Highlights
Art
The artists of the ugly zone
They created fleshy bulbous mounds, glistening protuberances, dark orifices – beauty was never their aim
Maggi Hambling’s perfect storm
The artist reopens a Norfolk stately home with two pulsating works celebrating the sea
Can Milan afford its art boom?
Big-money galleries are moving in, but an underpaid, precariously employed workforce isn’t convinced
Anna-Eva Bergman and Hans Hartung, the inseparable quiet giants of the art world
Bergman and Hartung kept their art separate, but couldn’t stay apart in life
Art by royal appointment
Tracey Emin fails to inspire but there are saving graces at this year’s Summer Exhibition
Photography in Vincent’s town
The Arles photographic fair is now probably the best in the world – the town’s provincial roots are a long way behind it
Books
She was murdered, but couldn’t be silenced
Chechen human rights investigator Natalia Estemirova defied Russia – and was killed. Now her daughter is keeping her fight alive
Inter Alia is a remarkable production
Rosamund Pike delivers a quite astonishing performance as a Crown Court Judge wrestling with the legal system’s shoddy handling of sexual assault cases
Jen Calleja, the punk-rock translator
Calleja is part of a new, very different generation of translators, as her experimental memoir makes clear
Anthony Bourdain’s raw meat, well done
Eight years after his death, a reissue of Kitchen Confidential still burns with wit and rage
The taming of my Shakespeare library
A mission to read the complete works in chronological order reveals unexpected joys and an antidote to theatrical woes
Does it matter if The Salt Path is made up?
It’s just the latest in a long line of books that weren’t what they seemed
Music
Taipei’s underground rave scene
In the capital city’s abandoned temples and underpasses, Taiwan’s youth are reclaiming their space – and culture
How the Diddy verdict silenced #MeToo
In the game of he said, she said, the former still wins. Until principles can trump money, MeToo’s survival is fighting a losing battle
The BBC makes another musical muddle
The Beeb linked to a ‘leaked’ setlist for Oasis’s comeback gig – except it was a spoof which claimed the band had set aside time for a fight
Oasis: The trauma and the glory
Growing up in an abusive household, the Gallagher brothers became two very different personalities. Together, they made one great rock’n’roll star
Richard Tice: art critic, and chicken
The Reform leader has a new, surprising area of expertise
Watching Pussy Riot in the city that defied Putin
The protest band got an ecstatic welcome in Dresden, the city where a young Vladimir Putin was stationed as KGB officer
Film
The best film festival in Italy and no, it’s not Venice
No red carpets, no gaggles of reporters, no nonsense – just the chance to see all the great films you’ve missed
Inter Alia is a remarkable production
Rosamund Pike delivers a quite astonishing performance as a Crown Court Judge wrestling with the legal system’s shoddy handling of sexual assault cases
Too Much is one of the best streaming series you will watch all year
Lena Dunham’s first major television project since Girls is so much more than the romcom it’s billed as
The insanity and greatness of Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now was the one truly great Vietnam movie epic – but however mad was, it could have been a whole lot madder
Are these the best 10 films of the 21st century so far?
A new list from the New York Times gives an insight into what actors and directors watch. But here is a personal choice
F1 will have you on the edge of your seat
Joseph Kosinski’s F1 is a throwback to the age of the summer blockbuster in which (literally, in this case) the film was a vehicle for a true star
Theatre
Inter Alia is a remarkable production
Rosamund Pike delivers a quite astonishing performance as a Crown Court Judge wrestling with the legal system’s shoddy handling of sexual assault cases
Do not go and see this play
A distinctly unappetising production has somehow made its way to the West End. Do not be fooled
Sitting in the crowd, yearning for something fun
An earnest adaptation of a novel about suicide, sex and capital punishment is an impressive looking production, but a barrel of laughs it is not
The taming of my Shakespeare library
A mission to read the complete works in chronological order reveals unexpected joys and an antidote to theatrical woes
Grace Pervades proves theatre can be everything
Directed by Jeremy Herrin, David Hare’s compelling new play is not only admirably cerebral but profoundly moving
Intimate Apparel will make you fall in love with theatre again
The Handmaid’s Tale star Samira Wiley offers a haunting portrait of dignified pain
Great Lives
Lee Miller: The photographer who washed the dirt of Dachau off in Hitler’s own tub
She witnessed extreme horror. The photographs she took and the words she wrote both made and broke her
Dr Ruth Westheimer, the trained killer turned world’s most famous sex therapist
The German-American went from a sniper to an academic with a reputation for sexual frankness
Louis Armstrong, the man who spread jazz’s gospel around the world
Very few people have ever been famous the way Armstrong was. He released music almost every year from 1923 to 1970, selling four million records
Joey Dunlop, the ordinary man who did extraordinary things
It’s hard to convey just how big a deal Dunlop was to his fans, and to the people of his homeland. His modesty elevated the level of affection tenfold
Jorge Luis Borges, a doppelganger in Buenos Aires
The writer shared a deep, collaborative friendship with his kindred spirit Adolfo Bioy Casares, who became his literary double
Jack Johnson, the boxer who thrived as the world exploded around him
His life took him from the blood-stained cellars of Texas to a place in the sporting pantheon