Travel Spotlight

Culture Watch: 13 Events Not to Miss this Fall

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald writes that “life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” At Indagare, we see the renewal and promise of the new season as an inspiring time of year to be world travelers. Leaving behind the lazy days of summer and settling into the quick pace of cosmopolitan centers, the latest in fashion, dining, theater, design and art is always top of mind. We reached out to some of our community's beloved insiders around the world to check in on what new openings excite them this season, where they’re headed and how Indagare members can get the most out of a trip to see these events.

Contact our Bookings Team to plan a culture-filled fall trip to one of these or other cities.

Art in New York City

Autumn in the Big Apple attracts the best and the brightest of the art world. Designers flock for fashion week, and museums, galleries and auction houses spark excitement across the globe with announcements of a new season of events and exhibitions. One highlight features the work of a famed Englishman with a penchant for California sunshine. After successful stints in Paris and London, the David Hockney retrospective arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in late November. The event will celebrate the painter’s 80th birthday with a display of his most iconic works, experiments and achievements. “I'm truly excited that the David Hockney traveling retrospective is coming to the Met,” says Paul Kasmin, a famed art dealer with galleries in Manhattan’s Chelsea. “I saw the exhibition in London, which was good; then Paris, where it was great, and I have very high hopes for Ian Alteveer, the curator at the Metropolitan, to do the best of all. I will simultaneously be showing a particularly beautiful group of drawings by Hockney [at my gallery in Chelsea].” Kim Heirston, a private art advisor, agrees: "Happiness is David Hockney. Having just met the artist for the first time this June, I am most excited about this major opening."

Two other exhibitions that have blazed their way onto Indagare's radar are Proof: Francisco Goya, Sergei Eisenstein, Robert Longo at the Brooklyn Museum and Robert Indiana: Works from the Collection of Herbert Lust at the Sotheby's S|2 Gallery, both of which are open to the public. Indiana, creator of the LOVE sculpture in Midtown Manhattan, plays with the iconic power of language and numerology to expose new depths of talent, while Longo curates himself into a dialogue of art and politics with the Spanish Giant Goya and the Soviet director Eisenstein, perhaps most well-known for Battleship Potemkin. Says Christy Williams, Vice President of Museum and Corporate Art Services at Sotheby's: "I was completely blown away by Proof at the Brooklyn Museum. It's a beautiful, powerful show with multiple new works by Longo, who's breaking all the rules. The scale of his huge pieces next to the tiny Goya caprichos is powerful. There's a triptych of refugees fleeing on the ocean, and the details of the water are mesmerizing. The imagery is so relevant around the world and to this country today." David Hockney: November 27, 2017 – February 25, 2018; Metropolitan Museum of Art, 5th Avenue. Robert Indiana: through October 6, 2017; S|2 Gallery, York Avenue. Proof: Goya, Eisenstein, Longo: through January 7, 2018; the Brooklyn Museum.

Related: Dining Spotlight: New York’s Upper East Side

Theater in London

London is once again delivering on its reputation for excellence in the performing arts with delightful, moving plays and musicals, which range from transplanted Broadway classics to brand-new inventions. Named the “Play of the Year” by Time Out, Ferryman is generating the most buzz of all after a five-star, sold-out run. Indagare contributor and travel writer Elena Bowes calls Ferryman a “must-see,” and she advises: “Jez Butterworth and Sam Mendes’ hit new play has just transferred to the Gielgud from the smaller Royal Court, so Indagare members should still be able to get tickets. ‘Miss this and you’ve missed a marvel,’ says the Daily Telegraph.” Other recommendations include the British installment of Stephen Sondheim’s acclaimed musical Follies and James Graham’s Ink, which is about the newspaper industry. Indagare insider Victoria Mather, the travel editor of Vanity Fair, shares that both shows are “highly intelligent and the hottest tickets in town.” Ferryman: through January 6, 2018; The Gielgud Theatre. Follies: through January 3, 2018; The National Theatre. Ink: through January 6, 2018; the Duke of York’s Theatre.

Exhibitions in Paris

This fall, Paris is showcasing its wealth of art through impressive exhibitions at private foundations like the Maison Rouge and the Artcurial Auction House. Louis Benech, the world-renowned French landscape designer, is looking forward to the Marin Karmitz exhibition. He says, “It will certainly be interesting because it is a collection of 300 works presented through various media: video, photography, painting, drawing and sculpture. Karmitz is quite a clever producer. The exhibition evokes the 20th century [and] its tragedies, and it prompts us to wonder about our way of being in the world.” Indagare insider Clémence von Mueffling, the editor and founder of Beauty and Well Being, is excited to visit “the Irving Penn centennial exhibit at the Grand Palais in Paris. Not only because it is always magical to go to the Grand Palais, and to discover or re-discover Irving Penn’s work, but also because there will be among the selection a photo of my grandmother, [the former editor of French Vogue], posing for him 65 years ago in Balenciaga.” Lorenz Baumer, a fine jeweler based in Paris, will be making time for the auction of Paul Lombard’s collection at Artcurial. For our members, we recommend mornings of perusing, followed by long lunches at one of our favorite new restaurantsMarin Karmitz: October 15, 2017 – January 21, 2018; Maison Rouge. Irving Penn Centennial: September 21, 2017 – January 29, 2018; Grand Palais. Paul Lombard Auction: October 10, 2017; Artcurial.

Related: Paris Restaurants to Know Now

Jewels in Venice

Few cities are as magical as Venice, where visions of lavish parties, sparkling prosecco and royalty in elaborate costume are conjured up simply by strolling along the canals at dusk. This fall, Venetians are thrilled to host the treasures of another glittering age at their sumptuous Palazzo Ducale with a renowned exhibition of Indian gems and jewels accumulated over five centuries of rule by the Mughals and Maharajas. Antonia Miletto, a fine jewelry designer based in Venice and New York, and Bianca Arrivabene, a Venetian countess and a chief representative of Christie’s, are eager to share the exhibit with friends and Indagare members. Arrivabene praises: “Treasures of the Mughals and Maharajas is breathtaking, moving and just amazing. It gives you the best excuse to revisit the Palazzo Ducale, walk through the Sala del Gran Consigli – where you can look and understand about each painting and the Doge’s faces – and then enter a fairy Indian jewelry world.” Treasures of the Mughals and Maharajas: through January 3, 2018; Palazzo Ducale, Piazza San Marco.Related: Why We Love Italy

Festivals in Rome

It comes as no surprise that, as one of the original culture capitals, Rome has an artistic and social calendar packed with exciting festivals and openings that blend the classic with the brand-new. Whether you enjoy exclusive access to the Sistine Chapel after dark, or you prefer to mingle with celebrities while taking in this year’s finest foreign films, the cultural offerings in Rome will delight any traveler this fall. Count Alberto Moncada, a renowned hotelier in Rome, shares his highlights for the season: “Rome is a very cinematic city, and the Rome Film Festival is always a thrill, bringing some Hollywood sparkle to mix with Rome’s dolce vita. David Lynch, Ian McKellan and Vanessa Redgrave will be in discussion this year, plus a showing of Mastrovito’s Nysferatu, accompanied by a live orchestra. Romans are also very fortunate to have the world-class performance venue Parco della Musica on our doorstep, designed by Renzo Piano, and I’m looking forward to catching some of the Rome Jazz Festival there in November. Finally, it’s an unparalleled opportunity to be able to visit the Vatican Museums after dark, as you can on Fridays until the end of October. Not only can you see the Sistine Chapel and Raphael apartment with fewer crowds, but there's live music, from choirs to tango.”

Indagare Insider Fabio Salini, a fine jeweler, anticipates that, “the great exhibition of Gian Lorenzo Bernini at the Galleria Borghese [will be] the most important exhibition of the fall. It celebrates the 20th anniversary of the opening of the gallery after its restoration. The exhibition will have 60 more works of art coming from all over the world, and it will surely be one of the most important tributes to Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s work.” Another buzzing gallery this fall will be the Gagosian. Says Indagare insider and atelier Soledad Twombly: “I am going back home as fast as possible to the opening of Davide Balula at Gagosian's gallery in Rome. Pepi Marchetti Franchi always organizes the most brilliant exhibitions and glamorous dinner parties for the artist and collectors.” Rome Film Festival: October 26, 2017 – November 5, 2017; Auditorium Parco della Musica. Bernini: November 2017; Piazzale del Museo Borghese. Davide Balula: September 21, 2017 – November 18, 2017; Gagosian Gallery, Via Francesco Crispi.

Related: Rome in Three Days 

Fashion in Marrakech

The legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent fell in love with Marrakech in 1966. Enchanted by the palette of its desert landscape and the fabrics and scents of its markets, he soon made the city his home. This fall, a landmark museum will open in his honor that will make a colorful, lasting mark on the architecture and culture scenes of this magical locale. I recently visited Morocco on an Indagare Insider Trip and everyone there is talking about the YSL Museum. The passion project of Saint Laurent's long-time partner, Pierre Bergé, the museum will highlight the creative process and output of the brilliant fashion visionary as well as his love affair with Marrakech. The neighborhood around the museum, which is right next to the Jardin Majorelle and Saint Laurent's former Villa, has already seen a flurry of new openings and excitement. Jamie Creel, art collector and co-founder of the Manhattan boutique Creel and Gow, also recommends visiting the museum’s french counterpart, opening simultaneously, on the Avenue Marceau in Paris. Musée Yves Saint Laurent: opening September – October 2017; Marrakech and Paris.

Related: Melissa’s Picks: Where to Go in September

Contact Indagare for assistance in planning a trip to our top fall culture cities. Our travel specialists can incorporate insider access to these events in your itinerary, as well as book you at the perfect hotels and restaurants for your interests.

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