A Week in The Arts. Saturday The 12th of July 2025

Subscribe today so you never miss an episode! Today on A Week in The Arts, we explored the evolving landscape of global creativity and performance. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s call for Igbo unity took center stage at the Things Fall Apart Festival in Enugu, Nigeria (The Guardian Nigeria). In Birmingham, Black Sabbath bid farewell with their final concert, Back to the Beginning (Rolling Stone). The ancient Sebeiba Festival in Djanet, Algeria, celebrated 3,000 years of dance and cultural resilience (Al Jazeera), while Canadian punk band PUP released their fifth album Who Will Look After the Dogs? and announced a co-headlining tour (Exclaim!). Amsterdam’s ArtZuid 2025 sculpture biennale marked the city’s 750th anniversary with the theme Enlightenment (DutchNews.nl), and Freddie Prinze Jr. reflected on I Know What You Did Last Summer ahead of its reboot (Entertainment Weekly). In New Zealand, Gregor Kregar’s towering Boom Boom dinosaur sculpture sparked debate in Taupō (The New Zealand Herald), while Jean-Michel Jarre prepared to headline Stuttgart’s Jazz Open Festival (Deutsche Welle). Organist Anna Lapwood curated the first all-night BBC Prom in over 40 years with From Dark Till Dawn (BBC Music), and Robert Icke’s reinterpretation of Don Giovanni at the Aix-en-Provence Festival drew critical praise and controversy (France Musique). Deftones returned with their new album Private Music, featuring the single “My Mind Is a Mountain” and a tour alongside System of a Down (Revolver Magazine). At Paris Couture Week 2025, emerging designers like Glenn Martens and Michael Rider redefined luxury amid industry shifts (Business of Fashion), while Nature Theater of Oklahoma’s surreal production No President challenged London audiences (The Guardian). In Bilbao, Mamma Mia! brought ABBA’s magic back to Teatro Arriaga (El Correo), and Bengaluru welcomed back The Real Van Gogh Immersive Experience (The Hindu). SuperRare launched its first physical gallery, Offline, in New York, showcasing sound and digital art innovation (ArtNews). In Rome, Zaha Hadid’s final hotel project, Romeo Roma, opened in a Renaissance palazzo (Architectural Digest), while the Rencontres d'Arles 2025 photography festival examined power and identity through bold visual narratives (Le Monde). Finally, France’s Le Son 7 gallery expanded its global reach in sound art, and Cambridge musician David Harrington pushed creative boundaries with his AI-powered weekly album series Machine Soul Collective (France Culture, The Guardian). These news summaries were written using AI technology. While every effort has been made to ensure factual accuracy, occasional mistakes or omissions may occur. Your understanding is appreciated, and we warmly welcome any feedback to help us continue improving the quality of our reporting. Thank you for being part of our journey!