The Month in Culture — July

Every month we’re serving up all the stories you may have missed in the world of culture. In this installment: community engagement, the role of the critic, and art chatbots.

Culture Track
Aug 8, 2017 · 1 min read
Staircase inside Tate Modern. Andy Haslam for The New York Times.

“Please respect our neighbours’ privacy,” reads a placard next to the window at the Tate Modern. It’s not a sign you might expect to see at a museum, but for the Tate Modern, the U.K.’s premier modern and contemporary art museum and today one of the world’s most visited, such signs have become necessary. Reaping the rewards of exponential growth and a number of expansions and refurbishments to its site, the museum’s presence has gentrified its once heavily industrial Bankside neighborhood, catalyzing the construction of several luxury apartment towers nearby. One of these towers abuts the Tate’s glass windows, giving museum visitors the voyeuristic opportunity to spy on residents next door, a fact that author Reif Larsen sees as “a perfect distillation of the current battle for London’s soul” in this fascinating reflection on architecture, urbanization, and cultural spaces.

Read more on culturetrack.com . . .

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