TikTok is being compared to opioid painkillers like fentanyl, and is having a negative impact on young people in America. The app has been banned from all devices in the House of Representatives.
The U.S. has returned to Egypt an ancient sarcophagus that was taken from the Abu Sir Necropolis near Cairo several years ago. It is possible that the sarcophagus contains the remains of the Egyptian priest Ankhenmaat. The sarcophagus was smuggled through Germany and into the U.S. in 2008.
Brazil’s new leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has restored cultural investment in the country. Lula, who was sworn in as Brazil’s president for a third term on January 1, has pledged to revive the culture ministry that was slashed by the previous far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro. Lula has also appointed Bahian singer Margareth Menezes as the new culture minister, who will be working with a team to revive cultural policy and funding.
The British Museum is striving for “net zero carbon” status, despite oil funding. Chair George Osbourne pledged to make the museum “an example of climate solution” with the Rosetta Project, a plan to address the multiple energy and structural inefficiencies in the building. However, the museum continues to receive funding from British Petroleum.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Ethereum is becoming more popular than Bitcoin for transactions, despite the NFT market freeze. This is because Ethereum can handle more transactions than Bitcoin.
Arata Isozaki, one of the most celebrated Japanese architects of the 20th century, has passed away at 91. His distinctive blend of Western and Japanese styles earned him widespread acclaim, including a solo exhibition of his work at Misa Shin gallery in Tokyo earlier this year. Among his many notable works are the Art Tower Mito in Japan and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
Richard Dadd’s painting of a young man, which was executed while he was at Bethlem Royal Hospital in south London, will be returning to Bethlem Museum of the Mind for a mental health-themed show. Dadd was sent to the hospital after stabbing his father, and he remained there until his death in 1886.
Dorothy Iannone, an American artist who created a body of work centered around female sexuality and themes of love, romance, eroticism, and spirituality, died on December 26. She was 89. Iannone was born in Boston in 1929 and began her artistic career in the early 1960s, when she began painting and sculpting scenes of female sexuality. Over the course of her career, she created a body of work that was highly influential and often controversial. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums around the world, and she was awarded the prestigious National Medal of Arts in 2007. Iannone was a celebrated artist and teacher, and she will be greatly missed by her fans and colleagues.
FOR ART’S SAKE
Enki Bilal is one of the few culture figures receiving the prestigious French honor, the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He has been promoted to this distinction by the French government this month, in recognition of his outstanding work in the art and culture sector. Out of the 18 recipients of the honor this year, only Enki Bilal was recommended by the French culture ministry. This is a dramatic decrease in representation, when compared to the 340 awardees.