The Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum are among art institutions that have struggled with responses to the Israel-Hamas war. The Art Gallery of Ontario seen in Toronto in 2008.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Especially in a time when trust in political leaders and institutions wanes, arts leaders, patrons, policymakers and artists face daunting but critical questions about the value and role of artists.
When people find themselves displaced from their homes, finding or creating beauty can be just as vital as food, water and shelter − and serves as a form of resistance and resilience.
The Hesitant Fiancée by Auguste Toulmouche (1866).
Sotheby's
On the wall of an orphanage in Venice, a musicologist encountered a fresco featuring an aria written for an opera. She’s since embarked on a project to bring this forgotten music back.
The Rokeby Venus was slashed by a Suffragette and was chosen by Just Stop Oil for this reason.
Chronicle/Alamy
An obscure Mexican engraver named José Guadalupe Posada created the satirical skull in the early 1900s and sold it for a penny. But after he died, it took on a life of its own.
Portraits on show at the exhibition, in the centre is Laceta Reid,
painted by Serge Attukwei Clottey.
National Portrait Gallery
The Modern, a debut novel centred on an Australian researcher at New York’s MoMA, muses on modern art and relationships – riffing off MoMA artists like Grace Hartigan and Nan Goldin.
The artist’s rendering of a radiolarian, a protozoa that forms part of zooplankton and possesses a skeleton-type structure.
Jo Berry
Digital archives can have an important part in creating more inclusive art histories, but paying attention to ethical research practices when sharing and circulating resources is critical.
Encourage your child to make their own paintbrushes or draw everyday objects in huge sizes. Or try a portrait without taking their marker off the page.
Honorary (Senior Fellow) School of Culture and Communication University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne