Portrait of the Artist As… looks at the ways in which artists have portrayed themselves, their peers and predecessors over centuries. Organised by Courtauld’s Curating the Art Museum students.

As a celebration of excellence in art from across the world, the Aesthetica Art Prize welcomes entries from artists working in all mediums. Artists may submit their work into any one of the four categories.

Zoe Strauss (b. 1970) is a self-taught photographer and installation artist. This exhibition at Bruce Silverstein gallery marks the culmination of Strauss’ I-95 project, a 10-year long endeavour.

There’s no doubt that Stéphane Coutelle’s Shoebox Studio is a striking collection of images. Published by Damiani, Shoebox Studio features portraits of young women, all new to modelling.

Bristol-based artist Anouk Mercier has been championing the art of drawing within Bristol since graduated from UWE in 2008. Her latest exhibition Excursus open in…

Entering through the sliding doors of the ICA, a perceptible chatter drifts around the corner from the gallery’s ground floor exhibition space. It sounds as if the private view of the show is still underway.

The Rolling Bridge is one of the studio’s better known projects, along with the Seed Cathedral, East Beach Café in Littlehampton, the B of the Bang sculpture, and most recently the new Routemaster bus.

Simon Pope explores the interactions of memory and dialogue in relation to landscape representation. His work Memory Marathon will be on show at John Hansard Gallery Central during July.

Graham Gussin (b. 1960) is renowned for using diverse media, including text, photography, drawing, film and installation, to explore perceptions of time and space. We spoke to the artist recently.

Ever since we spoke to Polly Morgan last month, we have been following her movements as she elevates taxidermy to an art form by creating vignettes that emphasise the beauty of nature.

Photographer Alessandro Imbriaco is the 19th winner of the European Publishers Award for Photography, and will see his project – The Garden – published in a book in five European countries.

Creation Fine Arts is a brand new art gallery in Beverley, East Yorkshire, showcasing the work of talented artists from the local area and around the globe. Aesthetica spoke to Curator, Nigel Walker.

Collaborations between fashion houses and the art world are nothing new. Unlike some of the commercial tie-ins we witness today, everyone is a winner when these spheres work creatively together.

Yto Barrada’s RIFFS is a highly anticipated and significant exhibition for Ikon. The show focuses on the realities around her, in particular the process of the “new” into a society where the “old” prevails.

In our Dec/Jan 2011 issue, we previewed photographer William Eckersley’s book Dark City. Eckersley’s vision of nocturnal London dissembles the conventional imagery of built environments.

Tucked away in the far corner of Eastside Projects in a side-room is the exhibition It’s Moving from I to It. This exhibition is put on by the performance group FormContent, made up of six participants.

With a background in photography, Laureana Toledo’s (b. 1970, Mexico) practice incorporates various media, chosen in relation to a specific concept or theme of the work.

Switzerland’s leading contemporary art organisation, the Kunsthalle Zürich will open to the public this weekend in its new home within the Löwenbräukunst for a special preview week.

Standing in the entrance of Grayson Perry’s exhibition at the Victoria Miro gallery I find myself caught between two images. On the left, a child is cradled in the arms of a young mother.

Laura Stevens looks at the dark and melancholy aspects of relationships. Us Alone explores the moment when the romance of cohabitation is betrayed by the banal aspects of day-to-day living.

We Face Forward is a season of art and music from West Africa, celebrated across Manchester’s galleries, museums, music venues and public spaces, as part of London 2012 Festival.

The focus of the 4th edition of the Summer of Photography, an international biennale that focuses on photography and related media, is on landscape. Central to the festival is Sense of Place.

Jenny Holzer is an artist known for her words. Whether it’s T-shirts, plaques or LED signs, she emblazons her medium of choice with witty quotes – or truisms – to create instantly satisfying pieces.

It is hard to overestimate the importance of attitudes to nature and ideas around the representation of landscape in Nordic culture and thinking.

The top floor of Raven Row is divided into two adjacent, small, white spaces. Each room contains two sets of shelves, back-to-back. On the shelves are arranged an assortment of uniform black box-files.

HowTheLightGetsIn, the philosophy and music festival, offers an intellectually rigorous programme of innovative and inspirational debate, alongside live performances from world-class musicians.

Talking about her practice, Paula Rego said “there’s something sexual about drawing, and there’s a great deal of comfort in it as well … it is utterly thrilling.”

This book is an enthralling collection of portraits of Africa’s intense and sometimes tragic beauty, which showcases award-winning photographer, Hugo’s most important images to date.

In The Mechanical Hand, over 25 artists’ works discussed, and the book provides a platform for looking at prints in the context of contemporary art-making.

With the appearance of a desk diary, the sort that wouldn’t be out of place in Edina Monsoon’s office, 1982 features novels, theatre plays, lectures and installations.

Charting the development of the style alongside social, political and economic changes, Blackman succeeds in providing an introduction to the various fashions.

Summer of Lust is the second album from the Canadian seven-piece Library Voices and this sunlit, upbeat album couldn’t be further from the band’s frozen origins.

The latest album from the Makers is a lightweight piece of club-ready English pop. It’s well-made, cleverly produced, and just the right length.

Recorded one instrument at a time and then layered and arranged to create a huge orchestra, Composed is exceptional in its method of production.

Concerned with place and the physicality of the world, Unearth is a manifestation of the band’s focus on location, each song inspired by a specific place in Britain.

A pleasing amalgamation of indie, punk and pop, as a whole the album is a non-challenging proposition, and should be enjoyed as such.

Funeral Suits desperately want their music to be riveting and haunting. They want it to be the kind of timeless playing that resonates after the final track ends.

Based loosely on the Bonnie and Clyde legend, You Only Live Once follows serial criminal Eddie Taylor on his most recent release from prison, as he attempts to make good for himself and his girl.

Regime and climate change are the two factors that drive this documentary in which politician Mohamed Nasheed engages in some eloquent doom-saying about the future of his nation.

W.E. combines the story of Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII with Wally Winthrop, an American socialite in an abusive and loveless marriage.

Foreign-language comedy doesn’t always translate but zany French comedienne, Florence Foresti, enjoys something of an international breakthrough in Hollywoo.

Hailed as a major success by The Times, Guardian, Total Film and every other publication inbetween, Tiny Furniture is the debut from the 25-year-old writer/director/actor Lena Dunham.

Two archetypal couples – the middle-class Longstreets, and nouveau riche Cowans – battle it out over a playground confrontation between their sons.

Polly Morgan’s intention has never been to mimic the natural habitat of animals as they are traditionally displayed, but to place them in less expected scenery.

Mel Karch’s images are more than just editorial; they tell stories with underlying narratives rooted in the cinematic landscapes of her shoots.

Gagosian, in collaboration with the Henry Moore Foundation are bringing the artist’s sculptures indoors for the first time. It was Moore’s intention that these forms be viewed close-up.

Edgar Martins’ controversial 2008 project This Is Not A House continues to engross and provoke today, uncovering the realities of where the recession began.

Skyscraper is a re-appraisal of the modernist structure and features over 50 artists whose work responds to ITS variety and complexity.

Marina Abramović’s 2010 blockbuster show at Moma caused a sensation in New York. Now a new documentary, directed by Matthew Akers, charts the career of the renowned performance artist.

Moving from Henri Cartier-Bresson to the pioneering photojournalist Eve Arnold to lesser known but historically significant figures, Another London examines the city’s landscape as a dynamic metropolis.