Is it time for small artists to quit big music?
Sony Music's attempted purchase of up-and-coming rival label AWAL has signalled a dangerous time for musicians’ rights. Are UK artists doomed? ‘I know it seems like I’m very loud about this,’ Taylor Swift said in an interview with Billboard. ‘But it’s because someone has to be.’ Swift, who signed her...
Current in Culture
New Refugee to Entrepreneur exhibition opens in London
Award-winning photographer Kate Holt’s Piccadilly exhibition is an eye-opening walk through the lives of Ugandan refugees and their fight for opportunity. Tucked behind St James’s Church, Piccadilly, you will find a quiet break of green surrounded by old trees and public benches. This spot, where busy workers come to eat their...
Barbara Gollackner transforms food waste into design homeware
Viennese designer Barbara Gollackner has created a collection of abstract homeware items made from industrial and personal food waste. Ever considered that your food waste bin could be a treasure trove for abstract design materials… no? Fair enough. As part of an emerging and quirky artistic category, revered artist and...
What does Fortnite x Balenciaga mean for the future of marketing?
Luxury fashion brand Balenciaga has unveiled a collaboration with Fortnite, which includes both physical and digital versions of branded clothing. Is this the future of luxury marketing? Fortnite has been around for over four years, but still remains a commercial juggernaut that experiments with innovative marketing strategies, whether it be...
You decide — should our dietary choices dictate who we date?
New research has highlighted that dietary preferences are influencing our dating choices more than ever before. But why is this and should we be filtering our dating choices based on our food preferences? Everybody has a different notion on what makes up a perfect date and ultimately, the optimal companion....
Tomato vines power cloud server in Warm Earth exhibition
Exploring the idea of technology entering a symbiotic relationship with nature, design graduate Ilja Schamle has built a cloud server powered by tomato vines. If it had the potential to knock digits off your electricity bill, would you take up gardening? An Eindhoven design graduate named Ilja Schamle has long wanted...
These lamps are made with traditional fibres and PET plastic waste
Spanish designer Alvaro Catalan de Ocon launched the PET Lamp project in 2011 and has since worked with a variety of international communities to repurpose plastic waste. One piece from 2018 uses fibres and PET to create unique looking lamps.
Do you find IKEA’s home furnishing offerings a bit too bland? Want something new and unique? Ever considered your recycling box a potential goldmine for interior lamp décor?
Designer 
Taylor Wessing Prize for Photography shortlist revealed
The three finalists for the prestigious Taylor Wessing Prize have been announced. Kayta Ilina, David Prichard and Pierre-Elie de Pibrac are the shortlisted nominees for the award that celebrates contemporary portrait photography. The submitted pieces explore adversity, generational trauma, and the fluidity of gender. Although the pictures would usually be displayed in the National Portrait Gallery, due to redevelopment work, this year’s submissions will be exhibited at Cromwell Place in South Kensington. The...
Music industry given new guidelines to tackle climate change
New recommendations have been put forward by scientists at the University of Manchester to reduce the music industry’s overall carbon footprint, including swapping jets for trains and offering free transport with tickets. If you live in the UK, you’ve likely seen a constant wave of Instagram stories from friends and colleagues at music festivals this summer. Some parts of the world are now finally able to enjoy live gigs again...
You decide – is the ‘Nevermind’ lawsuit about exploitation or money?
The child star on one of the world’s most famous album covers is suing for irreparable damages. Are the claims genuine or a 'get rich quick' scheme? Spencer Elden, the four-month-old baby featured on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 Nevermind album, is suing the band for alleged sexual exploitation. US law typically doesn’t consider non-sexualised images of children as child pornography, but Elden’s lawyer suggests the image of a baby floating...
