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Portraits often form the bread-and-butter work of jobbing photog- raphers who turn out competently hideous neo-Victorian tableaux featuring soft-focus families and their pets. Which makes Jananne Al-Ani's photograph (below) all the more striking. Showing the artist, her mother and three sisters, the picture explores the Western fascination with the veil. A fetishistic composition underlines how it can both conceal and reveal. Al-Ani's image is the winner of the John Kobal Photographic Portrait Award and goes on show at the National Portrait Gallery this weekend alongside a selection of work from talented runners-up.
National Portrait Gallery, London (0171-306 0055) to 19 Jan
MULTI-
MEDIA
Back in the 1970s, feminists fought to free women from the tyranny of the role of the perfect housewife trapped in a dream home of consumer appliances. Somewhere between theatre and installation, S.A.F.E. is a show that gives punters a chance to see how that debate has moved on. Using household objects, personal memorabilia, and home movies, the Glasgow- based group Clanjamfrie creates a living environment for a piece about the hidden, everyday stories of women's lives. Performed by an all- female cast that includes a 10-year-old girl and a 95-year-old grandmother, it is a witty mix of audio and visual documentary, and tasks such as knitting and cooking.
Tramway, Glasgow, (0141-287 3900) from Mon
THEATRE
"Just because I'm an arms dealer doesn't mean I'm not entitled to a bit of peace..." Richard Hallam, co-writer of The A-Z of Drugs, is Maggie's boy in The Prime Minister's Son, a touring, one-man play about a boy trying to make his mark.
St Peter's Arts Centre, Preston (01772 893001) Thur
DESIGN
Interior designer Charlotte Perriand burst onto the Paris art scene in the 1920s, wearing a necklace of huge ball-bearings. Her stark jewellery reflected a fiercely modernist aesthetic, which shook the opulent world of Art Deco and took the avant-garde by storm. This new exhibition of Perriand's pioneering work shows stark steel and chrome designs extraordinary for their time. The exhibition also demonstrates her pivotal position in Parisian cultural life, tracing her work with Le Corbusier, Delaunay and Fernand Leger. Key exhibits trace her development from a traditional training in the beaux arts to her continuing fascination with new materials.
The Design Museum, London (0171-403 6933) to 13 Apr
ART
On Tuesday, the Turner Prize rock 'n' roll roadshow gets underway once again, providing chat for the chattering classes and knee-jerks for the tabloids. This year's brave new contemporaries/untalented charlatans are Simon Patterson and Gary Hume (both of the Goldsmiths art mafia), Craigie Horsfield, and Douglas Gordon (above). A new exhibition showcases Patterson's fascination with modern information systems, Hume's high-gloss take on mass culture, Gordon's video installations and Horsfield's Barcelona collaborations - but is it art?
The Tate Gallery, London SW1 (0171-887 8000 )
POP
Next week Dubstar begin a national tour supporting Erasure. The pairing offers punters a taste of pop candy old and new. But while the disco skinheads may be growing old disgracefully, it's Dubstar's Disgraceful most people will want to hear, sung by the platinum-voiced Sarah Blackwood (right).
De Montfort Hall, Leicester (0116-233 3111)
DIWALI
Diwali is the most important event in the Hindu calendar and marks the start of Hindu New Year. Celebrations in Leicester are said to be the biggest in the Western world and 30,000 people are expected at this year's event, which kicks off tomorrow with the illumination of Belgrave Road (the city's "Golden Mile") with over 6,000 lamps. Future festivities include nine nights of dancing, prayer and music.
Belgrave Rd, Leicester 6.30pm (0116-266 8266)
Breastwatch is a global TV phenomenon, broadcast in 120 countries. Over 2.4 billion people tune in each week for its life-affirming combination of silicone, thongs and aphoristic moralising, which makes it bigger than democracy, Christianity or any other belief system for that matter. If you're scared by these statistics or just fancy gawping at some oiled Uber-bodies you might want to have a look at Planet Baywatch, a new book which dissects the most successful TV show in the world, ever.
Published on Monday by Michael O'Mara Books, pounds 9.99
Next week Tony Pletts, author of The Partygoers Guide to Iran, a wry look at "raving among the Ayatollahs", exhibits photography from 16 years travel and adventure.
Bloomsbury Theatre, London (0171-383 5976) from Wed
Psychic Dr Waldo Vieira is in London today offering to talk you through out-of-body experiences and rebirth. He should be able to guarantee you come back as someone good and famous and not some lecture-circuit fraud.
Golden Sq Bookshop, London W1, 3-6pm
The Booker prize is announced on Tuesday evening
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