Image generated by Al; for representational purposes only; (R) Alison Luchs shooting the video at the National Gallery of Art with her Gen Z crew
A 77-year-old museum curator has become an unlikely Gen Z icon. Alison Luchs, deputy head of sculpture at the National Gallery of Art, learned the latest youth slang — from GOATED to big drip — to describe centuries-old masterpieces in short videos, and the internet ate it up. What started as an educational experiment racked up millions of views, proving that classical art can still slay in the age of memes.Art + Rizz = Viral Luchs stood by a 16th-century urn on camera, dropping lines like “Haters will say this urn is mid,” “screamed big drip” and “Honestly, she ate.” Nearly 9 million views later, viewers praised her natural delivery and fresh spin on guided tours – turning old masterpieces into fresh content.Gen Z Lingo School To prepare, Luchs studied slang like it was a new language – learning terms describing charisma (rizzler), cool vibes (aura points) and glamorous makeovers (yassified). Her enthusiasm has even reshaped daily life: colleagues say she now uses the new vocabulary off-camera too. The gallery is also running a contest inviting short-form art videos, showing that remix culture isn’t going anywhere.
Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”
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Believe it or not: This museum curator’s got the rizz

Image generated by Al; for representational purposes only; (R) Alison Luchs shooting the video at the National Gallery of Art with her Gen Z crew
A 77-year-old museum curator has become an unlikely Gen Z icon. Alison Luchs, deputy head of sculpture at the National Gallery of Art, learned the latest youth slang — from GOATED to big drip — to describe centuries-old masterpieces in short videos, and the internet ate it up. What started as an educational experiment racked up millions of views, proving that classical art can still slay in the age of memes.Art + Rizz = Viral Luchs stood by a 16th-century urn on camera, dropping lines like “Haters will say this urn is mid,” “screamed big drip” and “Honestly, she ate.” Nearly 9 million views later, viewers praised her natural delivery and fresh spin on guided tours – turning old masterpieces into fresh content.Gen Z Lingo School To prepare, Luchs studied slang like it was a new language – learning terms describing charisma (rizzler), cool vibes (aura points) and glamorous makeovers (yassified). Her enthusiasm has even reshaped daily life: colleagues say she now uses the new vocabulary off-camera too. The gallery is also running a contest inviting short-form art videos, showing that remix culture isn’t going anywhere.
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“The fact Whistlejacket is on this plain background makes it feel very modern, and we want to believe that Stubbs was bucking a trend and having a little experimentation,” he said, but if his “understanding of Stubbs’s technique was correct” then the artist had painted the horse first “with the intention of coming back to put the background in”.
From March 12, Whistlejacket will be joined in a National Gallery exhibition by Scrub, another life-sized painting of a horse by Stubbs that was also commissioned by the marquess and does have a landscape background.
Both Scrub, showing a bay colt, and Whistlejacket, an Arabian chestnut stallion, are thought to have been painted by Stubbs in about 1762 and to be the first life-size portraits of horses without riders in British art.
The National Gallery said its belief that both the marquess and “possibly” Stubbs considered Whistlejacket finished was based on a 1797 memoir by a friend of the artist, recounting an incident in which the real Whistlejacket saw its near-finished portrait and tried to attack it. The marquess was “so pleased with such proof of the excellence of the picture that he determined nothing more should be done”.
Stubbs and the marquess, who was prime minister for two terms and a renowned racehorse breeder, are known to have had a prickly relationship. Despite having commissioned Stubbs to paint Scrub, the marquess decided not to buy that artwork, and it remained in the artist’s studio for 20 years.
• Stubbs, Lowry or Turner: who painted Britain best?
Scrub — titled in full Scrub, a bay horse belonging to the Marquess of Rockingham — will be on public display for only the second time when it is shown in a room near Whistlejacket at the National Gallery.
It is thought that the marquess originally commissioned both Whistlejacket and Scrub as bases for portraits of George III, who was then to have been depicted atop the horses. It is speculated that he abandoned the plan after resigning from his post as lord of the bedchamber in 1762.
Grosvenor, who first explained his theory on his podcast, Waldy and Bendy’s Adventures in Art, told The Times that Stubbs’s landscapes were revolutionary, just as his animal depictions were.
“He was the first person to really say the fidelity of the horse matters more than anything else and that is why he spent so many years literally peeling them back to the bone [through anatomical studies],” he said. “And because he is so interested in fidelity he is right up there in British art history as the first person to say. ‘I am going to paint this landscape absolutely faithfully’.
“It was at a time when aristocratic patrons wanted Italianate or Claudian pastiches. Stubbs liked to observe the reality of the landscape and I just feel that he would have wanted to situate Whistlejacket in some kind of setting.”
Ozias Humphry’s memoir recounts an incident when, according to the gallery, Stubbs was “about to finish the painting of the horse” when the real Whistlejacket began to “stare & look wildly at the picture, endeavouring to get at it, in order to attack it, the boy pulling him back & checking him”.
Humphry wrote: “The Marquis came shortly after to see what progress had been made, & learning the circumstance, was so pleased with such proof of the excellence of the picture that he determined nothing more should be done to it, tho’ it was on the bare canvas without a back ground.”
Mary McMahon, the gallery’s associate curator, said on Friday: “The anecdote may be exaggerated, particularly as it ties in to a tradition of stories about great artists producing a work so realistic it tricks the viewer. But it does record Humphry receiving information directly from Stubbs that the marquess had the final say on the finished painting, as one would expect for this time as the patron of the work.”
McMahon said there was no correspondence to “further clarify how the decision was reached … but Stubbs had already produced two other works for the Marquess of Rockingham early in 1762 without a figurative background, suggesting this was a request particular to the patron.”

Is Stubbs’s Whistlejacket experimental - or just unfinished?

I just had a most eventful week.
I watched in horror as a terrible storm in the Mediterranean dashed a ship against a rocky coast, forcing its crew and passengers into a desperate attempt to save themselves and rescue their cargo.
I soared with the birds among snow-covered peaks in the Rockies, marveling at the many shades of white and blue.
And I joined picnickers on a serene hillside along the Hudson River, where I watched the sunlight and clouds play above a sheep pasture and a tiny village beyond it.
What’s more, I did all of this in just 90 minutes at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. I took the museum’s “Finding Awe” tour and, with the help of staff, unlocked a sense of wonder I did not know I could feel while looking at art — in this case, a 1772 shipwreck scene by Claude-Joseph Vernet, a 1946 abstraction by Georgia O’Keeffe, and an 1860 landscape by Jasper Francis Cropsey.
The National Gallery, working with University of California at Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner, has so far hosted 36 awe tours for the 800 people lucky enough to get a slot. You can also take a self-guided awe tour using the museum’s tools, or apply the same techniques to experience wonder while looking at art anywhere.
A growing body of evidence demonstrates that the experience of awe that visual arts can trigger has mental and physical health benefits for us. They are similar to the restorative effects produced by awe-inspiring natural settings, such as a mountain vista or open sea, but we can access them more easily. The best part is you don’t need to know anything about the art you are looking at.
“In some ways I think it’s actually easier if you don’t have an understanding,” National Gallery of Art Director Kaywin Feldman told me, because “that moment of ‘oh my goodness’ is part of wonder. You have to sort of stop in your tracks, have that moment of surprise.”
This was excellent news for me, because that one semester of art history I took in college didn’t stick. Until now, the primary feeling I’ve had when visiting a museum has been drowsiness. I call it “museum head.” I race through one of the world’s best collections — the Louvre, the Uffizi, the Prado, the Met — and glimpse as many works of art as I can take in until, overstimulated and overwhelmed, I find a seat near the gift shop and wait for the others in my party to finish.
But now I know the cause of museum head: I was doing it all wrong. The way to experience awe in visual art — in fact, the way to experience awe in any setting — is to slow down. The point is not to see it all but to see a few things, or even one thing, deeply.
Feldman’s first such awe experience came in Padua, Italy, when she was 22 and, though hungry, tired, and dirty from her travels, she decided to see the Giotto de Bondone frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel. “When I walked out of that chapel, I felt like I was walking on a cloud,” she recalled. “I thought life was so beautiful, such a gift. I fell back in love with humanity and felt such optimism for the future.”
Since then, she has made it her life’s work to help others experience such moments of wonder. She told me she once kicked a pair of donors off a Florence art tour when they declined to visit the Uffizi because they already “did it” decades earlier. “You’re there to have an experience, not to check something off the list.”
To illustrate, she took me to see a 1659 self-portrait by Rembrandt and instructed me to study his face, brightly lit while all else in the painting was in shadow. His dark eyes locked on mine even as I moved from side to side. I studied the wrinkles in his forehead, the folds under the eyes, the loose flesh in the pallid cheeks. I could see a blood vessel on his bulbous nose, the whiskers of his thin beard and the individual curls in his hair. I saw sadness and maybe worry in that face.
After I took that in, Feldman explained the sadness. Rembrandt, 53 in the portrait, had just gone bankrupt and had to move from his home and sell his possessions. He had lost his wife and several children and had a financial dispute with a partner. “He’s looking at you and connecting and asking you to acknowledge him,” she said. For her, the wonder comes from this “direct connection with somebody who is no longer alive.”
I held the great man’s gaze from across the centuries and I felt a chill. This connection to immortality made my daily vanities and worries seem small and insignificant. It reminds us, as Feldman put it, that we are “part of something bigger.”
New research out of King’s College London gauged people’s physiological responses while they viewed works by Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Edouard Manet, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec for 20 minutes. The study, now in preprint, found that participants’ levels of the stress hormone cortisol dropped by 22% on average, while markers of inflammation dropped even more sharply and heart rhythms indicated greater relaxation.
This is consistent with other recent research c

A sense of wonder can improve our physical and emotional health

Whether you're looking for cocktails or an art gallery, we've discovered spots you might not have come across.
Cambridge is full of well-known buildings and bars, which you will see tourists crowding around every summer. However, our city also has its fair share of hidden attractions, which you could easily miss.
These hidden gems range from a hidden cocktail bar to a memorial to a famous Chinese poet. Take a look below to find your new favourite places to take family and friends next time they visit the city.
Hidden Rooms
The clue's in the title with this one. This cocktail bar is, of course, hidden to the average passer-by. It is a reservation-only spot located in the basement of a Victorian-era Roman baths, and looks just like it's part of the Kibou restaurant on Jesus Lane.
Once you discover the bar, you will realise there is plenty going on here. Not only are you invited to sip margaritas and martinis, but you could get involved in a cocktail-making class or attend one of its regular music nights.
The Women's Art Collection
The historic divide between "town and gown" in Cambridge may mean residents, who aren't students, are missing out on some of the delights to be found in the university's colleges. Some of these, like the women's art collection at Murray Edwards College on Huntingdon Road, are open to the public.
This collection began in the late 1980s and has grown, now numbering over 600 works by more than 300 artists. As well as the permanent collection, there are regular exhibitions and talks by artists.
Newton's apple tree
This is not the tree from Isaac Newton's childhood home. However, it is close enough to be special: this tree outside Trinity College, Trinity Street, is an offshoot of that original tree, which has a place in the stories told as schools worldwide while students about Newton's discovery of gravity.
The tree was planted in 1954 to honour his links to the University of Cambridge (where he studied and worked) and to celebrate his contributions to science. It is visible at all times, although members of the public are banned from entering the grass surrounding it.
Xu Zhimo Memorial
From science to poetry: there are plenty of celebrated figures with a connection to the city, and who are remembered in various ways along Cambridge's streets and at its colleges. One of these is poet Xu Zhimo, known for his contributions to modernist Chinese poetry.
Xu's love for the city began when he first entered King's College, Cambridge, in 1922, where he fell in love with Romantic poetry and literature. Having returned to China and infused Chinese poetry with European Romanticism, he came back to Cambridge in 1928.
Here, he penned a poem that celebrated the punters, willows and sunlight experienced in the Backs of King's College, which has since become famous in China. Xu was tragically killed in a plane crash in 1931, and his memorial stone was unveiled in the grounds of King's College in 2018.
People can visit the stone by buying a ticket to enter the grounds of King's College.
Bar-OH
Tucked away next to the Hilton hotel on Downing Street, you will find a treasure trove of video games and quirky drinks. Customers are invited to play classics like Wii Sports and MarioKart, and say hello to the robot doorman.
Although it is hidden, this bar has managed to gain a reputation for excellence. In 2024, Muddy Stilettos listed Bar-OH as a finalist in its award for the best bar in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.
Dinky Doors
These minute, intricate structures are dotted around the city. You may have spotted one or two Dinky Doors, described by their creators as "petite portals into other worlds", while walking around.

Cambridge's hidden places that everyone should visit at least once

In the pulsating heart of the 21st century, modern art continues to evolve, challenging our perceptions and pushing the envelope of creativity. As a gallery curator, I find myself at the intersection of this dynamic landscape, where tradition meets innovation, and the ordinary collides with the extraordinary. The modern art scene is a kaleidoscope of styles, mediums, and expressions, each piece telling a unique story that resonates with the contemporary human experience. 

From the stark minimalism of a monochromatic canvas to the immersive digital installations that blur the lines between reality and virtuality, modern art is a testament to the boundless potential of human imagination. One of the most compelling aspects of modern art is its ability to reflect and critique the societal shifts and cultural transformations of our time. Artists today are not just creators; they are observers, commentators, and activists, using their art to spark conversations about pressing issues such as climate change, social justice, and technological advancement. This narrative-driven approach to art-making has given rise to a new wave of socially engaged artists who are redefining the role of art in society. The gallery space has also undergone a significant transformation in recent years. No longer confined to the white cube, contemporary art is increasingly being presented in unconventional settings, from abandoned warehouses to public parks, making art more accessible and inclusive.

 This shift towards democratizing art is a reflection of the broader cultural movement towards inclusivity and diversity, where art is seen as a universal language that transcends boundaries and fosters connection. As a curator, my role is not just to showcase art but to create meaningful experiences that engage, provoke, and inspire. Whether it's through thought-provoking exhibitions, artist talks, or community workshops, the goal is to create a space where art can be experienced, discussed, and appreciated in all its complexity. The future of modern art is as exciting as it is unpredictable. With the rapid advancement of technology, we are seeing the emergence of new mediums such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence, which are opening up new possibilities for artistic expression. As we navigate this ever-evolving landscape, one thing is clear: modern art will continue to challenge, inspire, and captivate us, reflecting the ever-changing tapestry of the human experience.

Navigating the Boundaries of Modern Art: A Curator's Perspective

In the hushed gallery of dreams, where light dances upon the walls, there lies a canvas, a silent sentinel of emotions. It is not merely a piece of art, but a poem, a sonnet of colors and forms, a ballad of the artist's soul. The brushstrokes are like lines of verse, each one a syllable in the grand ode to life, love, and the human condition. The colors, vibrant and deep, are the metaphors that paint a thousand tales, each hue a word that speaks volumes of the artist's journey. The canvas is a symphony of silence, a chorus of stillness that sings the loudest of songs. It is a poem, a masterpiece, a whisper of the artist's heart, echoing through the halls of time, a testament to the power of art, a testament to the power of poetry.

Whispers of the Canvas

In the heart of Paris, a city renowned for its art and culture, a remarkable painting has recently come to light, captivating the attention of art enthusiasts and critics alike. The painting, titled 'L'Éveil des Sens,' was discovered in a small, unassuming gallery tucked away in the Latin Quarter, far from the bustling crowds of the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay. Its creator, a relatively unknown artist named Claire Moreau, has left an indelible mark on the art world with this extraordinary piece. 'L'Éveil des Sens' is a large-scale oil painting that immediately draws the viewer in with its vibrant colors and intricate details. The central figure is a woman, her eyes closed in a moment of serene contemplation. She is surrounded by a lush garden, teeming with life and color. The painting is a symphony of textures and hues, from the delicate petals of the flowers to the rough bark of the trees. What makes 'L'Éveil des Sens' truly remarkable is its ability to evoke a sense of tranquility and introspection. The woman's serene expression and the peaceful surroundings create a sense of harmony that is both calming and inspiring. It is a painting that invites the viewer to pause, to reflect, and to appreciate the beauty of the world around them. The discovery of 'L'Éveil des Sens' has sparked a renewed interest in the work of Claire Moreau. While she may not be a household name, her talent is undeniable. This painting is a testament to her skill and creativity, and it is sure to cement her place in the art world. As word of 'L'Éveil des Sens' spreads, art lovers from around the world are flocking to Paris to see this masterpiece for themselves. It is a reminder of the power of art to inspire, to challenge, and to bring people together. In a world that often feels chaotic and uncertain, 'L'Éveil des Sens' offers a moment of peace and beauty, a reminder of the enduring power of the human spirit.

A Masterpiece Unearthed: The Hidden Gem of Paris

This fall, the Bay Area’s luxury real estate market isn’t just selling homes, it’s selling experiences. Strolling through estates in Pacific Heights, Atherton, or the hills of Marin, it’s easy to question whether you’re touring a residence or an art gallery. These properties are evolving into curated showcases, where the architecture, décor, and artwork are as much the stars as the sprawling kitchens or infinity pools.
High ceilings, natural light cascading through floor-to-ceiling windows, and interiors designed by internationally acclaimed designers make these estates feel more like private museums than places to hang your coat. Sculptures occupy corners like permanent installations; canvases with bold brushstrokes command attention in spaces that blend classic elegance with modern minimalism. Buyers are acquiring not only a luxurious living space, but also a lifestyle, a statement, a curated world.
The trend is fueled by buyers who are collectors of wealth as well as collectors of taste. In the Bay Area, tech magnates and creative entrepreneurs are investing in homes that double as sanctuaries for art and design. Some estates even come with their own dedicated galleries, climate-controlled for precious pieces, complete with exhibition lighting that would make any museum curator nod in approval. The homes themselves feel alive, each room narrating a story, each hallway a private exhibition.
Fall accentuates this phenomenon beautifully. The season’s soft, golden light spills across galleries of glass and stone, illuminating interiors like living canvases. Gardens transform into outdoor installations, with autumnal foliage providing a natural backdrop to sculptures and fountains. Walk through an estate at sunset, and you might forget whether you’re stepping into a private residence or a carefully staged art experience.
Bay Area estates have become cultural statements, arenas where architecture and art converge. For enthusiasts of both design and lifestyle, these properties redefine what it means to live luxuriously. The ultimate luxury is no longer just space or location; it’s the seamless fusion of beauty, function, and artistry under one roof.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) may have been used to aid in the development of this content with human supervision to edit and approve all final content. The editorial team did not contribute to these pieces, and the opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the editorial staff. Refer to our partner statement to better understand the nature of the relationship.

Luxury Homes or Art Galleries? Bay Area Estates are Blurring the Line This Fall

Visit just about any art museum, and they will almost surely have several rooms full of paintings from around the world and throughout history. Other rooms may feature sculptures or photographs, fiber arts or metal work.
Tattoos rarely, if ever, receive the same chance to be admired. The image may be on a person, not a canvas, but it doesn’t make the art less noteworthy or the artist less talented.
Christina Villagomez, founding artist of 5th Dimension Studios in Coeur d’Alene, and Sara Mortier, owner of La Mort Tattoo in Spokane, independently submitted show proposals to Terrain for its gallery that centered on, in part, seeing tattoos in a new light.
Villagomez and Mortier were paired together for the November exhibition and are co-presenting “Body of Work,” now open at the Terrain Gallery. The show runs through Nov. 29.
Villagomez grew up with a musician father and a photographer mother who instilled a love of the arts into their children. Villagomez started drawing when she was “knee-high to a grasshopper,” though in high school, she thought her creativity would lead her to work as a journalist.
“My mom kept telling me she always thought I was going to grow up to be a tattoo artist,” Villagomez said. “I thought that was so strange, because I didn’t really have any interest in it at the time.”
While working on her associate’s degree, Villagomez realized she wouldn’t have a lot of time to draw if she was a full-time journalist, so she put a pause on school so she could re-evaluate her next steps.
Around the same time, a local tattoo artist whose art Villagomez admired reached out and asked if she could use some of Villagomez’s art for flash tattoos. This opened her eyes to there being an interest in her work as tattoos but also the variety of tattoos being done.
“We had family friends that were tattoo artists, and I always saw it as a singular style,” she said. “Being able to see all these different styles of tattooing that have emerged in the last 20 years was so inspiring and so exciting. I really wanted to be a part of it, so I actually started my apprenticeship in my mid-20s.”
In other words, mother knows best.
Villagomez apprenticed under Jake Sifford at Black Matter Tattoo for two years. Over those two years, she experimented with a variety of styles but ultimately solidified the love she had for illustrated black work when she entered her apprenticeship.
Similar to Villagomez’s youthful interest in drawing, Mortier said she “came out of the womb drawing.” Unlike the support Villagomez received, many cautioned Mortier that she didn’t want to be a starving artist.
As a result, drawing remained a hobby for Mortier as she worked first as a special education teacher then as a manager of a research lab at the University of Washington. That hobby lead her to tattooing about six years ago when Mortier decided she wanted to give herself a tattoo.
Having never picked up a tattoo machine before, Mortier spent a year and a half studying tattoo theory, reading all the books and watching all the videos about tattooing she could, and taking online courses.
She then ordered a tattoo machine and practiced tattooing on oranges.
“Then I finally turned it on myself, and I was like ‘This is the most amazing thing. I love it so much,’” she said. “I loved this theory already. It was amazing, the science of it, the art of it. Human physiology mixed with all of that? Fantastic and so complex. I turned the machine on myself, and there was no going back. I was so in love with it.”
Mortier began tattooing friends and family before eventually opening a private studio for two years. She opened La Lune Tattoo Collective but has since returned to a private studio, La Mort Tattoo, after La Lune closed earlier this year.
Villagomez and Mortier independently submitted proposals for gallery shows, both of which involved sensory elements, like silicone forms and sculptural installations. Villagomez’s proposal wasn’t necessarily tattoo-related, but she loved the idea of adding sensory elements to tattoos.
On Villagomez’s side of the exhibit, she has displayed a number of examples of her flash tattoos. Many pieces are on paper, featuring animals and flowers, while others follow the curves of mannequin forms which have been turned into lamps.
“I love art nouveau and I love the idea of art being accessible on a daily basis in a practical way,” she said. “I wanted to make lamps, because I thought it was a fun way to make an object that’s useful in everyday life, but it’s still representative of tattooing and something that you can find in the gallery.”
On Mortier’s side, she takes viewers through a timeline of tattoos through history. The timeline starts with the simple lines found on Ötzi, the mummy of a man thought to have lived between 3350 BC and 3105 BC, which Mortier said are believed to have been medicinal in nature, aligning with joints that had degraded while he was alive.
It continues with Polynesian back tattoos, among other sty

Terrain Gallery show 'Body of Work' puts tattoos in fine art spotlight

A government task force is deciding the future of Darwin's flagship art gallery building - and it could become a mixed-use office block instead.
The $145 million State Square Building was designed to showcase one of Australia's most important art collections, held by the Museum and Art Gallery of the NT (MAGNT), and has been purpose-built with two large gallery spaces.
But costs have blown out by $100 million, according to Northern Territory Arts Minister Jinson Charls, who said the project lacked a business case and operational funding.
Turning the gallery into an office block instead would be a depressing outcome, said NT Labor's arts spokesman Chansey Paech.
"It's incredibly disrespectful and offensive to our creative community in the Northern Territory," he said.
"You've got a government walking away from a building purpose-built to celebrate the contributions of arts in the Territory, and I think that's really sad."
The Country Liberal Party government launched an eight-week expression of interest process that it said was intended to identify the most cost effective and impactful use for the site.
"This is about securing a future use for this building that benefits Territorians, boosts the economy, makes our city centre a destination of choice," said Charls in a statement.
That process ended in late October, with the list of tenderers including two property development firms, a top-end tourism peak body - and a 3D metal printing company that is expanding into manufacturing rocket engine parts.
MAGNT is also in the mix, but declined to comment citing the terms of the expression of interest process.
MAGNT's existing site at site at Darwin's Bullocky Point has functioned as both museum and art gallery since 1981, and like many cultural institutions, the institution has only a small fraction of its collection on show, with the rest in storage.
The Northern Territory is at the centre of what is perhaps Australia's biggest contribution to visual arts, the Aboriginal art movement, which is also a major tourist attraction for the region.
One of the movement's annual showcases, the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, recently posted sales figures of $5.1 million, the event's best result in almost two decades of operation.
Almost 16,000 visitors attended and another 13,000 shopped online, with revenues going to 78 participating art centres, many of them in remote communities.
Indigenous art is a major tourist attraction for the NT, but in Alice Springs plans for a Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery of Australia have also been recently scrapped.
Paech has accused the NT government of failing to invest in the arts and regional communities.
But the government maintains arts grants have increased to $7.9 million and the current budget has provided an extra $2.5 million per year to meet higher operating costs at the MAGNT.
The State Square project, funded by both federal and NT governments, is expected to be finished by July 2026 and open for use from August.

Art gallery or office block: flagship project in doubt

A major cost blowout in building Darwin's flagship art gallery has put its future under a cloud. Photo: Lloyd Jones/AAP PHOTOS
A government task force is deciding the future of Darwin's flagship art gallery building - and it could become a mixed-use office block instead.
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The $145 million State Square Building was designed to showcase one of Australia's most important art collections, held by the Museum and Art Gallery of the NT (MAGNT), and has been purpose-built with two large gallery spaces.
But costs have blown out by $100 million, according to Northern Territory Arts Minister Jinson Charls, who said the project lacked a business case and operational funding.
It's sad the government is walking away from the purpose-built gallery, Labor's Chansey Paech says. (Neve Brissenden/AAP PHOTOS)
Turning the gallery into an office block instead would be a depressing outcome, said NT Labor's arts spokesman Chansey Paech.
"It's incredibly disrespectful and offensive to our creative community in the Northern Territory," he said.
"You've got a government walking away from a building purpose-built to celebrate the contributions of arts in the Territory, and I think that's really sad."
The Country Liberal Party government launched an eight-week expression of interest process that it said was intended to identify the most cost effective and impactful use for the site.
"This is about securing a future use for this building that benefits Territorians, boosts the economy, makes our city centre a destination of choice," said Charls in a statement.
That process ended in late October, with the list of tenderers including two property development firms, a top-end tourism peak body - and a 3D metal printing company that is expanding into manufacturing rocket engine parts.
MAGNT is also in the mix, but declined to comment citing the terms of the expression of interest process.
MAGNT's existing site at site at Darwin's Bullocky Point has functioned as both museum and art gallery since 1981, and like many cultural institutions, the institution has only a small fraction of its collection on show, with the rest in storage.
Indigenous art is a major tourist attraction but plans for a gallery in Alice Springs were scrapped. (Marianna Massey/AAP PHOTOS)
The Northern Territory is at the centre of what is perhaps Australia's biggest contribution to visual arts, the Aboriginal art movement, which is also a major tourist attraction for the region.
One of the movement's annual showcases, the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, recently posted sales figures of $5.1 million, the event's best result in almost two decades of operation.
The State Square project, funded by both federal and NT governments, is expected to be finished by July 2026 and open for use from August.
Australian Associated Press
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How long is a piece of string? David Shrigley can’t answer that, but he can tell you how much it weighs: 10 tons, apparently. His latest installation is literally an exhibition of 10 tons of old rope, accumulated by him over months, and left in towering mounds in this swanky gallery in London’s Mayfair. Most of it is marine rope, destined for landfill. It’s hard to recycle this stuff, it seems, and there’s an endless supply of it dumped around the world. So Shrigley scooped up as much of it as he could find, piled it up and put a massive price tag on it.
The work can be yours for £1m. And that’s the point of the show: this is literally money for old rope. It’s not that deep – it’s just an idea taken to its logical conclusion, an idiom taken too far, a pun taken too literally.
Shrigley made his name with deadpan, easily intelligible, visual one-liners: simple paintings with simple phrases written across them, just a bunch of glum, self-deprecating but often funny non-sequiturs. And that’s exactly what this is, a non-sequitur, a joke with no punchline. Just an idea and a price tag.
And it looks great! Largely because it looks pretty much like any other conceptual art installation. Piles of discarded rubbish have been a common sight in art galleries for decades, but this is the first one to do it quite so sarcastically and knowingly. It’s like Shrigley is gamely admitting that, well, this is all a bit stupid.
The issue here is that, at its root, this is art about the value of art, about what people are willing to pay for an idea, about which ideas have value and which don’t. But I don’t think the financial value of art is all that interesting. Who cares if someone wants to pay millions for a dirty old bed, or a light going on and off or a rotten banana taped to a wall? What rich people do with their money is about as relevant to me as what they have for breakfast.
Making a snarky comment about the value of art in a gallery that’s struggling to survive financially (SFG announced some pretty huge losses earlier this year) does feel a bit awkward, too. It’s like Shrigley is saying: “You lot would buy any old crap, wouldn’t you?” Yet this is a gallery that’s having quite a hard time selling any old crap.
Maurizio Cattelan, the artist now famed for making a golden toilet that was stolen, made a similar point – in a more aesthetically impactful way – when he taped a banana to a wall at an art fair in 2019 and sold it for more money than anyone should ever spend on a banana. But that was then, when the art world was a lot more boomy. These days, when things are so much more cautious, I don’t think ideas about the financial value of art are as clearcut or obvious as they once were.
Despite all this, in a very Shrigley way, the work is disarming and charming. Look at you, wandering around a fancy gallery trying to think deep thoughts about piles of rope. It’s obscene, ridiculous, funny. I want to pick it apart, untangle its conceptual threads and prove that they don’t weave into anything sensible – but obviously they don’t. The conceptual threads are just a big pile, a mess. Part of me wants to go all lyrical and describe the colours and fabrics, the smell, the history implied in each strand, the narratives of the hands that once pulled these ropes and yadda yadda yadda.
But I don’t think that’s the point. It really is just some old rope. And that’s kind of great.

Yours for £1m! David Shrigley puts 10 tons of old rope on display in a gallery

Drag artist Louisianna Purchase carries a specific elegant yet emotional style to every project she takes on, whether that’s her live drag shows around Austin or their music video and photography collaborations with local artists. In her first gallery show in over 10 years, “MY HEART WILL BURST INTO A MILLION STARS,” that style infuses into 11 paper and pearl pieces hung around Feats of Clay’s Conroy Gallery – opening this Saturday, Nov. 15.
The first inklings of the show bloomed last December as a result of Louisianna using newly gained free time to take on art commissions. This was “mainly to see if I still enjoyed creating paper cuts,” she explains, “but also to see if there would be interest.” Having received a positive response from commissioners, Louisianna also found that in returning to paper cut work that “I missed creating visual art.”
Her work in paper has been a lifelong interest, specifically with silhouettes. “I’m drawn to the simplicity of silhouettes and how they can still tell such a story while leaving room for interpretation,” Louisianna says. “There’s room left for the viewer to emotionally connect in a way that’s powerful for them.” Through these evocative paper cuts, Louisianna says she most often explores trauma and “mainly how childhood trauma colors our lives and the languages we create to survive. How we create worlds to delve in, to keep us alive, and what we do when they crash down.” This was her inspiration behind the show’s title, which references “those extreme moments, happy or sad, [when] our hearts feel like they could propel our body through space.”
Despite the subject matter being one of Louisianna’s most well-trod, she did step out of her comfort zone in adding hand-pearling to each piece. “It’s made everything way more time consuming,” she says, “but has added a level of delicateness to the pieces that I love so much.” These nacreous details are meant to be tears, Louisianna explains, which tie into the show’s main theme of trauma’s effects. “We all carry a [sadness],” she adds, “and I can only hope to turn my sadness and pain into [something] magical.”
In addition to premiering these 11 pearled and paper-cut pieces, Louisianna’s current music project RIBBONS will perform a 20-minute set featuring visual projections. This acts as the show’s “soundtrack,” she says, that creates a world and atmosphere for visitors to experience. Having previously opened for and played on the records of other artists, Louisianna hopes to have RIBBONS’ own EP out some time next year.
“Music was one of my earliest loves,” Louisianna says. “RIBBONS is a celebration of my love of shoegaze, drone, dream pop, and ambient music.”
For Louisianna, returning to visual art represents her own inner growth. “I feel I’m a lot more confident,” she says on picking back up paper-cutting. “Having done drag for 12 years now, the confidence from that has spread into the other art forms I love. I feel completely assured in my vision and the world I’m wanting to create.”

Paper Cuts & Pearls Decorate Louisianna Purchase's New Art Show • The Austin Chronicle

The Augusta Arts Council's Annual Winter Art Showcase features original art from local artists priced at $200 or less.
Artwork is on display in the City Gallery at the Augusta-Richmond County Municipal Building.
A reception for the showcase will be held on December 5 from 5-7 p.m. in the City Gallery.
Purchases can be made online or by calling the Arts Council, not directly at the municipal building.
Looking for that perfect holiday gift that's original, unique, and chances are no one else has it?
Try the Augusta Arts Council's Annual Winter Art Showcase for an opportunity to buy original art from a local artist for $200 or less. The Arts Council has been sponsoring the event since 2016, and it's grown into the organization's most popular event, said Executive Director Denise Tucker.
The artwork is now on display in the City Gallery in the lobby of the Augusta-Richmond County Municipal Building at 535 Telfair St. in downtown Augusta, Tucker said. The city allows the Arts Council to display artwork in the lobby of the building to promote local arts.
The art also can be viewed during the Arts Council's Annual Winter Art Showcase from 5-7 p.m. on Dec. 5, in the City Gallery, she said.
The art isn't sold from the Municipal Building, she said. Rather, information on ordering a specific piece is displayed with the artwork which can be ordered online or by calling the Arts Council. Mailing or pickup arrangements can be made at the time of purchase.
Local artists who are part of the exhibit include Naazima Ali, Karey Santos, Carol Cross, Ryan Dunbar, Gabe Rawlins, Ronda Bryce, Chloe Ross Mahon, Elise “Pheonix” Cardinal, Sindhu Pillai, Kirstyn Denney, Reveille McNeill, Emily Bender, Fox Si-Long Chen, and Rhian Swain.

Local artists offer original work for $200 or less this holiday season

A PAINTING ESTIMATED to be worth around €60,000 has been hanging quietly on a wall inside RTÉ for decades, but the broadcaster isn’t certain who actually owns it.
The Gerard Dillon work, titled Kitchen Interior with Seated Woman, may have been loaned to the broadcaster by an unnamed art gallery five decades ago.
RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst said the broadcaster is currently trying to track down paperwork to confirm its provenance.
“We believe it may well have been lent to us by an art gallery about 40 or 50 years ago, and we’re trying to find the paperwork,” Bakhurst told RTÉ Radio’s Drivetime this afternoon.
“You can understand that’s not straightforward. The art gallery has been in contact saying they believe it was lent to us, but they also don’t have paperwork to show that.”
According to Bakhurst, the unnamed art gallery has indicated it would like the piece returned if it is indeed theirs.
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“To the best of our knowledge, it may well be theirs. We need to bottom it out. If it is, we’ll give it back to them, obviously,” Bakhurst added.
Dillon, a self-taught Belfast-born artist, worked as a house painter and decorator before fully committing to his art. he became the rising star of the Irish avant-garde, his works widely exhibited and written about. He passed away in 1971.
The Dillon painting has been hanging in an RTÉ office in an “inconspicuous” spot, according to Bakhurst.
The broadcaster said the issue only came to light in recent months, prompting a search through historical records to clarify ownership.
“It’s the first time, to our knowledge, that it was raised with us. We’re trying to see whether the gallery has any proof of ownership, or whether we have any proof that it was loaned or bought,” Bakhurst said.
The discovery forms part of a wider internal review by RTÉ, which has also uncovered historical irregular payments and pension arrangements dating back decades.
Bakhurst emphasised that the broadcaster has no interest in keeping property it does not own, but wants to ensure proper due diligence before returning the artwork.
“We just want to be sure before we hand it back,” he said.
RTÉ also published its annual report today, which detailed the salaries of the braodcaster’s highest earners.

A €60k painting has been on display in RTÉ's offices for decades, but nobody knows who owns it

After announcing its closure last month, the Promenade Fine Art Gallery is now shuttered and signs have been removed or painted over.
Promenade Fine Art Gallery Now Closed
The shop was located outside the main BoardWalk building, between the BoardWalk lobby and Screen Door General Store. It’s one of three Promenade Fine Art Galleries locations, the other two being an open display walk at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and a gallery in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Cast Members noted that the company would still be around “somewhere,” leading us to believe that there will be a move to a new permanent location somewhere else at Walt Disney World.
The store was set to close on October 19, but this was our first trip to check on the closure. All signage has been removed or painted over and the windows and doors are covered. We do not know what will happen to the space now that it is closed, and so far no official announcements of a replacement have been made by Disney.
The company usually appears at the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, of which dates, details, and more were recently announced.
Have you ever shopped at Promenade Fine Art Gallery? Let us know in the comments and on social media.
For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Promenade Fine Art Gallery Now Closed at Disney’s BoardWalk Resort

Bring a sketchbook, graphite or colored pencils, and/or pens and have a seat in the Main Gallery of The Church for a communal drawing salon led by artists and art professors Jackie Hoving and Norm Paris! This recurring program celebrates our fall exhibition Here & There: The Church’s First Churchennial while also honoring The Church’s commitment to fostering creativity on the East End. Flex your creative muscles as you draw the people around you, the space, or something that catches your eye in a meditative experience of observing and being present.
Norm, a professor at Rhode Island School of Design, and Jackie, a professor at Pratt Institute, met as students in Sam Messer’s Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art program. It was there the couple spent time in Sam’s “drawing happenings” and were inspired by his belief in community and bringing people together through drawing.
In alignment with The Church’s vision for a creative community, the Drawing Meetups invite participants of all skill levels to a laid-back environment with a communal spirit. Tables and chairs will be provided and participants are also welcome to find a space within the exhibition for a solo meditative drawing journey. Some graphite pencils and 8x11” paper will also be provided, though participants are encouraged to bring their own supplies. Charcoal, paints, and markers are not permitted in these sessions.
Please note that this is a causal drawing session and not a class.

Drawing Meetup with Artists Jackie Hoving and Norm Paris

Curved lines and block colors in shades of orange, yellow and blue create the image of an artist, framed by a border of abstract shapes. Look a little closer and you can see the artist’s beret with concentric circles, perched atop the solitary figure’s head as they lean over their work.
The painting is by Nigerian artist Uzo Egonu, as part of a series titled “Stateless People,” made in 1981. Egonu settled in Britain in the 1940s, where he spent most of his career until his death in 1996 in London. As an artist yearning for his homeland, Egonu crafted paintings that spoke to feelings of statelessness and the complexity of migration.
Think of modern art and you may think of Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe or Salvador Dalí. However, a new exhibition at London’s Tate Modern gallery shows how Nigerian artists have contributed to the movement throughout the 20th century. Egonu is one artist among the more than 50 represented in “Nigerian Modernism” — the first show at the museum to trace modern art from the country. It spans over 250 works created in the 1940s during British colonial rule, through to independence in 1960 and into the postcolonial period of the 1970s and 1980s.
“Where we would often associate modernism with European art history, there were in fact multiple contexts within which the language of modern art developed and evolved,” said Osei Bonsu, a curator of International Art at the Tate Modern.
Nigeria was a key hub for the development of modern African art, in part due to its colonial connections with Britain — several of the artists featured in the show had trained in London or other European cities before returning back to Nigeria, blending both European and indigenous techniques and forms within their work. As the country achieved independence from British rule, artists debated what new forms of nationhood, identity and art could look like. And while some techniques, such as uli — a traditional design practice indigenous to Igbo land in southeastern Nigeria, where women painted directly onto their bodies or created wall murals — may not have been viewed as modernist at the time, they incorporated modernist ideas such as improvisation and harmony through the use of positive and negative space, said Bonsu.
Merging traditional African techniques with Western art principles
One artist who is credited with pioneering Nigerian modernism is the sculptor and painter Ben Enwonwu. “His works were the cultural background to our growing up,” said Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, professor of History of Art and Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara and author of the 2008 biography “Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist”. “Enwonwu made it possible to think about the arts as a respectable profession. In terms of Africa, he was the first African artist to gain global recognition and global prestige.”
Born in 1917 to an elite family in Onitsha, in the southeastern region of Nigeria, Enwonwu earned a scholarship to train at the Slade School of Art in London. Contemporary critics placed him in the same — if not higher — calibre as European modern masters, while famed British sculptor Henry Moore saw Enwonwu as a protégé and even bought one of his early works, said Ogbechie.
In 1957, Enwonwu was commissioned to create a sculpture of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, which elevated his already-respected artistic profile and prestige throughout the countries under British colonial rule as well as those that had recently gained independence. Yet Enwonwu also connected his Igbo ethnic identity and heritage with his classical art training in other aspects of his work. He used traditional sculpture techniques and tools inherited from his father, and in his paintings portrayed Igbo masquerade culture — a traditional ritual where masks, costumes and performance personify ancestral spirits.
“He foregrounded African cultural registers in his work,” said Ogbechie. “He was very insistent on the fact that if Monet could paint church facades and hay bales and water lilies and be considered a modern artist, there was no reason why he couldn’t paint masquerades and African market scenes and have them received in the same manner.”
Another artist now receiving recognition further afield is the potter and ceramicist Ladi Kwali, whose portrait appears on the 20 Nigerian naira note. Born in the Gwari region of northern Nigeria, Kwali became the first female trainee at the Pottery Training Centre in Abuja in 1954, and is known for infusing her modern ceramics training with traditional influences.
“I’ve been very drawn to her way of making, and I think it’s really interesting that she stuck to her own identity and maintained a certain way of doing things,” said Helene Love-Allotey, the head of department and a specialist in Modern and Contemporary African Art at Bonhams, a private auction house in London. Love-Allotey pointed to Gwari traditions, such as Kwali’s aunts teaching her techniques including handcoilin

These artists revolutionized modern art in Nigeria. They’re finally getting recognition further afield

Don't want to stare at a blank TV screen on your wall when you're not watching something? This Samsung 75-inch The Frame Pro TV, which is currently on a huge sale during Amazon's October Prime Day sale, turns into your personal art gallery when not in use as a television. You can upload your own photos or access a curated collection from the Samsung Art Store for a museum-like viewing experience.
The TV ranges in size from 43-inches to 85-inches, but the 75-inch set offers the best deal. It's now priced at $2198, down $800 from $2,998, a new low price.
CNET TV reviewer Ty Pendlebury notes that buying the best TV to meet your needs is a balancing act of finding the best picture quality, the best price and the size that's right for your room. TVs are a stable technology, and year-to-year improvements are usually minor, he notes. So if you're a fan of Samsung TVs, as CNET reviewers are, and this size appeals to you, it's a good price, and, the lowest we've seen.
Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are freeand save you money
Why this deal matters
This particular TV offers great value. It features a wireless connection hub allowing flexibility in mounting options, free from cords and clutter. It offers smooth visuals and elite speeds for VRR gaming at up to 4K 144Hz. The virtually glare-free screen includes a subtle matte texture to make the art displayed look like a real print. Users can also choose from more than 3,000 artworks, and the TV bezels themselves can be swapped out with Modern Brown, Modern Teak, Modern White and Sand Gold frames.
At $800 off, this is the lowest price we've seen this TV listed at, but we have no idea how long it will last. So, if this multi-purpose TV appeals to you, now is the time to jump on it.

Nab This Prime Day Deal on a 75-Inch TV That Turns Into an Art Gallery

You're invited to celebrate Ontario Culture Days with the Art Gallery of Algoma (AGA).
This province-wide festival is running now and will end on Oct. 12.
All events at the AGA, which is one of the sixteen Hubs featured in Ontario and nationwide, are free or "pay by donation."
For more information, including the list of events, see the press release below.
The Art Gallery of Algoma (AGA) is presenting several events during the 2025 Ontario Culture Days festival. Ontario Culture Days (ONCD) is a province wide festival which opened on Sept. 19 and will close on Oct. 12, 2025. For the last four years the AGA and Sault Ste. Marie are one of the sixteen Hubs featured in Ontario and nationwide.
All ONCD events are free or “pay by donation”. This allows everyone to visit arts and culture sites, making it accessible to all.
These programs are part of the Cultural Family Fun Day in the Clergue Park which features many local arts and culture sites and groups.
On Oct. 4 the AGA will present three programs:
Welcome, Newcomers to the Soo! from 3PM to 5 PM featuring an exhibition tour and a sharing of the cultures by participants from different parts of the world. It will be an exchange of various arts from many countries.
Doors Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the AGA will welcome visitors to see the exhibitions, art studio and the shop. This program runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Center & Sketch: Meditation in Motion, the last in the intro series of the wellness programs presented by Shauna Carpinelli, Art and Wellness Officer at the AGA. This hands-on activity runs from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
On Oct. 9 the AGA will present hands-on art activity in the Ken Danby Studio Art on Your Sleeve from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Bring your own knitting, sewing, embroidery or crochet projects and exchange ideas and try something new. All levels are welcome. If you do not have a project and you never tried, we will provide materials and instructions.
Please join us for one or all the programs that we are offering this year for ONCD!

Celebrate Ontario Culture Days with the Art Gallery of Algoma

A 'streetwise' and 'eco-friendly' catwalk show with a difference has been applauded for its unusual designs after being curated by a London businesswoman, whose footballer husband survived a cardiac arrest that ended his playing career.
Nadia Perrier, director of the Central London Alliance group, curated an event called 'Fashion Frenzee' as a climax to the recent London Fashion Week - highlighting 'sustainable' wear including clothes made from rugby balls or retrieved from railway lost property offices.
A line-up of models including Mrs Universe 2022 went on parade on a special runway installed at the Guildhall Art Gallery - showcasing unusual clothing aimed at cutting back on waste and bringing new use to 'pre-loved' or potentially discarded items.
A silent auction was also held, with proceeds going towards two charities - Integrity International Trust and Dress For Success.
Now London-born and raised Mrs Perrier, 35, has told how she and colleagues hope to continue attracting more visitors and investment in responses to setbacks suffered by the capital during Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.
And while the CLA's activities include similar fashion initiatives, they are also backing sporting festivals across London, which is where her husband also helps.
Former youth international Michael Perrier, now 36, played for clubs including Sion, Aarau and Stade Lausanne Ouchy in his native Switzerland - but was forced to retire after collapsing following a cardiac arrest aged 32.
Sports events organised by the CLA have gone from the City's first pop-up padel court attracting 6,380 players three years ago to its London Sports Festival welcoming more than 23,000 since launching this May.
Mrs Perrier said of the CLA, which formed five years ago following the pandemic: 'More people are being attracted back into the centre of the capital - and it's still very much needed.
'We've migrated into habits of hybrid working which has had such an impact on central London - the recent train strikes don't help at all. But we're constantly looking at giving workers incentives to come back.'
Reflecting on the recent Fashion Frenzee event, she told of wanting it to 'shine a light on the creativity and diversity that make London such a global capital of style, while championing responsibility in how we create and consume fashion'.
She added: 'I'm proud that together with our brands and partners, we've made fashion not just stylish, but purposeful.'
Among the designs featured at the Guildhall Art Gallery showcase were those by Le Ballon Responsable, founded by French rugby legend Serge Betsen, 51, and which turns rugby balls into 'artisanal fashion pieces'.
Also featured were Atelier de Nalin Thakral, reviving traditional Zardosi embroidery with ethical couture, CQ (Cheongsam Quotidien) London which blends Eastern heritage with Western design and GOFF COURTNEY, said to be 'redefining fashion as age-, size- and gender-free'.
Other contributors included The Collective by London 3x3, merging sport and sustainability through streetwear, eyewear brand Pop Specs and vegan-fashion promoting Sanya Dutta.
Mrs Perrier told the Daily Mail: 'It's so important to be focusing on lots of different people from different walks of life - and showcase all these designers' work.
'There were about 150 people there - I was so glad to hear the positive comments. We had so many items on display, from Victoria Beckham clothing to pieces that had been retrieved from lost property.
'It's good to have people thinking about garments in a different way - maybe turning T-shirt sleeves into jeans, or working with saris, or rescuing clothes left on the Tube.'
Her husband Michael's footballing career came to a premature halt four years ago, following his sudden fainting and collapse following a cardiorespiratory arrest at the age of 32 - in front of horrified friends and colleagues during a trip to a karting track in May 2021.
He was airlifted to hospital and spent 72 hours in an induced coma after desperate attempts to revive him - and though his recovery is ongoing, his football career could not go on.
He has previously said, looking back: 'I'm a miracle. That's what all the doctors kept telling me.
'They tried to resuscitate me five times. They say that if nothing happens after two attempts, it's usually over - or that the after-effects quickly become irreversible.
'In my case, it wasn't until the fifth attempt that they managed to revive me and my heart started beating again.'
He has since retrained as a physiotherapist, though his wife says he still struggles even to play a mini kickabout or games of padel - the tennis-style sport increasingly popular on spreading courts across the UK especially London.
But she told the Daily Mail: 'He helps advise me with our sports events.
'He can't play football again and he doesn't have the same life at all since his cardiac arrest - he can't do physical activity like he did before. He can't even do padel.
'But he's embraced the

From designer gowns to clothes found in railway lost property or made out of rugby balls - 'streetwise' eco-friendly outfits hit catwalk with a difference

Teufelsberg, known as Devil's Mountain, rises from Berlin's landscape as a peculiar blend of history and art. Built from wartime rubble, this 80-meter mound offers panoramic views across the city and stands on the remnants of a Nazi military college.
During the Cold War, its strategic height proved ideal for U.S. spies, who, alongside British and French allies, erected antennas to monitor Soviet and East German communications. William McGowan, a former American soldier, recalls the intense surveillance efforts aimed at providing Western Europe with crucial warnings against potential attacks.
Now abandoned, Teufelsberg has found new life under a collective of artists. The site, with its graffiti-covered halls, tells the story of transformation, being repurposed from a Cold War espionage hub to a vibrant gallery of street art.

Teufelsberg: Berlin's Eerie War-torn Monument and Artistic Haven

‘Rouse tempers, goad and lacerate, raise whirlwinds’ were the words theatre critic Kenneth Tynan had pinned above his desk. Perhaps no writer of our times followed those instructions more obediently than the late Brian Sewell, who died ten years ago today.
Called by the Guardian ‘Britain’s most famous and controversial art critic’, Sewell, who wrote mainly for the Evening Standard, never seemed far away from trouble. According to Brian’s memoir, he was reportedly spat at and thumped by RA exhibition-organiser Norman Rosenthal, received a black eye from one young painter – ‘the blow so heavy that it disrupted sight for several weeks’ – and was beaten over the head by a Bond Street art dealer with a wet umbrella (‘clammily unpleasant but, unfurled, an ineffective weapon’).
Sewell was lampooned for his snobbishness, his homosexuality and his unbelievably posh and prim way of speaking (‘You’ve had elocution lessons!’ boys hissed at him, inaccurately, at school). He was once attacked in an open letter, signed by 35 luminaries of the arts world, denouncing his ‘dire mix of sexual and class hypocrisy, intellectual posturing and artistic prejudice’. None of this seemed to knock him back or chasten him in any way. ‘Nothing matters more than intellectual probity,’ he once declared, ‘and on that altar the critic must sacrifice even his closest friends.’
Many of us knew him as an edgy, dangerous chat-show guest – openly inveighing against Tracy Emin and conceptual art, dismissing Victoria Beckham as a ‘common little bitch’ to an open-mouthed Alan Titchmarsh. He was also a dream panellist on Have I Got News for You, needling the other guests, frequently dissolving into giggling fits. He was lofty, cherubic, mischievous, camp, slightly sinister and, in his disdain, deadly serious. ‘Art history,’ he wrote, ‘is not merely the disciplined recounting of dates and documents, but an adventure into the spirit and humanity of man.’
There was much more to Brian Sewell than the media caricature he played upon, as his two-volume autobiography, Outsider – Always Almost: Never Quite, made clear. He was the bastard son of Peter Warlock (the kind of minor English composer Radio 3 used to make programmes about, who committed suicide before his son’s birth), and was brought up by a bigamous, unloved stepfather and a mother he suspected of having sold sexual favours to pay the bills.
Sewell, a not-so-lapsed Catholic (in his youth he had plans to become an Roman Catholic priest), was also a firm believer in assisted dying: ‘I can think of no more loving act of friendship than that push.’ Having thrived chastely in the army during National Service, he was a great advocate for that too:
Only a fool could do two years National Service and resent it as a waste of time… If I am now capable of making worthwhile moral judgements, it is because I was for two brief years a soldier of sorts, not because I am an art historian, a lapsed Conservative, an agnostic Christian.
His passion for art began early – by the age of 8, he said, ‘there was not a major museum or art gallery in London I did not know.’ Awarded a place to study history at Oxford, he felt instead the ‘overwhelming siren call of the Courtauld Institute’ and went off to pursue history of art under Anthony Blunt. Blunt was unmasked as a Soviet spy and traitor by Margaret Thatcher in 1979, a time when Sewell turned from protégé to protector and virtually became Blunt’s spokesman. He remained eternally grateful to his mentor, crediting Blunt with ‘transforming the underfunded, academically obscure and scarcely reputable Institute into a school of art history that would rival, equal and surpass all the schools […] long established in Germany and central Europe.’ The Courtauld Institute, he added, made most of its students ‘closed to any career that did not involve the further pursuit of art history.’
This, of course, tore him away from his vocation as a Catholic priest and left him with a sense of dilemma that never lifted. He would, he wrote, feel guilty if he wandered past the local Carmelite church ‘without nipping in for a quick genuflection and a dab of cold water’ but also loved fast cars, malicious gossip, promiscuous sexual encounters and a succession of dogs. ‘Dogs,’ wrote his editor Max Hastings, ‘are the only people for whom he feels unqualified enthusiasm.’
Politically a ‘natural conservative’, he stated his credo thus:
My Conservatism is rooted in the conviction that all men are not equal, and that were we all given an equal chance, we would achieve very different ends and again be unequal within a generation…
My Conservatism is rooted in philanthropy, in the conviction that none should starve on the streets, live, sleep or die there…
My Conservatism is rooted in the passionate belief that it is through education, cultural, classical and Christian, that men learn the ancient virtues and philosophical abstractions – justice, probity, generosity, nobility, gravity, forgiveness, pru

We need Brian Sewell more than ever

But the renowned site will have been either partially or fully closed for an astonishing 11 years if the strategy succeeds
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery would be fully reopen by 2031 under an “ambitious” new vision for the city centre venue.
If the five-year strategy from the Birmingham Museums Trust succeeds, the city’s cultural gem will have been either partially or fully closed for around 11 years.
The museum and art gallery (BMAG), next to Birmingham City Council House, closed in 2020 for essential maintenance works but partially reopened in 2022 for the Commonwealth Games.
READ MORE: Birmingham Labour’s flag position made clear as row enters council chamber
It then reopened in phases last year, with a number of spaces such as the Round Room Gallery welcoming members of the public for the first time in years.
But the majority of spaces in the attraction are still not in use.
The Trust said its vision was set out “within the context of the city council’s financial constraints and wider sector funding challenges”, adding it would take steps to secure alternative revenue streams.
It also wants to launch a large-scale “digitisation programme” to better connect all its sites with all of the communities of Birmingham.
The plan focuses on modernising infrastructure, including urgent restoration projects at key historic sites and a transformation of the Museum Collection Centre.
“Our museums are at a critical crossroads,” Sara Wajid and Zak Mensah, co- chief executives of Birmingham Museums Trust, said.
“This strategy is about resilience, reinvention and making sure Birmingham’s cultural treasures remain accessible and relevant to all.
“It is an unapologetically ambitious plan to invest in the city’s greatest cultural asset, to create a world class museum service.”
They added: “We are committed to fostering a more democratic, inclusive approach to heritage, ensuring that every community sees themselves reflected in our spaces and stories.”
The strategy was developed with recommendations from its citizens’ jury and “extensive” audience research, as well as support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
READ MORE: Birmingham BOXPARK plans for historic archway no longer going ahead
The Trust operates nine sites, including BMAG, Birmingham Science Museum, Aston Hall, Blakesley Hall and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter.
It also manages a collection of over a million objects and specimens covering art, human history, science and industry and natural science on behalf of Birmingham City Council.
Last year, a council report said previous repairs and maintenance at BMAG “highlighted the need” for essential refurbishment works to be undertaken in order to enable a full reopening.
Approval was being sought at the time to submit a ‘stage one’ bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund of £9m, which would go towards a total project in the sum of around £10m.
“While the electrical and essential remedial works addressed infrastructure repairs, many galleries have not had investment in their fabric for 20 to 50 years and the electrical rewiring works have revealed new challenges,” the report said.
These included issues with gallery walls, ceilings and floors, it continued.
“In some behind-the-scenes examples, the collections storage and facilities used by staff and volunteers are in an even poorer state of repair,” the report added.

Major Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery full reopening update revealed

For long, memes have been dismissed as fleeting jokes or humorous fragments of digital life. Yet they have also mirrored our collective psyche, politics, and emotions with uncanny precision. Now, memes have entered the gallery space as objects of serious artistic and cultural reflection.
At the Media Majlis Museum at Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), the first university museum in the Arab world dedicated to exploring journalism, communication, and media, this transformation takes centrestage in an exhibition, ‘Memememememe’, on view until December 4.
A new lens on memes
Curated by Jack Thomas Taylor and Amal Zeyad Ali, the show gathers artists from Qatar, the region, and beyond to highlight how memes serve as cultural barometers, emotional shorthand, and tools of political commentary. Organised around four themes such as mass, length, time, and volume, the exhibition examines how memes spread and measure our collective thought.
“As a university museum integrated in NU-Q’s academic mission, the Media Majlis blends scholarship, art, and media to make a fuller sense of the world we live in,” said Marwan M Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. “Memememememe takes something we encounter every day-memes-and asks us to look deeper at how they shape the way we think, connect, and communicate.”
The exhibition, in the words of the director Alfredo Cramerotti, invites visitors to pause and examine memes as “seemingly trivial fragments that profoundly shape how we perceive and navigate our world.”
Global rise of meme exhibitions
Globally, in 2021, the online humour platform 9GAG in Hong Kong opened a meme museum with memes becoming part of how people communicate. It made the visitors relive internet history in 4D. Showcasing over 100 memes, the museum featured seven themed zones centred around the ‘Troll Face,’ ‘Doge,’ ‘Disaster Girl’ and more. A ‘Meme Me’ photo booth and get a temporary tattoo at the “Memeingful Tattoo Station’ and “Beyond the Meme” sensory 4-D interactive experience were part of the show. However, the Museum of the Moving Image in New York is one of the first museums dedicated to the art, technology and social impact of film, television and digital media. It houses the nation’s largest collection of moving image artefacts, screens hundreds of films annually and offers education programmes. In the past , it has held exhibitions showcasing images of memes as well. In 2019, India, too, has seen an exhibition on meme culture as a relevant art form. A series of exhibitions, one such titled “Meme Regime 2.0”, was organised by psychology graduate and self-proclaimed artist Anuj Nakade, who has been working on memes since 2007. A picture of Doge (a Shiba Inu species of dog) on which he had pasted a chef’s hat and written ‘Onion-cut much fry wow’ in colourful text was one of his first meme artworks.
Meanwhile, the Qatar show’s centrepiece, Jeroen van Loon’s Permanent Data (2020), stretches across 12 kilometres of fibre-optic cable inscribed with both the Gutenberg Bible and thousands of YouTube comments on data loss. It poses a stark question: what survives of our digital culture in the long run? Christine Wang’s Sarcastic Willy Wonka (2020) reimagines a viral meme as an acrylic painting, questioning the absurdity of digital culture when translated into the permanence of canvas. Qatari artist Alia Leonardi’s dnd, still online, still alive (2025) uses embroidered fabric to capture internet-born coping mechanisms like bed rotting and doom scrolling. In her hands, the language of memes collides with the tactile weight of manual craft, reframing online escapism as resistance.

Memes in a museum: Internet culture finds its place as art

CDLH said the substantial property investment at 193–199 Bath Street “represents a rare opportunity to acquire a well-positioned, mixed-use property in one of Glasgow’s busiest commercial and leisure areas”.
The agent said: “Situated on Bath Street, close to Sauchiehall Street and Charing Cross, the location benefits from heavy footfall, excellent public transport links, and proximity to major city attractions and business hubs.
“The lower ground floor is occupied by Bunker Bar, a long-established and well-known name in Glasgow’s hospitality scene. With a strong local following, themed nights, and consistent trade, the bar provides a stable rental stream.
“The business is unaffected by the sale and will continue to operate under the lease agreement that is in place.”
Tenants listed include Dawncrest Limited, Ecosse Art Limited, and Watermans Legal Limited.
Read More:
“These floors are suitable for letting to creative businesses, freelancers, professional practices, healthcare, co-working operators, or could be refurbished to create event spaces or meeting rooms.”
The agent said: “The asset has been managed to gain vacant possession on upper floor space over the short term, to enable redevelopment.
“Given its central location and traditional building style, the property lends itself well to redevelopment into residential apartments or student accommodation.
“Bath Street is surrounded by hotels, university buildings, and major entertainment venues, making it ideal for short-term or long-term living solutions.”
It added: “Alternatively, the space could be transformed into a serviced aparthotel or serviced apartments, targeting business travellers, tourists, or extended-stay guests.
“While change of use would require planning permission, the building is in a zone where mixed-use and residential redevelopment is generally supported by the local authority. In addition, the top floor has historical consent for residential use.
“The city’s ongoing demand for both residential accommodation and flexible short stay lodging, makes this an attractive repositioning opportunity.”
CDLH said: “Whether retained as a mixed-use investment, or transformed into residential or serviced apartments, this property offers significant income potential and capital growth opportunity.
The premises have been placed on the market at offers over £3.25 million.

City restaurant and art gallery building put up for sale

To get the lowdown, I spoke to award-winning interior designer and artist Lana Dullaghan, who has just launched a bespoke Art Advisory Service. Dullaghan insists the process should be fun and meaningful – but she also has some firm ground rules to keep you on track.
Before hammer meets nail, it’s all about agreeing on the overall feel. “First things first: what’s the vibe?” Dullaghan laughs. If one of you gravitates towards Scandi minimalism while the other is into 1970s boho maximalism, don’t panic. “Opposites can attract beautifully,” she explains, but stresses the importance of doing some prep work: gather pictures, colour swatches, even scraps of wallpaper. A shared mood board can help you find common ground.
When it comes to the art itself, Dullaghan is adamant that a gallery wall should be more than decorative. “It should be part history, part ‘us right now’.” That might mean mixing heirlooms, souvenirs, letters, or postcards with more current snapshots of your life together.
“Think about the stories behind each piece and how they reflect your relationship.” And, yes, brutal honesty is encouraged: admit if there’s something you really can’t live with, but make sure there’s space for both of your passions.
If the budget allows, Dullaghan also suggests commissioning something bespoke from a local artist: “That way, you’ll always have a piece that’s unique to you as a couple.”
My Favourite Room - Orlaith Donlon
Once you’ve agreed on the pieces, the practicalities begin. Dullaghan recommends laying everything out on the floor first to get a sense of balance and spacing. Painter’s tape on the wall can also help you visualise the shape before committing. “Balance is key: mix big pieces with small ones, and keep gaps even, ideally between 5-10cm,” she says. To anchor the wall, choose a large focal point, like a striking painting or a photo of the two of you. What about frames? “Frames are like shoes – they can make or break the outfit!” Dullaghan suggests mixing vintage and modern styles for an eclectic feel, or keeping everything uniform for a cleaner, more polished look. For canvases, sometimes it’s best to skip the frame altogether for a more relaxed effect.
Finally, the fun bit: hanging it all. Start with the largest piece and work outwards, using a level to keep things straight. Don’t forget the personal touches; a pressed flower from your first date, framed ticket stubs, or a shelf with travel trinkets are what make your gallery wall truly yours.

Home help: I’ve just moved in with my partner and we both love art. How do we create a gallery wall that blends our tastes?

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (AP) — Anne Pace has been hearing about Dog Mountain for years, but until earlier this month, had never made a trip to the park.
“I really wanted to see this place,” she said, during a visit to the grounds with her one-year-old border collie, Tam. “I put a note up for my previous border collie. He was my best buddy.”
Set on 150 acres tucked away on a hillside in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, Dog Mountain has become a destination for dog lovers looking to explore nature, take in art, or pay tribute to a pet.
The park was created 25 years ago by Vermont folk artist Stephen Huneck and his wife, Gwen, and features hiking trails, swimming ponds, an art gallery and a Dog Chapel where visitors can add to the thousands of photos and notes to pets that cover the chapel walls.
“It is absolutely breathtaking. That’s a lot of love when you think about each picture that’s here,” said Vanessa Hurley, who was visiting with her husband and two dogs from Ohio. “Dogs and cats both, they just bring so much enjoyment to our lives,” she said.
Inspired by the bond he shared with his dogs, Huneck wanted to create a space where other animal lovers could celebrate their beloved pets, gallery manager Pam McCann said.
“Dog Mountain is really a pilgrimage place and a sanctuary,” she said.
Huneck’s sculpture, prints and furniture are featured in the gallery and scattered throughout the park, including inside the chapel he built himself. With black labs and golden retrievers carved into the ends of each pew and images of his own dog, Sally, in the stained-glass windows, his love of dogs is evident in every detail.
Scott Ritchie and his wife, Julie, have been traveling the country in an RV with their three large dogs and thought Dog Mountain would be the perfect place for them to stretch their legs. They enjoyed it so much on their first visit, they decided to come back the next day.
“It’s very rare you see something like this anywhere. We’ve been traveling all over the U.S. for five and a half months. Just a beautiful area,” he said.
McCann says the park was made for visitors like Ritchie.
“That’s what it’s for, people who really care and people who are very connected to everything around them,” she said. “Including the animals that they are the guardians of.”

A massive mountain park in Vermont celebrates the bond between dogs and their humans

As Los Angeles county’s new $720m art museum building nears completion, it’s still haunted by a single, vexing question: how do you hang art in a gallery where every single wall is made of massive slabs of concrete?
Designed by Peter Zumthor, a prizewinning Swiss architect, the new building at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma) has sparked controversy in the art world since its initial designs were made public in 2013.
The monolithic concrete structure, which has been compared with a freeway overpass and an “amoebic pancake”, was built to replace four older Lacma buildings, which were torn down to make room for the stylish newcomer. The building will hold a rotating selection from Lacma’s permanent collection of more than 150,000 art objects from around the globe.
The creation of the new gallery space has been marked by unusual drama and contention. One of Lacma’s major donors publicly broke with the museum as a result of conflict over how the permanent collection would be displayed. The construction site, which borders the LaBrea Tar Pits, is famous for the ancient fossils preserved in bubbling tar. Building a gigantic concrete building on tar-filled land in an earthquake-prone region caused additional costs and delays: thirteen sabre tooth tiger skulls were uncovered during construction.
As the estimated cost of the project rose by nearly $100m, Zumthor, the star architect, publicly distanced himself from the results, saying he had repeatedly been forced to “reduce” his design, and that the experience had convinced him to never again work in the US.
The building, which was initially conceived as an all-black structure evoking a tar pit or an oil spill, will now remain the raw gray of unadorned concrete.
On Thursday, Lacma’s CEO, Michael Govan, who has championed the divisive project for nearly two decades, gave an early tour of the new space to a group of journalists, including some who have publicly criticized the building’s design. The building, named the David Geffen Galleries after its largest donor, will officially open in 2026.
View image in fullscreen Michael Govan, the CEO of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, has spent nearly two decades defending his vision for a hulking concrete gallery designed by a star architect. Photograph: Gary Leonard/Museum Associates/LACMA
Outside, the structure resembles a gleaming dinosaur egg on squat concrete legs, with a long tail of a gallery that curves over Wilshire Boulevard, allowing visitors to enter on both sides of the street. Inside, the building is all hulking concrete surfaces and curving walls of windows that let in the southern California sun – a striking but controversial choice for a museum, since paintings and drawings are typically kept out of direct sunlight.
Govan defended the wraparound windows as essential for giving the museum a sense of place; he wanted visitors to “know you’re in Los Angeles – these collections are in Los Angeles”.
The CEO led a crowd of journalists into one of the gallery’s multiple entrances, which is at the top of a daunting flight of concrete steps. The museum CEO loves stairs, he explained: the only exercise he gets is climbing Lacma building stairs and pacing while talking on the phone.
As Govan walked the journalists through the sinuous galleries, he was energetic, full of quotations and anecdotes about Zumthor, his star architect. Zumthor was not there.
Govan noted that the sleek leather benches in the sunlit galleries were only there as temporary place-holders: Zumthor had requested red-brown leather benches stuffed with duck feathers, which had yet to be installed.
When asked to respond to the many criticisms of the project, the CEO was defensive. The “whole idea” of the space “was a new idea, right, so you can’t – no one’s ever experienced this before”, he said. “That is the spirit of experimentation. That proof will be in the final results – of whether it works, and how the public responds to it.”
View image in fullscreen The building was designed by the prizewinning Swiss architect Peter Zumthor and has sparked controversy in the art world. Photograph: Iwan Baan
Opposition to Zumthor’s evolving design had been fierce. Some of the most dedicated critics of “the blob” hated it so much they held an alternative design competition and bought full-page newspaper ads in protest.
But to Govan, his building is not just a new gallery: it’s a fundamentally new way of experiencing art, an attempt “to reinvent art history for the 21st century”.
The space was designed to be “non-hierarchical”, Govan said. He did not want to organize the museum’s permanent collection by time period or geography or type of art: he recalled telling Zumthor that “I don’t want anyone in the front.”
In practice, this means that all of the gallery space is on a single floor, and the layout of the rooms is unpredictable and confusing to navigate.
“The building itself really avoids linear histories or linear paths,” Govan said. “The remit

Modern marvel or concrete ‘blob’? Inside LA’s divisive $700m art gallery

It’s that time of year again. As the crowds grow, historic Italian cities and museums become the setting for a You’ve Been Framed-style sequence of absurdist moments. Last year it was a young woman embracing a (replica) Giambologna statue in the streets of Florence. This year the Uffizi gallery, guardian of Florentine art, has been defiled as a man posed for a photo in front of a portrait of Ferdinando de’ Medici. While imitating the hand-on-hip, baton-wielding pose of this scion of the soon-to-be-extinct Medici family, he slipped and put his hand through the canvas. This comes shortly after an incident in a Verona museum, where a tourist sat on an artwork in the form of a crystal chair, also for a photo, and shattered it.
View image in fullscreen A barbarian horde? … A tourist damages a painting at the Uffizi gallery, Florence, in images taken from an exclusive video by TG1. Photograph: Independent Photo Agency Srl/Alamy
The Uffizi’s director says it will now take action against the swarm of visitors “coming to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media … We will set very precise limits, preventing behaviour that is not compatible with the sense of our institutions and respect for cultural heritage.” But is it really fair to see everyone who takes a selfie with a painting, or shares their travels on social media, as part of a barbarian horde intent on destroying civilisation? If so, the battle is lost.
Judging how other people experience art in museums is a dubious activity. Just because someone adopts a silly pose for a selfie does not mean they are an idiot the rest of the time – they might be an overexcited PhD student doing a thesis on the last days of the Medici. Hypothetically.
Last year, I spent a long time in front of one of the Uffizi’s greatest treasures, The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, and the whole time people were taking selfies with it. They did so responsibly and politely: taking turns, not hogging. And none objected to my getting in the way so I could stare at Venus’s pearly skin or the waves that are spurts of sperm.
1:10 Palazzo Maffei releases CCTV footage of tourists breaking crystal-covered chair – video
And while I don’t do selfies, I snap away on my phone – I’ve got scores of Uffizi pics, and I was told off for taking photos last year in the church of Santo Spirito. To the custodian, I was a tourist idiot, never mind that most of my snaps were of architectural details of this Brunelleschi masterpiece.
It would be pure snobbery to assume anyone is failing to appreciate art simply because their enjoyment includes, or is even dominated by, one of the most common ways 21st-century people structure all their experiences. There were plenty of old-style cultural tourists, in the 19th and 20th centuries, who trudged from one landmark to another clutching Baedeker guidebooks but not feeling very much about what they saw. Who’s to say today’s phone-clutching Botticelli fans don’t appreciate more? The history of tourism is a history of fads, absurdities and ignorance, yet it is also a culturally uplifting experience. One thing’s for sure: the guy who the Uffizi now hopes will be prosecuted won’t forget that portrait of Fernando de’ Medici in a hurry.
As a child, I believed the replica of David outside the Palazzo Vecchio was the real thing. So what? Millions of people visit Italy. We see art in between pizzas and ice cream, misunderstand a lot of what we see, must look to locals like morons. But locals too can get confused by the sheer cultural overload – last year in Florence, a charming bar owner informed me that Michelangelo’s painting of God creating Adam was in the nearby Brancacci Chapel.
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Are tourists ruining Florence? Balls. I mean the Medici balls, or palle, their coat of arms that is all over Florence. In its shadow, generations of visitors come and go and the city adeptly changes to accommodate them, without ever losing its heart. Once every tourist ate Eggs Florentine, but now you would be laughed at for ordering it. Everything must change so that everything can stay the same. The occasional selfie disaster won’t spoil the incredible Italian art legacy. It’s just another twist in the grand tour, the most ridiculous and sublime experience many of us will ever have.

‘I’ve been told off for taking snaps too’: our critic on the selfie-taking crackdown at the Uffizi gallery

Instagram and TikTok are obsessed with the latest innovation in TVs — Samsung’s The Frame TV. If you’re wondering why, it’s because this smart TV does more than stream Netflix. This stealthy Samsung TV doubles as an art gallery, transforming from a blank black box into your home version of The Met or MoMA.
Rather than pay more than $1,000 to enjoy this experience at home, you can save 25% on the internet’s favorite TV. A 43-inch, open-box model of the Samsung Frame TV is now available for only $749.99 (regularly $999) while inventory lasts. It’s available in other sizes as well, and Cult of Mac readers can take an extra $100 off the 55-inch model with code THEFRAME.
Samsung’s The Frame: Get the internet’s favorite TV for less
Let’s face it: Apple is never going to make a stylish, futuristic TV set. Samsung’s sleek new The Frame might just be the next best thing, though.If you’re tired of the space your blank TV screen takes up in your bedroom or living room, you’ll love how The Frame gives you an art gallery experience at home. Turn on Art Mode and Samsung’s magical QLED 4K screen will display 2,500-plus curated works of art from artists like da Vinci, Kahlo and Monet. Or you can set it to display personal photos of your pet or family.
Art Mode really gives your Samsung TV the museum feel, reducing glare and providing lifelike art viewing. Its matte, antireflection display mimics the look of real paper or canvas. So, whether you choose to display family vacation photos or your favorite Impressionist artworks, they will show up in vibrant, exquisite detail. (Important note: You will need to pay separately for full access to the Samsung Art Store, which provides all the artwork.)
Gorgeous streaming video and images on a QLED 4K screen
When you’re not enjoying your home art gallery, The Frame TV from Samsung streams video from your favorite platforms via its TizenOS interface. Watch Sunday football or The Perfect Couple in crisp, vivid detail, and listen to the game or a podcast with immersive sound. You can even exercise at home with a virtual trainer.
You can grab this Samsung smart TV at a discount because it’s an open-box item. But that doesn’t mean it’s used. It may have had customer contact and signs of extra handling, but it’s undergone verification to ensure it’s still in new working condition. Plus, it comes with a one-year warranty.
Save on Samsung’s The Frame TV
Why go to The National Gallery when you can enjoy the museum experience at home? Grab this 43-inch class 2024 open-box The Frame TV by Samsung for just $749.99. It’s available in larger sizes, too. And you can get an exclusive $100 discount on the 55-inch model with by entering code THEFRAME at checkout. Act now while supplies last!
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