In this week's special Venice Biennale episode, Ben Luke reviews In Minor Keys along with Louisa Buck and Jane Morris, interviews artists Gabrielle Goliath and Lubaina Himid and meets writer Saidiya Hartman. Digital editor Alexander Morrison hears about a collateral event by Belarus Free Theatre, and Ben Luke learns about the restoration of two paintings by Tintoretto.
While reportedly nearly 1,400 political prisoners, including 163 cultural figures, remain behind bars, the government stages cultural events whose prime purpose is to bolster the regime and its autocratic leader
The dissident Belarusian artist, who once dumped manure in front of Alexander Lukashenko's office, died in prison under "unclear circumstances"
A growing number of culture workers are being given long prison sentences on spurious charges
Artists among those being arrested and tortured for speaking up against President Aleksandr Lukashenko
Aleksandr Lukashenko regime continues to crackdown on Belarus’s contemporary arts community
Former chairman of Belgazprombank, which owns works by Chagall and Soutine, was arrested in June on charges of laundering $430m but many suspect it was politically motivated
Contemporary artists in the country are reacting to the crisis after allegations of election fraud and police brutality