Out go the themed rooms and groupings of artists at London's Tate Britain gallery, and in comes a pure, sunlit, chronological walk through British art from 1540 to the present. The world's leading collection of British paintings and sculpture on Monday threw open a permanent gallery so radically refurbished and reorganized that every one of the 500-odd works on display had to be rehung. "What I wanted to try and do was to have a complete chronology that wouldn't be interrupted by exhibitions," said Director Penelope Curtis. She denied that the Tate was "dumbing down" for the average tourist, saying the layout offered better access to everyone from school children to art experts, put works in context with their contemporaries, and would be uncompromised by temporary shows. The "BP Walk through British Art" winds around the perimeter of the building, beginning in 1540 with portraits by the likes of Hans Holbein and Anthony van Dyck, then sailing through the centuries right up to 2013 Turner Prize nominee Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. More»

Waleed Hammad dressed conservatively for his secret mission into the world of sexual harassment and abuse on the streets of Cairo, donning a long tan skirt and sleeved shirt, and at times covering his head like many Egyptian women. The 24-year-old actor walked the sidewalks, hidden cameras in tow, for an investigative television report, hoping the broadcast would enlighten national debate about how to combat deep-rooted day-to-day sexual harassment and abuse in this patriarchal society. Initiatives to counter the problem have mushroomed in recent months. Vigilante groups have started protecting women at gatherings, particularly at large protests or during national holidays when groping and harassment in crowds is at an all-time high. Activists have offered self-defence classes for women. Social network sites have been started where women can “name and shame” their harassers. On the other side of the debate are conservative religious clerics and some government officials who blame women, saying they invite harassment and sexual abuse by mixing with men. Their comments have inflamed the discourse, particularly at a time when Egypt’s volatile and polarized politics blur social and political issues following the 2011 uprising that ousted long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak. More»

Emirates has announced that it plans to trial new shisha lounges aboard its A380 fleet. In a statement released this morning, the Dubai-based airline revealed that the lounges would be available to business and first class passengers on several of its long-haul routes flown using Airbus’ superjumbo, starting from next month. “Alongside unique offerings such as our Signature Spa and Onboard Lounges, with our new Signature Shisha Rooms premium customers will be now be able to relax amid luxurious surroundings with a traditional waterpipe,” the airline said in a press release. “This new service will provide our Middle Eastern passengers with the sort of home comforts they’ve come to expect on our award-winning airline, while presenting those flying to the Middle East for the first time with the opportunity to sample one of the true tastes of Arabia before they’ve even landed.” According to the statement, passengers will be able to pre-order a shisha from the onboard menu while at their seat and retire to the lounge after the main meal. Emirates added that, should the trials run smoothly, it hopes to have the shisha service operational across its entire fleet of A380s by the year end. More»

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina Orchestra, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Choir with choir master Rodica Ocheseanu, and various soloists will put on a performance of George Frideric Handel's Julius Caesar in Egypt (Giulio Cesare in Egitto) on Wednesday 15 May at the Cairo Opera House's main hall. The role of Cleopatra will be sung by Dolores Lahuerta, Caesar by Ashraf Sewailam, Cornelia by Farah Dibany and Sesto by Fatma Said. The conductor of the evening is Ahmed El-Saedi. Known simply as Giulio Cesare, Handel's composition is a large scale opera in three acts with a libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym. Due to the thematic contents, captivating plot and masterful musical passages, the opera, which is set in Egypt during the reign of Cleopatra, was an instant success when performed for the first time in London in 1724. The listener is transported into times of great battles, intrigues and passion between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, stories which have inspired writers, poets, painters, sculptors and musicians across the centuries. More»

With a billion dollars worth of art on offer at their spring auctions in New York, Christie's and Sotheby's are looking to the post-war and contemporary works to drive the market this month. The sales of the newer works are expected to exceed those of the once-dominant Impressionist and modern field by anywhere from 50 to 100 percent, according to estimates. While both Christie's and Sotheby's have a pair of Impressionist or modern paintings valued at $20 million or $30 million-range, both houses' contemporary sales feature at least three works that are expected to fetch $30 million to $40 million, and possibly more. Records are likely to fall for artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Gerhard Richter, who already holds the record price for a work by any living artist at auction. More»

Enlisting the drama of Prokofiev and the elegance of Tchaikovsky, St Petersburg's new Mariinsky theatre staged a gala opening on Thursday designed to silence critics of the starkly modernist building erected in the heart of Russia's imperial capital. The $700-million glass and limestone building, which critics have dubbed the "Mariinsky mall", glowed in the night sky, its glass and metal walkways humming with excited voices as the select crowd of 2,000 found their seats. Just opposite, across a canal, the 19th century original opera house, one of the great showcases of Russian culture which became home to the Kirov opera and ballet companies in Soviet times, stood silent for the evening. More»

The discovery of a lost self-portrait of Charles Baudelaire has rekindled interest in the 19th century French poet, revealing a lighter, painterly side to a literary "enfant terrible" known for his dark, erotic poetry. The drawing, overlaid with pale brown watercolors, shows a three-quarter view of Baudelaire with what appears to be a red scarf tied around his neck. Sketched in the background are a naked woman, silhouettes of men and a dog. The drawing surfaced when curators at the Cite de l'Architecture museum were looking through a collection of art objects found in the workshop of French sculptor Adolphe-Victor Geoffroy-Dechaume, a contemporary of Baudelaire's. Museum curator Carole Lenfant was digging through the Geoffroy-Dechaume stash for an upcoming exhibition when the loose sheet caught her eye. "There was something about the eyes and the way it was painted," she said. Convinced it was by Baudelaire, she began a quest to confirm that it was indeed a self-portrait. More»

Argentinian author and illustrator Isol won the world's biggest prize for children's literature on Tuesday with the jury for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award praising her ability to expose the absurdities of the adult world to children. She beat "War Horse" author Michael Morpurgo, the former British Children's Laureate, America's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" writer Eric Carle, and British fantasy writer Terry Pratchett among others to the annual prize. The jury for the 5 million Swedish crown ($770,000) prize created by the Swedish government in 2002 said Isol, whose real name is Marisol Misenta, created picture books from the "eye-level of the child". "Taking the child's clear view of the world as her starting point, she addresses their questions with forceful artistic expressions and offers open answers," the jury said. More»

Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel defended Pope Francis on Thursday against accusations he failed to speak out against repression during the 1976-83 military dictatorship in their native Argentina, saying he preferred "silent diplomacy". Links between some high-ranking Roman Catholic clergymen and the U.S-backed military regime that kidnapped and killed up to 30,000 leftists between 1976 and 1983 tarnished the Church's reputation in Argentina and the wounds have yet to heal. Critics of Pope Francis say that in his then role, he failed to protect priests who challenged the junta and has said too little about the complicity of the Church during military rule. "The pope had nothing to do with the dictatorship. He was not an accomplice of the dictatorship," Esquivel told reporters after a 30-minute meeting with Francis in the Vatican. More»

Vladimir Tretchikoff's painting of the Chinese Girl, thought to be the world's most reproduced print, has sold at auction in London for £982,050. The sum, which includes a 12% buyer's premium, was around twice what had been predicted by auction house Bonhams. It was thought the portrait of a young Chinese girl with green-hued skin and ruby lips would fetch up to £500,000. It was bought by British businessman and jeweller Laurence Graff and will go on public display in South Africa. According to a Bonhams representative, the painting will be exhibited, alongside the rest of the diamond retailer's art collection, at the Delaire Graff Estate, near Stellenbosch in the Western Cape. More»