Pop Art Is
When Richard Hamilton defined the Pop Art movement and manifesto back in the '50s, its detractors undoubtedly considered it a fad, presuming it a passing rebellion of the impulsive youth, doomed to tire and disappear. Unfortunately for them, Hamilton's proclamation has survived the last half century and, as the Gagosian is keen to emphasise, Pop Art is still going strong. With a major exhibition of work form both the original set of Hamilton's peers, including Lichtenstein, Warhol and Oldenburg, and the movement's more recent practitioners like Hirst and Koons, its relevance in our media-rich, postmodern world is certainly reaffirmed. In fact, amidst the array of bright and quirky pieces on display, one cannot escape the feeling that Pop Art is more than just surviving: it still seems young, powerful and influential and thus perhaps even vital.

15th Raindance Film Festival
Now a massive 15 years old, the Raindance Film Festival is an institution with that most honourable of intentions of encouraging and supporting independent film, whether from within the UK or around the world. The Festival screens variously at the Cineworlds on Haymarket and Shaftesbury Avenue and the Rex Cinema on Rupert Street, offering the chance to catch some of the finest, freshest and most unique movies around, from features to documentaries and shorts, as well as a number of classes and workshops pertaining to the film industry. The winners of Raindance's 11 awards will be announced at the closing gala on the 7th of October, but for many of us the awards are less important than the sheer number of brilliant indie films on offer over the next week. Highlights this year include the Japanese feature The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters, the UK films Summer Scars and The Killing of John Lennon, and the unsettling American documentary Crazy Love.

Ritual Abuse
Context aside, 'Ritual Abuse at The Boys Hall' has an almost delightfully suspect ring to it. But as a consideration of ritual in contemporary art practice, exhibiting in a former Boy Scouts hall is a sly move that might just help persuade its potential audience up to Dalston and into the space. Showing work from 21 graduates and students from Goldsmiths, the RCA, Central St. Martins and the RA, the hall is virtually overflowing with the full gamut of visual media, exploring the relevance and meaning of such monolithic concepts as myth, symbolism, science, and art. No small issues here then. And, whilst there are tendencies towards the kitsch and the gothic amongst the works, given the spiritual overtones of the show's themes it's a proclivity that only helps, injecting both humour and morbidity, and sometimes a blend of the two, into the potentially intellectual territory.