Category: Entertainment

Three artists who sued the Tate for victimisation, alleging breach of contract and race discrimination, have told of their experiences after it agreed to pay them a six-figure settlement.

The action was taken after the institution told one of the women, who had been commissioned to lead a major year-long programme, that she could not work with Jade Montserrat, an artist who has made allegations of sexual abuse and inappropriate behavior against the art dealer Anthony d’Offay.

D’Offay, who denies all accusations against him, was one of the most powerful figures in the contemporary British art world and a major donor to the Tate, who suspended contact with him in 2018 amid allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior from three women .

A claim alleging discrimination, victimization and harassment under the Equality Act was issued this year against Tate by Amy Sharrocks, who was to be the lead artist during the 2020-21 season of the celebrated Tate Exchange programme. She was working with Montserrat and Madeleine Collie, a co-curator.

While Tate has not admitted liability, it offered a settlement after the claim was lodged in the central London county court in January. The institution also asked that Sharrocks withdraw a freedom of information request.

Sharrocks told the Guardian how she had been excited to be asked to make a large work across three Tate sites on the theme of love for Tate Modern’s 20th anniversary.

She brought Montserrat on board months earlier to work with her on a water-themed work called A Rumor of Waves, but was shocked when a senior executive contacted her in July 2020 to tell her the artist could not be involved.

Sharrocks said that in conversations with senior Tate figures, Tate’s director, Maria Balshaw, described Montserrat as “hostile” to the institution, citing social media posts in which the artist called for her resignation. Balshaw is said to have claimed that, such was the vitriol generated by Montserrat’s social media posts that it would not be “safe” for her or others to be involved in a collaboration at the Tate, and that she would be sacked as director by the board of trustees.

“Tate’s job is to support artists, not donors,” said Sharrocks. “Tate forgot this when they insisted on excluding Jade from a program she had helped to develop.

“They told me shifting stories about why Jade could not be allowed to take part in a live public program at Tate – they said they would be sued, they would lose their jobs, that it was a legal problem, a safeguarding issue, that their hands were tied.”

She added: “Publicly, Tate claim to be focused on transformation and learning, risk, trust etc, but in practice they moved swiftly to silence, exclude and erase.”

Tate rejected a request by Sharrocks and her co-curators for mediation, and canceled A Rumor of Waves. The broader Tate Exchange programme, which ran at Tate Modern and Tate Liverpool for five years, was subsequently brought to an end in acrimonious circumstances.

While Tate has cited funding cuts, others regard its closure as a step backward, depriving it of a space which allows community groups to shape the Tate’s program and undoing the Tate’s commitment to social justice.

Montserrat accused Tate of being self-serving and relegating audiences and artists.

“From my experience of being in proximity to Tate and its mechanisations my mental and physical health suffered as a consequence,” she added.

Collie said the closure of the Tate Exchange showed that the Tate was not able to nurture complex discussions while prioritizing the safety and wellbeing of artists and contributors.

“We sincerely hope that this settlement is a small step that paves the way for serious reflection on the part of the management and board, and that it might lead to some significant changes to their processes of care and support for arts workers they engage and the wider communities they serve,” she said.

Georgina Calvert-Lee, a lawyer who acted for the three women, said: “If we want to live in an inclusive and diverse society, it’s important that our national art galleries reflect those values ​​by being open to all artists and curators, regardless of sex, race and any other protected characteristic.”

“The case sought to establish the principle that galleries must not discriminate against the artists and outside curators who put on their shows, any more than against members of the public who go to see them,” added Calvert-Lee, formerly of the firm McAllister Olivarius.

A Tate spokesperson said: “Tate invited Amy Sharrocks to be the lead artist for a public engagement project scheduled for 2020. She proposed the involvement of several other people, asking that they also be made lead artists, which was not consistent with the terms of her contract.

“It was made clear to Ms Sharrocks that the arrangements she proposed were not achievable and after long consultation the project was ultimately cancelled. While this was a carefully considered decision, Tate regrets the way in which the relationship ended. Alongside agreeing to a settlement with those affected, we have apologized for the distress caused.”

When the remaining block contestants were told Joel and Elle had left the show, most were confused and shocked by the sudden departure.

But not Tom and Sarah-Jane who sensed the Bondi couple might not have settled into life on the building site as well as everyone else.

Stream the latest episodes of The Block for free on 9Now.

“Something was just off, you could just tell something was off,” Sarah-Jane revealed in an exclusive video interview with 9Entertainment.

“We thought that because we’d just done a 48-hour challenge maybe that was so stressful for them, they were so sleep deprived and that’s why they were really stand-offish – but obviously they were not coping at all and that came across .”

For Ankur and Sharon, the abrupt exit was unexpected because Joel and Elle seemed “upbeat” when they chatted to the couple during their all-nighters in the 48-hour challenge.

“When I heard Joel and Elle were leaving it was more so that there must have been a massive reason for them to go,” Ankur said.

Sharon added, “I think it’s very easy to say ‘Oh they just gave up, too hard’ – I don’t think that’s fair because it’s OK to say it’s too much, it’s too hard or it’s not for us.”

EPISODE 1 RECAP: Five new teams arrive in the country and realize their tree change will be tougher than they thought

Dylan and Jenny were equally shocked with Jenny left wondering why Joel and Elle hadn’t mentioned their plans before leaving.

“I thought it was weird they didn’t say goodbye or didn’t tell anyone because we saw them the night before at judging, and they just told us they were going for dinner and they never came back,” she explained.

In contrast Omar and Oz had a great experience with Joel and Elle who said always made time to have a chat with them.

“It’s very hard to say any bad things about them, I think they’ll be very regretful of it but it is what it is,” Omar said.

The teams found out about Joel and Elle’s exit on the day of The Block‘s promo shoot. This was meant to be their third day on set and followed the House Decider challenge bedroom judging, where Joel and Elle received some harsh feedback about their design choices.

Host Scott Cam broke the news to contestants and explained Joel and Elle had said The Block “is not on brand for them”.

It wasn’t long after executive producers had told him the pair had quit and he was still processing the news when he spoke to the teams.

“We weren’t quite sure why they left, because they didn’t actually mention it to us. The thing is, The Block‘s not for everybody and we wished them well, but we just didn’t know why they’d left, and to get to the bottom of that you’ll probably have to ask them,” he said.

Joel and Elle’s exit meant a new team had to be found at the last-minute.

“It was a bit of a shock, because I know the opportunity that The Block presents and we weren’t ready for that, but that’s all right. We scrambled, we got another new couple and they were fantastic. So, an opportunity lost is an opportunity gained for someone else.”

READMORE: Scott Cam’s house renovation so far

While Scotty’s co-host Shelley Craft wasn’t on set when it happened she wasn’t as shocked as the others because she knows how tough The Block es.

“I can’t believe it hasn’t happened before,” she told 9Entertainment.

“You know, it’s not for everyone. It’s bloody hard, and there are much easier ways to have your 15-minutes [of fame]. The Block is virtually impossible until it’s done, and then the reward and the amount of just personal growth that comes out of it is enormous.”

The Block airs Sunday at 7.00pm and Monday to Wednesday at 7.30pm on Nine. Catch up on all the latest episodes on 9Now.

Kevin Smith is one of a number of directors who have weighed in on the decision by Warner Bros to cancel the release of its completed Batgirl movie.

Speaking on his YouTube series Hollywood Babble-On, Smith said: “It’s an incredibly bad look to cancel the Latina Batgirl movie. I don’t give a shit if the movie was absolutely fucking dogshit – I guarantee you that it wasn’t. The two directors who directed that movie did a couple of episodes of Ms Marvel, and it was a wonderful fucking show and they had more money to do Batgirl than they had to do an episode of Ms Marvel and stuff.”

Batgirl was scrapped last week by Warner Bros Discovery. No explanation has been given, however, CEO David Zaslav said: “We’re not going to launch a movie until it’s ready.” Speculation that the film’s poor quality was the reason behind the move has been questioned by some in favor of the theory it was more cost-effective for the studio to bury the film.

Theories have been circulating that marketing and promotional costs would have been considerable, and the tax incentive for suppression could have outweighed the goodwill and potential profits that would have come from a release. However, Warner Bros are yet to comment on this speculation.

Batgirl co-director Adil El Arbi revealed on Instagram over the weekend that several high-profile Hollywood names had reached out to him and fellow director Bilall Fallah in the wake of the cancellation.

Arbi shared an email from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who had previously commissioned the pair on Ms Marvel.

“My friends, I had to reach out and let you know we are all thinking about you both,” Feige wrote. “Because of the wonderful news about the wedding (congrats!) and the disappointing news about Batgirl. Very proud of you guys and all the amazing work you do and particularly Ms Marvel of course! Can’t wait to see what is next for you. Hope to see you soon.”

Other directors who had offered their support included Edgar Wright and James Gunn. “Your kind words and experience mean a lot and help us through this difficult period,” wrote Arbi.

Both Wright and Gunn have had unfortunate experiences with superhero movies. Wright was for many years attached to Ant-Man, but left the project shortly before production due to “creative differences.”

Meanwhile Gunn was fired from directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 after unfortunate tweets by the director resurfaced, for which he later apologised. After many stars and fans voiced their support for Gunn, he was reinstated.