Though their activities were depicted alluringly in murals, the sex workers of Pompeii were slaves who lived hard lives.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Arts + Culture – Articles, Analysis, Comment
Displaying 2651 - 2675 of 5119 articles
During her lifetime, the paintings of Dutch artist Rachel Ruysch sold for higher prices than those of Rembrandt. Why, then, have her talents not been more widely acknowledged in the centuries since?
Governor Arthur Phillip regarded sodomy as one of the worst offences that convicts under his charge could commit. But sex between men and between women flourished in convict Australia.
From William Chidley to Germaine Greer Australia has spawned more than its fair share of radical thinkers about sex, and Australians have often embraced their ideas, despite persecution by officialdom.
Oliver Stone’s 1987 film Wall Street turns 30 this month. Its infamous character’s mantra, “greed is good”, seems oddly prescient with greater inequality and an even more rampant culture of greed.
Old stories from around the world tell of drowned islands, volcanic eruptions and upheavals to the land around them. Increasingly we are realising these tales preserve actual memory, often from thousands of years ago.
Barbara and the Camp Dogs transformed Sydney’s Belvoir Theatre into a pub gig. But what started as a comedy became a searing tragedy about Australia’s inability to listen to Indigenous people.
A new form of ticketing is becoming more popular in the arts – and it might help us be more charitable than before.
While we appreciate an actor’s craft on the stage, the deep emotions they draw on in performance take their toll on mental health. Actors need to “take off” their characters to return to normal life.
Miles Davis’s 1971 album A Tribute to Jack Johnson sits uneasily within both jazz and rock genres, but its indefinable nature should be celebrated.
Gender bias is an ongoing problem in the visual arts. Change is needed at every level to tackle it.
The Monteverdi opera exploring passion in ancient Rome has been transposed to a contemporary gangster setting in a new Sydney production.
Do you wince at a mispronounced ‘Moet’? Do you cringe at unintentional portmanteau words, like ‘misunderestimated’ or ‘insinuendo’? You are not alone.
The ‘bikini bridge’ may have been a hoax, but its damage to women’s body image was real, demonstrating yet again the disturbing set of pressures social media places on young women.,
Pinching musical phrases and stylistic approaches has always been a part of art making and can be a respectful exchange. But shallow, ill-informed appropriation only perpetuates tired stereotypes.
Many Australian artists have seized on the chance to crowdfund their work through agents such as Patreon and Kickstarter. But crowdfunding should not be a substitute for government support for the arts.
In our pursuit of a world that is safely and entirely OK, must humour be cleansed of its original sin of cultural appropriation and insensitivity? It depends whether we are ‘laughing up’ or ‘laughing down’.
January 26 marks one of the greatest expropriations in modern history, which took place at Sydney Cove. Why do so many Australians want to commemorate an act of egregious injustice?
Why, in 2017, are women still falling behind in the ARIA awards: in nominations, winners, and performances?
The production of fake First Nations art is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cultural appropriation. From ‘didge therapy’ to the overuse of words like ‘deadly’ here’s a (subjective) guide to what to avoid.
Bangarra’s current season of three new works, Ones Country, is uneven in parts but worth seeing for the diversity of Indigenous stories from some new choreographic voices.
Collectable cigarette cards once depicted ‘exotic’ beauties, classified by the colonial eye. And today’s beauty contests still present women as exotic representatives of their nation.
Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘War on Drugs’ is estimated to have led to more than 13,000 killings. Artists - both in the Philippines and beyond - are helping communities work through their trauma.
Johann Sebastian Bach was 30 when he became head of music in Anhalt-Cöthen, in what is now Germany. Here he started an uncharted experiment in classical music: solo works for string instruments.
Clay Stories, a travelling exhibition, showcases ceramic art from Indigenous artists across the country. It is a triumphant display of specific stories and Dreamings, standing against cultural and political amnesia.