GABRIELE NEHER draws attention to an astoundingly skilled Flemish painter who defied the notion that women cannot paint like men
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Towards working class opera
BEN LUNN argues that opera has long been an arena of radical ideas and music and shouldn't be an art form lost to the wealthy
(L) A scene from Alan Bush's opera Joe Hill, Deutsche Staatsoper, Berlin, September 1970; (R) Opera singers perform during a protest calling for more funding for the performing arts in Parliament Square, London, Oct 30, 2020
[Courtesy of the Alan Bush Trust]
The Bard pays homage to Hull’s finest promoter and venue, and awards Douze Points to Laibach
KEVIN DONNELLY outlines how the bourgeois institutions inhibit our ability to to view art in revolutionary ways, and suggests some tactics to overturn it
ANDY HEDGECOCK welcomes an accessible - and optimistic - take on our relationship to new technology
JOHN GREEN suggests that a new, biased, and highly readable re-hash of the story of the Cambridge Five be taken with a large pinch of salt
BRENT CUTLER welcomes a timely reminder of the long history of protests and the outdoor spaces in which they takes place
READERS will be aware of my deep frustration and anger at how the Arts Council of England – and many corners of the cultural sector – have failed the arts in the name of “anti-elitism.”
The new Let’s Create strategy from the Arts Council shows they are continuing to indulge in this closed-minded vision. Catherine Bennett from the Observer wrote a good breakdown of the immediate issues and lack of vision on display, and I’d recommend readers look at it, even if it means having to stomach the Guardian. In my opinion, we need to go further: to think as a class as we consider why we must fight for opera.
All art forms suffer elitism. Classical music, and opera specifically, have similar issues that we also see in poetry, the theatre, or art galleries. But we must never fall into the trap of considering that an art form itself is inherently elitist.
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