To rescue Kahlo from the clutches of the corporate art market, we need to acknowledge the overt and covert political dimensions of the work, demands GAVIN O’TOOLE
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Lines of inspiration
Jim Mowatt explains why Unite the Union has produced a short biography of the polemical cartoonist and labour movement activist TONY HALL
If you can see past the relentless commodification you will be rewarded by enormously powerful work, suggests JENNY MITCHELL
CHRIS SEARLE revels in the one-off collaboration between an American polymath and a British Muslim, and detects the presence of their revolutionary forebear
GORDON PARSONS revels in an ebullient production of Shakespeare’s magical comedy
BRENT CUTLER welcomes a thoughtful analysis of the Erdogan regime, viewed through the evolving history of a neighbourhood in Istanbul
GORDON PARSONS regrets the price, but is dazzled by an outstandingly ambitious study of the way art restoration in particular, and culture in general was weaponised by the Nazis
IN PUBLISHING a series of short books on great men and women who feature prominently in the history of Unite and its predecessor unions, the hope is that they’ll inspire the current and future generations of trade unionists to take up the struggle on behalf of working people.
There is certainly a lot to fight for. We are facing a difficult future in which the division between rich and poor is growing ever wider. The constant attacks on trade unionists in Britain, Ireland and abroad are expected to intensify. So education has be viewed in the context of equipping members to understand and fight back.
That’s why we are producing these booklets — so far we’ve published works on Tom Jones, Julia Varley and a biography of Benny Rothman is out in April. Tony Hall: Trade Unionist, Anti-racist and Radical Cartoonist focuses on a determined and lifelong fighter for liberty, justice, equality and socialism.
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