May 6, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Are We Really Here? HBH Gallery Review – Sally Kindberg and the Sub-Real

Last updated: 5 May 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

Cool Factor: 4/5

Are We Really Here is a group show that arrives at exactly the right moment. Staged by itinerant London gallery HBH at 67 Great Titchfield Street in Fitzrovia, the show runs from 30 April to 8 May 2026. It gathers 14 artists around a single urgent question: in a world of para-social noise and algorithmically flattened experience, what does it mean to actually be present? For our money, Are We Really Here is one of the sharpest group exhibitions London has seen this spring.

The standout, above all, is Stockholm-born London-based painter Sally Kindberg. She contributes three works: Umbrella Man Special (2026, oil on linen, 91 x 81cm), Muted Corner (2026, oil on linen, 70 x 55cm), and 40 Denier (2025, oil on linen). Together, they are among the most compelling things on show in London right now.

Published by Stiv in Arts & Culture, Reviews

Tags: contemporary painting, Exhibition review, Fitzrovia, group show, HBH Gallery, London Art, Sally Kindberg

May 4, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Why Retro Gaming Is Booming in the UK in 2026

Last updated: 4 May 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

Retro gaming in the UK is having a moment. Actually, it is having much more than a moment. The global retro gaming console market hit $3.8 billion in 2025 and is on track to reach over $4 billion this year. Old cartridges are selling for serious money on eBay. Companies like Analogue are building premium FPGA consoles that sell out in minutes. And a growing number of us are dusting off our childhood game collections rather than queuing up for the latest blockbuster release. So what is actually going on? And if you want in, what is the best way to play retro games in the UK right now?

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Published by Stiv in Arts & Culture, Kids and big kids, Tech News, Technology lover

Tags: Analogue 3D, Analogue Pocket, Back Market, FPGA, Game Boy, gaming, N64, nostalgia, refurbished tech, retro gaming, retro gaming UK

May 3, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Katharina Grosse at White Cube Bermondsey Review

Last updated: 3 May 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

Cool Factor

★★★★★

5 out of 5 – Ice cold

Katharina Grosse at White Cube Bermondsey is, hand on heart, the most spectacular free exhibition currently on in London. I Set Out, I Walked Fast opened on 22 April 2026 and runs until 31 May, and it delivers something genuinely rare: a show that is immersive, generous, and varied enough that you walk back out onto Bermondsey Street feeling slightly rearranged. We visited this week, and we have a lot to say about it.

Published by Stiv in Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, Reviews

Tags: abstract painting, art review, Contemporary art, free London exhibitions, immersive art, Katharina Grosse, London exhibitions 2026, White Cube, White Cube Bermondsey

April 30, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Ruba Nadar at Pipeline: ‘I Saw Myself Playing on The National Team’ Review

Last updated: 30 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor

★★★★☆

4 out of 5 – Stone cold

The best reason to climb several flights of stairs on a weekday afternoon is the possibility of a genuine discovery. Ruba Nadar's first solo exhibition at Pipeline Contemporary is exactly that. Running until 23 May 2026, I Saw Myself Playing on The National Team is a debut that announces an artist with real conviction, curated by someone who, show by show, is becoming one of the more interesting voices on London's emerging art scene.

Published by Stiv in Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, London, Reviews

Tags: art review, collage, Contemporary art, emerging artists, Fitzrovia galleries, London exhibitions 2026, mixed media painting, Pipeline Contemporary, Ruba Nadar

April 30, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Best Audiobooks May 2026: 14 Listens You Can’t Miss

Last updated: 30 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

Welcome back to the monthly audiobook roundup. The best audiobooks May 2026 has to offer span thrillers, memoirs, romance, queer apocalyptic road trips, and one absolute wildcard that's basically Hamilton crossed with a forgotten chapter of American history. Fourteen picks, one month, plenty of reasons to plug in.

Some of these will keep you up till 2am. Some will make you cry on the bus. One is full-cast theatre brilliance you can listen to in a single sitting. Here's everything we're queueing up this month.

This post contains affiliate links to Audible and Amazon. If you sign up or buy through our links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. All picks are chosen independently.

Published by Stiv in Arts & Culture, Audiobooks, Audiophiles, Bookworms, Reviews

Tags: Audible UK, audiobook reviews, audiobooks May 2026, best audiobooks, Beth O'Leary, fiction audiobooks, Lena Dunham, new audiobooks, Patrick Radden Keefe, TJ Klune

April 27, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Amalia Pica: Daisy Chain at Herald St Review

Last updated: 27 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor

★★☆☆☆

2 out of 5 · Lukewarm

Amalia Pica: Daisy Chain arrives at Herald St as the Argentine-British artist's fourth solo show with the Bethnal Green gallery. On paper, it sounds genuinely promising. Community, memory, coded language, and a monumental installation of interconnected watercolour paintings winding around the main space. In practice, though, the Amalia Pica Daisy Chain exhibition is a quietly pretty experience that leans more heavily on sentiment than on substance.

Published by Stiv in Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, London, Reviews

Tags: Amalia Pica, Bethnal Green, Contemporary art, Daisy Chain, Exhibition review, Herald St, London galleries

April 24, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Cecily Brown Serpentine Review: Picture Making Is a Belated Homecoming Worth Your Afternoon

Last updated: 24 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor

★★★★☆

4 out of 5

Cecily Brown is one of the most successful British painters alive. She's shown at the Met in New York, toured retrospectives across the United States, and regularly sells paintings for millions. Yet somehow, until now, she'd never had a museum show in the city where she was born and raised. Cecily Brown Serpentine South's Picture Making is that belated homecoming. It's free, it's in Kensington Gardens, and it's worth your afternoon. Mostly.

Published by Stiv in Art Lovers, Artists, Arts & Culture, Reviews

Tags: art, Cecily Brown, Exhibitions, Free London, Kensington Gardens, london, Painting, reviews, Serpentine

April 23, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Best Black British Music Audiobooks on Audible 2026

Best Black British Music Audiobooks on Audible

Last updated: 23 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

If you have just been to The Music is Black at V&A East Museum, or you are planning to, there is a good chance you will want to keep listening once you leave. Luckily for you, the best Black British music audiobooks on Audible UK are genuinely brilliant. We have rounded up six standouts, from grime histories to Windrush epics, for the commute home, the canal walk or a proper evening on the sofa.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Every pick below is live on Audible UK, with narrator and running time noted. Three are read by the author, which always adds something. Start an Audible free trial and your first listen is on the house.

Start your Audible free trial

Prefer print? Browse the full list on Bookshop.org UK, the independent bookshop alternative to Amazon, or pick up any of the titles below on Amazon UK.

Published by Stiv in Arts & Culture, Audiophiles, Bookworms, Exhibitions, Reviews

Tags: Afua Hirsch, Akala, Audible free trial, Audible UK, audiobooks, Black British history, Black British music, David Olusoga, grime, V&A East

April 23, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

V&A East Museum Review: Opening Day First Look 2026

V&A East Museum Review: Opening Day First Look

Last updated: 20 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor

★★★★★

5 out of 5 · Ice cold

Our V&A East Museum review comes straight from opening day, Saturday 18 April 2026. And we came away grinning. London does not get a brand new major museum very often. So when this one arrived in Stratford, we cleared the diary and went.

A decade in the making, this is the V&A's newest outpost. Crucially, it is the final piece of the East Bank cultural district. And it lands with genuine ambition. Here are our honest first impressions of the building, the free galleries, the ticketed opening show and the cafe.

Published by Stiv in Art Lovers, Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, London, Reviews

Tags: Art Exhibitions, Black British music, London museums, O'Donnell + Tuomey, Olympic Park, reviews, Stratford, The Music is Black, V&A East, V&A East Museum, Why We Make

April 10, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Schiaparelli V&A Review: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A London

Last updated: 10 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

We went into the Schiaparelli V&A exhibition not knowing quite what to expect. We are not fashion journalists. We are curious culture-watchers who appreciate design, craftsmanship, and the occasional moment where something genuinely stops you in your tracks. Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A delivered that moment several times over. This is our honest Schiaparelli V&A review, covering whether this blockbuster show justifies its ticket price, what the standout pieces are, and why it deserves your attention even if you have never owned a couture anything.

Cool Factor: 4/5 (Stone cold)

Cool Factor

★★★★☆

4 out of 5

Published by Stiv in Artists, Arts & Culture, Designers, London, Reviews

Tags: arts and culture, couture, Dali, Daniel Roseberry, Exhibition review, fashion, London exhibitions, Schiaparelli, Surrealism, V&A