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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Do you love charts of financial oddities, economic phenomena and business shenanigans? If so, you’re in luck.
FT Alphaville is extremely happy to say that we will be hosting our first Art of the Chart show at St Bartholomew the Great on February 27. Yes, really!
What:
Instead of lots of dull paintings, gloomy sculptures or monochrome photography, we’ll putting together an exhibition of charts so wondrous that they should hang in the Louvre.
We’re still thrashing out the final list — feel free to make your own suggestions in the comment box — but anything goes as long as it’s vaguely about finance and cool to look at.
We’ll have access to the adjoining cloister, where St Barts will set up a bar for people who prefer their scatterplots with booze. There won’t be any food, but there are plenty of places to eat around Smithfield if you want to grab a bite before or afterwards.
Plus, thanks to our wonderful colleagues on the FT visual and data journalism team, you’ll also be able to check out a virtual reality installation showing how a 75 year old water-powered computer demonstrates the mechanics of the economy. Having tried it we can confirm that it’s pretty mind-blowing.
When:
27 February, from 5pm to 9pm. Feel free to drop in any time in that period. FT Alphaville will be migrating to a nearby pub afterwards if you fancy grabbing a drink with us and explain why our chart choices were all wrong.
Where:
St Bartholomew the Great — London’s oldest parish church and setting for films including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Shakespeare in Love and, um, Avengers: Age of Ultron. And now, FTAV’s Chart Art Show. 💅
It really is a beautiful church, and if you get tired of x-axes there’s plenty of religious art to rest your eyes upon. The address is: The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield, London. EC1A 9DS.
Why:
Because if you don’t love charts then we can’t be friends.
How:
Tickets will be £5 if you book before the day of the show, or £10 on the door.
So if you want to book for you and some friends, treasured colleagues or that special someone (we reckon charts+church+wine is a great setting for a date) then email [email protected] with the subject line “Charts Feb 27” and we’ll send you payment details.
Oh, also:
We’ll be auctioning off all the charts for the FT’s Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign. Details at the event.