Ft Life Of A Song

The Nevada resort, a byword for pleasure-seeking in the here and now, is starting to take its history seriously, says the FT’s arts writer  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Visa problems and nervousness on the part of potential sponsors have made life hard for London’s festival of contemporary Arab culture. But as the Arab Spring gives way to harsher realities, such forums are needed more than ever, says the FT’s arts writer  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Countries are vying to project their worth through art, sport and broadcasting. But ‘soft power’ is not always easy to control, says the FT’s arts writer  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Where there is a public clamour for explanation, writers and artists should be unafraid to step in, says the FT's arts writer  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The thought of French purists fretting over ‘les snackbars’ has long-tickled English-speakers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Pre-first world war Vienna has some curious parallels with Spain today  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The praise lavished on football’s retiring greats has been wildly overblown, says the FT’s arts writer. Other cultural pursuits are far worthier of grown-ups’ attention  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As Margate’s Turner Contemporary gallery celebrates curiosity, the FT’s arts writer does his best to concentrate on the mind’s ability to wander  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Europe’s film-makers want protection from the might of Hollywood. That’s understandable, argues the FT’s arts writer, but also wrong-headed: the two traditions are deeply intertwined  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As a new documentary profiles the soft rock megastars, the FT’s arts writer reflects on their dramatic fall from grace – and their enduring appeal  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Doha’s aspiration to become a global centre for culture is admirable – its squeamishness over ancient Greek sculptures less so, says the FT’s arts writer  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Artists responded vigorously to the confrontational politics of Margaret Thatcher’s premiership – but the vivid creativity of the time had its roots in an earlier era, argues the FT’s arts editor  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As performance artist Marina Abramovic showed, the paradox of our digital age is our hunger for personal presence, says the FT's arts editor  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Even at a time of economic hardship, crowd-funding schemes could be a money-spinner for the arts because of the way they play on human psychology, says the FT’s arts editor  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We love French culture, yet according to a recent study there’s something in it that makes the French miserable. But every nation’s artistic mindset has its drawbacks, argues the FT’s arts writer  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The emirate’s contemporary arts event considers some thorny regional issues in a deceptively laid-back way, says the FT’s arts writer  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As a stage version of the classic BBC sitcom comes to London, the FT’s arts writer reflects on the series’ pioneering mix of comedy and drama  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

‘Robot and Frank’ paints a benign picture of silicon-based life-forms. But the film’s ‘near-future’ setting is one that often wrong-foots screenwriters  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Like it or not, the vibrancy of London’s art scene is due in part to the efforts of marketeers, public relations teams and great coffee shops, says the FT’s arts writer,  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With his brother Jake, the British artist has tackled some of modernity’s grisliest themes. The FT’s arts writer finds out why he’s now trying his hand at music  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.