Features - Page 174

At the beginning of the year, Shaun Leonardo, expected to open his show “The Breath of Empty Space” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland. However, the museum made the decision to cancel to show in March following objections from the community and members of museum staff, a decision they have now announced they regret.

The British economy shrank by over one fifth in April as a result of countrywide lockdown, new ONS figures indicate. The Office for National Statistics have said that this “historic” fall is the largest monthly contraction since records began, worse even, than the 2008 recession.

It has been announced that British Gas owner Centrica plc will look to cut some 5,000 jobs as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

To say Picasso was prolific would be something of an understatement. At the time of his death in 1973, he left 45,000 surviving works, and ten surviving dependents. It seems he was also too busy to leave a will.

Tory backbenchers are calling on the government to reverse the 2-metre social distancing rule in England.

Those who live alone in England will now be allowed to stay at one other household following the latest statement from prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday evening.

Creating 400 new works is hardly a conventional response to the outbreak of Covid-19, but then again, David Shrigley is hardly a conventional artist. Shrigley, whose corpus has been described as “mordantly humorous cartoons”, has taken over Twitter and Instagram alike, long before the pandemic ever hit.

A global pandemic is perhaps not conducive to art sales. Indeed, the art industry, supported by international art collectors supports an estimated $60 billion industry, employing over three million people in 310,00 businesses, is struggling to say the least.

At this evening’s daily briefing, prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce the official reopening dates for zoos, safari parks and drive-in cinemas. This latest step in easing lockdown regulations will indicate that such establishments can reopen from this Monday, as long as they maintain social distancing rules.

Just days after news of the job cuts at Bentley, Aston Martin and Lookers, more jobs have been announced by UK plc - this time in the hospitality sector.

With guidance from the government's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government pointing towards a return to normal for the residential property market, many estate agents and other firms in the sector are considering how they will adapt to the "new normal" after Covid-19.

Covid-19 has affected every industry differently. While hospitality, events and retail have experienced a significant downturn, manufacturers and engineers have been drafted in the thousands to mass-produce PPE for private and public sector customers alike.

As protests go, students at Glasgow School of Art surely merit points for ingenuity. Following what they refer to as being “betrayed” by management, students are refusing to release works for their end of year show.

The government has announced that some primary school pupils in England will not go back to school until September, in a change to the previous plan. All pupils had been expected to return to school for the four weeks prior to the summer holiday, however, this is no longer considered feasible.