Yayoi Kusama’s message to Covid-19: ‘Disappear from this earth’

The veteran Japanese avant-garde artist has issued a poem of defiance in the teeth of the ‘terrible monster’, the coronavirus pandemic

Dystopia with hot chocolate: Tales from the Loop’s author on his low-key sci-fi

Artist-writer Simon Stålenhag, whose work has inspired a new Amazon Prime serial, explains why he keeps it understated

‘Like a glass of iced water to the face’: filmmakers, artists and actors on Covid-19

From a self-isolation thriller to photographs exploring the human touch, coronavirus has made artists of all kinds re-evaluate their work. In the first of a three-part series we speak to Natalie Cassidy, Mary McCartney and more

Edinburgh’s August festivals cancelled due to coronavirus

Fringe joins international, book and art festivals and military tattoo in pulling plug

Moshpit mayhem: the northern club where punks rampaged to Hellbastard

The Station was a legendary hotspot where cider-fuelled punks would pogo to Rancid, Death Zone and more. Chris Killip reveals how he photographed the pummelling chaos

Rachel Cooke on criticism: ‘What is the point of a critic if not to tell the truth?’

The Observer critic on lone voices, Twitter pile-ons and how artists benefit from good and bad reviews

Cancelled culture: at-home substitutes for major theatre, art and music events

The Observer’s critics offer creative alternatives to cancelled or postponed arts events

Nightshade by Annalena McAfee review – portrait of the artist as a troubled woman

The drama of creation and the expert rendering of the artistic process enhance the story of a woman’s struggle

Titian: Love, Desire, Death review – whims of the gods made flesh

The artist’s epic series of paintings drawn from the poet Ovid hang together for the first time in three centuries, and tell a tale of sex, power and subversion

Come on in, the water’s dystopian! JG Ballard’s Drowned World hits an Essex pool

A Chelmsford swimming baths has turned Ballard’s prescient apocalyptic novel into a truly immersive performance. Our writer pulls on his trunks and dives in

Glastonbury and Hay festival organisers press on despite coronavirus fears

Most UK events, theatres and museums yet to be affected by outbreak

20 springtime cultural highlights in the UK

From Normal People on TV to Beethoven at the Royal Festival Hall, Observer critics pick the best from the new season

Smell the ink and drift away: why I find solace in photobooks

Instagram is like frozen pizza, exhibitions are noisy – but a photobook is an act of analogue rebellion in an obnoxiously digital world

Comic capers in Bologna, magic mushrooms and farewell to the fridge

Continuing our new series, our writer reflects on the beauty and intelligence of graphic novels

Warhol by Blake Gopnik review – sex, religion and overtaking Picasso

A splendid life of Andy Warhol claims him as the most influential artist of the 20th century, and isn’t shy of exposing his private life