The February issue of The Parliament is now available to read online. This month's policy focus: Culture
Two key questions emerge from the varied and in-depth reporting on display in our February issue: What is European culture? And, who owns it?
From bullfighting to Ukrainian photography to unresolved disputes over the colonial appropriation of African art, this edition of the magazine explores – and interrogates – the concept of culture in Europe. Politics is the common thread – both how it informs culture and is informed by it.
As Kyiv-based curator Kateryna Radchenko said of art in Ukraine: “It’s not possible to separate it from politics.”
And the politics become more complicated – and contested – when addressing calls for European museums to repatriate cultural artefacts. “If our ancestors were good enough to make those objects, we are good enough to look after them, too… you can’t steal my bicycle and say you’ll only return it when I have built a garage,” says Raphael Chikukwa, the executive director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe.
Our in-house team of reporters – Sarah Schug, Ana Fota and Julia Kaiser – have led the development of this thoughtful edition, while wrestling with the role and responsibility European policymakers have in maintaining culture.
Of course, I can’t take much credit, having just joined the team a few weeks ago as the new editor. But I can say that they’ve set the bar high.
Building upon their first-class reporting and writing, we’ll be actively growing The Parliament in the coming months – expanding both our print and digital footprints, while looking for new ways to tell stories and engage with our readers. In short: stay tuned and watch this space.
Christopher Alessi, Editor