Beating Los Angeles, Cannes and Venice on 12 June Bradford became the first ever UNESCO City of Film. Revealing pride for his home-town, Slumdog Millionaire…

The sentiment reflected throughout the art world has been that of the recession, cut backs and closures. It has been a tumultuous time for all…

In conversation with Eleanor Catton

Chronophotography was first explored in the 19th cen­tury, using sequences of images to investigate ideas of space, time, movement and duration.

Art and Electronic Media is an essential read, which surveys the importance of electronic media vis-à-vis the art we are producing today.

Interspersed with African turn of phrase, On Black Sisters’ Street draws on story-telling tradition to illuminate the West from an under-represented perspective.

The Blind Side of the Heart begins in 1945 with a boy abandoned at a railway station in provincial Germany. Helene leaves her son on the platform, never to return.

Fixating on a small community in rural Buckleigh, Love Me Tender balances a large cast of characters and their stories of love, anger and disappointment.

The four-book strong Ox-Tales collect together work from the best of British and Irish writers today under themes closely related to Oxfam’s work.

Western democracy has long been considered the blueprint of the ‘civilised world’, but a new play at the National Theatre questions this dominance.

With a cast of varied and unexpected characters, Cooke reveals herself to be a keen evaluator of individuals and their silent struggle with the outside world.

Having formed in 1980 during the No Wave movement and with 16 studio albums under their belt, it’s hard to know just what to expect from Sonic Youth.

It’s pretty exciting when a band releases a ground­breaking first album, more so when the second album embodies a pure and unadulterated music.

Acoustic Ladyland is back with something rather promising. Although it can be tough to find your element in an instrumental album, Living With A Tiger assures listeners this is, indeed possible.

Revolution brings together Cuban musicians with top artists and producers from the UK and the USA, showcasing the eclecticism of Cuban music.

Here Come The Vikings is an eclectic mix of electric pop and smooth ballads. Williamson is revealed to be a multi-talented musician and songwriter.

How Colson Whitehead avoids cliché and traditional motif in Sag Harbor, his autobiographical fourth novel, which is definitely not a coming-of-age tale.

Maxïmo Park is moving in a new direction, one that’s more established, secure and oozing with confidence. It’s serious in lyrics, galvanized in sound.

Designer, curator of the Aram Gallery, and tutor at the Royal College of Art, Daniel Charny is a man in the know. Having trained as an industrial designer, Charny has worked across disciplines including public art, furniture and product design.

Mix blues and ragtime, contemporary roots and indie, folk and jazz. Layer it with soul-drenched vocals and you have something near the sound of Kill It Kid.

Ask her how she became involved in music and Tidwell will reel off a list of family associations on both sides, from her mother’s career in the 1970s, to her grandfather’s country record label.

For such an incidental naming, the heroic-sounding Morton Valence perfectly suits the stylized romance of the band.

In today’s climate, the Do It Yourself attitude is ever more present and we’re encouraging you to get creative, get your camera and make your own films.

Traversing the boundaries between social and personal interests, thriller and realism, Pour Elle forces everyday characters to extraordinary lengths.

Saville is a natural and engaging speaker, and he profusely urges us to stop and consider our state of play. He is still open to all possibilities and contemplates his opinions to an extensive degree.

Chen Ke, one of China’s new generation of young artists discusses her work, the dichotomies of identity, personal tastes and culture in the flux of modern China.

Explorations on the built environment, avant-garde inheritance, and individuality bring together the work of 15 Polish artists, and an exposé on Tadeusz Kantor.

The 53rd Venice Biennale, directed by Daniel Birnbaum, offers a glimpse at the ideas of freedom, originality and the purpose of expression.

Shape of Things to Come is the definitive book on contemporary sculpture. It might weigh your bookshelf down, but definitely worth the gamble.

Lichtenstein Posters is a beautifully produced book, which is essential reading for anyone interested in Pop Art and the works of Roy Lichtenstein.

Comic enthusiast Jim Rath, spends his unemployed hours dreaming of the submarine, matriarchal world of Nautika, standing immersed in hotel pools.

James Lasdun is a modern day observer, much like the flâneur of the 19th century. His craft is estimable, while his humour and wit are poignant.

Sag Harbour is set in 1985, with hyper self-aware Benji battling to create an individual identity separate to his younger brother Reggie.

This debut novel from Patrick DeWitt presents a startlingly honest look into the lives and the patrons at a declining Hollywood bar.

Greenfly is an assured collection of 12 individually outstanding narratives. The context varies wildly, from East London, to Gold Rush era USA, to a desert island.

In conversation with Gina Ochsner.

Celebrating one hundred years of the one of the most beautiful written forms, the Poetry Society is at the very heart of today’s literary culture.

Miriam Toews’ tale of a road trip, a family, and their journey to discover the missing pieces is moving, while her own stories of being on the road are unforgettable.

Spill Festival welcomes new audiences and practicioners to performance and live events around London, with subversive political messages, humour, and more.

At the forefront of the fashion and design industries for many years, Hemingway set up Red or Dead in 1982 the label grew to phenomenal popularity.

One Day International’s debut album Blackbird is a testament to the fact that a guitar is not a prerequisite for a brilliant, soulful band.

Millimetre never shy away from experimentation, and the white noise, interference and aural impositions of our everyday lives become their canvas.

The truth is a lot of bands want to sound like Morton Valence, but this is the real deal. There’s a rich idealism present throughout the album’s 13 tracks.

The Balky Mule is the alias of Sam Jones — a self-taught multi-instrumentalist who was a key figure in Bristol’s music scene before emigrating to Australia in 2006.

M-Bar has a destructive and troubled past. The confessional singer-songwriter feel of the album suits the intelligent and intimate lyrics.

One of the most progressive artists at the moment, since her nomination for the 2007 Mercury prize, Natasha Khan has become something of a phenomenon.

The impending release of Touchdown crowns a successful relocation for Brighton-based Brakes, from Rough Trade Records to fellow Brighton label FatCat.

The first thing that strikes you about First Aid Kit is the uncertain correlation between the band’s age, and the adult material of much of their work.

With a creative lineage traceable to 18th century writer, Jonathan Swift, Richard Swift has clearly inherited the artistic gene, writing inventive, insightful music.

The complexities of Salvador Dali’s genius and his friendships with Federico García Lorca and Luis Buñuel, in an intriguing feature-length from Paul Morrison.