Do we have to rebrand the arts as ‘creative tech’ for Turnbull to give us money?
There has been universal head scratching as to why an industry that employs more than agriculture and construction is so utterly ignored by government
Tolkien annotated map of Middle-earth acquired by Bodleian library
Map includes geographical pointers from Hobbit author and sheds light on creative process that spawned fantasy world
Naked contortions, empty exhibitions and Lego’s mistake – the week in art
Polly Penrose poses awkwardly for women everywhere, as Mona Hatoum arrives at Tate and Maria Eichhorn closes the Chisenhale – all in your weekly art dispatch
At this rate art, craft and creativity will soon be as obsolete as BHS
Sophisticated algorithms can now predict the bestseller lists, paving the way for artificial intelligence to take over entirely
Is this a Shakespeare portrait I see before me? Well, no
An attractive portrait of the bard has featured heavily in his 400th anniversary celebrations. There’s just one tiny problem with it
Sex, psychos and sharks: did Britart change the world?
Now establishment figures, the YBAs were enfants terribles when they first caused a sensation, so why was their work deemed so revolutionary?
Seeing Ourselves: from Boccaccio to the age of the selfie
Frances Borzello’s study of women and their self-portraits is a cornucopia of the weird, the chilling and the sublime
Tuesday Nights in 1980 review – sharp rendering of a city in transition
Molly Prentiss’s debut sets up shop as New York is about to clean up its act in the 80s but can her characters cash in or will they be left behind?
George Orwell statue to welcome staff, visitors and smokers at BBC HQ
Broadcaster to commemorate former employee after initially rejecting plan, reputedly because he was too leftwing
Kate Tempest: ‘It’s difficult to look at words as pegs to hang a plot from’
She has written poetry, plays and an album – but the greatest challenge has been her new novel
Poem of the week: Inside the Spacious Tomb by Robin Fulton Macpherson
This week’s poem has a Christian resurrection theme as it brings to life William Blake’s painting of angels rolling away the stone from Christ’s tomb
The medium is the message – the power of public poetry
In the age of Instagram poetry, Robert Montgomery takes the written word to the most physical of spaces. He talks about fans tattoing his words, making poetry accessible, and discussing literature in a police van
Serge Bloch’s crazy gifs to help your imagination soar!
A chance to see an asparagus forest come to life and witness the strange little men frolicking in your loo roll… iconic illustrator Serge Bloch opens a window into his mind with these re-imaginings of ordinary objects as gifs and hopes you want to come and play too
Has a book ever changed your view of an artist?
Biographer John Richardson inspired a love of Picasso while novelist Somerset Maugham demolished Gauguin. Which writers have changed your opinion?
David Mitchell’s strange new tale and the art show that inspired it
My Eye on You, written for the duo Kai and Sunny, stars a character from The Bone Clocks with the ability to alter time. Here, Mitchell recalls being sparked into action by seeing drawing like ‘a picture of God’s retina’