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English Arts: Intro

Intro

The best way to improve your English is to listen to the language being used in real situations by real people, and there are few better situations than contemporary UK and Anglophone Arts
Introduction: 
Filmed over the course of a day from the top of Cromwell Tower, one of three residential towers on the Barbican estate, Skydweller combines over 5,000 photographs in a stunning timelapse of the view across London.

Skydweller

Introduction: 
Painter and sculptor Maggi Hambling CBE sounds like a typical member of the arts establishment, but she has been a controversial figure for much of her professional life. Her public sculptures dedicated to Benjamin Britten and Oscar Wilde attracted as much criticism as praise, and here she talks about her beginnings as an artist and how she approaches the creative process.

Maggi Hambling

Introduction: 
Endurance Test: Pushing the Limits of Mind and Body

Johanna Under the Ice

Introduction: 
Lost Angeles-based filmmaker and dancer Jo Roy responds to Stephen Fry’s tongue-in-cheek rant on his aversion to dance

Stephen Fry Hates Dancing

Film

Film

From complete short films from up and coming directors and writers, to trailers for feature films: experience the magic of the cinema with The English Channel
Introduction: 
I Dream of Zombies - A young man prepares for an undead invasion. One morning, he wakes up to find his dreams have come true, with a hoard of the walking dead outside his house. Unable to contain his glee, he suits up and comes outside with an assortment of weapons to meet the zombies only to realise not everything is as it seems.

I Dream of Zombies

Creations

Creations

From painting to sculpture to innovative video installations, UK Arts have a lot to offer. Here's our curated pick of the best
Introduction: 
Skip Gallery have teamed up with renowned Young British Artist, Gavin Turk. Turk normally resides at Damien Hirst's Newport Street Gallery. However here his work is resigned to the lowly lows of a skip. Through his staple themes of authenticity and authorship, he has created a one-off work showcasing the tongue-in-cheek nature the Skip Gallery evokes.

Is Contemporary Art Rubbish?

Introduction: 
'Changes' is written and performed by spoken word artist Maria Ferguson, about her grandmother and her East London roots: the nostalgic east end! It was originally commissioned by Rich Mix in partnership with Apples and Snakes for Stepney Words III. The performance takes place at the old-fashioned outlet for classic Cockney favourites F Cook, in Hoxton.

World Poetry Day 'Changes'

Dance

Dance

From classic to contemporary - get moving with The English Channel
Introduction: 
Ella and Eric live an intense love story. A promise will make it last forever.

Dance with Me

Introduction: 
Lauren Cuthbertson, the London Royal Ballet's principal dancer, on her triumph over near-career ending injury and pain.

Portrait of a Dancer: Lauren Cuthbertson

Introduction: 
KDV Dance Ensemble by choreographer Kiani del Valle, featuring ten dancers in Berlin rehearsing her routine for Floating Points video “Nespole” and music from LANDO.

KDV Dance Ensemble

Introduction: 
Canvas is excited to announce a thrilling new collaboration between Frantic Assembly and film-maker Johnny Kenton.

Choke: When jealousy kills

Interview

Interview

Interesting conversations with interesting people, and of course, with lots of interesting language!
Documentary

Documentary

A look into the lives, projects and stories of others
Introduction: 
New York-based director Charlotte Rabate steps into the London test kitchen of renowned chef duo Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

Sharing Plates

Introduction: 
Georgia Haseldine and Pete Target are two members of the Amp Art Collective responsible for the creation of Project Refuge/e. The project transports a shelter from Lebanon made from a UNHCR 'new arrivals kit' and local materials into the Southbank Centre as part of MIA's Meltdown Festival. Inside the shelter, you are confronted by plaster and brass castings of possessions typically found in such dwellings, while all the time narration from other refugees tells the story of day-to-day living and displaced family life in the camps. The project has toured to Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Millennium Gallery Sheffield and Baltic in Gateshead.

Project Refuge/e

Introduction: 
London-based yoga instructor Felix Price shows inner strength and outward flexibility as he practices his craft to the extreme.

Extreme Yoga

Music

Music

The best of contemporary UK music from The English Channel
Introduction: 
Bluesy baritones with a twist of soul from Brighton-born Rory Graham as he performs a classic stripped back version of ‘Grace’, exclusive to SBTV from debut album 'Human'.

Rag 'n' Bone Man: Grace

Introduction: 
Live, one take, video of Younger's bootleg of Shape Of You ft Stormzy. Filmed at Battery Studios London. Crazy talent!

Shape of You ft Stormzy | #SBTV10

Introduction: 
Glasgow’s indie pop heroes Prides return this year with a new single, ‘Away With The Night’, and a new album later this year.

Are You Ready ?

Introduction: 
Leeds-based singer-songwriters Jamzy and Harris explore the challenges they've faced as young creatives growing up in an Asian community the only way they know how: through words and music.

Creative Honesty

Photography

Photography

Images can be powerful, beautiful, and haunting. Here The English Channel presents films, thoughts, and interviews about the art of photography
Introduction: 
When American photographer David LaChapelle took a break from the bustle of commercial photography in 2006, he believed he had given up shooting for good. Only later would the prolific creator return to the dark room, finding a new and attentive audience in the art world.

Photographers in Focus: David LaChapelle

Introduction: 
Photographer and Instagrammer Tobi Shinobi visits Martin Parr’s ‘Strange and Familiar’ exhibition at the Barbican which looks at foreign photographers’ depictions of England. Tobi took the opportunity to visit one London tower-block featured in the exhibition and see how much it has changed over the years.

Tobi Shinobi

Introduction: 
Oslo-based director Niels Windfeldt, part of Norwegian filmmaking collective Atlas and known for making ads and short films that dive deep into the extremes of the Norwegian landscape, talks about his film 'One Last Frame'

What Would Your Final Photo Be?

Introduction: 
Adwoa Aboah, an LA-based model, campaigner and founder of Gurls Talk - an Instagram initiative for young women to discuss wide-ranging issues - reflects on the pressures of public image in the digital age.

Performing for the Camera

Introduction: 
Arnaud Uyttenhove's short sees LA-born photographer and filmmaker Alex Prager tour her retro-styled studio at the time of her first solo museum show.

A Small Portrait of Alex Prager

Design

Design

Whether you are interested in interior design, landscaping, or architecture, The English Channel has got the best content on design to offer you
Introduction: 
Fusing functional design and family fun in the British architect’s London home

In Residence: Alex Michaelis

Introduction: 
Catalan architect, educator, and curator Eva Franch i Gilabert—who was recently elected the first woman, and youngest director of London’s Architectural Association—is the focus of the inaugural episode of our new series, Design Futures, in which we profile luminaries talking about the issues that face the constructed world for the generations ahead

Design Futures: Eva Franch i Gilabert

Introduction: 
Instagram-era poet Cleo Wade invites us into her New York apartment to talk about rug dealers, a James Baldwin candle, and the power of positive thinking.

My Place: Cleo Wade

Introduction: 
The FitzGeralds give a tour of the property their family has occupied for over 700 years.

Great Gardens: Glin Castle

Introduction: 
At home with Daniel Libeskind, the architect behind the new World Trade Center site and Berlin’s Jewish Museum, in his Tribeca loft apartment.

Daniel Libeskind

Ian

LGBT

Autobiographical stories, lifestyle, and arts from the LGBT community
Introduction: 
Random Acts has partnered with Tate to present six films in response to Queer British Art. These provide glimpses into LGBTQ lives through intimate portraits of six individuals. The films use differing styles of storytelling, with each queer filmmaker bringing their own creative approach.

Ian McKellen on growing up gay and coming out

Introduction: 
Directed by Stephen Isaac-Wilson, Day Dream features artist and founder of club night Body Party Kareem Reid. Filmed on the first weekend of spring, this short poetically explores issues of queer loneliness, male vulnerability, and platonic intimacy. Despite an improvement of the LGBT community’s rights and media representation over the years, queer people still disproportionately suffer from loneliness and social isolation.

Kareem Reid

Introduction: 
Filmmaker and NOWNESS’s creative director Bunny Kinney steps behind the camera in this candid portrait of queer love and radical couture, joining forces with Turkish-born, London-based designer Dilara Findikoglu who styles a bridal ceremony rife with gothic romance that rethinks the limitations of traditional love.

Die for Love

Introduction: 
What does it mean to be goth—to be an outsider, to live both on the margins and in the midst of society?

Anatomy of Goth

Introduction: 
From his adoptive home in Portugal’s sun-soaked capital city of Lisbon, American rapper, poet and activist Mykki Blanco—one of pop’s best contemporary auteurs—is feeling green fingered. Surrounded by a small jungle of indoor plants, the performer-turned-musician opens up to long-term NOWNESS director Barbara Anastacio about writing, love, and horticulture, and on the simple rituals and routines that make a house a home.

My Place: Mykki Blanco

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