6 things to do this summer

From the biggest arts and culture event this year to dazzling jewellery, here is our pick of this season’s highlights.

1 Dip into a giant exhibition

The biggest event planned in England this year, the Great Exhibition of the North offers 80 days of art, culture, design and innovation from across the region. Located in Newcastle and Gateshead, among the offerings are a new solo exhibition from Turner Prize 2017 winner Lubaina Himid; a Great Northern Soundtrack curated by broadcaster Lauren Laverne; and sculpture by Antony Gormley. The three key venues are the Great North Museum, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and Sage Gateshead. Expect concerts, festivals, new commissions, films, the UK’s largest water sculpture and a new anthem for the North. Included will be a series of fascinating talks by expert Arts Society Lecturers (for details see page 57).
 
Great Exhibition of the North, 22 June–9 September, getnorth2018.com

2 View a masterpiece

Hans Holbein the Younger’s exquisite painting A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling (1526–28) is on the move as part of the National Gallery’s Masterpiece Tour 2018. The portrait is thought to be of Anne Lovell, of the aristocratic Lovell family, the clue being the squirrel: the animals (common pets in 16th-century England) were part of the family’s coat of arms. The painting is currently in Shetland, before it is moved to Brighton Museum and Art Gallery.

Until 15 July, Shetland Museum and Archives, shetlandmuseumandarchives.org.uk

Image: Lady with squirrel © The National Gallery, London

3 See an operatic spectacle

With an all-star cast, Glyndebourne returns director Barrie Kosky’s vibrant staging of Handel’s oratorio Saul to its stage. With slick choreography and sumptuous design, the production also features baroque music with period instruments from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, under the baton of Laurence Cummings. The critics were loud in their praise of this dazzling production’s first staging in 2015. Look out, too, for Glyndebourne’s ‘Insider talk’ on the wigs and make-up for the production, on 8 August.

Saul, 19 July–15 August, glyndebourne.com

Image: Saul opera, photo: Bill Cooper

4 Wonder at the woven

This striking textile is entitled Ripples & Ribes and is by the artist Jennie Moncur. It features as part of the William Morris Gallery’s new exhibition, which takes as its focus the medium of tapestries and how they are used to tell stories. Fifteen women artists from the UK, United States, Canada, New Zealand and Japan show woven works inspired by tales from rural mythology, mother and child relationships, flood and even urban decay.

Weaving New Worlds, 16 June–23 September, wmgallery.org.uk

Image: Wonder at the Woven - Ripples & Ribes by Jennie Moncur, 2015 © The Artist

5 Discover little-known treasures

A new exhibition reveals rarely seen gems from jewellery and metalwork at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. With a focus on pieces made from 1850 to 1940, the works include an enamel and gold pendant, entitled The Helper (above). It was made by Phoebe Anna Traquair (1852–1936), a significant figure in the Arts and Crafts movement, and one of the first women artists to achieve professional recognition in Scotland. Look out, too, for jewellery by artist Charles Ricketts (1866–1931); such pieces hold a special place in the history of queer art in Britain, having been designed for the couple Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper, known collectively as author Michael Field.

Designers and Jewellery 1850–1940: Jewellery and Metalwork from the Fitzwilliam Museum, 31 July–11 November, fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk

Image: Designers and jewellery, The Fitzwilliam Museum

6 One for the little ones

… or anyone with memories of reading Judith Kerr’s evocative books when young: an interactive exhibition celebrating the 50^th anniversary of her much-loved The Tiger Who Came to Tea.  Alongside illustrations from the book you’ll find artworks from a number of other Kerr classics, including Mog the Cat, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit and The Crocodile Under the Bed. Film footage of the author’s fascinating life will also be featured. All at the National Trust’s beautiful Tudor house, The Vyne, in Hampshire.
 
The Tiger Who Came to Tea, 7 July–2 Sept; nationaltrust.org.uk/the-vyne