcha Carey, Director of Edinburgh Art Festival, takes on the task of directing an experience for over 250,000 visitors.

Contemporary Asian Photography attempts to explore, problematise and ultimately dismantle the concept of a uniform Asia, reducible to geographical components of Near, Central and East.

It’s easy to see why Ravens + Chimes is developing an increasing fanbase – the band doesn’t miss a step with its latest offering, Holiday Life.

Lore follows a teenage girl journeying across a land overrun with Allies with her four siblings as they battle to the safety of their grandmother’s home 900km away.

Beware of Mr Baker couldn’t be more of an accurate title for this invigoratingly humorous biopic of one of the greatest drummers the world has ever seen.

Terrence Malick’s latest consideration on the maelstrom of the human psyche uses landscape and weather as metaphors for changes in emotion and mood.

Enamoured by colour and glamour, Miles Aldridge makes work dripping in jewels, lipstick and fluorescents, transporting his subjects into a surreal feminine space.

Atlanter produces an intriguing mix of rock with desert blues, classic psych and a stream of repeating vocals.

Teacher Germain becomes drawn to charismatic pupil Claude who, in turn, is fascinated by fellow pupil Rapha and his “perfect family”.

The raging and pulsing cacophony that is How’s Your Low When You’re Low Alone may well be the most enthralling introduction to a debut album this year.

The Epstein reaches its sophomore album with a more experimental edge than its critically welcomed debut displayed.

Hailing from New Zealand, Surf City upholds its sturdy shoegaze, indie reputation, and breezily strolls through ample amounts of plodding melancholia.

Heavily overproduced lo-fi pop is the order of the day, as Pure Bathing Culture ambles through its debut release.

80s rockers The Woodentops release an all-encompassing retrospective collection of the highlights of their career to date.

The Essential Robert Indiana collates the artist’s significant body of work alongside text by Martin Krause, based on ongoing conversations with Indiana

Crystal Fighters’ second album is so blissfully executed that its infectious rhythms are bound to induce partying in a cave, field, beach or just about anywhere.

The DOCUMERICA Project began as an Environmental Protection Agency programme, and evolved into a striking historical document of the environmental problems and achievements of the 1970s.

Rodney Graham’s exhibition at Lisson Gallery, uncovers the sculptural and cinematic nature of his practice, and the continued influence of music, painting and film upon his work.

An innovative new exhibition at MOCA Los Angeles charts radical experimentation in southern Californian architecture since 1980.

Creating a distinct visual language of her own, Jasmina Cibic represents the Slovenian Pavilion at Venice this year with For our Economy and Culture.

Meet the musicians who hunt for sound outside the studio, creating radical new interpretations of what they discover.

James & Karla Murray photographed street after street of retail history in New York City, finding that the evolving shop windows transformed neighbourhoods.

A Field in England, the fourth feature film from british director Ben Wheatley, is a visceral experience; a psychedelic period drama that utterly immerses its audience.

Les Rencontres d’Arles’ 2013 presentation showcases an outstanding range of black and white photographs, with the main purpose of uncovering the talents of new artists working the field.

Sonny Smith is a man who can turn his writing talents to nearly every area, producing stories, songs and plays.

The Edinburgh International Film Festival searches for the world’s best emerging filmmakers, while also providing a rich platform for discussion.

Alfredo Jaar represents Chile at this year’s Venice Biennale. We speak with curator Madeleine Grynsztejn about Latin American art and Jaar’s Venezia, Venezia.

Robert Wilson’s new production The Old Woman at Manchester International Festival presents the artist against a backdrop of political turmoil.

Tim Bowditch and Nick Rochowski will exhibit their project Hind Land in a solo show at The Front Room Gallery. The work grew out of an interest in the interplay between the M25 and local woodland.

Featuring 10 artists working over the past two thousand years, this exceptional exhibition visually investigates the theme of Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben’s essay What is the Contemporary?

The 55th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale is entitled Il Palazzo Enciclopedico. Curated by Massimiliano Gioni, 88 National participants will be exhibiting in the city of Venice.

Tumbleweed! is the ideal example of making the simple things in life funny. The tumbleweed when given human characteristics and a fruitful life of adventure is shown to achieve tremendous things.

Karla Black constructs large-scale, site-specific sculptures using amorphous yet everyday materials—from dirt, chalk, and dough to the powders, sprays, and gooey substances we use to coat our bodies.

London-based Synthpop band Chapel Club has just released their second album Good Together. Aesthetica spoke to the group to find out more about their influences and what’s coming up in 2013.

Produced at the University of California by director Mark Nelson, The Jockstrap Raiders was awarded the Best Animation title at last year’s Aesthetica Short Film Festival. Submit your film by 31 May.

Opening to the public at the iconic City Factory venue on 31 May, Picturing Derry brings together, for the first time, some of the most iconic images of the troubles in the city in one exhibition.

Day Bowman has been selected out of only five UK artists to exhibit her work at this year’s NordArt exhibition in June. Her work as a painter lies on the axis of figuration and abstraction.

Set in the serene St Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life and Art, photographer Liz Hingley’s Under Gods: Stories from the Soho Road provides an honest assessment of true multi-culturalism.

Stephen J. Morgan’s The Other Side of Everything is a striking series of images, documenting familiar places that uncover the artist’s journey as a second generation Irish boy growing up in Birmingham.

Stephen Willats’ latest exhibit at Modern Art Oxford is a collection of works ranging from 1998-2013. Each work addresses his interest in the mediation of personal and interpersonal relationships.

Bob van Reeth, one of the most important postwar Belgian architects and the first Flemish Government Architect from 1999 to 2005, will be 70 this year. BOZAR and A+ look back on his rich career.

Linn Karen Forland’s Come to Heaven of Hearts depicts the inner world of an old woman. Full of surprising associations, it sets before us a rapturous scene of an old woman at the end of her life.

Curated by Domingo Milella and Bacarelli Botticelli, What is Contemporary? is open at Brancolini Grimaldi. The group show combines contemporary photography with works of art from the past.

Part of the official selection at ASFF 2012, 10 minute documentary Blind Encounter gives a captivating and inspiring account of a blind busker’s journey through coming to terms with losing his sight.

Hans Josephsohn died last year at the age of 92. An example of his legacy is exhibited at YSP. We are given to understand that throughout his career, he drew on a 30 000-year-old figurative tradition.