When is appropriation appropriate?

The answer is almost always. Cultural borrowing and exchange are the fuel of human creative progress.

The idea that “cultural appropriation” must be guarded against, and rooted out, is arguably one of the wobbliest ideas that the era of identity politics has given us. Cultural appropriation is a vastly bigger and healthier process than its opportunist edges: in a very real sense, it is the engine of human intellectual progress.

04.2024 | Carlos Amato

Art museums I have visited

The final study of French post-impressionist artist Georges Seurat’s most famous work, A Sunday Afternoon on the island of La Grande Jatte. It’s part of the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art’s permanent collection.

08.2022 | Charmain Naidoo

How not to be an art pleb

Strolling through the Louvre, I realise my mind has already left the building. It’s contemplating the gateau I’ll enjoy later in a lovely Parisian patisserie.

05.2021 | Lesley Stones