Yayoi Kusama pumpkin worth $3 million washed out to sea
One of Japan’s most iconic pieces of modern art was badly damaged after being swept out to sea by a strong storm. You might think you don’t know who Yayoi Kusama is, but chances are you’ve seen one of the Japanese artists’ pieces online or even in person. At 90 years...
Current in Design
New exhibition brings real stories of abortion into the open
My Body My Life is a public engagement project challenging abortion stigma by providing women with a safe space to share their experiences. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, attitudes towards the ever contentious pro-choice/pro-life debate have shifted significantly both ways across the globe. In Latin America, Argentina became the first major...
UK industry group calls for carbon assessments before all new builds
In a bid to address the construction industry’s growing carbon footprint, a group of UK architects, developers, and contractors have called for compulsory emission assessments before all future builds. Though most of us are now savvier to the inner workings of industries and how they affect climate change, thousands walk...
The artists taking on Middle Eastern censorship
Much of the Middle East has suffered from a lack of freedom of expression for years. But a new wave of artists are using images and sound to challenge censorship. ‘Fireworks can seem like bombs to some people,’ says Simon Coates, founder of Tse Tse Fly Middle East (TTFME)....
Gatekeeper drops new issue on ‘indispensable’ art jobs
The Gen Z magazine has launched its second issue highlighting the many types of jobs and creative roles that exist within the arts, and how vital they are for the industry. Consider yourself an arts connoisseur? A fan of all things creative? You may want to check out a new...
Nvidia’s Canvas app could speed up creative process for artists
A new Nvidia AI tool called ‘Canvas’ allows users to create complex landscape art using a few doodled brush strokes, potentially changing the creative process for millions of artists. Remember watching the special feature clips on animated movie DVDs in the noughties and noticing all of the cool concept...
Mapping challenges for the future of sustainable architecture
Green walls and solar panels are no longer considered adequate for making a building ‘green’. Architects suggest the process must start from the inside out. What is sustainable architecture, truly? When someone asks this question, what do you think of? Like most people, my response would probably be something like: buildings designed to incorporate a vast amount of plant life and open space, features that would hopefully neutralise the structure’s carbon...
Fuel tankers and trucks transformed into intricate steel forest works
Conceptual artist Dan Rawlings takes once-pollutant vessels like trucks, vans, and planes and transforms them into hollow 3D sculptures with a message about the power of nature. Some conceptual artists are criticised for how little physical ‘work’ goes into their pieces. Dan Rawlings isn’t one of those types. Based in Gloucestershire, England, each of Rawlings’ installations is a labour of love. Renowned for his intricate carvings into scrap metal and recycled...
Lego launches first LGBTQIA+ set for Pride month
The Danish toymaker Lego has released a new LGBTQIA+ set, ‘Everyone is Awesome’, to celebrate Pride Month. Lego’s new LGTQIA+ set, ‘Everyone is Awesome,’ was designed by Matthew Ashton, who initially started the project purely for himself. ‘I’d moved offices,’ Ashton explains, and wanted to ‘make the space feel like home with something that reflected me and the LGBTQIA+ community I’m so proud to be a part of.’ ‘Representation is so important....
Superflux unveils ‘Invocation for Hope’ exhibition in Vienna
A design studio called Superflux has created an eye-opening art exhibition which both highlights humanity’s damage to the planet, and envisions a future where we live harmoniously with nature. On display at the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna sits Invocation of Hope, a poignant exhibition highlighting the marked impact humanity has had on the planet, and the need to change the belief that we’re ‘masters of nature.’ As part of...
