Another Travel Guide
APRIL 2009. TRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS

EXHIBITION OF THE MONTH

REQUIEM. DAMIEN HIRST, PINCHUKARTCENTRE, KIEV, 25 APRIL – 20 SEPTEMBER

The second half of April sees a grand retrospective of Damien Hirst - the most popular brand of today's art scene and the symbol of contemporary British art - open in Kiev under the title of Requiem. The show comprises over a hundred works. This seems to be the most extensive representation of Hirst's art, tracing his career from the 1990s to the present day. The exhibition promises to be jam-packed with textbook phenomena of contemporary art, including A Thousand Years, Death Explained and The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living - the famous shark preserved in formaldehyde that brought Hirst the 1995 Turner Prize.

Find out more on www.anothertravelguide.com

PRODUCTION OF THE MONTH

EINE KIRCHE DER ANGST VOR DEM FREMDEN IN MIR: A FLUXUS ORATORIUM BY CHRISTOPH SCHLINGENSIEF, HAUS DER BERLINER FESTSPIELE, BERLIN, 29 APRIL – 2 MAY

The Fluxus Oratorium under the title of Eine Kirche der Angst vor dem Fremden in mir (Church of Fear Before the Alien in Me) by Christoph Schlingensief has been included in the list of ten of this season's most noteworthy productions staged in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Every year ten of the most unusual theatre projects, mounted in the German-language culture space, are brought to the Theatertreffen Berlin festival taking place in May. Organisers of the festival have paid Schlingensief's work a great deal of extra attention: not only is it part of the best-of-the-best list whittled down to just ten productions (all tickets to which are inevitably sold out on the very first morning) - it has also been allotted two dates before the actual opening of the festival in late April, thus giving more viewers an opportunity to see it.

Find out more on www.anothertravelguide.com

EVENT OF THE MONTH

THE LONG THEATRE NIGHT, BERLIN, 25 APRIL

On the Long Theatre Night (25 April from 7 pm to 1 am), 51 Berlin theatres will open their door to the general public, presenting guided tours, short performances, art action events, live installations and other activities of various kinds. The Berlin Long Theatre Night was born out of the enormous success of the Long Museum and Science Night in the same city, supported by a phenomenal number of Berliners and tourists. On the night of 25 April, the dramatic and puppet theatres, variety halls, improvisation theatres, operas and dance rooms of Berlin will throw their door wide open throughout Berlin.

Find out more on www.anothertravelguide.com

GALLERY OF THE MONTH

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY, LONDON

On 5th of April the renovated and radically expanded Whitechapel Gallery opened its doors to the public; its space has been increased by some 78%. The Gallery has always been considered one of the most prestigious art institutions in London. The construction work, which took two years, adapted for gallery use the former library premises next to the original building of the Whitechapel Gallery. The expansion project was designed by Belgian architects Robbrecht en Daem in collaboration with London practice Witherford Watson Mann Architects.

Find out more on www.anothertravelguide.com

ART PROJECT OF THE MONTH

PRADA TRANSFORMER, SEOUL, FROM 25 APRIL

25 April will see the most ambitious recent project of the Prada Italian fashion house start its 5-month life cycle in Seoul: over these months, Transformer - a rotating art pavilion unique with its chameleon-like ability of shape-shifting - will host an exhibition by the Prada fashion house, film festival, contemporary art show and a number of other art events. The visual image of Transformer was designed by the starchitect Rem Koolhaas who has close links with the fashion house (e.g., the Prada epicentre in San Francisco, the new home of the Prada Art Centre - in progress). The pavilion consists of a tetrahedron steel carcass and mobile geometrical parts covered with elastic white fabric. The four different façades and configurations of the floor panel makes it possible, when necessary, for floors to transform into walls and for walls to become ceilings; each of the different configurations creates another shape - a cross, circle, rectangle or hexagon.

Find out more on www.anothertravelguide.com

SHOP OF THE MONTH

MERCI, PARIS

Merci, recently opened in Paris, can certainly be listed among the most original concept shops of late. Moreover, it is ideally suited to this time when we are encouraged to re-evaluate our shopping habits, among other things. Unlike your ordinary temple of consumer culture, the new shop promotes socially responsible shopping: all profit after expenses is given to charity, to benefit children in Madagascar. And that is not all - most of the suppliers have waived their own profit percentage, making many things in Merci considerably cheaper than anywhere else in shops. For example, by agreement with several fashion houses, several designs have been created especially for Merci, and their price is some 30-40% lower than in the brands' own stores.

Find out more on www.anothertravelguide.com

HOTEL OF THE MONTH

ACE HOTEL, NEW YORK

The Ace Hotels is one of the most visible hotel concepts created over the recent years - ambience-wise perfectly suited to the zeitgeist. Several years ago, it was designed by three Seattle-based friends with the objective of setting up an accommodation that would be the exact opposite of the traditional idea of a hotel, a place where their friends - DJs, artists, magazine editors, musicians, designers - would also love to stay. It had to be a hotel for creative people who appreciated style while not being inclined to be too extravagant with their expenses. April saw the latest addition to the Ace Hotels chain unveiled in New York. The hotel is housed in a 1904 building located a few blocks from Madison Square. The historic carcass of the building has been fully preserved, complementing it with vintage and custom-made furniture and design objects. The rooms house some canvas works of art by renowned local artists; the decor makes you feel more like at home than at a hotel.

Find out more on www.anothertravelguide.com

DESTINATION

WINE AND SOVIET ARCHITECTURE: THE COLOURS OF CHISINAU

The first impression of Chisinau is that of a journey back in time. The capital's architecture mainly features buildings of the Soviet era - possibly the main reason to include Chisinau in your itinerary. In any case, there are not many places in the world boasting such a high concentration of extant authentic Soviet architecture - also an almost complete absence of other tourists: almost a luxury in the travel-happy world of today. And yet there are two things that disperse the initial impression of Moldova as a poor relative caught in a time warp: wine and food. Moldovan wines are unequalled throughout the countries of the former Soviet block and, in recent years, increasingly appreciated and recognised at prestigious European auctions.

Find out more on www.anothertravelguide.com

CONNOISSEUR’S GUIDE

WORLD’S TOP TREKKING ROUTES

The Fann Mountains are warm, arid and incredibly colorful. You would hardly find anything quite like that anywhere else in the world. The highest peak of the Fanns reaches 5.5 km high and the mountain range comprises several valleys. They follow one after another and you just roll across and across, spending almost two weeks like that, making one circle after another. In summertime the Fanns are fantastic - a genuine Mecca of trekking. The sun never hides behind clouds and large number of bigger and smaller lakes are scattered all over the area, including Lake Iskanderkul, glimmering in bluish-green and grayish ting. Freezing cold, bright blue rivers with crystal-clear water run down the mountains while, the land is covered in verdant greenery here and there. The vitality and vibrancy of colors is typical to the Fanns and you simply cannot get enough of it. The trekking height is approximately 2 to 3 km above the sea level and you can hire a donkey to carry you stuff and to set up camps at lakesides.

Find out more on www.anothertravelguide.com

 

 

www.anothertravelguide.com

info@anothertravelguide.com

Lai atteiktos no jaunumu saņemšanas, spiediet šeit.

Adrese: Lāčplēša iela 75-4, LV-1011, Rīga
Tel.: 67812241, 67242393