Unboxed

Remember the Festival of Britain and the Millennium Dome – celebrations of what, where and who we are as a nation? This is slightly more political as it is the event (remember Soviet era agit – prop?) formerly known as the Festival of Brexit. The why remains unclear. If there were any wavering of resolve how is a series of low-budget interventions going to improve our sense of self?

A purported renaissance in British creativity is unlikely to deliver a (necessary) improvement in the public realm. It’s that Duchamp thing – a pile of paint cans in a gallery is an installation. A pile of paint cans anywhere else is just that (my father once made this mistake in Tate Modern). Ironically, it does in fact illustrate one of the key differences between us and our European friends, we just don’t do civic like them.

A patriot.