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- Disobedient Objects exhibition in London
- Gender imbalance delays EU Commission
- Petition Osborne to stop taxing periods
| Disobedient Objects exhibition in London Posted: 06 Aug 2014 07:10 AM PDT
This summer the V&A is presenting its first exhibition exploring objects of art and design from around the world that have been created by grassroots social movements as tools of social change. Disobedient Objects is about out-designing authority. It explores the material culture of radical change and protest – from objects familiar to many, such as banners or posters, to the more militant, cunning or technologically cutting-edge, including lock-ons, book-blocs and activist robots. Where previous social movement histories have focused on large-scale events, strategies or biographies, this exhibition shows how objects themselves can be revolutionary. From Chilean folk art textiles that document political violence to a graffiti-writing robot, defaced currency to giant inflatable cobblestones thrown at demonstrations in Barcelona, to a political video game about the making of mobile phones, Disobedient Objects will demonstrate how political activism drives a wealth of design ingenuity. The exhibition showcases forms of making that defy standard definitions of art and design. The objects that will be on display are mostly produced by non-professional makers, collectively and with limited resources as effective responses to complex situations. The exhibition focuses on the late 1970s to the present; a time that has brought new technologies, social and political challenges. Giant puppets, pamphlet buckets, tear gas masks, badges, shields. The objects are made in a number of ways including: the appropriation of everyday objects for a new subversive purpose, as seen with the Bike Bloc which was produced from discarded bicycles and audio equipment welded together during the 2009 Reclaim Power protests in Copenhagen; the employment of traditional crafts like hand-appliquéd protest banners; and hacking cutting-edge technology to create such protest tools as a counter-surveillance drone. One part of the exhibition profiles a series of case studies in protest design from the last 30 years. This section opens with a data-visualisation mapping every protest since 1979. The case studies include masks of the Guerrilla Girls who speak out against sexism in the art world, and the Tiki Love Truck, an anti-death penalty statement which takes the form of a mosaic-covered pick up vehicle by artist Carrie Reichardt. A web-based comedy series by Masasit Mati using finger puppets to lampoon the Assad regime in Syria will be displayed as well as a project by the Barbie Liberation Organisation (BLO) which involved switching the voiceboxes on talking GI Joe and Barbie dolls to highlight gender stereotypes in children's toys. The whole space will be hung with banners drawn from a diverse range of protest sites including the 1980s Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp in the UK to recent anti-nuclear protests in Japan. Accompanying this is a display exploring a century of posters agitating for political change, from the 'Votes for Women' campaigns of the early 20th century to the recent Occupy movements. Around 70 posters drawn from the V&A’s collection are being displayed, including new acquisitions gathered from recent outbursts of protest in the UK, Russia and the Middle East. This exhibtion runs until 1 February 2015, and is in the V&A’s Porter Gallery, and is open from 10.00-17.45 daily, 10.00-22.00 on Fridays. Entrance is free and there is no need to book a ticket.  |
| Gender imbalance delays EU Commission Posted: 06 Aug 2014 05:12 AM PDT
The creation of the new EU Commission is likely to be delayed after member states continue to fail to nominate enough women. The member states are not heeding to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's request for at least 9 of the 28 Commissioners who will make up the next policy-making team to be women. Currently only two official nominees are women: Cecilia Malmstrom and Vera Jourova, although equality campaigners have put together a list of 70 women they perfectly worthy of becoming Commissioners and fitting for the position in the current political situation. Cecilia Malmstrom is the Swedish nomination for European Commissioner. She is currently the EU’s Commisioner for Home Affairs, a post she has held since 2010. She became a member of the European Parliament in 1999 and has worked mainly on foreign affairs, human rights, EU enlargement and constitutional issues. Vera Jourova, the Czech Republic’s nominee, is a member of the Czech ANO (Action of Dissatisfied Citizens) movement and is Minister for Regional Development in the current Czech government. Three other women have had their names put forward, but their nomination is by no means certain. The first is Frederica Mogherini, who has been Italy's foreign minister since February 2014, appointed by Italy’s prime minister Matteo Renzi. Renzi lobbied for Mogherini to replace Britain's Catherine Ashton as new EU foreign policy chief – a role that would see her join the Commission. But critics have said Mogherini has not had enough experience to take such a role, and a number of Eastern European countries, in particular Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, have said they would not support her appointment, claiming she would be too soft on Russia. Rovana Plumb has also been considered for nomination. Plumb is a Romanian politician from the Social Democratic Party who has been Minister of Environment and Climate Change in Romania since May 2012. She served in the European Parliament from 2009 to 2012. Kristalina Georgieva, an environmental economist from Bulgaria, is another woman who has been considered for the Commission. She is currently the European Commissioner for International Co-operation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, a role she acceded to in 2010 and has led her to deal with the 2010 Haiti earthquake, earthquake in Chile and the floods in Pakistan. In November, Commissioner Georgieva was named Commissioner of the Year in the "Europeans of the Year 2010" awards organised by the European Voice newspaper, which also named her "European of the Year". Remarking on the gender imbalance in the current nominations, a spokesperson for Juncker said: “If no solution is found it may be that more time is needed to form the Commission.” Juncker has the power to assign portfolios, but he is not the only player in the game. The European Parliament has also made it clear that it will reject any Commission team that has too few women. Junker is using August to "reflect" on the potential commissioners and is likely to reshuffle a number of positions. Once Junker has made his decision, the potential commissioners have to go through European Parliament Hearings. Technically, the European Parliament can only reject the whole Commission, but it has been able to shave off individual members in the past. The hearings should be at the end of September and the new Commission sworn in during November. However, if the gender imbalance is not addressed this is likely to be delayed.  |
| Petition Osborne to stop taxing periods Posted: 06 Aug 2014 02:00 AM PDT
Does placing exotic meats above sexual hygiene truly reflect society’s needs and values? A 5 per cent tax rate has been placed on sanitary products, while exotic meats walk away tax free. HM Revenue and Customs justify this rate by labelling these sexual health products as 'non-essential' items. The annual tax revenue from sanitary products can be estimated as £45 million. This is 0.0076 per cent of tax revenue, or, put another way, accounts for 76 pence in every £10,000. Imagine what the charities Women’s Aid, Refuge or Womankind could achieve with £45 million pounds! It is a choice to use sanitary products. However, in order to maintain a successful career and a normal lifestyle, sanitary care is most definitely essential. The Government is failing to recognise this as an issue, refusing to subsidise such a medical necessity, and have the audacity to tax you for making this ‘choice’. This fight is far from hopeless; the Government reduced the tax rate from 17.5 per cent in 2001, following pressure to keep inline with EU regulations. Let's pressure them further to reduce this to 0 per cent. Sanitary products would then be able to join HM Revenue and Custom's list of ‘essential’ tax free items, alongside: men's razors; alcoholic dessert jellies; crucial edible cake decorations (specifying chocolate scrolls and sugar flowers amongst other imperative appetising delights); and everybody's favourite and all-important selection of exotic meats. So, which do you value more: your sexual hygiene or your crocodile steak? The petition to be sent to George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, says: ‘Reduce your tax on sanitary products to 0 per cent and recognise their essentiality. They are vital to maintaining a healthy and normal life. Your failure to acknowledge this, especially in comparison with other menial products, is an insult to men and women alike, and should be reversed. Yours, etc.’ Please sign it. And join us on Facebook.  |
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