7月にやるべき素晴らしいこと

Ana Mendieta at Tate Modern, London: 15 July, 2026 – 17 January, 2027

Ana Mendieta is the subject of a new exhibition arriving soon at Tate Modern – the first in-depth UK show of the trailblazing Cuban-born American artist’s work in over 10 years. Mendieta’s striking work across performance, land art, photography, sculpture and film asks probing questions about identity, displacement, the female experience and humanity’s connection to the earth. She was best known for her Silueta Series – exploring the presence and absence of the human body through natural materials – and various performances, documented in photographic sequences, showing her own face covered in “masculine” facial hair, for instance, or dripping with blood. All this and more will feature in the Tate show, including many works that have never been shown in the UK before.

Photography A–Z at the MEP, Paris: Until 13 September, 2026

Photography A-Z at Paris photography museum La MEP is guaranteed to delight seasoned photography fans or novices alike. Timed to mark the bicentenary of the medium’s invention, the show features a century-spanning array of images drawn from the prominent private collection of Neuflize OBC, placed in dialogue with works from the MEP’s own collection. Photographs are grouped by themes, each corresponding to a letter of the alphabet and a key tenet of photography (Museum, Simulacrum, Truth). Traversing the work of everyone from Martha Rosler, Robert Mapplethorpe and Malik Sidibé to Sophie Calle, Rineke Dijkstra and Nan Goldin, expect unexpected connections and photographic excellence in abundance.

Adrien Vescovi: Sleeping Like the Sun at Centre de la Vieille Charité, Marseille: Until 10 January, 2027

Taking a trip to Marseille in the coming months? We highly recommend a visit to the city’s museum and cultural centre, Centre de la Vieille Charité, where artist Adrien Vescovi has just unveiled a vast site-specific installation. The chapel and arcades of the 17th-century baroque building have been adorned with swathes of reclaimed antique linen in soft pastel hues, resulting in a true feast for the senses. Evoking the colours of the Provence landscape, the textiles billow in the breeze, creating kinetic shadows in the glare of the Marseille sun.

Alice Neel Beautifully Imperfect at Serralves Foundation, Porto: 16 July, 2026 – 17 January, 2027

For those in Porto this summer, a visit to the Serralves Foundation is in order for a new exhibition of works by the late, great American artist Alice Neel. Titled Beautifully Imperfect, the show is divided into the key themes that defined Neel’s singular mode of painting, from the intimacy she fostered with her sitters to her humanistic depictions of motherhood, ageing, and those deemed “outsiders” in 20th-century New York (queer performers, civil rights activists, labour leaders et al). The exhibit will seek to cement Neel’s reputation as a true radical in the realms of portraiture, both during her lifetime and today, 42 years after her death.

Zach Toppin: Still Beginning at Miłość Gallery, London: 3 July – 8 August, 2026

At Miłość Gallery, be sure to catch the first solo show from ascendent British artist Zach Toppin. Titled Still Beginning, the display consists of a new series of still lifes archiving “the personal lives of 12 of Toppin’s trans masc community members: JJ, Libro, Romeo, Wet Mess, Kae, Sabah, Helios, Yasser, Baby, Osian, Marlo and himself.” Each work depicts a collection of precious objects – shoes, books, jewellery, grooming products – representative of the shaping and grounding of their owner’s identity and individuality. Wonderfully stylised in form, colour and deeply symbolic in substance, these are portraits of the spirit rather than the body.

Yves Saint Laurent and Photography at the ICP, New York: Until September 28, 2026

At ICP in New York, don’t miss your chance to see some of fashion’s most celebrated imagery in Yves Saint Laurent and Photography, an exhibition exploring the couturier’s “enduring dialogue with the camera”. Showcasing almost 300 photographs and archival objects, the show features works by Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz, Andy Warhol and more, alongside magazines, campaign material and contact sheets. Together, they reveal how photography shaped not only the image and allure of Saint Laurent’s designs, but also the mythology surrounding the man himself.

James Turrell, Skyspace at ARoS, Aarhus: Ongoing

James Turrell is back with another awe-inspiring light installation – his most ambitious Skyspace to date at ARoS museum in Aarhus, Denmark. Turrell’s Skyspaces are contemplative, site-specific works centred around a carefully framed opening to the sky. This latest work, titled As Seen Below, unfolds in three distinct modes. Open Sky invites visitors to observe the sky as a pure, ever-varying field of colour in its own right. In Colour Shifts, the sky opening is closed, while concealed lighting transforms the colour of the surrounding walls to magical effect. Finally, Twilight uses the same hidden lights to alter the colour of the space as the sun sets, creating the illusion that the sky itself is changing colour. 

Aleksandra Kasuba: Shelters for the Senses at Tate St Ives: Until 4 October, 2026

If you’re Cornwall-bound any time soon, head for Tate St Ives, which is hosting the first UK museum exhibition dedicated to Lithuanian-American artist Aleksandra Kasuba. Determined to imagine alternative ways of living that fostered a deeper connection between humans and nature, Kasuba worked across painting, mosaics, sculpture, public art and immersive spatial environments. This retrospective traces her radically experimental career across all mediums. At its heart is Spectrum, An Afterthought, one of Kasuba’s most important spatial environments, crafted from tensile fabrics and free from right angles in her signature style. Accompanied by sounds of cosmic wind arranged by composer Paulius Kilbauskas, and dedicated scents by perfumer Danutė Pajaujis Anonis, it makes a strong case for Kasuba’s utopian vision. 

Foam Talent at Foam Amsterdam: Until 26 August, 2026

In Amsterdam, Foam Talent returns with its 2026 edition, foregrounding a new wave of image-makers shaping contemporary photography. This year’s selection brings together 15 artists chosen from nearly 3,000 submissions by photographers around the globe. Key among them is Palestinian-American artist Adam Rouhana, whose compelling imagery engages with themes of memory, representation and the ethics of seeing in relation to Palestine, and Peruvian artist Paola Jiménez Quispe, whose stirring work is grounded in the belief that individual stories offer a powerful encapsulation of universal struggles. Another standout is Southeast Asian artist Alvin Ng, who meticulously manipulates and re-photographs his prints to create entrancing visions in which antiquity and modernity intertwine.

Japanese Women Photographers: From 1950s to Now at the Photographers’ Gallery, London: Until 27 September, 2026

The Photographers’ Gallery’s latest exhibition, Japanese Women Photographers: From 1950s to Now, offers a fresh perspective on the history of Japanese photography, bringing together the work of 27 women image-makers who have helped inform both how Japan sees itself and how it is seen by the world. Organised thematically, the exhibition examines everyday life, identity and gender, social change, and the evolution of the photographic medium itself through the voices and lens of its featured artists. Hard-to-pick highlights include Toyoko Tokiwa’s striking images of post-war Yokohama’s red-light district and Yurie Nagashima’s intimate self-portraits, which challenge conventional ideas of femininity and self-representation.

Michael James Fox: Please Dispose at Perfect Lives, London: 1-28 July, 2026

Michael James Fox is the subject of a new solo exhibition at south London store, Perfect Lives. There, viewers will encounter the Colombian-born, London-based artist’s mesmeric odes to discarded materials – from plastic bags to PVC piping – which he transforms into richly layered, luminous images through an intricate process of soaking, peeling, scraping and transferring. Hovering between painting and photography, the works are poignant meditations on memory, time and decay that reveal unexpected beauty in fragments and surfaces that might otherwise be overlooked.

Alighiero Boetti at Dia Beacon, New York: Ongoing

A new exhibition at Dia Beacon in upstate New York surveys the work of Alighiero Boetti, using works from Dia’s permanent collection as well key loans to trace the evolution of the late Italian conceptual artist’s influential practice. Debuting in Turin in 1967, Boetti’s early works reflect the material language of postwar Italian industry, from sculptures made from stacked industrial units to monochrome paintings that state the trademarked name of the factory colour used. By the 1970s, Boetti had shifted toward collaborative textile works made in Afghanistan – tapestries that probe linguistic and numerical systems, as well as the mapping of topographies and national narratives, exposing their internal dissonances. “Boetti’s work asks, ‘What is the role of the artist during periods of heightened societal change and geopolitical violence?’” says the show’s curator, Matilde Guidelli-Guidi, encapsulating the timely nature of this long-term display.

This month’s most anticipated live performances include a new revival of Sarah Kane’s Cleansed at the Almeida, running 21 July–29 August. Directed by Rebecca Frecknall, the play is set in an institutional complex where society’s “undesirables” are subjected to extreme violence in experiments that test the limits of love, identity and survival. At the Bridge Theatre from 3 July–19 September, Australian writer and director Simon Stone will take on one of the theatre’s great foundational texts, The Ortesia, reimagining the play from the point of view of a contemporary family who awaken in the Greek myth and struggle to prevent their hellish destiny from unfolding. Don’t miss the European premiere of Archduke at the Royal Court from 3-25 July. Penned by Pulitzer-Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph and directed by Lyndsey Turner, it reimagines the events leading up to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand with pitch-black humour.

A brilliant new staging of Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece I puritani, reimagined by Richard Jones, has just opened at the Royal Opera House, where it runs until 19 July. The emotionally resonant story of a couple’s love put to the test, it stars Lisette Oropesa as devoted heroine, Elvira – a Puritan maiden – and Francesco Demuro as Arturo, her courageous Royalist lover. Aesop’s Queer Library returns in the brand’s Soho and Spitalfields stores from 3–5 July, and in its Brighton outpost from 31 July–2 August. An annual partnership with Penguin Random House, the thoughtful initiative invites shoppers to take home a book from among a diverse range of titles by queer authors – no purchase required. 

Dance aficionados, take note. This month, Tate Modern will present American dancer and choreographer Yvonne Rainer’s revolutionary work Trio A in honour of its 60th anniverary. Challenging traditional ideas of dance, the piece is made up of a steady sequence of gestures, like toe-tapping, folding or rolling, performed by dancers who deliberately refuse to make eye contact with the audience. Visitors can experience the continuously staged work for free between 2pm and 8pm on 10 and 11 July. 

From bold new offerings to restored favourites, this month’s film releases cater to all tastes. Olivia Wilde is back in the director’s chair with The Invite, which sees a long-married San Francisco couple host a dinner party with their enigmatic upstairs neighbours, setting a riotous night full of twists and turns in motion. In On the Sea, the compelling new drama from British writer-director Helen Walsh, a married, middle-aged mussel farmer on the North Welsh coast finds his life thrown into disarray when he falls for a brooding, younger deckhand. Directed by newcomer Imran Perretta and co-written with Enda Walsh, Ish is the tenderly told story of two young friends growing up in Luton whose relationship comes under strain in the wake of a racially profiled police stop-and-search.

Two inimitable classics have undergone restoration and are set for rerelease this month: Martin Scorsese’s 1976 noir, Taxi Driver, starring Robert Deniro as the titular protagonist – a disturbed veteran on a mission to rescue an underage sex worker from her pimp; and Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1983 drama Nostalghia, a poetic exploration of spiritual exile and longing, centred on a Russian poet travelling through Italy. While July’s best documentaries include Birds Of War by Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak, which traces the unfolding love story between the Lebanese journalist and Syrian activist over the course of 13 years “through text messages, voice notes and footage from the front lines”. In Shoot the People, BAFTA-winning filmmaker Andy Mundy-Castle follows photographer and activist Misan Harriman on a journey across Britain, the US and South Africa, examining the power of protest movements and the role of photography in driving social change. While Ivy Meeropol’s latest film, Ask E Jean, paints a captivating portrait of E Jean Carroll, tracking her journey from Miss Cheerleader USA to pioneering journalist who twice defeated Donald Trump in court.

There are plenty of new openings and tempting one-off events to keep your tastebuds tantalised this month. On 13 July, a new Japanese-inspired counter-dining restaurant, Miokuru, will open in Soho, combining the best seasonal British seafood with refined Japanese culinary techniques. Guests will be invited to sample everything from pressed scallops to seared chalkstream trout sashimi served with seasonal house pickles. Not to mention a selection of made-to-order handrolls, including cornish white crab with wild garlic mayo and dry-aged beef tartare with wasabi mustard and herbs.

Opening above The Globe Tavern in Borough Market on 16 July, a new year-long residency, Kismet, will offer “a contemporary take on the traditional meyhanes of Istanbul and Northern Cyprus”. Helmed by chef Keiran Mustafa, the restaurant’s kitchen will deliver an array of meze and mangal-grilled kebabs, available à la carte or as a set menu. Think: atom (buffalo milk yoghurt with chilli butter) or bulgur köftesi (fried, stuffed bulgur wheat dumplings), followed by şeftali kebabı (a Cypriot minced lamb and beef kebab wrapped in caul fat), served with fried Cyprus potatoes and other such mouthwatering side dishes.

The Terrace at Rosewood London is now open for the summer months, where diners at the Holborn hotel can enjoy signature pizzas from beloved London pizzeria Dinner for One Hundred in a lush, secluded courtyard. Accompany your slice with a drink from the Rosewood’s refreshing cocktail menu. The St Germain spritz or the frozen espresso martini are particularly good.

Moro’s exciting Alumni Series continues with another Sunday Lunch Club event, this time whipped up by Ollie Templeton (now of Carousel and Cometa fame) on 12 July. Bringing the coastal Mexican flavours of Cometa with him on his return to the Moro kitchen, Templeton will be serving oysters with rasurado and petrolio; scallop ceviche; tomato tostada with elderberry guajillo; wood-fire roasted cuttlefish with salt baked potato and yellow miso mole, and more. Book your tickets here. 

On 20 July two Michelin-starred chef and acclaimed restaurateur Tom Sellers will open his first restaurant outside London – in St Ives. Dubbed MOR (stemming from the Cornish word for sea), and overlooking the white sands of Carbis Bay, it promises to deliver “an unforgettable dining experience at the point where land and sea meet”. The menu will change according to availability and seasonality, with guests encouraged to select their own fish from the raw counter, but early offerings are set to include such delicacies as Cornish bream with Mora Farm radish, sweet onion and chive, and an octopus and shiitake skewer, with jasmine rice soft serve with English wasabi and cherry heading up the delicious-sounding desserts. 

Last but not least, Japanese restaurant MOI in Soho will mark its first birthday with a week-long residency from Chef Honda of revered Tokyo restaurant Honda, running from 14–20 July. Famed for his fermentation-led cuisine, at MOI Honda will be conjuring a specially designed series of dishes including tuna and lacto-fermented white asparagus tartare, grilled corn with black garlic butter, and grilled green tea soba with clam sauce, alongside a selection of his signature plates served exactly as they are in Japan. Itadakimasu!

Ana Mendieta at Tate Modern, London: 15 July, 2026 – 17 January, 2027

Ana Mendieta is the subject of a new exhibition arriving soon at Tate Modern – the first in-depth UK show of the trailblazing Cuban-born American artist’s work in over 10 years. Mendieta’s striking work across performance, land art, photography, sculpture and film asks probing questions about identity, displacement, the female experience and humanity’s connection to the earth. She was best known for her Silueta Series – exploring the presence and absence of the human body through natural materials – and various performances, documented in photographic sequences, showing her own face covered in “masculine” facial hair, for instance, or dripping with blood. All this and more will feature in the Tate show, including many works that have never been shown in the UK before.

Photography A–Z at the MEP, Paris: Until 13 September, 2026

Photography A-Z at Paris photography museum La MEP is guaranteed to delight seasoned photography fans or novices alike. Timed to mark the bicentenary of the medium’s invention, the show features a century-spanning array of images drawn from the prominent private collection of Neuflize OBC, placed in dialogue with works from the MEP’s own collection. Photographs are grouped by themes, each corresponding to a letter of the alphabet and a key tenet of photography (Museum, Simulacrum, Truth). Traversing the work of everyone from Martha Rosler, Robert Mapplethorpe and Malik Sidibé to Sophie Calle, Rineke Dijkstra and Nan Goldin, expect unexpected connections and photographic excellence in abundance.

Adrien Vescovi: Sleeping Like the Sun at Centre de la Vieille Charité, Marseille: Until 10 January, 2027

Taking a trip to Marseille in the coming months? We highly recommend a visit to the city’s museum and cultural centre, Centre de la Vieille Charité, where artist Adrien Vescovi has just unveiled a vast site-specific installation. The chapel and arcades of the 17th-century baroque building have been adorned with swathes of reclaimed antique linen in soft pastel hues, resulting in a true feast for the senses. Evoking the colours of the Provence landscape, the textiles billow in the breeze, creating kinetic shadows in the glare of the Marseille sun.

Alice Neel Beautifully Imperfect at Serralves Foundation, Porto: 16 July, 2026 – 17 January, 2027

For those in Porto this summer, a visit to the Serralves Foundation is in order for a new exhibition of works by the late, great American artist Alice Neel. Titled Beautifully Imperfect, the show is divided into the key themes that defined Neel’s singular mode of painting, from the intimacy she fostered with her sitters to her humanistic depictions of motherhood, ageing, and those deemed “outsiders” in 20th-century New York (queer performers, civil rights activists, labour leaders et al). The exhibit will seek to cement Neel’s reputation as a true radical in the realms of portraiture, both during her lifetime and today, 42 years after her death.

Zach Toppin: Still Beginning at Miłość Gallery, London: 3 July – 8 August, 2026

At Miłość Gallery, be sure to catch the first solo show from ascendent British artist Zach Toppin. Titled Still Beginning, the display consists of a new series of still lifes archiving “the personal lives of 12 of Toppin’s trans masc community members: JJ, Libro, Romeo, Wet Mess, Kae, Sabah, Helios, Yasser, Baby, Osian, Marlo and himself.” Each work depicts a collection of precious objects – shoes, books, jewellery, grooming products – representative of the shaping and grounding of their owner’s identity and individuality. Wonderfully stylised in form, colour and deeply symbolic in substance, these are portraits of the spirit rather than the body.

Yves Saint Laurent and Photography at the ICP, New York: Until September 28, 2026

At ICP in New York, don’t miss your chance to see some of fashion’s most celebrated imagery in Yves Saint Laurent and Photography, an exhibition exploring the couturier’s “enduring dialogue with the camera”. Showcasing almost 300 photographs and archival objects, the show features works by Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz, Andy Warhol and more, alongside magazines, campaign material and contact sheets. Together, they reveal how photography shaped not only the image and allure of Saint Laurent’s designs, but also the mythology surrounding the man himself.

James Turrell, Skyspace at ARoS, Aarhus: Ongoing

James Turrell is back with another awe-inspiring light installation – his most ambitious Skyspace to date at ARoS museum in Aarhus, Denmark. Turrell’s Skyspaces are contemplative, site-specific works centred around a carefully framed opening to the sky. This latest work, titled As Seen Below, unfolds in three distinct modes. Open Sky invites visitors to observe the sky as a pure, ever-varying field of colour in its own right. In Colour Shifts, the sky opening is closed, while concealed lighting transforms the colour of the surrounding walls to magical effect. Finally, Twilight uses the same hidden lights to alter the colour of the space as the sun sets, creating the illusion that the sky itself is changing colour. 

Aleksandra Kasuba: Shelters for the Senses at Tate St Ives: Until 4 October, 2026

If you’re Cornwall-bound any time soon, head for Tate St Ives, which is hosting the first UK museum exhibition dedicated to Lithuanian-American artist Aleksandra Kasuba. Determined to imagine alternative ways of living that fostered a deeper connection between humans and nature, Kasuba worked across painting, mosaics, sculpture, public art and immersive spatial environments. This retrospective traces her radically experimental career across all mediums. At its heart is Spectrum, An Afterthought, one of Kasuba’s most important spatial environments, crafted from tensile fabrics and free from right angles in her signature style. Accompanied by sounds of cosmic wind arranged by composer Paulius Kilbauskas, and dedicated scents by perfumer Danutė Pajaujis Anonis, it makes a strong case for Kasuba’s utopian vision. 

Foam Talent at Foam Amsterdam: Until 26 August, 2026

In Amsterdam, Foam Talent returns with its 2026 edition, foregrounding a new wave of image-makers shaping contemporary photography. This year’s selection brings together 15 artists chosen from nearly 3,000 submissions by photographers around the globe. Key among them is Palestinian-American artist Adam Rouhana, whose compelling imagery engages with themes of memory, representation and the ethics of seeing in relation to Palestine, and Peruvian artist Paola Jiménez Quispe, whose stirring work is grounded in the belief that individual stories offer a powerful encapsulation of universal struggles. Another standout is Southeast Asian artist Alvin Ng, who meticulously manipulates and re-photographs his prints to create entrancing visions in which antiquity and modernity intertwine.

Japanese Women Photographers: From 1950s to Now at the Photographers’ Gallery, London: Until 27 September, 2026

The Photographers’ Gallery’s latest exhibition, Japanese Women Photographers: From 1950s to Now, offers a fresh perspective on the history of Japanese photography, bringing together the work of 27 women image-makers who have helped inform both how Japan sees itself and how it is seen by the world. Organised thematically, the exhibition examines everyday life, identity and gender, social change, and the evolution of the photographic medium itself through the voices and lens of its featured artists. Hard-to-pick highlights include Toyoko Tokiwa’s striking images of post-war Yokohama’s red-light district and Yurie Nagashima’s intimate self-portraits, which challenge conventional ideas of femininity and self-representation.

Michael James Fox: Please Dispose at Perfect Lives, London: 1-28 July, 2026

Michael James Fox is the subject of a new solo exhibition at south London store, Perfect Lives. There, viewers will encounter the Colombian-born, London-based artist’s mesmeric odes to discarded materials – from plastic bags to PVC piping – which he transforms into richly layered, luminous images through an intricate process of soaking, peeling, scraping and transferring. Hovering between painting and photography, the works are poignant meditations on memory, time and decay that reveal unexpected beauty in fragments and surfaces that might otherwise be overlooked.

Alighiero Boetti at Dia Beacon, New York: Ongoing

A new exhibition at Dia Beacon in upstate New York surveys the work of Alighiero Boetti, using works from Dia’s permanent collection as well key loans to trace the evolution of the late Italian conceptual artist’s influential practice. Debuting in Turin in 1967, Boetti’s early works reflect the material language of postwar Italian industry, from sculptures made from stacked industrial units to monochrome paintings that state the trademarked name of the factory colour used. By the 1970s, Boetti had shifted toward collaborative textile works made in Afghanistan – tapestries that probe linguistic and numerical systems, as well as the mapping of topographies and national narratives, exposing their internal dissonances. “Boetti’s work asks, ‘What is the role of the artist during periods of heightened societal change and geopolitical violence?’” says the show’s curator, Matilde Guidelli-Guidi, encapsulating the timely nature of this long-term display.

This month’s most anticipated live performances include a new revival of Sarah Kane’s Cleansed at the Almeida, running 21 July–29 August. Directed by Rebecca Frecknall, the play is set in an institutional complex where society’s “undesirables” are subjected to extreme violence in experiments that test the limits of love, identity and survival. At the Bridge Theatre from 3 July–19 September, Australian writer and director Simon Stone will take on one of the theatre’s great foundational texts, The Ortesia, reimagining the play from the point of view of a contemporary family who awaken in the Greek myth and struggle to prevent their hellish destiny from unfolding. Don’t miss the European premiere of Archduke at the Royal Court from 3-25 July. Penned by Pulitzer-Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph and directed by Lyndsey Turner, it reimagines the events leading up to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand with pitch-black humour.

A brilliant new staging of Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece I puritani, reimagined by Richard Jones, has just opened at the Royal Opera House, where it runs until 19 July. The emotionally resonant story of a couple’s love put to the test, it stars Lisette Oropesa as devoted heroine, Elvira – a Puritan maiden – and Francesco Demuro as Arturo, her courageous Royalist lover. Aesop’s Queer Library returns in the brand’s Soho and Spitalfields stores from 3–5 July, and in its Brighton outpost from 31 July–2 August. An annual partnership with Penguin Random House, the thoughtful initiative invites shoppers to take home a book from among a diverse range of titles by queer authors – no purchase required. 

Dance aficionados, take note. This month, Tate Modern will present American dancer and choreographer Yvonne Rainer’s revolutionary work Trio A in honour of its 60th anniverary. Challenging traditional ideas of dance, the piece is made up of a steady sequence of gestures, like toe-tapping, folding or rolling, performed by dancers who deliberately refuse to make eye contact with the audience. Visitors can experience the continuously staged work for free between 2pm and 8pm on 10 and 11 July. 

From bold new offerings to restored favourites, this month’s film releases cater to all tastes. Olivia Wilde is back in the director’s chair with The Invite, which sees a long-married San Francisco couple host a dinner party with their enigmatic upstairs neighbours, setting a riotous night full of twists and turns in motion. In On the Sea, the compelling new drama from British writer-director Helen Walsh, a married, middle-aged mussel farmer on the North Welsh coast finds his life thrown into disarray when he falls for a brooding, younger deckhand. Directed by newcomer Imran Perretta and co-written with Enda Walsh, Ish is the tenderly told story of two young friends growing up in Luton whose relationship comes under strain in the wake of a racially profiled police stop-and-search.

Two inimitable classics have undergone restoration and are set for rerelease this month: Martin Scorsese’s 1976 noir, Taxi Driver, starring Robert Deniro as the titular protagonist – a disturbed veteran on a mission to rescue an underage sex worker from her pimp; and Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1983 drama Nostalghia, a poetic exploration of spiritual exile and longing, centred on a Russian poet travelling through Italy. While July’s best documentaries include Birds Of War by Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak, which traces the unfolding love story between the Lebanese journalist and Syrian activist over the course of 13 years “through text messages, voice notes and footage from the front lines”. In Shoot the People, BAFTA-winning filmmaker Andy Mundy-Castle follows photographer and activist Misan Harriman on a journey across Britain, the US and South Africa, examining the power of protest movements and the role of photography in driving social change. While Ivy Meeropol’s latest film, Ask E Jean, paints a captivating portrait of E Jean Carroll, tracking her journey from Miss Cheerleader USA to pioneering journalist who twice defeated Donald Trump in court.

There are plenty of new openings and tempting one-off events to keep your tastebuds tantalised this month. On 13 July, a new Japanese-inspired counter-dining restaurant, Miokuru, will open in Soho, combining the best seasonal British seafood with refined Japanese culinary techniques. Guests will be invited to sample everything from pressed scallops to seared chalkstream trout sashimi served with seasonal house pickles. Not to mention a selection of made-to-order handrolls, including cornish white crab with wild garlic mayo and dry-aged beef tartare with wasabi mustard and herbs.

Opening above The Globe Tavern in Borough Market on 16 July, a new year-long residency, Kismet, will offer “a contemporary take on the traditional meyhanes of Istanbul and Northern Cyprus”. Helmed by chef Keiran Mustafa, the restaurant’s kitchen will deliver an array of meze and mangal-grilled kebabs, available à la carte or as a set menu. Think: atom (buffalo milk yoghurt with chilli butter) or bulgur köftesi (fried, stuffed bulgur wheat dumplings), followed by şeftali kebabı (a Cypriot minced lamb and beef kebab wrapped in caul fat), served with fried Cyprus potatoes and other such mouthwatering side dishes.

The Terrace at Rosewood London is now open for the summer months, where diners at the Holborn hotel can enjoy signature pizzas from beloved London pizzeria Dinner for One Hundred in a lush, secluded courtyard. Accompany your slice with a drink from the Rosewood’s refreshing cocktail menu. The St Germain spritz or the frozen espresso martini are particularly good.

Moro’s exciting Alumni Series continues with another Sunday Lunch Club event, this time whipped up by Ollie Templeton (now of Carousel and Cometa fame) on 12 July. Bringing the coastal Mexican flavours of Cometa with him on his return to the Moro kitchen, Templeton will be serving oysters with rasurado and petrolio; scallop ceviche; tomato tostada with elderberry guajillo; wood-fire roasted cuttlefish with salt baked potato and yellow miso mole, and more. Book your tickets here. 

On 20 July two Michelin-starred chef and acclaimed restaurateur Tom Sellers will open his first restaurant outside London – in St Ives. Dubbed MOR (stemming from the Cornish word for sea), and overlooking the white sands of Carbis Bay, it promises to deliver “an unforgettable dining experience at the point where land and sea meet”. The menu will change according to availability and seasonality, with guests encouraged to select their own fish from the raw counter, but early offerings are set to include such delicacies as Cornish bream with Mora Farm radish, sweet onion and chive, and an octopus and shiitake skewer, with jasmine rice soft serve with English wasabi and cherry heading up the delicious-sounding desserts. 

Last but not least, Japanese restaurant MOI in Soho will mark its first birthday with a week-long residency from Chef Honda of revered Tokyo restaurant Honda, running from 14–20 July. Famed for his fermentation-led cuisine, at MOI Honda will be conjuring a specially designed series of dishes including tuna and lacto-fermented white asparagus tartare, grilled corn with black garlic butter, and grilled green tea soba with clam sauce, alongside a selection of his signature plates served exactly as they are in Japan. Itadakimasu!