Footnotes to a Conversation, February 24, 2025
“The only interesting answers are those which destroy the questions.” – Susan Sontag
Artistic Diversity
Male artists have long been over-represented, so it’s encouraging to learn that the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid’s museum of 20th-century art, has acquired 470 works of art to diversify its collection. More than half are by women and a significant proportion are by artists from under-represented ethnic backgrounds. They’ve also taken a gamble and purchased a number of art works from young, unknown artists who may never become famous. [The Art Newspaper]
Random Acts of Information and Entertainment
I’m always delighted when someone creates something, not to make money but simply to have fun and share it with others. WikiTok is a random string of Wikipedia entries. They’ll be different every time you look. I found information about a species of jawed leeches, Bellini’s oboe concerto, the Qiang language, a train collision, and so much more. Take a look – it’s fun. [WikiTok]
Troubled Times – Historical Fiction
From a concentration camp guard who becomes a suburban housewife to a manor house in Tudor England, these historical novels on the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2025 Longlist share the stories of people living in troubled times. [Waterstones]
Feline Relief
When news of the world wears me down, I turn to cats for some light relief.
Meet the shop cats of Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan district. “Fei Zai is a local celebrity … He is basically the king of the area … He’s very sociable, he likes to patrol around the area. It’s not a busy street in terms of car traffic, so he loves to walk around and was not involved in any car accidents.” [Huck]
And marvel at the adventures of Tilly who heads to her local train station every day, has taken the train to London, catches buses, and climbs behind the bar of the local pub. She now has an Apple Air Tag attached to her collar and a railcard ensuring free travel on England’s Southwestern Railway. [BBC]
Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.
If you share my love of nature, check out EcoFriendly West, an online publication encouraging environmental initiatives in Western Canada, and Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.