Politics

Like Ike? Toledo Museum of Art decodes the fine art of political persuasion

Over 50 American political ads on view, from the first television spot in 1952 to those used in the 2012 presidential election

Artists speak out against racial injustice in the US

Growing number of exhibitions and works address current and historical issues of race and politics

Shanghai’s alternative Bank gallery evicted from state-owned building

The move seems to be part of a government crackdown on private entities renting spaces across the country

KGB prison doors given questionable cultural heritage status

Political artist Pyotr Pavlensky, who set fire to the entrance on Lubyanka Square as part of a performance, is now facing trial in Moscow

Members of Egyptian performance group arrested for mocking president

Performers face charges of inciting protests and insulting state institutions

The rent is too damn high: artists tackle New York’s gentrification problem

William Powhida and Jennifer Dalton team up again for a month-long programme of talks and performances that address the city’s housing issues

Arts reveal huge gulf between leaders in London Mayor race

With two weeks to polling day, Sadiq Khan plans 15 year culture strategy while Zac Goldsmith doesn’t mention the arts

Bipartisan bill to remove hurdles for heirs seeking Holocaust-era art

The legislation, sponsored by presidential hopeful Ted Cruz among others, comes as the race for the US election heats up

Cuban artist offers free wifi to Havana locals, with backing from Google

Kcho’s sculpture studio has been equipped with laptops, cell phones and virtual-reality goggles and is open to the public from 7am to midnight

Barack Obama visits Havana’s historic city centre

The tour is the first by a sitting US president in 88 years

Qatari poet released from prison after royal pardon

Muhammad ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami was given a 15-year sentence for reciting a poem in support of the Arab Spring on YouTube

Budget 2016 to see extra arts funding heading north

But London's Royal College of Art among biggest winners as Chancellor presses on with austerity measures

Damien Hirst, suffragette, spins with a twist

Artist has made a work to support the Women’s Equality Party

Moscow judge extends detention of Russian protest artist

A cheery Pyotr Pavlensky demanded again in the courtroom to be tried as a terrorist for his political performances against the Russian government

Meet the five surprising arts figures behind the Republican presidential candidates

As the race to the White House heats up, we look at the unlikely advisers that back the leading contenders

A timeline of African American history, told through quilts

Pieces in the Bruce Museum show cover cultural milestones and important figures, from the early Civil Rights activist Ida B. Wells to 1967 Supreme Court case about interracial marriage

'Dear New Yorkers, tear down those walls': Tania Bruguera to stage public vote on immigration

Referendum performance is part of the Rubin Foundation’s political art show When Artists Speak Truth…

Political artist Pyotr Pavlensky pulled from Russia’s top art prize

Removal of artist best known for nailing his scrotum to Red Square has drawn criticism

Audrey Azoulay replaces Fleur Pellerin as France’s culture minister

In a surprise cabinet reshuffle, President Hollande’s cultural advisor takes the top government spot

Louvre inks historic deal with Iran to cooperate on archaeological digs, exhibitions and exchanges

A French team could return to sites like Susa, where the museum uncovered the Code of Hammurabi

Russian protest artist held in Moscow psychiatric hospital

The Serbsky Center may also host hearings next week in criminal trial against Pyotr Pavlensky

Betty Tompkins paints 1,000 words that describe women—and most of them are horrible

The feminist artist takes on deep-rooted misogyny in a new show at the Flag Art Foundation

A tale fit for Homer: the decade-long odyssey of Athens’s National Museum of Contemporary Art

The saga behind a much-delayed home for the city’s contemporary art collection reflects many of modern Greece’s woes

The really white cube: New York’s culture groups less diverse than they think

Survey conducted by the city’s cultural affairs department finds workforce does not match up with demographics

Artnews

Lebanese authorities backtrack over high-profile curator's passport renewal

Christine Tohmé says her application was suspended because of ties to culture sector

Egyptnews

How art is keeping alive the memory of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution

Five years after the uprisings in Cairo, the spirit of the protests lives on in cultural projects

Artnews

Palestinian Museum to open in May

Inaugural show will focus on the objects that individual Palestinians would never part with

Artnews

Lego changes policy after Ai Weiwei backlash

Chinese artist describes U-turn as “victory for freedom of speech”

Artnews

Science fiction in the Holy Land

Artists Larissa Sansour and Søren Lind discuss how they are propelling Palestinians into an alternate reality