Arts News

Ai Weiwei supports Assange with silent protest

By AFP

London - Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei held a silent protest on Monday outside a London court to demand the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who faces extradition to the United States.

Botticelli painting expected to sell for record $80m

By AFP

New York - A painting by Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli could fetch over $80 million when it goes under the hammer in New York in January, Sotheby's said Thursday -- a record auction price for the artist.

Eerie Belgrade exhibit turns Ratko Mladic diary into art

By AFP

Belgrade - For nearly four years Serbian artist Vladimir Miladinovic started his day with a morning coffee and the diary of one of the Balkans' most notorious war criminals, Ratko Mladic.

Ancient Golan rock art sheds light on mysterious culture

By AFP

Katzrin - The chance discovery of lines carved into the boulders of an ancient tomb in what is now the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights could offer new insight into an enigmatic culture that thrived thousands of years ago.

Milton Glaser, designer of iconic 'I (Heart) NY' logo, is dead at 91

By AFP

New York - If you like American pop culture you certainly know his work, even if you don't know his name: graphic designer Milton Glaser, known for his wildly popular "I (Heart) NY" logo, died Friday on his 91st birthday.

Greece's 'invisible' artists call for help in virus squeeze

By AFP

Athens - "For us, there is no return to normality."Despite being one of Greece's best-known folk singers, Natassa Bofiliou is among thousands of artists worried about the economic impact of coronavirus lockdowns that have only just begun to be eased.

Indian inventor revs up corona car to drive home lockdown message

By AFP

New Delhi - A giant coronavirus is stalking the streets of southern India -- propelled by a 100 cc engine and an inventor trying to drive home the message that Indians should stay indoors as the pandemic sweeps across the world.

Art blooms in gritty Dakar neighbourhood

By AFP

Dakar - Mamadou Boye Diallo, an art curator with a penchant for heart-shaped glasses, calls Dakar's working-class Medina neighbourhood an open-air museum.

K-pop pioneers BTS unveil global modern art initiative

By AFP

London - Korean pop superstars BTS helped launch a global public art project in London on Tuesday inspired by their message of inclusivity and involving renowned artists including Antony Gormley and Tomas Saraceno.

Bruce Lee’s daughter sues fast food chain for using father's image

By AFP

Shanghai - A company run by Bruce Lee's daughter is suing a Chinese fast food chain for allegedly using an image of the late martial arts film star without permission.

Ghent's refreshed 'Mystic Lamb' artwork inspires new adoration

By AFP

Ghent - The grass is greener, the sky is cleaner and dozens of tiny details have been exposed to delight art historians and inspire the devotion of the faithful.

Mexico makes deal to defuse naked Zapata painting row

By AFP

Mexico - The verdict is in: the painting of Emiliano Zapata wearing nothing but a pink sombrero and heels can stay.

Painting of naked Zapata stirs uproar in Mexico

By AFP

Mexico - A controversial painting of Mexican revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata has pitted his family and supporters against the work's artist and the LGBT community in a contentious dispute that erupted in heated protests Tuesday.

Banana-eating performance artist was 'hungry'

By AFP

New York - Performance artist David Datuna waited two hours until "I was hungry" before eating a pricey banana artwork in Miami, he explained with laughter on Monday after returning to New York.

Four artists join forces to share 2019 Turner Prize

By AFP

London - This year's prestigious Turner Prize will be shared by all four shortlisted artists after they formed a collective to show solidarity at a time of global "political crisis", in a shock win announced Tuesday.

Digital tools and community first — A bright future for the TSO

By Jack Derricourt

Toronto Symphony Orchestra CEO Matthew Loden is uniquely positioned to observe how digital media is shifting audience expectations of classical music, and how reaching out to a larger community can benefit cultural institutions.

British art dealer unveils pioneering robot artist

By AFP

Oxford - Billed as "one of the most exciting artists of our time", Ai-Da differs from generations of past masters in one inescapable way: she is a robot.

Russian court jails man who attacked tsar painting

By AFP

Moscow - A Moscow court on Tuesday sent a man who attacked a painting of Ivan the Terrible to a penal colony for two and a half years, news agencies reported.

Prague honours late Chinese dissident Liu with bust

By AFP

Prague - A Prague art gallery has unveiled a brass bust of the late Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

French spy turned engineer behind Sydney Opera House magic dies

By AFP

Sydney - A former French spy hailed as a genius for an engineering feat that made building the Sydney Opera House possible has died aged 97, officials said Monday.

French designer Thierry Mugler presents his first retrospective in Montreal

By AFP

Montr - French fashion designer Thierry Mugler presented Tuesday at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts the first ever retrospective of his 35-year career, including outfits and sketches.

Bauhaus design turns 100 as disputes over its legacy churn

By AFP

Weimar - Bauhaus, the design school that left its mark on everything from teapots to tower blocks and iPhones to Ikea, marks its centenary this year, touching off a politically charged debate about its lasting impact.

Land of Noah: Armenia's history and culture

By AFP

Yerevan - Armenia on Sunday holds snap parliamentary polls that were sparked by reformist Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan last month.Here are five points on the culture and history of the tiny landlocked mountainous nation located in the South Caucasus.

Getty museum vows to fight Italy court decision on prized statue

By AFP

Los Angeles - A US museum has vowed to fight a decision by Italy's highest court which this week ordered that a prized bronze statue at the center of an epic legal dispute be returned to Italy.In a statement, the J.

I.Coast to ask France to return a hundred works of art

By AFP

Abidjan - Ivory Coast became the latest country to ask France to return works of art Wednesday, days after Paris said it was willing to hand back artefacts looted from Africa.

The Tilles Center scores two 'Best of Long Island' nominations

By Markos Papadatos

Greenvale - The Tilles Center for the Performing Arts has been nominated for two "Best of Long Island" awards in the 2019 competition.

Bruegel the Elder masterpieces in Vienna world first

By AFP

Vienne - The world's first-ever monograph exhibition dedicated to 16th century Flemish master Pieter Bruegel the Elder opens Tuesday in Vienna, bringing together half of all of his extant works, organisers said.

Paris show blends happiness and melancholia of young Picasso

By AFP

Paris - More than 300 works from two key periods in Pablo Picasso's early years go on display in Paris on Tuesday, the first time they have been brought together in the city where the Spanish master took his first steps toward revolutionary new territories of ...

Drugs and late nights: micro-engraver carves out niche

By AFP

Birmingham - Using Botox, beta-blockers and the stillness of the night, Graham Short produces miniature engravings like nobody else.

Migrants unseen in Israeli photographer's exhibition

By AFP

Jerusalem - Photographer Ron Amir spent years visiting African migrants in the Israeli desert to understand the new world they had created. He came back with a provocative set of pictures -- without people in them.