4 brilliant things to do this July

Get out and about this month with an array of activities, from musical offerings to discovering the best in crime fiction 

Writer, artist and cultural activist Alinah Azadeh at Seven Sisters. Image: Lilliana Gibbs 

Hear the new sounds of the South Downs

Fancy a special experience to add to the pleasures of rambling? As part of the initiative We Hear You Now,walkers can now stop at 14 ‘listening points’ along the Sussex coastline to experience a range of fiction, poetry and new myths voiced by local writers of colour. The programme has been conceived by Alinah Azadeh, the inaugural writer-in-residence at Seven Sisters Country Park; it is accessible via QR codes, with maps available from the park’s visitor centre near Seaford or online. Hear about a biologist examining Cuckmere’s history, a poet’s bus journey along the shore, haunting medieval histories within an abandoned village and more. 

You can also enjoy the stories of We Hear You Now by going to sevensisters.org.uk/we-hear-you-now/find-the-listening-points and scanning the QR code to start listening. 

Erwin Wurm’s Der Gurk (2016). Image: Blickachsen 11 Katalogretuschen © Archiv-Stiftung-Blickachsen GmbH. Germany

Take a yoga class among sculpture 

Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) is known for showing monumental sculpture in its rolling landscape, and this summer new works by Austrian artist Erwin Wurm take centre stage. In Trap of the Truth – the artist’s first UK exhibition – his large-scale, playful pieces combine elements of everyday objects and more absurd reimaginings, such as strangely warped vehicles, enormous pickles and One Minute Sculptures. The latter invite participants to ‘activate’ them by leaning, climbing and otherwise inserting themselves into the pieces. YSP will be running activities alongside the exhibition, so why not join a yoga and gong bath session, which takes place surrounded by Wurm’s creations? All levels are welcome, and a tasty breakfast is included. 

Yoga and Gong Relaxation: Erwin Wurm, Yorkshire Sculpture Park; 29 July, 19 August, 30 September

Book via the YSP website

The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate hosts the best in crime. Image: The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival​

Bring your best alibis to a festival

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Events take place at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, a site long associated with none other than Agatha Christie, as this was where she came after disappearing from her Berkshire home in 1926. The programme has been curated by award-winning crime novelist Vaseem Khan, with special guests including Lucy Worsley, Val McDermid and Lee Child, all of whom will be discussing their literary influences and the bone-tingling genre as a whole. It is a fantastic opportunity to learn from the greatest minds in crime fiction, while rubbing shoulders with agents, editors and publishers. 

Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Harrogate, 20–23 July

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/crime-writing-festival

Enjoy music from the best as part of the BBC Proms

Enjoy the Proms nationwide

While the BBC Proms is famous for taking place at the Royal Albert Hall in London, there are a host of other concerts being held throughout the country as part of the festival. Enjoy a 400th-anniversary tribute to Renaissance composer William Byrd at Guildhall in Derry/Londonderry, see pop sensation Self Esteem perform with the Royal Northern Sinfonia at Sage Gateshead, or immerse yourself in five centuries’ worth of madrigals at Aberystwyth Arts Centre.

BBC Proms, 14 July–9 September

bbc.co.uk/proms

For more art and culture events see The Arts Society Magazine, available exclusively to members and supporters of The Arts Society (to join, see theartssociety.org/member-benefits). And for more brilliant arts content delivered direct to your in-box, sign up at theartssociety.org/signup