Why Wellcome closed its Medicine Man exhibition – and others should follow suit
In November the Wellcome Collection closed their Medicine Man gallery. In a Twitter thread, they acknowledged that “the display still perpetuates a version of medical history that is based on racist, sexist and ableist theories and language.” Medicine Man told…
Eco-activist attacks on museum artwork ask us to figure out what we value
In the last few weeks climate change activists have perpetrated various acts of reversible vandalism against famous works of art in public galleries. In the latest incident on Oct. 27, two men entered the Mauritshuis gallery in the Hague. After…
Libraries around the world are helping safeguard Ukrainian books and culture
My mother was born in Sambir, Ukraine, and my father in Przemyśl, Poland. They both spent their childhoods as refugees. They lived among displaced Ukrainians who fled to Austria and Germany as the Red Army advanced in July 1944. My…
Three arguments why Just Stop Oil was right to target Van Gogh’s Sunflowers
Waves of controversy were sparked recently when the Just Stop Oil activists threw tomato soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London. Although the painting was behind glass so not damaged, politicians were quick to condemn their…
Van Gogh Museum at 50: how galleries are challenging the ‘tortured genius’ narrative
At the time that Vincent van Gogh was creating his acclaimed work, The Starry Night, he was hospitalised at Saint-Paul de Mausole asylum. He painted the vivid night sky from his room without the bars of his window, editing out…
Ukraine’s cultural heritage faces destruction as Russian bombing continues
Ukraine is a country with a vast cultural heritage. It is dotted with sites of profound historic, artistic and archaeological importance – from Unesco world heritage monuments such as the Cathedral of St Sophia in Kyiv to exquisite examples of…
