Features - Page 181

The road to becoming a curator is by no means an easy one. The role demands years of preparation, patience, and good fortune to even be considered. Yet amid the outbreak of Covid-19, the position feels less like winning the lottery, and increasingly something of a poisoned chalice.

Jeffrey Sharkey’s latest piece for The Times reads equal parts manifesto and love letter. Not directed at one particular figure of renown, Sharkey instead focuses on the contribution of the arts as a whole, particularly in this most “unprecedented” time.

The most recent UK-EU talks on a trade deal to accommodate the needs of both parties post-Brexit are coming to a close, with no clear indicator of any progress on either side.

While those across the theatrical realm have closed their doors amid the outbreak of Covid-19, Tom Morris has left his open just a crack. The current artistic director of the Bristol Old Vic, hopes that in spite of the pandemic, theatres will still be able to demonstrate their worth, perhaps now more than ever.

Between national dealership Lookers and luxury carmaker Aston Martin, 2,000 automotive sector jobs are set to be cut in the coming weeks.

Late last month the National Trust met with the digital, culture, media and sport select committee to ask for support, ideally that of the financial variety. This was particularly curious, considering the £1.3 billion of reserve funds the body has for occasions such as these.

One can hardly help but wonder what F. Scott Fitzgerald would have made of the immersive staging of The Great Gatsby in the best of times. Yet a rendition of the classic with social distancing measures and audiences attired in masks may have proven a little much for the man himself.

In the most recent PMQs, held in accordance with current social distancing measures at the Commons yesterday afternoon, Sir Keir Starmer accused the prime minister of ignoring his offer for help, issued over two weeks ago.

Banks have revealed that more than 50 per cent of payments in 2019 were made by card.

Before the outbreak of Covid-19, the phrase “once in a lifetime” was seemingly attached to each and every exhibition. Yet it seems now that there were opportunities in which this epithet was entirely accurate, most notably the Raphael Exhibition at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome which reopens today, following a relaxation to Italy’s lockdown rules.

Historic England have revealed the 200 photographs of lockdown life which will be included in the nation’s archive following the Picturing Lockdown Competition launched in May.

Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has accused Boris Johnson of “winging it” in the government’s decision to ease lockdown, making a “difficult situation 10 times worse”.

Rekha Agrawal is the vice president and general manager of Fire Suppression Products at Johnson Controls, a company dedicated to making buildings safer, more comfortable, and more sustainable. In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, Agrawal shares some insight as to how the business has responded to the pandemic and offers her view on what the future holds for businesses across the UK.

Budget airline EasyJet has announced that it hopes to resume up to 75 per cent of its routes by the end of August.