The House of Lords has backed plans to give artists, writers, and creators greater control over their work by approving an amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill. The amendment, proposed by crossbencher Baroness Kidron, aims to provide transparency on when and how creative works are shared, allowing copyright owners to stop it if they wish. This move is seen as a significant boost to Britain's creative industries, which contribute £126 billion to the UK economy, and comes after hundreds of top artists signed a letter calling for protection from artificial intelligence (AI) firms that have been mining their work without permission.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14704919/boost-Britains-creative-industries-AI-copyright-battle-House-Lords-backs-plans-stealing-work.htmlThe young people in the village, led by Moussa Camara, are aware of the significance of the annual Djingareyber Festival, a cultural event that has been celebrated for over 700 years in Timbuktu, Mali. The festival is an important part of the region's rich heritage and is marked by traditional music, dance, and art performances.
https://africanews.com/2025/05/13/noradala-centuries-old-fishing-festival-in-guinea-still-going-strong/The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is a federal agency that funds arts and arts education nationwide, supporting public and private initiatives to benefit everyone in the US. The NEA's Blue Star Museums program allows qualified military personnel and their families to enter participating museums with specific ID cards, including the Geneva Convention common access card or DD Form 1173 ID card. This program is part of the NEA's efforts to foster arts participation and practice, supported by organizations such as the National Assembly of State Art Agencies and Blue Star Families, which has delivered over $336 million in benefits to more than 1.5 million people since its founding in 2009.
https://www.arts.gov/news/press-releases/2025/military-families-visit-museums-free-summer-part-blue-star-museumsThe US Copyright Office has released a report analyzing the legality of training large language models on protected works, providing a counter to artificial intelligence companies' central defense in lawsuits accusing them of infringement. The report, which is unprecedented and considered "crazy" by an attorney, expands on one of the four factors courts use to determine fair use, focusing on the impact on the market for the original copyrighted work.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and-telecom-law/authors-point-to-copyright-office-ai-analysis-to-bolster-suitsThe artist's work includes politically charged material such as a stage adaptation of "Unit 731," based on Yoshiaki Hiyama's novel about the Imperial Japanese Army unit that conducted human experiments during World War II. She also contributes essays to a theater magazine and is planning a poetry reading this summer to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/05/12/lifestyle/japan-centenarian-lifestyles-100/Sandro Botticelli, a renowned artist of the Florentine Renaissance, has been the subject of several recent events. In July 2022, climate activists glued themselves to one of his masterpieces in Italy's Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence, but fortunately, the painting was not damaged due to its protective glass cover. In December 2024, Sotheby's held a series of sales featuring Botticelli's work, including an equestrian painting with a newly discovered secret and a sleek, Modernist ceramic bowl. Additionally, a portrait of a young man holding a roundel sold for $92.1m at Sotheby's in New York in 2021, setting a record price for the artist.
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/05/12/uk-government-bans-export-of-£10m-botticelli-paintingElise Ferguson's paintings blend machine-made precision with hand-hewn quality, creating a unique rhythm that welcomes dissonance and improvisation. Her compositions draw inspiration from 19th-century Shaker designs, particularly Polly Collins' "An Emblem of the Heavenly Sphere", which influenced her own piece "Shaker". Ferguson's work combines optical clarity with material reality, lending it a quiet emotional charge and spiritual resonance.
https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/painting/elise-ferguson-threshold-shrine-new-york/The EU's new anti-looting law is set to impose unreasonable burdens on legitimate trade, potentially hindering the art market. The law aims to curb trafficking of stolen goods, but its planned rules may unfairly restrict lawful and genuine transactions. This could have a negative impact on the international art market, particularly for US collectors buying in London, where the dollar's strength may be their only advantage.
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/05/12/the-waverley-rules-were-designed-to-protect-uk-cultural-heritageare-they-having-unintended-consequences-on-the-art-marketThe Westfield Good Festival in Prague's largest shopping center features a four-day program with activities for all style lovers, including creative upcycling. Legendary vintage store Secondhand 1981 is taking center stage, offering exclusive upcycled outfits created by Czech singer Klára Vytisková and featuring curated selection of vintage and retro fashion. The festival also includes Bloges Market, a pop-up shop with wardrobes clean-outs from influencers like Aneta Vignerová and Natalie Kotková, supporting the Veronika Kašáková Foundation. Upcycling workshops are scheduled throughout the festival, including an exclusive session hosted by Secondhand 1981, where participants can learn to repurpose old clothing into new accessories.
https://www.expats.cz/czech-news/article/explore-four-days-of-vintage-and-upcycled-fashion-in-prague-at-westfield-good-festival-may-15-18-2025-westfield-chodov?utm_source=expats.cz&utm_medium=sponsored-content-article-widget&utm_campaign=internal-sp-hp-promotion