Politics

Ahead of Argentina’s runoff election, the country’s art sector faces economic crisis and political upheaval

With far-right candidate Javier Milei slightly ahead in polls before the 19 November election, Argentina’s resilient cultural sector braces for turmoil

Three members of jury that voted on Poland's 2024 Venice Biennale pavilion show hit out at plans

The trio are part of a larger group of critics arguing that the exhibition follows the narrative of the current Law and Justice (PiS) government's “right-wing, martyrdom-oriented cultural policy”

‘We live in an age of escalating violence. Art teaches us to listen, to see, to wait for understanding’

As the world reels from wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and we face a global climate catastrophe, how should artists and cultural organisations respond?

Ben Okri

After referendum defeat, Indigenous Australian artists reclaim their voice in Adelaide

The Tarnanthi art festival features more than 1,500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists

Poland's arts community cautiously optimistic as right-wing ruling party fails to win majority

Poles voted in record numbers on the weekend, paving the way for the opposition parties led by Donald Tusk to form a coalition government

Tania Bruguera exhibition in Chile opens in modified form after uproar over artist's political stance

The Salvador Allende Solidarity Museum delayed the opening of the Cuban-born artist's solo exhibition amid pushback from Allende family members and supporters

Qatar Museums fly Palestinian flag in the aftermath of Hamas attack on Israel

Sheikha Al-Mayassa shared images on social media of the Palestinian flag projected on the façades of the Museum of Islamic Art and the National Museum of Qatar

Leaked report suggests Canada may abandon prime minister's crumbling home

The historic property in Ottawa needs more than $27m worth of repairs, but creating a brand new residence could cost more

Museums in line of fire ahead of Polish election

Opposition parties, not government, behind latest sacking of cultural leader

Labournews

Spain seeks to improve artists' rights across EU but labour reforms at home fall short

MEPs back new support measures for creatives following Spain's Statute of the Artist decree, now in political limbo

Russia’s boycotted Hermitage Museum inks culture deal with Iranian research institute

Cooperation agreement follows Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy strategy to forge closer ties with Iran

Unesco adds Junta prison in Argentina to World Heritage list

As the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory in Buenos Aires gains international recognition, the history it seeks to safeguard is under attack by Argentina’s extremist frontrunner in the upcoming presidential election

France suspends cultural cooperation with three West African countries

France's culture minister said the country “never boycotts artists”, but artists and performers from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso will no longer be granted visas

Art marketfeature

The art world still favours the rich—how do we fix that?

Nine artists, curators and dealers who beat the industry's stacked odds discuss challenges and solutions

International outcry at dismissal of prominent Polish museum director

Leaders of foreign museums have joined Polish colleagues in condemning the removal of Joanna Wasilewska from her role at Warsaw’s Asia and Pacific Museum

'Never trustee an MP: why politicians should stay off boards of cultural institutions'

The "arm's length" principle, which frowns on political meddling in museums, is being eroded by policy hawks, writes artist and activist Bob and Roberta Smith

Will Italy's right-wing government control who gets to direct the nation’s biggest museums?

Art historians are concerned the culture ministry is lining up candidates to run top institutions including Florence’s Uffizi Galleries and Milan’s Pinacoteca di Brera

Art worldcomment

'We need to talk about class in the art world'

A recent list of young art "disruptors" published by a UK newspaper underlines the insidious dynamics of privilege which continue to define our industry

Debate rages in Spain over how to remember—or forget—Franco's dictatorship

Ahead of Spain’s election on 23 July, conservative Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who is on course to win, has vowed to challenge historical memory legislation

Leaderscomment

'In the age of AI, putting creativity at the heart of education is more important than ever'

The UK Labour Party is gearing up for the next election and should be talking about how we are educating children

Pillar of Shame sculpture seized by police in Hong Kong

Work commemorating Tiananmen Square tragedy is confiscated as part of "incitement to subversion" case

Diaryblog

‘I felt I was pushing myself’—Monica Lewinsky on why she sat for Marilyn Minter

The White House intern who hit the headlines in the 1990s says she gave up her 'portrait virginity' to the provocative New York-based artist

‘Glad to see they are scared’: Pussy Riot founder Nadya Tolokonnikova added to Russia’s wanted list for criminals

A performance in which she burns an effigy of Vladimir Putin, and an NFT of a vagina-shaped Virgin Mary are thought to be behind new charges

Tel Aviv Museum of Art partially closes in support of Israel's 'day of paralysis'

Israel's oldest art museum joins nationwide protests against government's contentious new laws, in what arts philanthropist Batia Ofer describes as a "fight for our democracy"

Art world insiders on Brexit, three years on

Vitriolic, resigned, hopeful: Brexit has undoubtedly caused upset and inconvenience to the UK art world, but opinions are divided on the industry’s prospects in the longer term

After a landmark election, will Nigeria now invest in its museums?

Nigeria’s art market has exploded in recent years—a newly elected government may now fund and build a museum sector

Protest performance art in Tbilisi sparks political storm between Georgia's president and culture minister

Use of police forces against supporters of artist Sandro Sulaberidze have been criticised by country's top state officials

Even restituted artefacts—like Benin bronzes—need export licences from UK, says arts minister

Formal requirement for government licences may well prove to be yet another obstacle to a loan agreement for the Parthenon Marbles