All posts tagged: mainstream

Outsider Art Is Increasingly Moving to the Art Market Mainstream

Outsider Art Is Increasingly Moving to the Art Market Mainstream

Published by skeptic

After the pandemic, works by young, unproven artists flew off dealers’ walls onto the auction block, where these pieces set records. Over the past two years, that trend seemingly came to an end amid high interest rates and geopolitical and economic instability. Now, the market is more fragmented, with a greater emphasis than ever on quality. Collectors—the good ones, anyway—have started to look for value, advisers have told ARTnews, eschewing the figurative work that has more recently dominated the market for works on the margins of art history. Last year, more attention was paid to overlooked modernists and  Indigenous artists . This year, don’t be surprised if collectors looking for a hidden gem turn their focus to outsider art. (The term “outsider art” is itself the subject of debate, with some opting for the term “self-taught art.” For simplicity’s sake, we’ve used the term the auction houses use and kept the term “outsider art” throughout the piece.) Related Articles Last week, Christie’s held a 145-lot sale dedicated to outsider art, the latest in a series of dedicated auctions held by the house since 2016. This year’s sale wasn’t …

Groundbreaking “hate universe” study reveals links to billions in mainstream communities

Groundbreaking “hate universe” study reveals links to billions in mainstream communities

Published by José

Online hate communities are not confined to isolated corners of the internet. In a new study published in npj Complexity shows how these groups are increasingly intersecting with mainstream online spaces. Using advanced tools to map the online “hate universe,” researchers found that around 50 million accounts in hate communities grew closer not only to each other but also to a broad mainstream audience of billions in the weeks surrounding the 2020 United States presidential election. The rapid evolution of online hate speech has created a pressing need for a deeper understanding of how it spreads, adapts, and impacts broader online communities. While previous research has examined the relationship between real-world events and the proliferation of hate speech, much of it treated hate groups as isolated entities or focused on single platforms. This fragmented approach left a gap in understanding how hate networks function across multiple platforms and how they interact with mainstream communities. The new study addressed this gap by mapping the “hate universe” at an unprecedented scale and resolution. “We hear a lot …

Use SEND cash to boost mainstream inclusion, councils told

Use SEND cash to boost mainstream inclusion, councils told

Published by skeptic

Move follows budget’s £1 billion boost in high needs funding Move follows budget’s £1 billion boost in high needs funding More from this theme Recent articles Local authorities should use their extra SEND cash to boost inclusion in mainstream schools, the government has said. All councils will receive a minimum increase of 7 per cent in high needs funding in 2025-26, up from 3 per cent last year. It follows an additional £1 billion being announced at the autumn budget for SEND, taking the total budget to £11.9 billion.  The Department for Education’s guidance on how to spend the money in 2025-26, published Thursday, states government has “made it clear that the general direction of SEND reform” is towards more inclusive mainstream provision. That includes the use of SEN units and resources provision, with a “range of reforms that will facilitate that shift” being worked on. Regulations for 2025-26 will also allow councils to target funding to encourage pupils with SEND being educated in mainstream, the guidance states. ‘Collaboration’ This includes spending cash on “collaboration …

Mainstream could meet needs of ‘thousands’ more pupils

Mainstream could meet needs of ‘thousands’ more pupils

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles The special educational needs (SEN) of “tens of thousands” more pupils could be met without an education, health and care plan and in mainstream schools if reforms succeed, a minister has said. Catherine McKinnell, the schools minister, told MPs that research published today suggested reforms could “pave the way for a sustainable system in which schools cater for all children, and special schools cater only for those with the most complex needs”. It comes after a devastating report by government spending watchdog the National Audit Office urged the new government to “explicitly” consider “whole-system” SEND reforms, warning the system is “financially unsustainable”. The Department for Education today released the first insight summary report from its Delivering Better Value in SEND (DBV) programme, a financial intervention for councils with large high needs deficits. Fifty-four councils have a DBV programme in place. For the report, 1,550 local practitioners and professionals analysed the stories of over 1,650 children and young people with SEND. Most pupils’ needs not met effectively They “highlighted that …

Students with special educational needs are years behind their peers – they need specialist teachers in mainstream classrooms

Students with special educational needs are years behind their peers – they need specialist teachers in mainstream classrooms

Published by skeptic

A new report from the National Audit Office into special educational needs provision in England has concluded that despite a significant increase investment over the last decade, “the system is still not delivering better outcomes for children and young people”. This is borne out by my research. Students with special educational needs in England are significantly behind in reading, writing and maths compared to their classmates. Laws like the 2014 Children and Families Act, which aimed to improve support for these students, haven’t closed the gap. My recent research suggests that we need to rethink current educational policies and practices. My study looked at data from 2.5 million year 6 students (aged ten and 11) between 2014 and 2019. It shows that students with special educational needs are significantly behind in key academic areas. On average, students with special educational needs are two years behind in writing and one and a half years behind in reading and maths. The gap in maths is growing, which is especially worrying. It shows that current educational strategies are …

why are so many parents choosing it over mainstream school?

why are so many parents choosing it over mainstream school?

Published by skeptic

There has been a notable rise in parents choosing to home educate their children over recent years, and particularly since the COVID pandemic. Elective home education – carrying out a child’s education at home, outside the school system – is a legal right in the UK. The number of families home educating is not known. There is no legal requirement to register with a local authority in England, nor is there any other register for parents choosing to home educate. This means relying on data from organisations carrying out research to gain an idea of these numbers. The Association of Directors of Children’s Services reported that there were around 81,200 children receiving home education in England in 2021. Charity Education Otherwise reported a similar number of 83,974 in April 2021. More recently, the Department for Education has begun conducting its own research on home education, from data reported by local authorities. It found that in January 2023, around 86,200 children were being home educated in England – and that this had risen to around 92,000 …

How Trumpism has pushed a fringe charismatic theology into the mainstream

How Trumpism has pushed a fringe charismatic theology into the mainstream

Published by Sam

(RNS) — This past month, a group of self-styled American Christian prophets released an urgent word from God on YouTube about an impending Islamic uprising in the U.S. Pointing to pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, they declared that an “insurrection is forming that is like unto the communist takeover in Russia. … This is not only about bringing a Palestinian state to the Middle East but an Islamic state to North America and other nations.” The good news, according to these prophets, is that God also says, “If the church repents, I will relent. I will protect your nations.” If this God-speaking-through-prophets-and-warning-nations-about-other-religions business sounds fringy and oddball in modern Christianity, it once was. But such prophecies and these prophets are rapidly redefining mainstream American evangelical theology, practice and politics. They are affiliated with a movement called the New Apostolic Reformation, a set of leadership networks whose leaders call themselves modern-day apostles and prophets and believe they are commissioned by God to take over the world. This NAR movement runs like a golden thread through recent …

How Do You Make a Genuinely Weird Mainstream Movie?

How Do You Make a Genuinely Weird Mainstream Movie?

Published by skeptic

Seconds into talking about their new movie, Jane Schoenbrun cannot help but bring up Freddy Got Fingered. Back in 2001, the comedian Tom Green’s sole directorial effort—a work of avant-garde grossness meant to capitalize on his unlikely fame as an MTV talk-show host—was so universally despised that it essentially killed his career. “As a child of irony-poisoned internet culture, it’s a personal favorite,” Schoenbrun, who uses they/them pronouns, told me. They joked that Green’s mindset while making the film must have been “My stock is really good right now, so I’m going to spend it all.” Right now Schoenbrun’s stock is also really good. I Saw the TV Glow, their second feature, is being released by A24—a big step up from their micro-budgeted debut, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. “It’s like I’m aware of what the sellout options are, and then I’m also aware of what the Tom Green–suicide-mission options are—and I feel like I’m constantly trying to do both at the same time,” they said. I predict there will be no Golden …

Millions of young people will head to the polls over the next year – but many are disillusioned about mainstream politics

Millions of young people will head to the polls over the next year – but many are disillusioned about mainstream politics

Published by skeptic

A record number of people will go to polls in 2024 to vote in national elections around the world. People who came of age during the last electoral cycle will have an opportunity to cast their votes for the first time. In wealthier countries with rapidly ageing populations, such as the US and the UK, there will again be record inter-generational divisions in turnout and political preferences. In recent elections, a high proportion of people aged 18–24 supported Democratic party candidates and the Labour party. In 2020, 61% voted for Joe Biden (compared to 37% for Donald Trump) in the US, and 62% voted Labour in the UK’s 2019 general election (compared to 19% for the Conservatives). Ahead of the UK’s upcoming general election, which could take place as late as January 2025, successive polls have placed the Conservatives at 10% or less among young adults. Nevertheless, the new generation of young voters in the US and the UK are disillusioned with mainstream electoral politics and are unenthusiastic about casting their votes. In fact, turnout …

Have open marriages gone mainstream? – podcast | News

Have open marriages gone mainstream? – podcast | News

Published by skeptic

When Molly Roden Winter stormed out of the house one evening, fed up with her husband returning home too late to help with their children, things took an unexpected turn. She went to a bar with a friend and ended up meeting a much younger man. But instead of an affair, she tells Helen Pidd, her interest in this other man sparked a surprising conversation with her husband – and led to them opening up their marriage to other people. Non-monogamous marriages and polyamorous relationships are hardly new or unheard of. But Winter’s book seems to have hit a chord because her family and her marriage looked so conventional – and she says we still seldom hear stories about mothers in relationships with more than one person. Winter explains what she learned about herself and relationships from her open marriage. And how she discovered her mother had also had an open relationship but had kept it hidden. In the UK, another mother of young children has written a book inspired by her open marriage, while …