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☆ Venice Biennale Says It Will Disregard Petition to Ban Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In a sign of the deep divisions over the war in Gaza, thousands of artists signed an open letter urging the Venice Biennale to ban “any official representation of Israel” during the art world’s most important event. This week, they got an answer: The Biennale and Italy’s culture minister said that Israel would still be taking part. The Biennale said in a statement on Wednesday that any country recognized by Italy could request to participate. The Biennale would “not take into consideration any petition or call to exclude” countries, it added. The comments came a day after Gennaro Sangiuliano, Italy’s culture minister, issued a far stronger statement in support of Israel’s participation.

Persons: Israel ”, Gennaro Sangiuliano Organizations: Venice Biennale Locations: Gaza, Venice, Israel, Italy

☆ Criticism of Israel at Berlin Film Festival Stirs Antisemitism Debate
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra walked onstage at the Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday night, they had come to talk about more than movies. Abraham and Adra, an Israeli and Palestinian filmmaking team, had just won the festival’s award for best documentary for “No Other Land,” a movie about Palestinian resistance to Israeli campaigns in the occupied territories. It was “very hard,” Adra said, to celebrate the award “when there are tens of thousands of my people being slaughtered and massacred by Israel in Gaza.”He called upon German lawmakers to “stop sending weapons to Israel,” before Abraham called for a cease-fire and an end to Israel’s occupation. The audience, which included the culture minister of Germany, Claudia Roth, applauded loudly, and there were whistles and cheers in the hall.

Persons: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Abraham, Adra, ” Adra, ”, Claudia Roth Organizations: Berlin Locations: Palestinian, Israel, Gaza

☆ Is Earlier Better for Theater Start Times?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At 6:30 p.m. on a recent Thursday, most London theatergoers were still busy at work, or eating a preshow dinner, or maybe waiting at home for a babysitter. Except at the National Theater. The early performances were “marginally outselling” other midweek shows, said Alex Bayley, the National Theater’s head of marketing. The theater will wait to see the trial results before making the early starts a permanent fixture. In interviews in the bustling foyer before the show, 20 attendees said that they thought the early start was a good idea.

Persons: London theatergoers, theatergoers, don’t, Alex Bayley, Ruth Hendle, “, ”, Mary Castleden Organizations: National Locations: London

☆ Israel Chooses a Eurovision Act as Boycott Campaigns Swirl
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Alex Marshall | Adam Sella | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The singing contest’s glitzy lights and glittering dresses were supposed to be a respite after another depressing, hostage-filled news day on Israeli TV. Yet a somber mood hung over the finale of “Rising Star,” the show that selects Israel’s representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, as it pitted four young pop singers against one another on Tuesday night. This year’s winner, Eden Golan, 20, dedicated her performance of “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith to the more than 100 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. “We won’t truly be OK until everyone returns home,” she said.

Persons: Eden Golan, Aerosmith, ” Organizations: Israel’s, Eurovision Locations: Gaza

☆ Want to Live Like a Queen? This ‘Crown’ Auction Can Help.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Despite all the scandals and tragedies, the royal lifestyle in “The Crown” looked enviably lavish. During six seasons, Queen Elizabeth II rode around London in a golden carriage, pulled by six horses. For most viewers, watching the show, which ended in December, was the closest they could get to the trappings of royal life. Those include two porcelain corgis that appeared on the queen’s writing desk ($380) and the Queen Mother’s drinks tray and champagne swizzle stick ($101). The version of the revenge dress that Elizabeth Debicki wears on “The Crown” has an estimated lot price of $10,000 to $15,000 in the Bonhams sale.

Persons: Queen Elizabeth II, Diana gallivanted, Diana’s, ”, Prince Charles, Elizabeth Debicki Locations: London, Europe

☆ Institutions Are (Quietly) Taking Sackler Money
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When arts organizations began shunning the Sackler family over its role in the U.S. opioid crisis, it wasn’t just American institutions that cut ties. Museums in Britain that had accepted Sackler largess were among the first to take action. After the National Portrait Gallery in London canceled a $1.3 million Sackler donation in 2019, the Tate museum group announced it would not seek any more of the family’s support. Other museums began discussing removing the Sackler name from their walls. According to the Sackler Trust’s latest accounts, which were published this month, the nonprofit committed around 5.2 million pounds, or $6.6 million, in 2022, comprising 66 grants to institutions.

Persons: Sackler, — Organizations: Museums, Tate, Sackler Trust —, Purdue Pharma, Sackler Locations: U.S, Britain, London, British

☆ ‘Oppenheimer’ Leads BAFTA Nominees
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s movie about the development of the atomic bomb, on Thursday received the highest number of nominations for this year’s EE British Academy Film Awards, known as the BAFTAs. The film secured 13 nods for Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars, including for best film, where it is up against four other titles including “Killers of The Flower Moon,” Martin Scorsese’s epic about the Osage murders of the 1920s, and “Poor Things,” Yorgos Lanthimos’s sexually charged take on a Frankenstein story starring Emma Stone. “Poor Things” followed “Oppenheimer” with 11 nominations overall. The nominations for “Oppenheimer” come just days after the movie won three of the major awards at this year’s Golden Globes, and will be seen by many as further boosting its chances at this year’s Oscars; the BAFTA and Oscar voting bodies overlap. This year’s Oscar nominations are scheduled to be announced on Tuesday.

Persons: “ Oppenheimer, ” Christopher Nolan’s, ” Martin, Yorgos Lanthimos’s, Emma Stone, Justine Triet’s Palme, ” Alexander Payne’s, “ Oppenheimer ” Organizations: Globes

For the past two years, Greece’s government has conducted delicate negotiations with the British Museum over the future of the Parthenon marbles, the ancient Greek antiquities brought to Britain in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin. Now, Britain’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, appears to be throwing cold water on those discussions. On Monday evening, Mr. Sunak abruptly canceled a planned wide-ranging meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece, which had been scheduled for Tuesday. Mr. Mitsotakis said on the BBC television program that sculptures had been stolen and needed to be reunified in Athens. Mr. Mitsotakis has made similar comments throughout his terms in office, and Mr. Sunak has also repeatedly stated he would not change British law to allow the sculptures, sometimes known as the Elgin Marbles, to leave the British Museum permanently.

Persons: Lord Elgin, Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Mitsotakis, ”, Mona Lisa Organizations: British Museum, BBC, Acropolis Museum, Elgin Marbles Locations: Britain, Greece, Athens, “, London

☆ Paul Lynch Wins Booker Prize for ‘Prophet Song’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Paul Lynch, the Irish writer, started work on his fifth novel, he was thinking about the long civil war in Syria and the West’s apparent indifference to the people who fled the conflict. That novel, “Prophet Song,” which imagines a near-future Ireland descending into totalitarianism, then a civil war that leads to families’ fleeing the country, has won the Booker Prize, the prestigious literary award. On Sunday, Esi Edugyan, a novelist and the chair of this year’s judging panel, said that “Prophet Song” resonated with contemporary crises including the Israel-Hamas war, but that the novel had won solely on its literary merits. “This is a triumph of emotional storytelling, bracing and brave,” Edugyan said in a news conference before the announcement. Still, she added, the panel felt that “Prophet Song” was a worthy winner that “captures the social and political anxieties of our current moment.”

Persons: Paul Lynch, ’, Booker, ”, ” Edugyan, Edugyan, “ Locations: Syria, Ireland, Israel

☆ For Russia’s Pop Star Exiles, a Moral Stand and a Creative Climb
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Paul Sonne | Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Monetochka was on her way to becoming a superstar in Russia. She had released two hit albums of lyrical pop, secured ad deals with brands including Nike and Spotify, and was set to appear and sing a new song in the opening scene of Netflix’s first original Russian drama, a lush adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina.”But President Vladimir V. Putin’s military action derailed everything. Netflix shelved the series. The big ad deals, which once comprised more than half of Monetochka’s income, disappeared. And, after making a raft of antiwar statements and fleeing Russia, she was branded a foreign agent in January.

Persons: Monetochka, Netflix’s, Leo Tolstoy’s “ Anna Karenina, ”, Vladimir V, — Organizations: Nike, Spotify, Netflix, Melrose Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Lithuania, New York, U.S

☆ ‘The Crown’: Behind the Photo of an Embrace That Changed Princess Diana’s Life
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As he got closer, he was stunned to realize it was the princess. Brenna was successful, Malka added, because he had spent so many years working in the region. After spotting the couple, Brenna said he spent the next few days stalking the boat, including climbing a cliff to get a better view. From that elevated position, about 400 meters away from Diana, he took several photos of Diana and Dodi in an embrace. The shots were almost blurred, Brenna said, because the heat haze meant he struggled to get the pair in focus.

Persons: Brenna, Bruno Malka, Diana, Dodi, Malka, he’d, ” He’d, ”, “ Organizations: Paris Match

The upheaval at Documenta is just one example of how Europe’s art world is being torn by debates about Israel and Gaza, as some institutions have moved to postpone the shows of artists who have criticized Israel. Documenta was initially staged in 1955 as the first large-scale exhibition in West Germany of the art of the European avant-garde. It was a direct response to the Degenerate Art Show, the denunciatory exhibition of modern art staged by the Nazis in Munich in 1937. Although the mural was taken down, it set off a monthslong debate in Germany’s art world about antisemitism, Palestinian activism and Germany’s relationship to formerly colonized countries. Hoskote said Documenta was one of the art world’s greatest events, partly because it had always been a forum for new ideas.

Persons: Documenta’s, — Simon Njami, Gong Yan, Kathrin, Inés Rodríguez, —, ”, Bracha Lichtenberg Ettinger, Ranjit Hoskote, Anaïs Duplan, Ai Weiwei, ” Ai, Ai, Galerie Max Hetzler, Lisson’s, Claudia Roth, Documenta, Hoskote Organizations: Venice Biennale, Folkwang, Israel, Art Newspaper, Galerie Max, Berlin, Die Locations: Israel, Kassel, Germany, Gaza, Venice, India, Essen, Haitian, United States, B.D.S, London, Lisson, New York, Paris, West Germany, Munich, Nazi, Indonesia

☆ BBC Says It Received 5 Complaints About Russell Brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The BBC, Britain’s public broadcaster, announced on Tuesday that it had received five complaints about “inappropriate behavior” by the comedian Russell Brand during a period when he was working on its radio shows. The investigation also included other claims about Mr. Brand’s behavior in the workplace. The night before the investigation was published, Mr. In its first update on its inquiry, the BBC said two people had complained about Mr. Another complainant contacted the BBC in 2019, and two other individuals had done so in recent months, it said in a news release.

Persons: Russell Brand, Brand’s, Brand Organizations: BBC

☆ Climate Protesters Damage a Celebrated Velázquez Painting in London
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the suffragist Mary Richardson walked into the National Gallery in London with a concealed hatchet in March 1914, she headed for the “Rokeby Venus,” one of Diego Velázquez’s most celebrated paintings, and slashed it repeatedly. Now, over a century later, Velázquez’s nude appears to have been damaged again. Just before 11 a.m. on Monday, two climate activists belonging to Just Stop Oil, a British group that wants to prevent new oil and gas licensing, struck the glass that protects the painting 10 times with emergency hammers. It was initially unclear whether they had damaged the painting. Over the past year and a half, Just Stop Oil has made headlines through attention-grabbing stunts in British museums, including protests in which members glued themselves to John Constable’s “The Hay Wain” and threw tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” — two other artworks in the National Gallery collection.

Persons: Mary Richardson, Rokeby, Diego Velázquez’s, ” —, John Constable’s “, Hay Wain ”, Vincent van Locations: London, British

☆ Four Men Charged in the Case of the Missing Golden Toilet
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Four years ago, a fully functioning 18-karat gold toilet was stolen from an art exhibition at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. On Monday, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service announced that it had authorized charges against four men in connection with the theft of the golden loo — an artwork by the Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, titled “America,” which had been on display as part of an exhibition at the palace, which is in Oxfordshire, England. The Crown Prosecution Service said in a news release that it had charged James Sheen, 39, with burglary, conspiracy to transfer criminal property and transferring criminal property; Michael Jones, 38, with burglary; and Fred Doe, 35, and Bora Guccuk, 39, with conspiracy to transfer criminal property. The four men will appear at a court in Oxford, England, on Nov. 28 for the first stage in potentially lengthy criminal proceedings. Britain’s courts system has a severe backlog in cases.

Persons: Winston Churchill, Maurizio Cattelan, James Sheen, Michael Jones, Fred Doe, Bora Guccuk Organizations: Prosecution Service, Crown Prosecution Service Locations: Blenheim, Italian, Oxfordshire, England, Oxford

☆ Poland’s Art World Awaits a Culture War Counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just weeks after becoming Poland’s culture minister, in 2015, Piotr Glinski began a yearslong effort to shift his country’s cultural life toward the political right. He ousted liberal museum directors, replacing them with conservatives. He created new institutions to celebrate traditional culture and nationalist heroes. Many artists and cultural leaders opposed Glinski’s actions, and there were protests throughout his term, including outside Poland’s National Museum after a leader he had appointed removed sexually suggestive artworks from the walls. Pawel Sztarbowski, the deputy director at the Powszechny Theater, in Warsaw, said that Glinski had tried to “return Poland to an imaginary past.”

Persons: Piotr Glinski, Sztarbowski, Glinski, ” Organizations: Law, Justice, Roman Catholic Church, Poland’s Locations: Warsaw, Poland

☆ An Apparent Cyberattack Hushes the British Library
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The British Library in London is normally a place of quiet study, its reading rooms filled with authors, academics and students often surrounded by piles of books from the library’s collection of about 170 million items. The library’s Wi-Fi has also stopped working, and staff members haven’t been allowed to turn on their computers. Its gift shop is open for business, but only for anyone with cash to buy trinkets such as British Library-branded pencils. Library users, many of whom include writers with pressing deadlines, are beginning to be affected. Books are only available if they are stored at the main library location.

Persons: it’s, ”, haven’t, — Organizations: British, University of Cambridge Locations: London

☆ West End Theatergoers Grumble as Prices for the Best Seats Surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When hundreds of playgoers lined up outside Wyndham’s Theater in London this week, the mood was excited. West End prices, Hooper said, were “out of control.”Another audience member, George Butler, 28, said that he was overjoyed to have secured two tickets for 20 pounds, or about $24, each, even if they were in the nosebleeds. “Theater is becoming very elitist,” Butler said. “The minute there’s a well known person in a play, it’s unaffordable.”London’s theater world is increasingly simmering with complaints over soaring ticket prices, and a perception that they are creeping closer to Broadway levels. Even as producers insist that a fraction of tickets must be sold at steep prices to offset cheap seats for low earners, concern is growing that a night at the theater is becoming an unaffordable luxury.

Persons: Kenneth Branagh, “ King Lear, Alan Hooper, Hooper, George Butler, ” Butler, “, it’s, ” Organizations: Wyndham’s, “, Broadway Locations: London

☆ Marina Abramovic Relents and Adapts a Provocative Piece for Today
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In June 1977, visitors to the Gallery of Modern Art in Bologna, Italy, were met with a shocking sight: Marina Abramovic, the Serbian performance artist, and her partner, Ulay, standing in the museum’s doorway, completely naked. The only way inside was to squeeze between the couple. Abramovic and Ulay remained in place for three hours, staring intently into each other’s eyes, as a stream of visitors pushed through and sometimes stepped on their toes. This fall, Abramovic, now 76, is restaging that work, “Imponderabilia,” at the Royal Academy of Arts, in London, as part of a major retrospective of her work that runs through Jan. 1, 2024. Since Abramovic no longer performs the work herself, and Ulay died in 2020, she has recruited younger performers to take part — and there is another major difference from the 1977 piece.

Persons: Marina Abramovic, Ulay, “, ” Organizations: Modern Art, Royal Academy of Arts Locations: Bologna, Italy, Serbian, Abramovic, London, Jan

☆ Russell Brand’s Timeline of Scandal and Controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

But after The Mail on Sunday newspaper wrote about the calls, thousands of irate callers flooded the BBC switchboard and the incident became a political storm. Brand was forced into an apology, but Greenslade said that incident didn’t affect Brand’s popularity among fans as it played into his “bad boy” image. With those videos, Monbiot said, Brand engaged young and disenfranchised voters in a way that actual politicians had struggled to do. Over time, the tenor of the Brand’s videos changed, and became filled with conspiracies and conservative talking points, including vaccine skepticism. Throughout his career, Brand — a self-described narcissist — had sought attention and on YouTube, it was right-wing talking points that got the most likes and shares.

Persons: Andrew Sachs, Manuel, Brand, Jonathan Ross, Greenslade, ” Greenslade, Sarah Marshall ”, he’d, George Monbiot, Brand’s, Monbiot, Ed Milliband, “, Rupert Murdoch, Anthony Fauci, ” Monbiot, —, Ron DeSantis Organizations: BBC, Labour Party, YouTube Locations: Britain, Spanish, ”, United States, British

☆ YouTube Blocks Russell Brand From Making Money Through Its Platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

YouTube suspended the comedian and actor Russell Brand on Tuesday from making money from videos posted to the social media platform, three days after British news organizations published an investigation in which several women accused Mr. The channel is a potentially significant source of income for Mr. Brand, who was earning money through advertisements and paid promotions. A spokeswoman for YouTube said in an email that Mr. Brand, whose channel on the platform has 6.6 million subscribers, was suspended for violating YouTube’s “creator responsibility policy.”“If a creator’s off-platform behavior harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community,” the spokeswoman said.

Persons: Russell Brand, Mr, Brand Organizations: YouTube

☆ Russell Brand Cancels Comedy Dates After Sexual Assault Allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Russell Brand postponed the remaining dates of a comedy tour on Monday, two days after British news organizations published an investigation in which several women accused him of sexual assault. Brand was scheduled to perform two shows as part of his “Bipolarisation” tour of Britain this week. Brand on Tuesday, the comedian’s promoters said the tour’s remaining dates would not go ahead. Brand denied what he called “serious criminal allegations” against him in a video posted to his YouTube channel. That statement was released shortly before three British news organizations published an investigation in which four women accused him of sexual assault, including one accusation of rape.

Persons: Russell Brand, Brand Organizations: Theater Royal Windsor, YouTube Locations: Britain

☆ A Theater Troupe That’s Also a Support Network for Exiles
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the two founders of the renowned Belarus Free Theater claimed political asylum in Britain in 2011, they found themselves homeless, with few possessions and facing a bureaucratic labyrinth before they could work. Twelve years later, the company’s founders, Natalia Kaliada and Nicolai Khalezin, are using that experience to help other artists fleeing political repression. The Belarus Free Theater’s political productions have often criticized Lukashenko’s authoritarian leadership and its troupe was long at risk of arrest. But as repression increased, the company decided it was no longer feasible for its other members to remain in Minsk. Since then, Kaliada said, she and Khalezin had been helping the actors to find housing, therapy and visas.

Persons: Natalia Kaliada, Nicolai Khalezin, Ukraine —, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko, Vladimir V, Putin, Kaliada, Khalezin Organizations: Belarus Free Theater, Skype, Belarus —, Belarus Free Locations: Belarus, Britain, British, Minsk, Belarus’s, East, Russia, Ukraine

☆ This Museum Has 300 Tanks and Over 100 Million YouTube Views
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“You really have to admire the bravery and tenacity of the guys who worked in these conditions,” he said. The popularity of the museum’s videos have given the presenters a taste of the influencer life — both positive and negative. Less endearingly, he added, “Russian bots” appeared to be targeting the museum’s clips on tank use in Ukraine, spamming the videos with negative comments. At a time when many museums in Britain are struggling to cope with inflation and falling government subsidies, Wyness said that the YouTube clips had proved a financial boon. Willey, said that, thanks to YouTube, he was educating more people about tanks than he had ever expected.

Persons: clambered, ”, Willey, Wyness, Copson, Paul Famojuro Organizations: YouTube Locations: Ukraine, Britain, Bovington

4, he’s missing, he’s up there. Jagger told The Los Angeles Times in October 2021 that “Hackney Diamonds” would have been finished long ago if not for the coronavirus pandemic. Last month, the Stones teased the album via an advertisement for a fake glass repair company, called Hackney Diamonds, that appeared in a London newspaper. The ad’s text referred to several of the band’s well-known songs: “Our friendly team promises you satisfaction. That was “typical Stones’s fakery,” Norman said, because the band had no previous association with Hackney.

Persons: Richards, “, he’s, ”, Watts, Steve Jordan, ” Jagger, —, Jagger, Fallon, ” Philip Norman, ” Norman Organizations: Los Angeles Times, Hackney Locations: Hackney, London, London’s trendiest

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