News briefing with national and international stories, including: Court rules dealer of works stolen by Jasper Johns’ assistant can be charged with racketeering; Manchester Art Gallery puts Pre-Raphaelite painting back on display after outcry; Cornelia Parker’s general election artworks unveiled.
Over 100,000 children a year will lose the chance to study the arts when the EBacc becomes compulsory in schools in England and the least privileged will lose out most. Is this a conspiracy or a cock-up, asks ArtsProfessional’s Liz Hill.
A year on from its Unite Against Dividers weekend, Keep It Complex’s recent Organise With Others event was designed to build on the initial weekend’s aim to equip and activate the arts community after the UK’s EU Referendum. Julie McCalden reports on a productive and informative day.
Sitting down at my first Thrash Out debate, I felt like a fraud. Hardly a public speaker and never one to comment on something without authority or thorough research it seemed unclear what I could contribute. I’d become somewhat passive […]
Keep It Complex added a sprinkle of politics to MIMA’s weekly community lunches on 14/12/2017. We brought cupcakes with the faces of local politicians, MPs, MEPs, councillors, the police and crime commissioner and the Mayor. We also gave people pre-digested […]
Keep it complex headed up to Birmingham to have some tea and Teressa May cake at Grand Union. Our local supermarket had refused to print Teressa May on a Cake, we’re not sure why, something about not being able to […]
My name is Fraser Briggs and I have been asked to blog about my involvement in the Artist as Activist talks that Hack and Host did earlier this year. I make shit out of shit. I first […]
The recent ‘What Should White Culture Do? Art, Politics, Race’ brought academics and artists together for a day-long symposium at the Royal College of Art. Sonya Dyer contends that, judging by the approach of some of those talking at the event, the answer to the question is, ‘Much more than this’.
My first foray into film-making and something of a DIY venture it has to be said. I’ve been writing quite a bit lately, from fiction and poetry to various musings on various topics. This piece began as a reflection on […]
Book Launch and Print Exhibition
30 October – 2 November 2017
At a recent symposium in London, academics, technologists, artists and film makers gathered to discuss the politics and ethics of art technology. Artist and writer Alistair Gentry attended and was struck by the need for a much closer relationship between the tech and ethical tendencies in this ongoing and vitally important debate.
The UK’s independent lobbying organisation for the arts, which relies on donations from the public to make its campaigns happen, has launched a new Supporters Scheme with five different tiers available.
this is a blog run by the keep it complex collective to document our a-n bursary funded DIGESTING POLITICS series
The members of the Committee, including the artist Chuck Close, have resigned en masse in a letter that condemns Donald Trump’s support of “hate groups and terrorists”.
For the Post-election breakfast session as part of a-n’s Assembly Bristol event, four speakers discussed issues that ‘can sometimes mean having to have a difficult conversation’. Prior to this, facilitator Rivca Rubin asked those assembled to spend a few minutes reflecting on the outcome of the election. Here we report some of those reflections.
Wow! Not quite all change at the top (yet) … When I started the work for the festival I had a strong feeling that I couldn’t go on working in the same way as before so the opportunity came at a good […]
Theresa May’s snap election gamble has spectacularly failed with the Tories now without a majority in parliament – and artists have been responding to the election result.
We pick five of our favourite artist responses to the general election that have been featured on Instagram, including a print at home poster and a game pitching Corbyn vs May.
Following the publication of its general election manifesto, the party was contacted by journalists questioning the lack of any reference to the arts or creative industries. Frances Richens reports for Arts Professional.
The campaign group’s PDF prompt sheet suggests three key questions to ask parliamentary candidates.
Where are we now? Our Hack & Host a.n “Artist-led Group Bursary” funded project kicked off on Friday 12th May. The intention of the project, titled “Thrash Out: Artists as Political Activists” is to explore the notion of the artist […]
During the opening week of her Scotland + Venice film, ‘Spite Your Face’, artist Rachel Maclean spoke to Emily Sparkes about politics, inappropriate nose-touching and pasta pomodoro.
A forum that sought to address our increasingly fragile ecology of arts, culture & media from a range of perspectives.
A weekly briefing featuring national and international art news, including: light projections saying ‘Pay Trump Bribes Here’ appear on president’s DC hotel; Basquiat painting sells for $110m at auction; late actor and comedian Victoria Wood to be honoured with life-size bronze statue in her home town of Bury.
For her Venice Biennale film, Spite Your Face, Scottish artist Rachel Maclean has created a re-working of the Pinnocchio story that explores power, political lies and the rise of populism. Moira Jeffrey talks to her about the themes and form of the work.
