November 2012: DW's Culture Calendar

David Hockney in Cologne: Technology new and old

David Hockney achieved worldwide renown in the 1960s with his images of brightly lit swimming pools. Now he's in Cologne - this time with majestic, stylized dreamscapes. After throngs of museum-goers swarmed the exhibits in London and Bilbao, the show has been specifically re-conceptualized for Cologne. Hockney, who turned 75 last summer, believes the exhibition's opening in Cologne represents his unbiased curiosity for new media. "There are so many exciting new technologies," the artist said. For years, Hockney has been using his smartphone as a sketchpad. Landscape paintings and iPad images from the last eight years will be juxtaposed against the celebrated artist's new multi-focus films. "David Hockney: A Bigger Picture" is at Museum Ludwig through February 3, 2013.

"Mythos Atelier" in Stuttgart: Paying artists a visit

For the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, an atelier - French for "workshop" or "studio" - is so much more than an artist's cramped enclave. The museum believes that "Mythos Atelier" is worthy of becoming one its largest ever special exhibitions. The celebrated institution will display 185 works from 70 artists, each of which gives meaning to the artist's atelier and its modern incarnation. Through February 10, 2013, visitors can view ateliers of all shapes and sizes from the 19th century to today: from Caspar David Friedrich to Pablo Picasso, Ernst Ludwich Kirchner or Henri Matisse, to Joseph Beuys and Bruce Nauman. Paintings, drawings and videos will accompany the works. Curator Ina Conzen said that the exhibition attempts to guide visitors on a research expedition through "about 200 years of art history, with stops along the way for them to meet artists they've never met." It will also mark the first time Picasso's image, "The Studio" (1927/28), will be seen together with Roy Lichtenstein's "Reflections on the artist's studio" (1989).

Mannheim-Heidelberg and 'Cloud Atlas'

Film buffs should be on the watch for November's International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg. From November 8-18, the organizers will once more deliver some hand-picked and truly enjoyable cinema. It was through this film festival that directors such Jim Jarmusch in the US or Canadian Atom Egoyan achieved international acclaim.

Another November film event is the worldwide premiere of the film "Cloud Atlas" on November 15. With a $100-million-dollar budget (77 million euros), the work of German director Tom Tykwer is one of the most expensive films ever made in Germany. The mammoth film is based on the eponymous book by David Mitchell and tells six different stories from six different periods - from the 19th century to far into the future. In every story, themes of oppression, rebellion and reformation continually surface. The subject matter was largely considered to be unfilmable. Film fans have been waiting with bated breath - and not just in Germany.

Leverkusen "Jazz Days"

82-year-old New Yorker Sonny Rollins has been called a "saxophone colossus," a "jazz icon" and the "last living jazz giant." He'll also be headlining the 33rd Leverkusener Jazztage, from November 3-11. For more than a week, acts such as Esperanza Spalding, a grammy-award-winning jazz musician whose tunes have hit the pop charts, and rising stars Butterscotch and Y'Akoto will cause Leverkusen locals to swoon. But it's not just jazz. The best of Funk and Soul will be represented by groups such as Incognito, Candy Dulfer, Tower of Power, and Grammy-nominated Fourplay. With such a wide variety of styles, more than two dozen acts and even a "woman's night" with female-only singers - it's much more than all that jazz.

Regensburger Domspatzen: Fall tournament

The Regensburg Cathedral Choir is on its way to China. The world-renowned boys' choir is leaving its Bavarian home for a first-ever tour through Asia from November 5-11. The special occasion for the trip is the 25th anniversary of a partnership between the German state of Bavaria and the Chinese province of Shandong. Two concerts have been planned in its partner city, Qingdao, deep in provincial China. The choir is also in the midst of an fall tour through Germany.