Category Archives: Art and design

‘A lot of pride and joy’: the First Nations team representing Australia at the Venice Biennale of Architecture

Posted on by

These seven architects hope to show First Nations design and connection to Country at the world’s most prestigious architecture exhibition

Australia’s participation in next year’s Venice Biennale remains under a cloud. With Creative Australia holding fast to its decision to cancel its commission of artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino, it’s becoming increasingly likely that the Australian Pavilion might remain dark in 2026.

It is an added weight for the First Nations team who have unveiled their new creation inside the pavilion as part of Venice’s other biennale: the Venice Biennale of Architecture, held every other year in the Giardini.

Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning

Continue reading...

Archibald prize 2025: Julie Fragar wins for portrait of artist Justene Williams

Posted on by

Decision announced at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where all finalists will be exhibited to the public from Saturday

Julie Fragar has won the 2025 Archibald prize for her portrait of her fellow artist Justene Williams.

Announced as the winner of the $100,000 prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Friday, the winning work was selected unanimously by the judges from 904 entries and 57 finalists.Fragar is just the 13th woman to win the prize in its 104-year history.

Continue reading...

Front row? Dublin orders tourists to leave statue’s cleavage alone

Posted on by

Touching breasts of city’s Molly Malone statue is supposed to bring luck, but not everyone is happy with tradition

Each time a tourist sidled up to the statue and reached for the most famous cleavage in Dublin, a voice called out: “No touching please.”

Two city council stewards stood vigil over the landmark on Tuesday to notify would-be gropers that Molly Malone was to be left alone. After years of supposedly bringing good luck to whomever touched the breasts, they were now off-limits.

Continue reading...

Denmark’s museum objects at risk from ‘extreme’ new mould, say conservators

Posted on by

The ‘epidemic for Golden Age paintings’ may already be a global problem, with the fungi a possible health hazard

A new type of “extreme” mould is sweeping through Denmark’s museums, threatening some of the nation’s most important paintings and cultural objects, conservators have warned.

Described as an “epidemic for Golden Age paintings”, the highly resistant mould covers objects in a white coating and has been detected in 12 of the country’s museums, including the National Museum of Denmark and Skagens Museum.

Continue reading...

‘The eighth wonder of the world’: China’s terracotta warriors to march on Australia for blockbuster show

Posted on by

Perth will host huge exhibition of ancient treasures from first emperor’s tomb in June, with 40% of the artefacts leaving China for the first time ever

Two thousand years ago, in a bid to conquer death itself, China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang commissioned a city of the dead: a 49 sq km mausoleum guarded by an army of clay warriors, built to defend his tomb for eternity.

When farmers near Xi’an unearthed the first clay head in 1974, they cracked open one of humanity’s greatest archaeological mysteries, with more than 8,000 Terracotta Warriors discovered over the last 50 years. Now, fragments of that dream of immortality rise again – this time in Perth, where the largest exhibition of the Terracotta Warriors ever staged in Australia will head later this year

Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning

Continue reading...

Lifesize herd of puppet animals begins climate action journey from Africa to Arctic Circle

Posted on by

The Herds project from the team behind Little Amal will travel 20,000km taking its message on environmental crisis across the world

Hundreds of life-size animal puppets have begun a 20,000km (12,400 mile) journey from central Africa to the Arctic Circle as part of an ambitious project created by the team behind Little Amal, the giant puppet of a Syrian girl that travelled across the world.

The public art initiative called The Herds, which has already visited Kinshasa and Lagos, will travel to 20 cities over four months to raise awareness of the climate crisis.

Continue reading...

Embattled Creative Australia boss served angry letters from staff and 600 literary figures amid Sabsabi fallout

Posted on by

Letters from staff expressed ‘complete lack of confidence in your ability to lead this organisation effectively’ and fears over participating in external inquiry

The embattled head of Creative Australia has been served with two letters of complaint collectively written by staff, and a third signed by more than 600 Australian literary figures.

The fallout over Creative Australia’s decision in February to withdraw the artistic team of Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino from next year’s Venice Biennale continues, with its chief executive, Adrian Collette, now on leave and an inquiry under way into the circumstances surrounding the selection and subsequent sacking of the pair as Australia’s representatives.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

Vatican puts ‘God’s architect’ Antoni Gaudí on path to sainthood

Posted on by

Pope Francis recognises the ‘heroic virtues’ of the creator of Barcelona’s Sagrada Família basilica in first step of process

He’s long been nicknamed “God’s architect” by those who point to his piety and the religious imagery woven through his soaring spires, colourful ceramics and undulating lines.

Now it seems the Vatican may be ready to make it official. It said on Monday that Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan architect behind Barcelona’s Sagrada Família basilica, had been put on the path to sainthood.

Continue reading...

London mural by key postwar artist saved from demolition

Posted on by

William Mitchell artwork saved but Blackheath community centre in which it was housed will be torn down

A rare piece of postwar art that was under threat of being demolished along with the south London building it was housed in has been saved.

The work, a mural by William Mitchell, was created for a community centre in Blackheath that is to be torn down to make way for social housing. The mural will now be preserved by Heritage of London Trust (Holt).

Continue reading...

Tasmania’s Dark Mofo is back with a bang – and a car crash: festival announces 2025 program

Posted on by

After a year off, the often controversial art festival returns, having signed a new three-year funding deal with the state government

A two-hour performance work involving an artist and a stunt driver culminating in a head-on car crash, a man being crushed by sand in a giant hourglass, and an open invitation to scream, are among some of the artworks heading to Tasmania’s Dark Mofo festival, which is back this winter after taking a fallow year.

The annual art festival, created by David Walsh’s Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) and well known for its often controversial, confronting and humorous spirit, was called off last year so organisers could take stock of “changing conditions and rising costs” to ensure its future. Many festivals around Australia have been cancelled in the last two years, including Dark Mofo’s summer equivalent, Mona Foma, which finished in 2024 after 16 years.

Continue reading...

Visitors flock to Paris’s Pompidou Centre before it closes for renovations

Posted on by

Art lovers catch last glimpse of prestigious art collection before gallery shuts for five years for major revamp

Visitors from around the world have been flocking to the Pompidou Centre in Paris this weekend, seizing the last opportunity to enjoy Europe’s largest temple of modern and contemporary art before it closes its doors for a five-year overhaul.

In one of the most complex closures of its kind, the task of removing the museum’s 2,000-strong permanent collection will start on Monday. The Pompidou’s Chagalls, Giacomettis and myriad other treasures will be relocated to other sites in Paris and museums elsewhere in France and around the world.

Continue reading...

London exhibition explores design based on needs of nature and animals

Posted on by

Curator of Design Museum show says ‘human-centric’ approach to design needs overhaul amid climate crisis

Designers need to “fundamentally rethink our relationship with the natural world”, according to the curator of a new exhibition which argues the needs of nature and animals should be considered when creating homes, buildings and products.

Justin McGuirk, the curator of the upcoming More Than Human exhibition at the Design Museum in London, said our current “human-centric” approach to design needs to be radically overhauled as the world adapts to the climate crisis.

Continue reading...

Creative Australia boss forced to refute rumour he had resigned as fallout over Khaled Sabsabi dumping continues

Posted on by

Adrian Collette sends all-staff email denying that he and the chair of Creative Australia’s board had quit amid calls for resignations

The beleaguered CEO of Creative Australia, Adrian Collette, has quashed rumours that emerged overnight that he and the chair of the body’s board, Robert Morgan, had resigned.

“There is a rumour circulating on social media that Robert Morgan and I have resigned,” said his email to all staff of the government arts funding organisation, sent just after 8.30am on Friday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Venice Biennale pavilion could be empty, Creative Australia chief tells senators

Posted on by

Adrian Collette admits decision to drop Khaled Sabsabi risks having nothing on show but he and chair won’t quit

Creative Australia has conceded the Australian Pavilion at next year’s Venice Biennale may remain empty following its decision to rescind the contracts of the artist and curator it chose to represent the country at the prestigious event.

“We will be doing everything we can…to think about how we use what is a public pavilion to mount something of that is worthy in terms of its representation of Australia,” Creative Australia’s chief executive, Adrian Collette, told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday night.

Continue reading...

Norman Foster on shortlist to design Queen Elizabeth II memorial

Posted on by

Architect who was once highly critical of King Charles is part of team that is one of five finalists for scheme

The shortlist of teams competing to design a national memorial to the late Queen Elizabeth II has been unveiled and includes an architect once highly critical of King Charles.

Five finalists are in the running for what has been described as one of the most significant design initiatives in modern British history, in tribute to the UK’s longest-serving monarch.

Continue reading...

Artists who represented Australia at Venice Biennale call for Khaled Sabsabi to be reinstated

Posted on by

Open letter from some of the country’s most distinguished artists ‘strongly protests’ at the removal of Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino

Living artists who have represented Australia at the Venice Biennale over the past five decades – and the estates of a number of now deceased artists who have done the same – have signed an open letter to the board and chief executive of Creative Australia to reinstate sacked artist Khaled Sabsabi and his curator Michael Dagostino.

Some of Australia’s most distinguished living artists, including Imants Tillers, Mike Parr, Susan Norrie, Fiona Hall, Judy Watson, Patricia Piccinini and Tracey Moffat have signed the petition, as has the estate of Howard Arkley who represented Australia in Venice more than a quarter of a century ago.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Historic England acquires collection featuring some of UK’s oldest photos

Posted on by

Janette Rosing built up pioneering trove of 8,000 images dating back to the early days of the Industrial Revolution

Some of the oldest photographs in England which show the country’s transformation after the industrial revolution have been acquired by Historic England.

Images from the Janette Rosing collection include some of the earliest landscape photography ever taken in the country, spanning the breadth of southern England from the harbours of Clovelly and Plymouth in Devon to the streets of Bethnal Green and the banks of the River Thames in London.

Continue reading...

Workshop producing fake Picassos and Rembrandts found in Rome

Posted on by

Prosecutors seize 71 canvases and say evidence suggests an art restorer was behind frauds

A clandestine workshop has been discovered in Rome where fakes of paintings by some of the world’s most famous artists, including Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt, were produced before being sold online.

The discovery was made in a house in a district in the north of the city by a team from Rome’s public prosecutors’ office and the forgeries unit of Italy’s art squad, which they said has gathered “important evidence” to suggest an art restorer was at the centre of the racket.

Continue reading...

Artists demand National Endowment for the Arts roll back Trump restrictions

Posted on by

More than 400 artists sign letter urging organization to resist funding ban for projects focused on DEI and gender

Donald Trump’s efforts to influence US cultural institutions received more pushback on Tuesday, as a group of more than 400 artists sent a letter to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) calling on the organization to resist the president’s restrictions on funding for projects promoting diversity or “gender ideology”.

The letter, first reported by the New York Times, comes after the NEA declared that federal grant applicants – which include colleges and universities, non-profit groups, individual artists and more – must comply with regulations stipulated by Trump’s executive orders. The new measures bar federal funds from going toward programs focused on “diversity, equity and inclusion” or used to “promote gender ideology”.

Continue reading...

All fores! Miranda July among artists to create feminist mini-golf course in Melbourne

Posted on by

Swingers, which aims to celebrate the sport’s feminist history, will take over the Flinders Street station ballroom as part of the 2025 Rising festival

The acclaimed author and film-maker Miranda July is among a group of artists who are building a mini-golf course in Melbourne to celebrate the sport’s little-known feminist history.

Swingers: The Art of Mini Golf will take over the Flinders Street station ballroom, an abandoned space above the busy Melbourne railway station, as part of the city’s annual Rising festival.

Continue reading...