March has arrived as the short month of February came and went. With the arrival of the new month marks a bevy of new experiences to explore.
There is just so much to see and do this month with exhibitions and events taking place in places like Paris to Canada, you are simply spoilt for choice. So without wasting any more time here are four of our top experiences to go to this month.
CHRISTO AND JEANNE-CLAUDE EXHIBITION
18 MARCH-15 JUNE / CENTRE POMPIDOU, PARIS
A pursuer of grand ideas and grander execution both Christo and his late wife, Jeanne-Claude, will be showcasing their life’s work for the first time ever at Centre Pompidou. As one of the most famed contemporary artists of our time, the husband and wife duo kickstarted their career with the Sydney Wrapped Coast project back in the 1960s where they covered a million square feet of the Sydney coastline in huge swaths of fabric. Since then the duos decorated portfolio has grown to include other environmental-centric projects such as wrapping the Central Park Gates of New York in 2005, the London Mastaba installation at Hyde Park and the famous Pont-Neuf wrapping in 1985. The exhibition to be held in Paris is split into two parts, the first part acting as a display for the 80 works of art created between 1958 and 1964 when both Christo and Jeanne-Claude met and moved to New York together and the second part acting like a documentary leading up to the famous Pont-Neuf Wrapping. Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s next project is wrapping the Arc de Triomphe which will be taking place in April, a month post-exhibition.
2020 FALLES
15 MARCH-19 MARCH / VALENCIA, SPAIN
Setting ablaze the past in celebration for the future, the festival of Falles celebrated in Valencia, Spain, follows the age-old carpenter’s tradition of burning pieces of wood used to hang their candles, known as parots , to celebrate the upcoming Summer Equinox. A once simple tradition has since blown up into a UNESCO recognised event, with groups of people within the Valencian community creating beautiful monuments made from wood, known as falla , which is lined with firecrackers for the eventual combustion for the festival. The fallas are paraded around town, prior to the festival, and based on the theme of the Falles for the year, have produced icons such as Lady Gaga, Barack Obama and George W. Bush fallas. The festival is presented as a street party with historic, religious and comedic elements to it where organised fireworks, flower offerings to the Virgin Mary and jovial street dancing in traditional wear come into play. Concluding Falles with a massive bonfire of aggrandised proportions throwing out the old has never been more symbolic than in Valencia for Falles.
ARCTIC WINTER GAMES 2020
15 MARCH-21 MARCH / WHITEHORSE, CANADA
A fantastic year for sports fans with the Tokyo Olympics in July and the 17th FIFA World Cup in December, one cannot forget the battle of the North with the Arctic Winter Games 2020. Taking place in Canada, the Arctic Winter Games is the world’s largest multisport and cultural event created for Arctic countries to compete against one another in the twenty-one sport disciplines offered. Over 2,000 athletes from nine teams across Alaska, Greenland, Northern Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nuvanik Québec, Nunavut, Sápmi, Yamal-Nenets and Yukon will be competing in an array of sports such as Alpine skiing to ice hockey and wrestling to primitive biathlon, all in the name of the Hodgson Trophy presented by the Arctic Winter Games International Committee.
2020 SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST
13 MARCH-22 MARCH / AUSTIN, TEXAS
An annual meeting of great minds and greater talent, South by Southwest that once began as a music festival from the 1980s has since developed into a multi-faceted festival featuring a confluence of interactive media, music, comedy and film festivals as well as conferences and exhibitions. Having grown to become one of the highest revenue-producing events outside of sporting tournaments, South by Southwest welcomed 280,000 attendees into their midst in 2019 and even held the 2020 Presidential race with Democratic presidential candidates. With an everchanging and invigorating lineup, festival attendees can look forward to featured speakers such as M. Night Shyamalan and Bob Odenkirk, a dizzyingly new line up of international musical talents such as Odunsi from Nigeria and Japanese group, Hazy Sour Cherry, as well as a plethora of exhibitions, trades and new movie releases from Hollywood and beyond. Ideal for the man with a diverse media appetite, South by Southwest is the place to be.
