TOP 10 THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK
A great week of events lined up, including many on-going events you may not have had the chance to see, plus a selection of events to book now for the future. Enjoy the week!
Note: from now on, our weekly selection of ’10 things to do’ will have its own permanent category heading on the home page of the blog.
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ARTGENÈVE
See works of art from all over the world at this international art fair, taking place from Thursday 1st – Sunday 4th February 2018. Now in its 7th edition, both modern and contemporary artworks from over 80 galleries will be on show – including several huge projects such as the installation of an indoor sculpture park by Max Bill, as well as a monumental tree by Giuseppe Penone.
WHEN: Inauguration Tuesday 30th January 2018 (lakeside on Quai Wilson), artgenève (Palexpo) Thursday 1st – Sunday 4th February 2018 from midday to 8pm.
WHERE: Palexpo, 1205 Genève.
COST: 20CHF adults, children/students 10CHF, under 6s FREE.
MORE INFO: Click here.
OPERA FAUST
A new production, sung in french with English and French subtitles takes place from the 1st-18th February 2018. The opera Faust, in 5 acts by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. In 1838, Goethe’s Faust did not leave Charles Gounod. The myth has been obsessing him since his tender youth. But it is above all Marguerite that interests him, this ambiguous girl, frivolous, seduced and abandoned, infanticide. The book has lost its philosophical dimension, but still has great charm and remains an icon of French opera.
WHEN: 1st-19th February 2018 at 7.30pm.
WHERE: Opéra des Nations, 40 avenue de France, 1202 Genève.
COST: 25CHF – 199CHF.
MORE INFO: Click here.
AYA TAREK (PART OF THE ANTIGEL FESTIVAL)
SHAP SHAP and Antigel have invited Egyptian street artist Aya Tarek to create a mural in Geneva on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights in 2018. The inauguration takes place on Saturday 3rd February 2018.
Born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1989, Aya Tarek now lives in Cairo. Painter, street art artist and illustrator, his passionate portfolio mixes various artistic projects, feature films and artistic collaborations in cities around the world. His work explores the different connections between urban modes of communication and the dynamics of public spaces.
WHEN: Inauguration Saturday 3rd February 2018 at 3-4pm, followed by a meeting with the artist at 5pm.
WHERE: Située à 500 mètres du Haut-Commissariat aux droits de l’homme à Genève (Rue Jean Jacquet-Bruyant), meeting with artist at the Maison de Quartier des Pâquis, 14 rue des Buis, 1202 Genève.
COST: FREE.
BEER OLYMPICS AT MR PICKWICK’S
A new edition of Beer Olympics has arrived in Geneva. The biggest competition of Beer Pong & other drinking games in Geneva.
WHEN: Saturday 3rd February 2018 from 9pm-4am.
WHERE: Mr Pickwick’s, 80 rue de Lausanne, 1202 Genève.
COST: FREE entry.
MORE INFO: Click here.
ARTGENÈVE PARTY
As part of the 7th edition of the artgenève art fair, MAMCO Geneva and the Center d’Art Contemporain Geneva host the artgenève party on Saturday 3rd February 2018. With DJs Wrwtfww Records, the bar by Bottle Brothers, delicious tartine creations from Toasted, as well as a great opportunity to see four exhibitions:
- William Leavitt “Photographs (1969-1982)”, “Narrative Art”, “Fictional Artists”, by Adrian Piper, Martha Rosler and Gordon Matta-Clark at MAMCO.
- Cully Spooner “Drag Drag Solo” at the Center d’Art Contemporain Geneva.
- “Literally and in all directions” at the Geneva Photography Center.
- “Proxy # 2”, Sarah Burger and Ceel Mogami de Haas at the WVF Media Library.
WHEN: Saturday 3rd February 2018 from 6pm-1am.
WHERE: MAMCO Genève, 10 rue des Vieux-Grenadiers, 1205 Genève.
COST: FREE entry.
MORE INFO: Click here.
TOP NOTCH FABRIC SALE AND BROCANTE
A fantastic opportunity to buy high end fabrics by the metre from Top Notch – with brands such as Colefax and Fowler, Zoffany, Rubelli, Pierre Frey, Manuel Canovas, Linwood, GP and J Baker, Chelsea Textiles, Turnell & Gigon and many more at only 30CHF per metre (these fabrics normally retail at between 120-450CHF per metre). Velvets, wools, linens, silks, cotton – perfect for making curtains, blinds, and cushions or for upholstering that shabby piece of furniture you’ve longed to renovate.
WHEN: Sunday 4th February 2018 from 10am-5pm & Monday 5th February 2018 from 9am-1pm.
WHERE: 26 chemin des Frênes, 1295 Tannay.
COST: FREE entry.
MORE INFO: Contact Sian Sibley sian.sibley@worldradio.ch for parking instructions/directions.
SUPER BOWL PARTY
The Super Bowl is the “THE MATCH” of American football and is not to be missed. This Sunday, join the Geneva Seahawks who are hosting a Super Bowl Party at the Hotel Ramada Encore.
See the two best teams of the season fighting for the ultimate title of Galaxy Champions on a giant screen and ALL YOU CAN EAT & DRINK in the company of football players from the Geneva Seahawks.
WHEN: Sunday 4th February 2018 from 11pm-5.30am.
WHERE: Hotel Ramada Encore, 10 route des Jeunes, 1227 Carouge.
COST: 80CHF adults.
MORE INFO AND BOOKING: Click here.
INTERNATIONAL COMEDY CLUB
The International Comedy Club launched in 2006 as ‘Funny Laundry’, and having introduced and established genuine stand up & alternative comedy club culture in Switzerland, in English, is now embarking on it’s 12th year of shows.
See their next hilarious show on Wednesday 7th February 2018. Loyiso Gola from South Africa is the co-creator and anchor of the late-night satirical news television series Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola, launched in 2010. In 2012 he was named one of Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans, in the Media & Film category. Men’s Health describes Gola as having “divisive mass appeal” due to the openly critical nature of his humour, and being “a genuine thinker masquerading as a fool and the reluctant voice of a cynical generation.
Tina T’Urner the Tea Lady from England winner of Best Newcomer Cabaret Award makes the best cup of tea in town.
Click here for further information.
CAFÉ VOISINS
Live music is back at Café Voisins, starting on Wednesday 7th February 2018! Starting in style with two artists from the Comoros Islands – Eliasse Archipelago and Oluren Fekre. Between his roots (Mgodro, Sambe, Bora …) and his multiple influences (Blues, Rock, Funk and Jazz), Eliasse offers a sublime mixture and defends his Za N’goma style. Click here. Meanwhile, the Franco Comorian artist Oluren Fekre will send you traveling with his pop folk compositions.
WHEN: Wednesday 7th February 2018.
WHERE: Café Voisins, 8 rue des Voisins, 1205 Genève.
COST: Entry free.
MORE INFO: Click here.
IMPROV. NIGHT WITH THE RENEGADE SAINTS
What better way to spend a dark winter’s evening than by telling a group of 9 people with very few inhibitions what to do?
No, this isn’t 50 Shades of Grey. It’s the Renegade Saints and it’s improv. They make funny stuff up based on your suggestions, while you direct the show from the comfort of your chair. Get down there – bring a friend – and prepare for some belly laughs.
WHERE: Mr Pickwick’s Pub, 80 rue de Lausanne, 1202 Genève.
ON-GOING EVENTS
THE ANTIGEL FESTIVAL
The annual Antigel Festival, running from the 26th January-17th February 2018 – now in its 8th year in Geneva – offers an interesting blend of music, sport, dance, culture, clubbing and creation for all ages. Their mission is to innovate and push boundaries and to get people who live in Geneva out of their state of hibernation and comfort zone during mid-winter to witness the exciting evolution of the canton.
To read more about what’s going on at the Antigel Festival click here.
BLACK MOVIE FESTIVAL
Intrigued by the Black Movie Festival, but a bit perplexed about what’s on offer?
We asked festival co-director Kate Reidy, to give us the lowdown and her suggestions for the Top 5 Movies not to miss at this year’s festival.
An international independent film festival in Geneva running from the 19th-28th January 2018 – which aims to ‘swim against the tide’ of conventional movie fare, celebrating emerging talents and established filmmakers from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
There is also a Black Movie for Kids section with 44 animated children’s movies.
WHERE: Cinema Grütli and other local cinemas.
WHEN: From the 19th to the 28th of January 2018.
HODLER, THE KING OF SELFIES
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the death of one of the best-known Swiss painters of the 19th century – Ferdinand Holder. You can help commemorate the death of the “King of Selfies” by downloading your own selfie to the website www.hodlerselfie.ch between 18th January to 18th February 2018, where thanks to a software program, a digital mosaic will be composed of these photos, reconstituting one of the many self-portraits of the famous Swiss artist. A large format version will also be on display on the museum’s facade on 1st March 2018, the official launch date to celebrate the year of Hodler.
To download the complete programme in English of events taking place in 2018/19 at the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, the Musée Rath, the Cabinet d’Arts Graphiques, the Maison Tavel as well as the Bibliothèque d’Art et d’Archéologie click here.
CHANGER LE MONDE
An exhibition by the visual communication department of the HEAD (Haute École d’Art et de Design) in Geneva entitled Change the World? This broad theme has been set by the teachers and each has proposed a particular angle of approach which the students in turn have interpreted with a no-holds barred attitude.
WHERE: Villa Dutoit, 5 chemin Gilbert-Trolliet, 1209 Genève.
WHEN: Until 4th February 2018, Wednesday to Sunday from 2pm-6pm.
COST: Free.
MORE INFO: Click here
AFRICAN CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION
This exhibition, called a crossroads of African cultural expression, is a wonderful opportunity to be open and enriched, thanks to the creators from Africa and the African diaspora.WHERE: Centre des Arts, Fondation de l’Ecole Internationale de Genève, 62 route de Chêne, 1208 Genève.
WHEN: Friday, Saturday and Sundays from 1pm-4.30pm until the end of March (weather permitting) from January 23rd to February 18th 2018 (opening January 23rd with music from African group Wuïwa).
COST: Free
MORE INFO: Click here
BEAU ET FROID PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION
Winter plays a major role in the imagination of Genevans. During the winter, the waters of Lake Geneva are sometimes projected by the winds on to the banks to the extent that they cover them with an ice mantle – the quays, the boats, the trees and the various other objects situated at the edge of the lake. The freezing spray then creates sumptuous ice sculptures with improbable shapes. Photographer Matthias Thomann captured this phenomenon of ‘chilling kisses’.
WHERE: Library of Geneva
WHEN: 15th January till 19th May 2018.
COST: FREE entrance.
MORE INFO: Click here.
UPCOMING EVENTS
JUST WRITE! WORKSHOP
Whether you’re a beginner, stuck in the middle of a project, or struggling to find the end, this workshop creates the space to get your writing out of you and onto the page.
Just Write! sessions show you how to access your best and most inspired creativity, move into creative flow and break out of old, left-brain mental frameworks and inspire you to express your creative genius. Each morning only session is guided by a different theme. Dates have been set for the 17th February, 17th March, 28th April and May 19th 2018 from 9.30am-12.30pm and cost 47CHF.
Click here for more information.
CONCERT BY BOMBAY JAYASHRI RAMNATH
In the intimate setting of the Théâtre les Salons on Saturday 10th February 2018, enjoy an evening of song with Bombay Jayashri, the award-winning vocalist, composer and teacher of Indian classical music, accompanied by percussion and the violin.
Known for having wrote and performed the song “Pi’s Lullaby” in the movie “Life of Pi”, she was nominated for “Best Original Song” at the 85th Academy Awards.
Tickets are 30CHF. For further information click here. Email here for ticket sales.
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF
NATIONAL THEATRE STREAMED LIVE
See Tennessee William’s 20th century masterpiece Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – for one night only streamed live from the National Theatre on Thursday 22nd February 2018.
On a steamy night in Mississippi, a Southern family gather at their cotton plantation to celebrate Big Daddy’s birthday. The scorching heat is almost as oppressive as the lies they tell. Brick and Maggie dance round the secrets and sexual tensions that threaten to destroy their marriage. With the future of the family at stake, which version of the truth is real – and which will win out?
Captured live on stage, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof will screen in cinemas around the World from 22nd February 2018.
WHERE: Pathé Balexert, 27 avenue Louis-Casai, 1211 Genève.
WHEN: Thursday 22nd February 2018.
COST: 30CHF (includes a glass of champagne).
MORE INFO/TICKET SALES: Click here.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Oscar Wilde’s brilliant satire comes to Geneva for 5 nights from 27th February until 3rd March 2018 at the Théâtre de l’Espérance.
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People… This iconic piece of English theatre is an effervescent, laugh out loud comedy of manners. With incisive wit and gentle disdain, Oscar Wilde affectionately satirises the intricate social customs and futile pretentions of the English aristocracy in his most celebrated play.
Upper class bachelors Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Worthing concoct false identities for social convenience as well as to win over their ladyloves, Gwendolen and Cecily. But they must also manage Gwendolen’s formidable and hilariously pompous mother, Lady Bracknell, and a host of characters who contribute wittingly or unwittingly to the deception.
Tickets go on sale on the 4th February 2018. You really don’t want to miss this hilarious show!
WHERE: Théâtre de l’Espérance, rue de la Chapelle 8, 1207 Genève.
WHEN: Tuesday 27th – Saturday 3rd March 2018.
COST: Adults 25CHF, Children (under 16) 20CHF.
MORE INFO: Click here.
THE RAILWAY CHILDREN
The Simply Theatre production of The Railway Children takes place from Friday 9th – Sunday 18th March 2018 and tells the story of Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis, three children whose lives change dramatically when their father is mysteriously taken away.
They move from London to a cottage in rural Yorkshire with their mother, where they befriend the local railway porter, Perks, and embark on a magical journey of discovery, friendship and adventure.
But the mystery remains – where is Father, and is he ever coming back?
WHERE: Simply Theatre Studio Theatre, avenue de Choiseul, Versoix.
WHEN: Friday 9th – Sunday 18th March 2018.
MORE INFO: Click here.
OPENING NIGHT GALA OF THE GIJFF 2018
The 8th Geneva International Jewish Film Festival kicks off with the Opening Night Gala on the 14th March 2018. Sponsored by Banque J. Safra Sarasin, a pre-screening reception will take place at the bank followed by the film Mr & Mrs Adelman at Pathé Rex. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with director Nicolas Bedos.Funny, stylish and touching tale of courting and married life in this comic drama bursting with charm from talented debut director Nicolas Bedos.
The young and intellectual Sarah falls madly for a promising young writer, Victor, son of a wealthy bourgeois family who, dissatisfied with his choice of career and girlfriend, proceed to cut them off without a penny. Narrated from the viewpoint of Sarah, the film charts this fascinating relationship across decades, with all its joyful and torturous twists and turns, taking a wry and often hilarious look at the pains and pleasure of love and marriage.
The full programme will be published on the 8th February 2018.
WHERE: Reception takes place at Banque J. Safra Sarasin, 4 rue de la Corraterie, 1204 Genève. Film takes place at Pathé Rex, 8 rue de la Confederation, 1204 Genève.
WHEN: Wednesday 14th March 2018. Reception starts at 7.15pm. Film starts at 8.30pm.
COST: Reception and Film – 65CHF or 40CHF (first three rows of cinema).
MORE INFO: Click here for their website. Click here for their Facebook page.
CARIBANA TICKETS
Tickets are now available for the 28th Caribana Festival that takes place from the 6th-10th June 2018.
Choose from Status Quo, Simple Minds, Passenger and The Script who will all be performing.
Click here for ticket sales.
NICKLEBACK AT GENEVA ARENA
Canadian rock band Nickelback embark on their impressive 23 city Feed the Machine European tour in 2018, and will be playing at the Arena in Geneva on Wednesday 13th June 2018. Tickets are be available now from Ticketcorner.
STING AT THE FESTIVAL GUITARE EN SCENE
Sting returns to the Festival Guitare en Scene in Saint-Julien-en-Genevois on Sunday 22nd July 2018 after his first stint at the festival back in 2015. Tickets are on sale now and exclusively on the festival website. Click here to see the Facebook page on the Festival. Click here for tickets.
