With the first month of the year behind us, we balance reflections with resolutions for the months ahead. Discover five events to inspire, from a landmark exhibition of a modern Welsh artist to a small-town literature festival spotlighting international writers.
Shahana Rajani: Lines That World a River لکیروں سے دریا تھامنا at Nottingham Contemporary
The first solo exhibition of Shahana Rajani's work in Europe will take place at Nottingham Contemporary, mapping the artist's exploration of drawing as a sacred, communal practice through which coastal communities in Pakistan sustain connections to nature amid climate emergence. Drawing on Islamic talismanic traditions, the exhibition reframes mark-making as ritual, protection, and survival in the face of environmental loss.
Shahana Rajani: Lines That World a River لکیروں سے دریا تھامنا is on at Nottingham Contemporary until 14 Feb.
Glasgow Film Festival
Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) is one of the UK's leading film events, with its inclusive programming drawing approximately 40,000 attendees annually. Each edition presents hundreds of films from around the world, welcoming audiences and filmmakers for a citywide celebration of cinema. For its 22nd year, GFF will spotlight Swedish cinema, featuring a hand-picked selection of premieres with a focus on female-led storytelling, spearheaded by Fanny Ovesen's upcoming drama Live a Little.
The Glasgow Film Festival is on from 25 Feb until 8 March.
Gwen John: Strange Beauties at National Museum Cardiff
This month marks the opening of a major retrospective of the work of Gwen John, a now-celebrated Welsh artist whose expressive paintings were largely overlooked in her lifetime. More than 200 paintings, drawings, watercolours, sketchbooks, letters, and archival material will be displayed in this expansive display, charting John's pioneering use of colour and the influences which shaped her oeuvre.
Gwen John: Strange Beauties is on at National Museum Cardiff from 7 February until 28 June.
Takesada Matsutani: Shifting Boundaries at Hauser and Wirth
Osaka-born artist Takesada Matsutani presents his first London exhibition in over a decade, marking 60 years of living and working in Paris. Matsutani is known for his manipulation of both traditional and unconventional materials, including acrylic, oil paint, vinyl glue, and cotton. Spanning historic and recent works, this show coincides with a parallel exhibition of Tetsumi Kudo, a fellow artist who relocated from Japan to Paris in the 1960s.
Takesada Matsutani: Shifting Boundaries is on at Hauser and Wirth from 5 Feb until 11 April.
Faversham Literary Festival
An annual event since 2018, Faversham Literary Festival brings together established and emerging authors for a programme of talks and workshops. Past participants have included Maggie O'Farrell, Simon Armitage, Deborah Levy and Lionel Shriver. For 2026, Booker Prize shortlisted novelist Andrew Miller and classicist Natalie Haynes are among the visiting writers. Taking place over a week, this year’s programme reflects the diversity of the modern literary landscape, with input from comedians, chefs, songwriters, and podcast hosts.
The Faversham Literary Festival is on from 20 Feb until 1 March.
Image 1: Four Acts of Recovery, Shahana Rajani. Courtesy of Nottingham Contemporary.
Image 2: Still from Redoubt, directed by John Skoog. Courtesy of Glasgow Film Festival.
Image 3: Study of a Girl, Gwen John. By permission of Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales.
Image 4: St Thérèse of Lisieux and her Sister, Gwen John. By permission of Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales.
Image 5: The Magic Box, Takesada Matsutani, 1988. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth.
Image 6: Jackie Kay at Faversham Literary Festival 2025. Photography by Phil Weedon.
Add a comment