Protest

Artist jailed in Cuba invites biennial visitors to 'become part' of his work in prison

Activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara plans to spend time with a fan of his work at a maximum-security penitentiary during Havana Biennial

Three arrested after Just Stop Oil protestors throw soup over Van Gogh's Sunflowers—again

Activists who took part in a similar stunt at London's National Gallery in 2022 were jailed earlier today

Protestors who poured soup over Van Gogh's Sunflowers sentenced to prison

The incident, which took place at the National Gallery in 2022, will see Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland serve two years and 20 months respectively

Human rightsanalysis

In Belarus, freedom of expression for writers and artists remains a dream

While reportedly nearly 1,400 political prisoners, including 163 cultural figures, remain behind bars, the government stages cultural events whose prime purpose is to bolster the regime and its autocratic leader

Pressure mounts in Slovakia as cultural workers announce nationwide strike alert

The "Cultural Strike" follows the dismissal of the directors of the Slovak National Gallery and the Slovak National Theatre in early August

Artistsfeature

‘All activities are dormant’: how the Kenya anti-government protests are affecting artists

As demonstrations continue, artists reflect on the violence and how police suspicion is limiting their ability to work

Shahzia Sikander statue promoting women's justice at University of Houston beheaded

In the shadow of anti-abortion protests lambasting the artist's sculpture as "Satanic", Sikander's bronze 2023 work 'Witness' was beheaded early Monday morning

Charges dropped against pro-Palestinian protestors from Art Institute of Chicago encampment

Dozens of demonstrators were arrested in May on criminal trespassing charges

Activismcomment

Victory without damage: ‘Just Stop Oil’s climate activism is one of the most successful disobedience campaigns ever’

The climate catastrophe has been brought to the forefront of the public mind without causing serious harm to the targeted works, says John Paul Stonard

John-Paul Stonard

Goldsmiths CCA closes until autumn amid pro-Palestine protests

The activist group Goldsmith’s for Palestine is calling for the institution to cut ties with the philanthropists Zak and Candida Gertler

Animal rights protestors cover painting of King Charles III in Wallace and Gromit stickers

Jonathan Yeo’s work was defaced by activists from the Animal Rising group

Student sit-in at Goldsmiths in protest over planned job cuts

The college—an alma mater of Sarah Lucas and Damien Hirst—faces a restructure and more than 130 possible redundancies

Photographer Shahidul Alam returns his honorary doctorate to the University of the Arts London

Alam made the decision in solidarity with the students protesting against the university’s stance on the war in Gaza

Hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters rally at Brooklyn Museum

Demonstrators took over the lobby and exterior of the museum on Friday afternoon, calling for transparency and divestment regarding financial ties to Israel

Art world power players reportedly encouraged New York mayor to send police to pro-Palestine student protests

Chat logs from a private WhatsApp group created by billionaire Barry Sternlicht were leaked to the Washington Post last week

'No business as usual': Pro-Palestinian protests held at heart of Venice Biennale

Organised by the Art Not Genocide Alliance, the demonstration criticised international support for the Israeli government’s campaign against Gaza

Protestors at London Science Museum rally against ‘greenwashing’ new sponsor

The museum has received backlash for its decision to allow Adani Green Energy to sponsor a new gallery focused on climate change

‘Met Museum, you’re complicit’: artists and activists take over museum’s front steps with giant pro-Palestine quilt

A two-hour rally at the New York museum drew many supportive cheers and honks, plus a handful of antagonistic shouts

‘The pendulum keeps tightening’: what Hong Kong’s new security law could mean for the art world

Article 23 introduces 39 new kinds of security crimes and stipulates life sentences for sabotage, treason and insurrection

Police investigating Pro-Palestine protesters’ vandalism of painting at Cambridge University

A pair of activists sprayed and slashed the work depicting Arthur Balfour, whose 1917 letter advocated the creation of a ‘national home for the Jewish people’ in Palestine

Tania Bruguera’s reading at Hamburger Bahnhof shut down after heated pro-Palestine protests

A statement from the museum says the incident involved activists using “hate speech” towards one of the readers and a museum director

Protesters calling for Gaza ceasefire stage die-in at Canadian Museum for Human Rights

The action, staged on International Human Rights Day, lasted 64 minutes in observance of the 64 days since the Israel-Hamas war began

Russian artist Sasha Skochilenko jailed for anti-war protest

Skochilenko was charged for replacing supermarket price labels with pieces of information about the destruction of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol

What’s behind the row engulfing the UK’s National Trust?

Plus, a protest-themed tenth edition of the Performa Biennial and a restored portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger

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Russian prosecutors seek eight-year prison sentence for artist who installed anti-war messages in grocery store

The St Petersburg artist Sasha Skochilenko was arrested in April 2022 for replacing a store's price labels with information about the war in Ukraine

Artists withdraw work from US National Gallery in protest of ‘government funding of Israel’s military assault’ in Gaza

A collaborative sculpture by Nicholas Galanin and Merritt Johnson was removed from an exhibition at the Washington, DC museum