Latest news
Slovak National Gallery director dismissed by culture minister
06/08/2024
Members of Slovakia’s cultural community have reacted with consternation to the government’s decision to remove the leaders of two of the country’s leading arts institutions. On Tuesday, 6 August, the head of the National Theatre, Matej Drlička, was summarily informed of his dismissal by an officer from the ministry of culture. A day later, the ministry followed up by removing Alexandra Kusá as the director of the Slovak National Gallery (SNG).
Gaza’s historic Greek Orthodox church sustains second Israeli strike
30/07/2024
Gaza’s Saint Porphyrius church has narrowly escaped destruction for a second time after being struck by an Israeli missile that did not detonate. Believed to be the third-oldest church in the world, the compound was struck last week (on 29 July), nearly ten months after it was first attacked, leaving three people wounded.
New York City’s ‘first Ukrainian art gallery’ highlights artists living in the war zone
29/07/2024
“Some of the works that we’re selling here, I’m very confident that in three years they will double in price,” says Mriya gallery founder Artem Yalanskiy
Joining the dots: Yayoi Kusama’s mind-bending sculpture turns heads at London station
26/07/2024
London gets dottier still with the unveiling of Yayoi Kusama’s sprawling new sculpture at Liverpool Street station (Infinite Accumulation), which is billed as the Japanese artist’s largest permanent public work of art. This feat of engineering, on show outside the entrance to the Elizabeth Line at the east London station, was commissioned as part of The Crossrail Art Foundation’s public art programme for the Elizabeth line. The mammoth 100-metre long piece was co-funded by British Land and the City of London Corporation—just so you know.
Ruins revived: when do overlooked buildings become valued again?
21/07/2024
"In England, we still like to talk about the 'dissolution' of the monasteries as if it was a gentle process. Really, it was an annihilation," says Bendor Grosvenor
Green is the new black | Yinka Shonibare's Serpentine show reveals what cultural exchange can do for the climate crisis
21/07/2024
We all need to find our own particular ways to address the climate and ecological crisis, and artists are no different. As this column has repeatedly shown, artists are often at the forefront of tackling environmental issues—both in their work and their deeds—and the ways in which they do so are as wide and varied as the human imagination.
From Korea to the world: Olympics exhibition will immerse visitors in the country's complex modern history
14/07/2024
One week before the 1988 Olympic Games opened in Seoul, one of South Korea’s most famous artists, Nam June Paik, linked a dozen countries and millions of people together with one of his visionary satellite television broadcasts. The numerous segments included David Bowie singing, Thai elephants playing football and a rain-sodden car race in Ireland. As the world’s attention was turning to his birth land, Paik’s work underscored the importance of cultural communication and global solidarity, embodying the Olympic spirit.
Unesco warns that AI could rewrite Holocaust history
03/07/2024
A new report from Unesco warns that artificial intelligence (AI) threatens Holocaust memory, as AI-generated content can fabricate or distort historic records and magnify biases. Malicious individuals and hate groups will continue to exploit these weaknesses to spread disinformation, and young learners are especially vulnerable, because they increasingly rely on generative tools to search the web and complete assignments.