Visual & Decorative Arts Blog

This year was the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, and it is incredible that his plays have lasted the test of time and are still celebrated to this day. The RSC, better known as the Royal Shakespeare Company, works to stage Shakespeare’s (and his contemporaries’ and modern day) work in order to make it an event; to make it as exciting as it can be. They’re based out of Stratford-upon-Avon, although they also perform in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and London, and they also tour around the globe.

With a name like Roobarb & Custard, who wouldn’t love this animated, five-minute long TV show? Even better is that the main characters are Roobarb, a green, shaggy dog, and Custard, the next door neighbour, who is a hot pink cat. These two are always trying to outwit one another, which leads to absolute hilarity, no matter how old you are.

With the tagline 'the world's greatest museum of art and design', the Victoria and Albert Museum (better known as the V&A) certainly creates high expectations and promises a lot, and it sure does deliver. Currently, there are over two thousand years of art in almost every medium in the museum's collections, from a multitude of places all over the globe. The contrast between walking through the grand archway that is the main entrance into the museum and the humongous, abstract Dale Chihuly chandelier hanging over the information desk in the lobby wonderfully illustrates just how much the V&A holds. While their special temporary exhibitions are very much worth seeing, it's a must-do to go and see the vast array of art the V&A has on permanent display. Here are just a selection of the movements and artists that the museum covers…

The Tate Britain has been an unmissable display of British art since its inception in 1897. When Henry Tate tried to release his collection of masterpieces of art into the world to be enjoyed by all, the National Gallery didn’t have the space for it, and so he built his own gallery in which to showcase all of the artworks he had collected. Since then, four Tate galleries have opened (Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives), between them holding an outstandingly impressive collection of British and international art. 

Who doesn’t get excited for Christmas? Even if you don’t celebrate the actual holiday, the time off from work is something to be celebrated and enjoyed. But advent calendars were invented to make people even more excited in the run-up to Christmas.

We're Going On a Bear Hunt is the well loved children's read-aloud that's celebrating its 25th birthday this year. A favourite among families and young children, the fun, energetic book is brought to life through the charming illustrations of Helen Oxenbury.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was an artist in the 19th century. More than this, he was a multi-talented artist-craftsman: painter, architect, furniture designer; the list goes on and on. His art was incredibly influential, and a lot of the motifs, patterns and principles of his work are still popular with today's audience and artists. 

Reviews for the new film Mr. Turner are out, and the general consensus is that this film is just as great as Turner's original paintings. Timothy Spall's performance even won him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival, and a lot of people are saying that his portrayal of J.M.W. Turner could even win him an Oscar. Robbie Collins, of The Telegraph, says, 'His repertoire of grunts alone comfortably extends past a hundred, and you wonder if perhaps Spall went Method for the role, living for years in a sty until he got the voice, posture and smell just right. But beyond the troughfuls of fun tics, Spall makes Turner tenderly and totally human, which has the effect of making his artistic talents seem even more God-given.'