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by Blandine Hausermann Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2021. Courtesy National Portrait Gallery © David Parry After a digital exhibition in 2020, this year the eagerly awaited Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize returned once more as a physical exhibition. The show took place at Cromwell Place while the National Portrait Gallery is closed for major redevelopment works. It was a real pleasure to wander around the gallery space and explore and be immersed in t

by Blandine Hausermann “Caught in the ‘act’” © Kymara Akinpelumi Out of all the portraits selected for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Prize 2021, Kymara Akinpelumi’s portrait from the series Dichotomy particularly touched and fascinated me in the way she uses self-portrait to explore her identity and reflect on her childhood. Only 22 years old and studying BA Photography at Arts University Bournemouth, she is one of the youngest photographers of the exhibition, but no less s

Centred on the expansive theme of friendship, this year’s London Literature Festival inaugurated Japanese writer’s Mieko Kawakami’s novel...

I had the amazing opportunity to dine at Colonel Saab, a superb modern Indian restaurant in Holborn, and I am in a state of utter awe. To cut to the chase, I cannot recommend this restaurant enough. But what made this dining experience as ethereal as possible? Quite a few aspects in fact… For one, it would be wrong to discuss Colonel Saab and not elaborate on how deeply entrenched the restaurant in founder, Roop Partap Choudhary’s, family history. Named after his father, Colo

Written by Mikayla Lorini, Photography by Fran Clark and Smit Vaidya As London rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic, many were anticipating the reopening of the night tube considering its integral part to London nightlife. While the announcement from almost a month ago that the Victoria and Central lines would resume 24 hour services was exciting to many, it still left many women unsettled. Considering the deaths of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa are still fresh

Relationships are tricky. Especially when they are made up of two vastly different people, with vastly different views, from vastly different walks of life. But sometimes, none of those things matters — not when you have an old Swedish cookie recipe to bring you two together. Let me explain. In this case, one is a suburban-raised, red-as-they-come Republican homebody who hates travelling and loves little furry things with paws. The other is a globetrotting, blue-as-a-bluebell

Written by Hebe Hancock and Mikayla Lorini “The second thing I always wanted to do was to make a movie about the New Yorker”. The film is not totally based around the New Yorker magazine, but it was “totally inspired by it”. Delayed for months due to COVID, The French Dispatch is one of this year’s most anticipated films. With a star studded cast that boasts Adrien Brody as the art dealer, Timothee Chalamet as a student revolutionary movement leader, Frances McDormand as Ame

The second day of the Southbank Centre’s London Literature Festival was marked by a special episode of BBC Radio 4’s Open Book, bringing...

Of London, friendships and friendships with London. “Common Ground” with Caleb Azumah Nelson, Vanessa Onwuemezi and Naomi Ishiguro Image...

TW: eating disorders Eating disorders are no joke. I mean, I like a funny quip as much as the next person, but when it comes to ED, I find that I still get an uneasy feeling whenever someone even mentions food or eating or body image, regardless of their intent. It took me a long time to get over the performative aspects of my ED — i.e. the unhealthy practices themselves — but the shift in mindset and the ability to actually enjoy food again have yet to fully emerge in me. Fo