V&A is more than a museum. It was created in the 1850s to showcase achievement in art and design – to instruct the British manufacturers and public in what was good (and briefly in what wasn’t). The exhibits came from all over the world and in all materials and techniques. It is surprising then that the current show Africa Fashion is the first to showcase design from that continent in the museum. But then the V&A is currently experiencing some sort of transformation – not only physically, but ethically.

Do museums need popular culture to shake them up a bit? For sure. This trail led me to art works I have never considered seeing previously. It has also allowed me to consider them in the current context. Could museums go further and expand their trails without the help of popstars? It would certainly be a worthy exercise. Beyoncé and Jay-Z already suggested some routes – women, colonialism, race, humanity, and animals (where would be without them?) – all that is left is to follow them.

What is it about human beings that makes us want to give human characteristics to animals and even inanimate objects? Two exhibitions – ‘Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature’ and ‘Inspiring Walt Disney: the Animation of French Decorative Arts’ – invite us to explore this question.

New exhibitions from Louise Bourgeois and Gulnur Mukazhanova can be disturbing, or they can be healing – depending on where you are at, emotionally and psychologically.

Wiley makes attractive and impressive visual works – whether paintings or video – to capture the viewer’s attention and then make statements and observations about our contemporary society, the environment, and the role of history. He questions our preconceptions about race today, but also questions where those preconceptions came from. We ask who is Kehinde Wiley, he wants us to ask: who are we?

Parallel exhibitions at Camden Art Centre. One deals with the nature and meaning of art, there other with colonialism, cultural histories and the environment.

Are you thinking about getting an art gallery membership for Christmas? Can’t decide which Instagram ad to click on? Here are my top 5 picks. 

An article that looks at the surprising number of exhibitions of paintings that provoke a question of relevance of the medium in contemporary post pandemic society.