Southbank Centre our culture fix
Peek at our exhibition and savour the best of the week in culture.
Serial success
Today’s Stockhausen’s birthday, so we’re honouring the composer known for his visionary electronic music, use of serialist techniques and boundless imagination.
In our podcast, guests Gillian Moore (our Director of Music) and the musician Actress explain why Stockhausen’s work has shaped the musical landscape since the 1950s.
Plus, take a happy scroll through this week’s sample of calming artwork, online orchestras and expert cultural picks.
explore stories →Happy birthday, Stockhausen
Think Aloud podcast – Stockhausen: the point music changed forever
It’s easy to reach for the soundbites when talking about Stockhausen: his appearance on the cover of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper! His string quartet involving four helicopters! His unyielding preference for orange jumpers! But there’s so much more to this truly marvellous composer.
listen now →Branching out
Among the Trees: Eija-Liisa Ahtila
How do you make a portrait of a tree? The Finnish artist was prompted by the climate crisis to question her usual approach to her work. The answer turns out to be a creation that’s both impressive and mysteriously comforting.
Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Horizontal – Vaakasuora, 2011, at Among the Trees, Hayward Gallery, 2020. © Crystal Eye, Helsinki, 2020. Courtesy of Hayward Gallery. Photo Linda Nylind).
watch now →Top trumpets
Round-up from our orchestras
You’ve heard many a concert sitting quietly in your assigned spot, but while you’re listening from home, why not mix things up a bit? Dance, mime and sing along to our resident orchestras’ picks this week – or take ‘promenade’ literally this year…
read now →How to be heard
Five minutes with Roxane Gay
‘So many of us are reaching out, hoping someone will… remind us we are not as alone as we fear’ wrote Roxane Gay in Bad Feminist. The author shares her comfortably human take on the terminology of feminism in our pocket-sized interview.
read now →Your big night in
Culture Picks
Remember concerts? Live performances? Well, in days of yore, there was a wondrous platform called a ‘stage’ on which you could behold a succession of strange and delightful – oh, go on then, just have a look at our highlights.
read now →see all storiesFood on the go
Running on empty in central London? Our restaurants and cafes are open, including Wagamama, Pret A Manger and Giraffe. If you’ve been working from home, you can bet a takeaway coffee will put a spring in your step – and don’t get us started on the joys of grabbing lunch without having to do the dishes.
Our food market is back too, welcoming the peckish each weekend from Friday to Sunday for a cornucopia of street food (yes, including that recipe that totally defeated you back in April).
find out more →Support the Southbank Centre
We continue to face challenges and uncertainty as we look to our future. If you feel that you can make a donation, no matter how small, you will be making a huge difference.
Text 70085 with the code SOUTHBANK 20 to donate £20, SOUTHBANK 10 to donate £10 or SOUTHBANK 5 to donate £5. Texts cost your donation amount plus one standard rate message. Thank you.
donate online →Make tracks
Plug in for toe-tapping music
Missing the sweet sound of your colleagues’ voices? Try one of our playlists to fill the silence or to accompany your lunchtime dance around the room. We’ve got mixtapes hand-picked by Joan As Police Woman, Marius Neset and Susheela Raman, to name a few.
listen now →Lend us an ear
Learn something new with our podcasts
Our podcast series features conversations with great writers, comedians, thinkers and musicians. Consider women on the page with Roxane Gay, spend an evening with Roger Daltrey or mull mental health and creativity with Matt Haig and Jordan Stephens.