Arts and Culture

Featuring Luxurious private cinemas in hotels around the world

Why not try an evening with the stars on for size. But if watching a flick in your local multiplex holds little appeal, panic not. The Sybarite has the low-down in on the hottest hotel cinemas around the world. Popcorn at the ready…

Featuring A new way to invest in fine art

The global market was worth more than $45billion last year, a 1.7% annual increase, according to the European Fine Art Foundation Report 2017. Prices have fallen back a little from the peak of July 2015, but are around 15% higher than in the market trough of November 2012 and the market is ‘stable and robust’. The outlook is optimistic. Wealth managers are looking beyond traditional investment products and there is a strong demand from investors – 88% of private offices and 75% of High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth individuals want art in their portfolios, according to the 2016 Deloitte Art and Finance Report. However, the market can be daunting to newcomers. It has a reputation for being opaque and the major auction houses charge fees of up to 30%. Global auction house sales fell last year by 18.8% while sales by dealers increased by 20% to $27.9billion; looking more closely at the figures, it turns out the big auction houses conducted more of their business privately, which does nothing for transparency in the market.

Featuring Lights of Soho presents "Be Illuminated" by Papi

Roger Taylor, who goes by the name ‘Papi’, is a self-taught artist working with the medium of light. Beginning his creative career as an actor in New York at Lee Strasbourg Theatre Institute, he then became a creative director for some of New York’s hippest night clubs creating sets for their weekly shows. In recent years, Papi moved to Manchester and set up his own design studio where he uses traditional tools and methods to hand sculpt metal and form a fusion light and art. He has also worked collaboratively with some well know street artists resulting in an international exhibition from London to Tokyo. Papi has had numerous sell out shows in London over the last 2 years and the pieces that he creates are either one-offs or limited to 7 pieces only. For six weeks at Lights of Soho, Papi’s creations will depict the vibrancy and the energies of the area, from the streets of Soho to the gallery.

Featuring Diana: Her fashion story | Kensington Palace exhibition...

From the demure skirt-suits of her first public appearances to that little black dress from her later life. Here we round up our five favourite looks.

Featuring Oscars 2017: The 89th Academy Awards highlights

Here are the Sybarite’s highlights of The Oscars 2017… A number of Oscar-nominees threw their support behind the organisation who first challenged President Donald Trump's travel ban by wearing blue ribbons to the ceremony. Irish-Ethiopian star Ruth Negga, who is up for best actress for her role in Loving, was first on the red carpet and sported the political accessory on her red Valentino dress. As did Karlie Kloss on her white asymmetrical Stella McCartney gown. The blue bow represents the American Civil Liberties Union and is part of their new initiative titled Stand With ACLU. The ACLU was among the first to launch a legal challenge following President Trump's travel ban, which bars people from seven Muslim-majority countries entering America.

Featuring Art exhibitions on show around the world

Featuring Sotheby’s Erotic: Passion & Desire Auction

Where the boundaries between the sensual and the obscene are gloriously blurred. “The erotic is a realm where desire and imagination meet. When you look at a great work of erotic art, you sense a world outside its obvious parameters: a complicit triangulation between the creator, the subject (perhaps more than one) who inspired such intimate expression, and the viewer turned voyeur. There’s a disruptive quality to the best erotica, which filters into your dreams and waking fantasies. It doesn’t just seduce its audience – it transports them without permission,” says Rowan Pelling, a Daily Telegraph columnist known for her eight-year editorship of The Erotic Review and her sex column for GQ, who has written the catalogue introduction for the Sotheby’s Erotic sale.

Featuring The best London art exhibitions to visit

The Sybarite serves up something for every taste with our exhibition guide below…

Featuring How to become an art collector

The search for art can be joyous, and with some thought behind it, your purchases can turn into a collection, and possibly an investment.

Featuring Inside David Bowie’s private collection

Bowie's maverick ways of re-invention and curiosity are mirrored through his weird and wonderful art collection, which has been kept private up until now. Over 400 pieces including Harold Gilman, Frank Auerbach, Damien Hirst and painter Peter Lanyon in particular depth are on display, however, his collection is by no means limited to British art alone and also encompasses Contemporary African art, self-taught artists from Vienna’s Gugging institution, as well as designs by Ettore Sottsass and the revolutionary Memphis group. Encompassing some 400 objects from the personal holdings of a man who approached collecting with the same inspired sense of individualism that defined his own fiercely original art. "Art was, seriously, the only thing I'd ever wanted to own. It has always been a stable nourishment. I use it. It can change the way I feel in the mornings. The same work can change me in different way, depending on what I'm going through."- David Bowie

Featuring Salute the Sixties at the V&A

For those who missed the ’60s (or just can’t remember), The V&A is recreating the era of sex, drugs - LSD trips are included - and rock ‘n’ roll with a new exhibition: You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966 – 1970. The museum's latest show invites Sybarites to explore the era-defining significance and impact of the late 1960s upon life today. From global civil rights, multiculturalism, environmentalism, consumerism, computing and communality to neoliberalist politics, the world we live in has been vitally influenced by five revolutionary years 1966 – 1970 - and this new exhibition will investigate the upheaval, the explosive sense of freedom, and the legal changes that took place resulting in a fundamental shift in the mindset of the Western world.

Featuring 10 Best Opera Houses In The World