Tuesday, 03 November 2020
When Anna Berry hosted the public conference Disability Arts: Slaughtering the Sacred Cows, she set out to kill the sense that we all have to think the same - "we have to accept that our world view is simply that: ours".
Tuesday, 27 October 2020
The dangers and rights violations facing Brazil's indigenous people are gaining visibility with lyrics and videos linking ancestral and urban music with technology. Beatriz Miranda reports on the musicians fighting for their existence.
The chances that the Booker Prize will be won by British novelists who are neither English nor published by major London publishers seem to be getting smaller, says Jamie Harris, but winning might not be all it’s cracked up to be.
Monday, 26 October 2020
The idea that the sector could agree a joined-up funding strategy is laughable, says David Jubb. Each part would naturally advocate for its own interests.
After years of struggle, and in the middle of a global pandemic, the value of cultural work seems to have been rewarded in Ireland. Toner Quinn charts the fall and rise of appreciation for - and funding of - the arts.
When Covid forced a conversation about what is essential in life, theatre was in the lowest tier. Jack Reuler reflects on theatre practitioners' self-believed contentions about their irreplaceable value to society.
Tuesday, 20 October 2020
Why can’t an obscure disabled artist represent Britain at the Venice Biennale? Too many visual arts decisions are being driven by a celebrity culture based on commercial values, says Ashokkumar Mistry.
Has the Prado illustrated the very misogyny it has sought to expose by focusing on works by men rather than celebrating those by women? Sam Jones reports on the controversy around its latest exhibition.
Monday, 19 October 2020
Since 1990 Glasgow has become a powerful and much cited example of culture-led regeneration for cities. Where Glasgow led, cities from Manchester to Barcelona followed.
Accessing a performance online brings an intimate dimension to attending the theatre. Vinson Cunningham shares the experience.
Aesthetics, economics and ethics are all fighting for influence as arts organisations take decisions about their futures. But which one should be taking the driver’s seat asks Diane Ragsdale.
Tuesday, 13 October 2020
"You don’t get the same buzz and energy packing dog food eight hours a day but it pays the bills.” The people suffering most in the music business are those that didn't have a lot in the first place, reports Ian Birrell.
Sunday, 11 October 2020
When cultural institutions talk of being impactful, life changing and 'transformative', they mean to transform the other into themselves, says Rosie Priest.
Amateur theatre is often run by enthusiasts with a 'show must go on' attitude. Stephen Stafford examines the Covid challenges they face and how they intend to keep their communities engaged through the crisis.
What are musicians doing to make ends meet as they face empty diaries for the foreseeable future? Antonia Hoyle reveals the stop-gap careers that are tiding them over.
Was it right to cancel plans to display Philip Guston's provocative set of paintings of the Ku Klux Klan at Tate? Aindrea Emelife sees it as a patronising move of the cultural establishment to protect itself from criticism.
Wednesday, 07 October 2020
The convention of government non-interference in arts and heritage matters is hanging by a thread, but there's no hope in looking for protection from the Arts Council, says Robert Hewison.
Rishi Sunak's 'viability' threshold will consign businesses in the arts and whole swathes of our economy to the scrapheap, and the misnamed job support scheme is nothing of the sort. Ed Miliband decries the Chancellor's Covid recovery measures.
The ability to imagine yourself in a creative job is central to taking the first steps towards it, says Louise Benson. Without role models, pursuing a career in the arts can feel like an impossibility.
Tuesday, 06 October 2020
'Safe' is relative and 'risk' is a social construct. So how do we make those who work in the cultural sector and those who visit our spaces feel safe again? Leah Hamilton explores the conundrum.