The Rake’s progress: last week in gossip

Introducing Rakewell, Apollo’s wandering eye on the art world. Look out for regular posts taking a rakish perspective on art and museum stories.

Netflix’s hit sci-fi show Stranger Things returned last week, prompting hysteria amongst fans of the series. But perhaps nobody was quite as enthused as the Science Museum of Minnesota, St Paul, after eagle-eyed viewers spotted one of the show’s principal characters sporting a sweatshirt produced and marketed by the institution in the 1980s. ‘We’re on an unexpected thrill ride,’ admitted a spokesperson for the museum. ‘The shout-out was a surprise to us.’ Indeed, so excited was the museum that it swiftly announced plans to reissue the garment within a week.

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If you’re in New York over the next week or so, Barbara Kruger’s art could transport you – quite literally, as it happens. The Metropolitan Transit Authority has invited the artist to submit a design for its notoriously fiddly MetroCards, 50,000 of which have been produced to coincide with the Performa Biennial. But be warned: the cards are randomly distributed by automatic ticket booths at selected stations in Manhattan and Queens. In other words, good luck.

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December is drawing closer, and that means only one thing: the Turner Prize award ceremony is almost upon us. And this year, the prize will be presented none other than the junglist-turned-arts aficionado, Goldie!

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The National Portrait Gallery has commissioned an unusual new work to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4. Photographer Nigel Shafran filmed presenters talking about their jobs for a 14-minute ‘portrait’ of the show. Highlights include John Humphrys’ advice on how to make the perfect bowl of porridge, Nick Robinson’s thoughts on the BBC’s coffee machines and Mishal Husain on online shopping…

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