Alta Badia. Carried Away

Even if you’re not a huge fan of classical music, sometimes the environment has the ability to carry you away. Alta Badia has that charm and the Merano music festival is a chance to experience classical music in an enchanting setting.

Established in 1986, the Merano music festival began as a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the spa town.  The public quickly embraced the festival and the halls had to close their doors to the public crowding outside for a listen.  In 1994 it made history again, when the London Symphony Orchestra’s concert in Verona was cancelled and president Hermann Schnitzer and the Art Director Andreas Cappello quickly made the decision to host the orchestra at the festival.  Attendance records were again broken as the world-class orchestra performed in the town of roughly 36,000. Read the rest of this entry »

Barcelona. Let’s do it again – recycle!

We’ve all wearily entered some hardwood studded office or a lavish corporate fair, designed to encourage us to forget the grind, economic woes, to buy, invest, network, and be generally impressed.  Internationally there are innumerable fairs and office renovations every week, the set up, break down, and maybe most importantly, the waste, isn’t really something the public considers.   What happens to all those temporary walls, the miles of carpeting, the signage? Read the rest of this entry »

Venice Architecture Biennale

Venice’s other Biennale will begin in just a few weeks.  No, not the art one. No, not the film one either. The architecture one.  With Venice’s cycle of Biennales it’s sometimes hard to keep track, but it also means that they’ve got putting together large-scale well organized events down pat.

The 12th Architecture Exhibition is directed by Kazuyo Sejima, the Japanese architect widely recognized for her talent, vision, and commitment, for which she was just awarded a Pritzker Prize.  As the first woman to ever be selected to direct the Architecture Biennale, it will be interesting to see if the event, titled “People Meet in Architecture” offers a different perspective from previous exhibitions.

We’re especially excited to check out the Irish Pavilion, which seeks to investigate Ireland’s cultural landscape through the work of de Blacam and Meagher (who designed White Line’s own Inis Meain Restaurant & Suites on the Aran Islands – pictured).  Curators Tom dePaor, Peter Maybury, Alice Casey and Cian Deegan have chosen the work of de Blacam and Meagher because it has permeated Ireland over the last 34 years through their design of houses, commercial, educational environments, and places of worship.

The Venice Architecture Biennale runs from 29th August – 21st November 2010.  If your planning a trip to Venice for the any of the Biennale, base yourself at the Art Deco inspired Ca’Pisani Hotel.

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Categories: Venice, Architecture, Events, Aran Islands

Contributing writer: Alicia Reuter

Sziget Festival. Peace, Love, and Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden, Muse, and Kasabian: metal, Twilight teeny-bobber rock, and indie.  It’s an interesting mix, but it’s part of what attracts over 400,000 visitors to Sziget, one of Europe’s top musical festivals every summer.  Budapest will play host to the bands and the hoards that will come to see their favourite rockers from August 11 – 16th.

While the line up is fairly mainstream, and more focused on rock and metal, there are some surprises.  It will be a event rich with the opportunity to experience names new to many, such as the Belarusian ska-punk group Lyapia Trubetskoy.

The festival is taking place in the city centre, on the Sziget Island.  Festival promoters describe the island as “the island of friendship, the island of love, the island of joyful self-abandon, the island of freedom, the island of cultural diversity. That said, it’s worth keeping in mind this is also the island where the beer is cheap, the girls and boys are beautiful…” While this may sound more like Woodstock, then a contemporary rock fest, it does give a laid back and open direction to the event.

In addition to the aforementioned bands, there will be a truly interesting mix of electronic, punk, and rap. From Faithless, to Gwar, to K.I.Z. the festival promises to be a visual and acoustic orgy, as some massively expansive stage sets and booming systems are planned.  Whatever your preference, you’re sure to find a taste.

Live like a rock star (just please don’t trash the room) at White Line’s Lánchíd 19.  You might just run into a few familiar faces at the bar…

More information, schedules and tickets for Sziget can be found at www.sziget.hu.

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Categories: Budapest, Culture, Events

Contributing writer: Alicia Reuter

Singapore. Don’t talk about architecture

The first edition of what is intended to turn into a bi-annual architecture conference, is named after a quote from Swiss architect Le Corbusier. “I don’t want to talk about architecture” he famously stated. “Lets Not Talk About Architecture”, taking place from the 2 – 4 of August, will explore the theme, by attempting to circumvent it.  The event, targeting a rising generation of young architects, has been organized by members of the Modern Asian Architecture Network (mAAN). Read the rest of this entry »