
Colouring the Past: Homer, Soane & Klein
Yves Klein, Blue Venus works on display at Blenheim Palace, 2018 (Photo: Vogue) Colour is a concerningly abstract and amorphous concept which we have to engage with on the daily, and much of the interest in the semi-myth that the ancient Greeks had no word for the colour ‘blue’ comes from a fundamental mistrust in the idea that our experience of colour is not a universal human experience. ‘Wine-dark’ sea is the traditional translated epithet given to Homer in place of blue. I

Sticker Shtick
All of my visits to Tate Modern have been a hit or miss. There’s a very inorganic feel to it as an institution. Maybe it’s the multitude of different works crammed together in the same space, or their past associations to BP…nonetheless it’s an unpleasant experience. Due to the fact that I had family visiting and they wanted to go and see their latest exhibitions, I obediently tagged along. That same day, March 23rd, happened to be one of the most important days in the three-


'Into the Mind of the Coloniser': In Conversation with Adelaide Damoah
On Thursday 28 March, British-Ghanaian artist Adelaide Damoah will present ‘Into the Mind of the Coloniser’, in the Virginia Woolf Room of the Mary Ward House in London. The performance is part of a three-day event organised by Open Space entitled ‘Forum: Of Hosts & Guests’. Throughout the evening, the audience will read aloud with Damoah, reciting passages from nineteenth-century instruction manuals written for colonisers. Slowly, the artist will be cut from her Ghanaian fun


Sacking Sackler & May’s Civil War
BUMPER END-OF-TERM EDITION Illustration by Rhiannon Powell This week I begin with a story that has been bubbling away for some time now, the ongoing Sackler Affair. Many of you will be familiar with the name, the Sacklers seemingly have their name plastered all over every major arts institution in the country, from the V&A and the National Gallery, to the Royal Opera House and the National Theatre. Their name is even attached to our very own Sackler Research Forum here at The


Division, Derision, Diversions, & Delay
As promised, last week was a big one for Brexit. In my last column, I outlined what was planned, in this one I’ll recount what actually happened. The first of three important votes this week was on Tuesday, parliament was set to vote on May’s proposed Brexit deal…again. After the last time MPs voted it down, she was sent off to the EU to make changes to the Irish backstop element to ensure that the UK would not end up in a strange limbo between being fully out and partly in.

The Unifying Power of Jewellery
With the ongoing Brexit debate over whether to stay or leave - a metaphor for divorce reoccurring in newspaper headlines; the unifying message of Valentine’s Day holds greater importance. We may love and live in close proximity to one another, however, the impermeable membrane of our skin ensures that we can never inhabit exactly the same space as another individual: we are islands. In 1956, Aldous Huxley eloquently wrote, after his psychedelic experience under the influence

Midnight in a Perfect World - DJ Shadow's 'Entroducing'
It’s midnight. I’m walking home, I see nothing but dark buildings and orange streetlights. Traffic goes by nearby, I can hear the wind in the trees. Somewhere below, in a nearby garden, a fox rests. With my headphones on, there is a peace to the city. We all have albums that form us. A track list that takes you back to a specific time, place or emotion. For most of us, a few specific albums become the soundtracks to our lives, melodies and lyrics that move past the mind and e


Courtauld Careers Alumni Networking Event
We are incredibly proud to announce that last Thursday’s Careers Networking Event was the most successful to date, with 46 careers certificate completers attending! With a wide range of alumni present, from Bruce Boucher, Director of the Sir John Soane’s Museum, to Coco Chen, who does public policy for Credit Suisse, our students truly appreciated them giving up their free time to help and advise the next generation. Photograph by Francesca Vine Julia, an MA student, had this


Cosmically Curated: March Art 'Scopes
March always goes in like a lion, but this year particularly so with a Mercury retrograde near the beginning of the month. That means that nitty gritty logistical things could go wrong, so make sure to double check all emails, texts, and plans. Despite the retrograde, this is astrologically a very potent and powerful time for most zodiac signs. Though there may be minor setbacks, you’re sure to come out like a lamb. Find beauty in the backwards and enjoy an especially mercuri


A Clear Path Through the Brexit Fog?
I’m sorry everyone, but this week it really is unavoidable, I’m going to have to mention the B-word. The fog of Brexit is obscuring all other news but it’s best to acknowledge it. Turns out that sitting with your eyes closed, wishing very, very hard for it to go away doesn’t work – as Theresa May has discovered. Set up for this coming week are three important votes that will decide the future of the UK’s position in relation to our EU neighbours, so here’s what to expect… Ill