Five brilliant cultural events to enjoy this May

From incredible craft to monumental sculpture, these are our picks for the month

Discover makers at London Craft Week

The eighth edition of the fair features emerging artists, makers and designers from across the world, complete with a programme of over 300 events. Get to grips with sustainable innovation courtesy of Anya Hindmarch and Renewcell; discover the best in contemporary jewellery with Sotheby’s; or explore the possibilities of paper with City & Guilds of London Art School, complete with printmaking workshops and fine art papermaking demonstrations. 

London Craft Week, various locations, 9–15 May
londoncraftweek.com

Join The Procession at Tate Britain

The latest artist to take on Tate Britain’s mammoth Duveen Galleries is Hew Locke, who is known for creating incredible sculptures and works on paper, which grapple with ideas of prosperity, identity and empire. Born in Edinburgh, he spent his formative years in Guyana before returning to the UK to study. Since then he has subverted the visual language of colonial power and transit – whether it be a statue of Queen Victoria or a fleet of ships – through incredible assemblages and adornments. His latest work at Tate takes the form of a spectacular procession: part carnival, part mass migration.

Hew Locke: The Procession, at Tate Britain, until 22 January 2023
tate.org.uk

Caroline Walker, Theatre, 2021. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery

Witness women at work

This wonderful dual exhibition at Nottingham Castle brings together the paintings of Laura Knight and Caroline Walker. The former was lauded for her depictions of the realities of a newly mobilised female workforce during World War II, as well as intimate and confrontational images of backstage ballet dancers and circus performers. Meanwhile, Walker has spent her time capturing women’s unseen labour, whether it be in a maternity ward or a hotel. Despite the century that sits between the two artists’ practices, the connections feel as strong and vital as ever. 

Laura Knight & Caroline Walker: A Female Gaze, at Nottingham Castle, until 5 June
nottinghamcastle.org.uk

Sheila Hicks, Saffron Sentinel, 2017, © Sheila Hicks. Courtesy of Alison Jacques Gallery, London Photo: Noam Preisman

Experience the groundbreaking textiles of Sheila Hicks

In this major exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield, Sheila Hicks brings together her tactile textile installations alongside intimate woven drawings, and much more besides. The artist is known for her acute understanding of textile construction and materiality, and often collaborates with local makers to create avant-garde works that often take the form of towers of gigantic balls woven from vibrant colours. This show will see a new site-specific piece informed by the building’s architecture. 

Sheila Hicks: Off Grid, at The Hepworth Wakefield, until 25 September
hepworthwakefield.org

Tracey Emin, I Lay Here For You, Jupiter Artland. Image by Alan Pollok Morris. Courtesy Jupiter Artland

Understand the intimacy of Tracey Emin 

In the grounds of Jupiter Artland, you can find a six-metre bronze sculpture by Tracey Emin hidden among the trees. The artist is known for challenging ideas of love and intimacy, and this new piece, titled I Lay Here for You, appears at one with its natural surroundings of the beech grove. Emin manipulates clay by hand to create maquettes that inform her much larger cast works, skewing any predictable sense of scale. More new works can be found within the indoor galleries. 

Tracey Emin: I Lay Here For You, at Jupiter Artland, 28 May–30 September
jupiterartland.org