Cultureshock Connects

We are delighted to share the November issue of Cultureshock Connects, our digest of innovative, engaging content we’ve created this autumn in partnership with some of our industry-leading clients from around the globe. Featured in this issue: Joni Mitchell paints; Frieze takes London; Erdem at the V&A; artists and climate change; Sotheby’s International Realty turns 50; turning teens on to art and more.

Joni Mitchell has NEWS to share

As reported in Rolling Stone magazine, legendary songwriter – and newly minted American citizen – Joni Mitchell has given up music to pursue painting. In a new book titled NEWS, produced by Cultureshock for Julien’s, the premier celebrity auction house based in California, the multitalented Mitchell’s bitingly political paintings are gloriously reproduced. As innovative and captivating as her famous songs, the paintings comprising NEWS prove how deeply this Canadian-born American cares about her adopted country. Find out more and order your copy here. 

Erdem guest edits V&A Magazine

Erdem Moralioglu, creative director and founder of London-based fashion label Erdem, took the reins as the first ever guest editor of V&A Magazine this autumn. In this must-read issue, produced by Cultureshock, he shares photos he has taken of his most-loved spots at V&A South Kensington, talks historic fashion with the curators from Türkiye’s Sadberk Hanım Museum to mark this season’s exhibition Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two Empires, and interviews one of his favourite artists, Chantal Joffe, at her studio. Elsewhere, Bettany Hughes explores the role of women in Constantinople and Istanbul, neuroscientist Colin Ellard looks at how the design of urban spaces affects our mental state, and stylist and designer IB Kamara orders some of his favourite objects at V&A East Storehouse. With this magazine, we are proud to help the V&A fulfil its mission to “champion creativity in all its forms”. The Erdem brand turns 20 this year, and Cultureshock client Qatar Museums is marking this milestone with a retrospective at M7. Our CEO Phil Allison and the team were in Doha recently for the opening of ERDEM: About Time, About Her. See more here.

Artists take on climate change

Climate change may be the biggest challenge facing the world today, but the causes and impacts of global warming often seem too vast and complex to comprehend. That’s where artists can fill a critical gap. In Creative Climate Action, an innovative new video series produced by Cultureshock for the British Council, discover how artists and arts professionals are helping raise awareness of the climate emergency and offering new paths forward.

Frieze heats up London

This October, London played host to the world’s leading galleries, collectors and arts professionals, who gathered en masse for this year’s edition of Frieze London (devoted to contemporary art) and Frieze Masters (showing art from ancient times through to 1999). Cultureshock was in full force at the twin fairs, capturing the highlights and trends of this essential market-making meeting of the global art world. Eminent journalist (and Cultureshock editorial director) Jane Morris shares her highlights here. 

50 years defining luxury real estate

In 1976, Sotheby’s auctioned the contents of a magnificent Charleston estate and, for the first time, sold the house itself. Five decades later, Sotheby’s International Realty, the company that traces its roots to that first sale, is the undisputed global leader in luxury real estate. In October, 2,700 top brokers (or “advisors” as they are known) gathered in San Francisco to celebrate the 50th anniversary in high style, with two gala dinners – casual at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and black tie at the magnificent beaux-arts City Hall – and three days of programming, headlined by keynote speaker Lindsey Vonn, the Olympic champion skier. Cultureshock, which produces Sotheby’s International Realty’s Luxury Outlook report, Reside magazine, and online cultural content, was thrilled to join the festivities and get to know many of the powerhouse brokers behind the company’s success. Read senior editor Nancy Groves’ recap here.

Art history for teens

For 10 years, Art History Link-Up (AHLU) has given teens who would otherwise have no access to the subject free introductory art history classes. Hosted at the Courtauld at Somerset House since 2022, the courses fill a critical gap – fewer than 1% of British state schools offer art history. At Cultureshock, we share AHLU’s belief that art can transform lives, and we were therefore delighted to design this 10th-anniversary brochure to promote this vital organisation and its goals.