Concerns have been raised regarding an Airbnb operating without planning permission in the same building as a controversial children’s daycare.

Acrewood Daycare on Grosvenor Road sparked controversy after going insolvent shortly after sacking staff and telling parents their children could no longer use the service they paid for the night before they were due to attend. This move has left parents and staff out of pocket. Families will not receive refunds and staff will have to wait up to eight weeks to receive unpaid wages.

Further concerns have been raised about the business, which is part owned by Hannahstown Parish priest Father Patrick Devlin, by former parents of children who attended the daycare and by local politicians. These are regarding an Airbnb advertised for two flats that was operating in the same building as the daycare.

READ MORE: Daycare owned by priest ‘sacks six staff’ and withdraws service from families overnightREAD MORE: Daycare run by priest to become insolvent and ‘parents won’t receive refunds’

It is understood the flats that are used for the Airbnb do not have planning permission with no decision being made on an application to create the flats. The planning application has asked to change one three bedroom apartment into two one bedroom apartments “for persons with hearing difficulties” as part of the centre for the deaf that also operates from the building.

Based on the reviews on the Airbnb website, it has been operating there since at least 2023. The planning application was submitted in January 2022.

One parent told Belfast Live: “Given what is often associated with Airbnbs where you could have anyone staying there or even drinking or drugs, it is worrying that this was taking place at the same building that was also a children’s daycare centre.”

West Belfast People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll echoed the concerns of local parents who said that they deserve an explanation about the Airbnb and why they had not been told about it.

He said: “This has set alarm bells ringing for parents whose children attend the centre. They have every right to expect their children to be cared for in a safe, secure environment – not one in close proximity to a holiday let, where strangers come and go at all hours. Acrewood management owe these parents a full and transparent account of what safeguarding measures are in place.

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“Acrewood’s claims of financial unsustainability may well be true and it is undeniable that many childcare providers are under serious pressure. But profiteering from a housing shortage while making staff redundant and cutting childcare places is preposterous. Parents and workers are owed an urgent explanation from Acrewood management.”

Belfast City Council has said there has not been an application for a short-term let at the property.

A spokesperson told Belfast Live: “Planning permission may be required to use a house, apartment, student accommodation or other premises for a short-term holiday let. The need for planning permission will depend on the extent to which the short-term holiday let changes the character of the use of the property and the degree to which it impacts on its surroundings.”

Acrewood Daycare has been contacted for comment.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Kash Patel visited Hawaii last summer, the FBI took pains to note the director was not on vacation, highlighting his walking tour of the bureau’s Honolulu field office and meetings with local law enforcement.

Left out of the FBI’s news releases was an exclusive excursion that Patel took days later when he participated in what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona in an outing coordinated by the military. The sunken battleship entombs more than 900 sailors and Marines at Pearl Harbor.

The swim, revealed in government emails obtained by The Associated Press, comes to light amid criticism of Patel’s use of the FBI plane and his global travel, which have blurred professional responsibilities with leisure activities. The FBI did not disclose the snorkeling session or that Patel had returned to Hawaii for two days after his initial stopover on the island.

“It fits a pattern of Director Patel getting tangled up in unseemly distractions — this time at a site commemorating the second deadliest attack in U.S. history — instead of staying laser-focused on keeping Americans safe,” said Stacey Young, who founded Justice Connection, a network of former federal prosecutors and agents who advocate for the Department of Justice’s independence.

With few exceptions, snorkeling and diving are off-limits around the USS Arizona. The battleship, now a military cemetery reachable only by boat, has stood as one of the nation’s most hallowed sites since Japan bombed and sank it in 1941. Marine archaeologists and crews from the National Park Service make occasional dives at the memorial to survey the condition of the wreck. Other dives have been conducted to inter the remains of Arizona survivors who wanted to rest eternally with their former shipmates.

Still, since at least the Obama administration, the Navy and the park service have quietly allowed a handful of dignitaries, including military and government officials responsible for management of the memorial, to swim at the site. The Navy and park service declined to provide details of those permitted to take such excursions.

Former FBI directors have visited Pearl Harbor on official business, but none going back to at least 1993 has gone snorkeling at the memorial, according to those familiar with their activities and a former government diver who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. The diver said it was unusual for a director or anyone not connected to the memorial to be granted such access because the swims come with physical risks and present security, safety and logistical challenges.

Patel has faced scrutiny over his leadership for the past year, with his use of government resources emerging as a recurring storyline of his tenure. The issue flared in February when video surfaced of Patel partying in the locker room  with members of the U.S. men’s hockey team after their gold medal win at the Winter Olympics in Milan.  Patel defended the trip as recently as this week as “purposely planned” in connection with a cybercrime investigation involving the Italian authorities.

Unanswered questions about exclusive outing

Patel’s excursion was in August as he spent two days in Hawaii on his return to the United States from official visits to Australia and New Zealand. On his way to those countries, he stopped in Hawaii to visit the Honolulu field office. An FBI spokesman did not answer questions about the snorkeling session.

The FBI said in a statement that top regional commanders hosted Patel at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam “as they commonly do with US government officials on official travel.” The Pearl Harbor visit, the spokesman said, “was part of the Director’s public national security engagements last August with counterparts in New Zealand, Australia, our Honolulu Field Office, and the Department of War.”

It was not clear how Patel’s snorkeling session was arranged. A Navy spokesperson, Capt. Jodie Cornell, confirmed the outing but said the service was not able to track down who initiated it.

Participants in Patel’s swim were told “not to touch/come into contact with” the sunken ship in any way, Cornell said. She added that the snorkelers were also briefed about “the historic significance of the Memorial as the final resting place/tomb for hundreds of service members.”

A ‘VIP Snorkel’

Government emails obtained by the AP through a public records request show military officials coordinated logistics and personnel for the “VIP Snorkel.”

The National Park Service, which administers the site in coordination with the Navy, told AP it was not involved in Patel’s swim and declined to comment on the excursion. It also declined to answer questions about any other such outings.

Among those afforded invitations to snorkel have been Navy admirals, secretaries of defense and interior, according to the former government diver. The diver added that the swims were intended to provide officials with insights into the memorial and its operations.

The Navy declined to provide examples or numbers showing how frequently it organizes such excursions. It described Patel’s outing as “not an anomaly.”

Hack Albertson, a Marine veteran, is part of a select group from the Paralyzed Veterans of America trained to dive on the Arizona annually to check on the condition of the wreck. He said it was inappropriate for Patel and other political figures to snorkel or dive at the memorial.

“It’s like having a bachelor party at a church. It’s hallowed ground,” he said. “It needs to be treated with the solemnity it deserves.”

Some family members don’t object to snorkeling

Some family members of Pearl Harbor survivors said they were not bothered by such official excursions, though some expressed a desire to also be permitted to snorkel at the site. They said they have not been permitted to do so.

“I have not heard of anyone who would object to these visits as they are very rare and there aren’t any survivors of the Arizona left alive,” Deidre Kelley, national president of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, wrote in an email. “Their children might have some objections but I haven’t heard any.”

Patel visited Pearl Harbor several years ago during a trip he made to Hawaii while serving as chief of staff to Christopher Miller, then the acting secretary of defense, according to the former government diver.

Miller said he snorkeled over the Arizona during an official visit to the base, but Patel was not present for that excursion. Miller said he was invited to snorkel by regional military officials and was told such a tour was for “special occasions and for special visitors, of which you’re one.” He called it a “meaningful” experience.

“It was a very somber and meaningful event,” Miller said in an interview. “It was a historical tour. It wasn’t a recreational thing.”

FBI will not discuss Patel’s return to Hawaii

Beyond the snorkeling excursion, it is not clear what else Patel did during his second stop in Hawaii.

Flight tracking data for the Gulfstream G550 typically used by the FBI director show the jet remained on the island two nights during that stay before flying on to Las Vegas, Patel’s adopted hometown. The jet has a published range of about 7,700 miles (12,391 kilometers), meaning the plane would have needed to refuel somewhere between New Zealand and Washington.

The snorkeling session happened one day after Patel stopped in Wellington to open the FBI’s first  standalone office  in New Zealand. The visit sparked controversy after the AP revealed that Patel had gifted that country’s police and spy bosses inoperable 3D-printed replica pistols that were  illegal to possess  under local gun laws.

__ Mustian reported from New York. Associated Press writers Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.

Baggy Khan, 25, won Bolton’s town centre Halliwell ward for the Greens at the local elections on May 7.

Despite the Greens’ policies pushing for decreased car use, Mr Khan appears in videos posted from accounts on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook behind the wheel of a Lamborghini Huracán Spyder, which can cost up to £270,000.

With a 5.2-litre V10 petrol engine, specialist car websites estimate that the car will do less than 20 miles-per-gallon of fuel.

Cllr Hanif Alli, is the Green group’s leader in Bolton and is Cllr Khan’s mentor and election agent.

He said the footage with the Lamborghini was taken at a family wedding in 2023 and the car did not belong to him.

He said: “All the outrage is being blown out of proportion. The Asian community in Bolton celebrate weddings by hiring these cars for the special occasion.

“He’s celebrating a special day and posted a video on TikTok and Insta, that’s what young men do.

“It’s exactly like a traditional British wedding where Bentleys and Rolls Royce cars are hired to make it something special. There would be no outcry about that.

“Baggy is 25, he’s a very young man entering politics for the first time and had a tough election campaign. We should be applauding young people joining the council.”

On social media platforms, Cllr Khan’s apparent liking for supercars has led to accusations of hypocrisy.

One TikTok user commented: “Absolute joke a local councillor driving a car like that.”

Mr Khan replied: “Who said councillors can’t drive cars like this?”

In April, the party stated its wish to see the speed limit cut to 55mph on major roads outside built up areas in a bid to increase fuel efficiency.

Also last month, Coun Khan defended himself after being criticised for a video which appeared to show him filming himself while driving.

Bolton Labour called for ‘urgent answers’ after an Instagram video emerged which appeared to show Coun Khan, then a candidate for the Halliwell ward, filming content from inside a moving car while driving.

At that time, Cllr Khan said: “I am confident that I will be able to prove that I am not guilty of breaking the law.

“Anyone who knows me will know that I am a clean-cut young man with no criminal record. “I give respect to all and am often involved in helping and mediating in the community.

“Labour have framed their story in a fashion to try and tar me with the same brush as those irresponsible drivers who drive at crazy speeds and film themselves whilst putting others at risk, which is absolutely not the case here.

“I got into politics to help my local communities and to represent young people in politics as many are disenfranchised with the gutter politics that have been carrying on for years.”

Here is his resignation letter in full:

“Dear constituents,

“When I was elected, I promised that I would always put you first. That promise is why I am writing to you today.

“For me and my family, these towns have become home. A few weeks ago, my son was born in the Infirmary, where Wigan’s midwives and doctors saved his life. On the weekends, our kids do football and gymnastics, or join me at parades for St Georges or VE Day. Every week, I visit a local school, lead community meetings, and bang heads together to drive forward change that matters to you.

“Together, we are making progress. We are securing major flood defences to protect Platt Bridge, Abram, Bickershaw, Ashton, and Hindley. We are fighting to save Ashton Library and restore it as a community treasure. We are cleaning up the illegal waste dump in Bickershaw, so primary school kids can breathe again. We will build new roads, health centres in Orrell and Hindley Green, and a leisure centre in Hindley.

“But since I was elected, I have seen that Westminster and Whitehall are so often a barrier to getting things done – even as my own party is in power.

“The truth is, complacency has become a rot. The establishment is so far from the realities of your lives that too many tweak a failing system just to stay in power. As our world gets more insecure and our economy flatlines, Westminster stays stuck.

“It does not have to be this way. There is a different future for our towns – where there are good local jobs, we reindustrialise and back the trades, young people can afford to stay and build a life here, our town centres and parks are places we want to spend time in, and our kids inherit something better than what we did.

“But the route to this future requires breaking with what we have today. We need to shift the power that is stacked against places like ours. As I have said, I do not believe this government is delivering the urgent, radical, brave reform we need. We need a new direction.

“I believe that Andy Burnham can provide it. These towns are Andy’s home. He grew up and raised his children here and he has fought for us all his life. He stood by me to secure flood defences after the Platt Bridge floods. He demanded that the Bickershaw dump get cleaned up – and got results. Andy is from us and for us.

Current GM Mayor Andy Burnham (Image: NQ)

“I could not stand here and tell you that our politics is broken and things need to change, then stand in the way of supporting that change. That is why I have decided to put you, the people I represent, and the country I love, first.

“That means stepping aside as your MP for Makerfield to make way for a leader who has the radicalism, energy, and immense courage to meet the moment. A leader who is authentic, honest, and trusted, who says what he believes and does what he says. Someone who has the track record of delivering for working people, building alliances, and using the talents of colleagues from every part of the party. That is Andy.

“I want to be clear: I am stepping aside but I am not stepping away. Our home is here and I will be fighting to save Ashton Library, clean up the Bickershaw dump, secure flood defences and health provision in Orrell and Hindley Green, and deliver new roads. I will be a thorn in anybody’s side who stands in our way.

“But to get these things done, the Labour Party and the government must change. The way Westminster and Whitehall work must change. Our towns and communities – the places that built this country – must be at the heart of this change.

“This has been the hardest decision of my life. I have made it because without a shock to the Westminster system, I cannot deliver the change that I promised to you. If my Constituency Labour Party members select Andy, he can deliver that change.

“If you place your trust in him, we will restore our towns to the places they should be, rip up the existing system, and build a new one that puts you at the heart of it. With Andy, I will fight for that, and for you, every step of the way.”

Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) looks set to leave Coronation Street amid the current investigation into Theo Silverton’s (James Cartwright) murder.

It’s been a tough year for Summer so far, with 2026 getting off to a bad start with the death of her father-figure, Billy Mayhew.

Billy died after being trapped in the burning minibus by Theo during the Corriedale crossover pile-up, unable to escape before the vehicle exploded.

Since then, Summer has leaned on Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) for support, unaware that he also needed help.

Todd was trapped in an abusive relationship with Theo for just over a year, with none of his loved ones realising.

What began as gaslighting and making nasty comments about Todd’s appearance escalated to financial control, physical assault, and sexual abuse.

Prior to Theo’s murder, his treatment of Todd was exposed, when George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley) overheard the way Theo had been speaking to his then husband.

At that point, Todd’s friends and family were quick to come to his aid – including Summer.

However, in tonight’s episode, she admitted to Todd that she had been offered a place at a university in America.

She insisted that she was going to turn it down, pointing out that it would be unfair to leave Todd with everything going on at the moment.

Todd, however, was adamant that she not waste the opportunity, and urged her to get as far away from Coronation Street as possible, forget about everything that’s happened and never look back.

This seemed to persuade Summer to accept her place, especially when Todd told her that he was excited for her.

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Unfortunately for Summer, she may not get the opportunity to study abroad, as she is set to face an interrogation from the police next week as part of the investigation into Theo’s murder.

Theo’s body was discovered by Betsy Swain (Sydney Martin) during the flash-forward episode earlier this year.

Though at first his death was thought to have been suicide, it later transpired that he had been murdered.

Next week, George and Christina Boyd (Amy Robbins) find Summer’s diary and are horrified by what is written inside.

On top of that, Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) spots a crucial detail in the back of Lisa Connor-Swain’s (Vicky Myers) wedding pictures that could implicate Summer, which leads to her being brought in for questioning.

Things only get worse when George reveals what he saw on the night of Theo’s murder, and later, Summer overhears Christina predicting that the police will soon be after her.

When Todd catches Summer making a sneaky getaway with a hold-all, she reveals that she’s frightened the police will arrest her for Theo’s murder, and plans to fly out to the States that afternoon.

Will she make it overseas before the police catch up to her, or is this the beginning of the end for Summer?

MORE: All Coronation Street spoilers for next week as new evidence ‘confirms’ Theo’s killer

MORE: Coronation Street Theo star drops huge hint as to who the killer is

MORE: Coronation Street drops huge clues as to who killed Theo as murder plot deepens

‘Be careful, you can’t stop a dozer’

An angry drinker who used a stolen vintage bulldozer to ram a pub after a heated argument has been sentenced to 40 months in prison.

Daniel Morgan, of Aberdare in south Wales, “saw red” and carried out the targeted attack on The New Inn in Cefn Rhigos after being taunted by patrons about his recent divorce.

A trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard that the 35-year-old had been struggling with the collapse of his marriage, fuelled by a daily habit of six pints of beer and cocaine use.

Click here to hear the latest from Manchester’s courts in our newsletter

On the night of the incident last December, Morgan became enraged by comments made at the pub regarding his separation and his “mistaken suspicions” that his former partner had been unfaithful.

Before the attack, Morgan sent chilling text messages to the landlord, Christopher Common, warning him: “Be careful, you can’t stop a dozer” and “It will be a drive-thru”.

Morgan stole a Hanomag d600 bulldozer from his father’s farm and began the slow trek toward the village.

His father, Phillip Morgan, acted quickly to prevent a tragedy. He raced ahead to the pub to warn the landlord, allowing customers to evacuate just before the heavy machinery arrived.

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After Morgan smashed the bulldozer into the pub’s front porch – causing over £22,000 in damage – he attempted to drive toward his estranged wife’s home, crushing another vehicle in his path.

The rampage was only stopped when his father used a separate digger to smash the bulldozer’s dashboard, disabling the controls.

Morgan was kept in the cab as police officers arrived at the scene. He was bleeding from his head and appeared to be extremely intoxicated.

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Wales Online reports that while receiving treatment at University Hospital Wales, Morgan told medical staff: “This is all because my ex hasn’t let me see the kids. It’s been three weeks and now I definitely won’t be able to see them.”

He also said: “My mum won’t be able to work in [the pub] anymore – or what’s left of it”.

Morgan previously pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving and criminal damage recklessly endangering life. In addition to his prison sentence, Morgan has been banned from driving for 39 months.

Judge Celia Hughes noted that while Morgan was a “hard-working” man acting out of character during a mental breakdown, his actions were “deliberate” and caused “great fear” to the community. She concluded that Morgan was “extremely fortunate” that his actions did not result in serious injury or death.

It has been a day of great drama, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting walking out of the cabinet and saying to Prime Minister Keir Starmer: “Where we need vision, we have a vacuum.”

But he seems not to have got the necessary number of supporters to stand against Mr Starmer, and so it appears he has sacrificed himself to further the cause of Andy Burnham, the mayor of Manchester. Almost noble, for a politician.

And Mr Burnham now has a way back into Parliament. In the evening, the Manchester MP Josh Simons – who resigned from the government earlier in the year over accusations he had spied on journalists – stood aside, forcing a by-election which Mr Burnham could contest.

But the day’s episode ends on a drum roll and a cliffhanger: will Mr Burnham’s candidature be passed by the Starmer-influenced committee, and, if it is, would he be successful in a by-election where Labour is only defending a 5,000 majority? The British public once voted for Boaty McBoatface – how will they feel about being pawns in a Labour game? And what if Reform finds a high profile candidate to stand against Mr Burnham?  Who will win that showdown?

It is real life drama, and while it may make entertaining watching, Labour is now, just like the Tories, delivering Britain into a long summer of political in-fighting. That summer may end with Prime Minister Burnham who lacks democratic legitimacy, having never stood on the manifesto on which his government is based.

This soap opera cannot be good for Britain. We have a weakened prime minister battling with his own party when the country needs him to be fighting to re-open the Strait of Hormuz and save us from recession. Soap operas rarely have a happy ending.

I was texting a museum director friend in Asia recently. We were discussing whether a trip to this year’s “artworld Olympics”, the Venice Biennale, justified the carbon release.

I felt ambivalent. The main exhibition is curated by Koyo Kouoh, whose 2016 edition of Ireland’s Biennale, EVA International, on the 1916 Easter Rising centennial I had admired. Kouoh died of cancer earlier this year. Her posthumously realised Venice Biennale, titled In Minor Keys, seemed a final opportunity to appreciate the subtle, intelligent work of Africa’s leading curator.

Against the lure of Kouoh’s exhibition, though, was a queasy realisation that the Biennale seemed to be ideologically backsliding. Russia and Israel, both accused of war crimes, were controversially participating.

Alongside the huge guest-curated show of contemporary art, the Biennale invites countries to present exhibitions they curate themselves in national pavilions in the Giardini di Biennale and citywide venues. Following Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia was excluded, its pavilion remaining shuttered throughout the 59th and 60th editions. But last year Giorgia Meloni’s government appointed rightwing ideologue Pietro Buttafuoco as Biennale director.

Buttafuoco revoked Russia’s exclusion. He also facilitated the relocation of Israel’s exhibition from its usual Giardini pavilion to a high security cul-de-sac in the Biennale’s second official venue, the massive Arsenale.

“This biennale seems cursed,” texted my friend. Despite feeling hypocritical about the environmental burden, I booked a flight to Venice.

Angry protests and violent reprisals

In the weeks leading up to the exhibition, my friend’s suggestion looked increasingly on point. A complicated choreography of war, state violence and activism began to play out. They culminated during the Bienniale preview in angry protests and violent reprisals.

The Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) gathered 236 curators, artists and art workers to campaign for Israel’s exclusion and improved conditions for cultural workers.

When Kouoh’s international jury refused to consider Israel and Russia for the Biennale’s prestigious Golden Lion awards, artist Belu-Simion Fainaru, who was representing Israel, threatened them with legal action, according to the Italian news agency Adnkronos and arts publication Hyperallergic. The jury resigned. Their subsequent silence has not been explained.

Relieved of the professional all-female expert jury that Kuouh appointed, Buttafuoco instated a Eurovision-style audience prize. At the time of writing, over 70 artists have withdrawn from the awards in protest.

Like an artwork, a curse is a performative utterance at the nexus of ritual symbolism and magic. People like to believe that art, unlike curses, is a force for good. But as I argue in my book The Deployment of Art, there is a long history of state co-option of art and artists in the service of malign agendas of state violence. To me, The 61st Biennale seems one such example.

In a statement on the Biennale website, Buttafuoco amplifies the spiritual dimensions of Kouoh’s vision. “It is an exhibition permeated with spirit, with a sacredness that puts the person, the human being, back at the heart of things … looking to the sky once more.”

Much art in the main exhibition is hard to square with such whimsy. Pio Abad’s precise critical drawings of everyday objects of imperial plunder, like houseplants and chocolate, alongside stolen Benin bronzes. Walid Raad’s series of found photographs of beds slept in by Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat. Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige’s extraordinary sculptural excavation of the lost ancient city of Orthosia, hidden beneath a buried refugee camp in southern Lebanon.

But other works better serve Buttafuoco’s vague, obfuscating narratives of “sacredness” and “spirituality”.

In the Arsenale, an uprooted olive tree that recalls images of the desecration of Palestinian olive groves rotates on a plinth to the perverse accompaniment of tinkly ballerina music. This work by Theo Eshetu is titled Garden of the Broken Hearted, but the accompanying label doesn’t explain why the tree was uprooted, or from where, only that it “stands as a poetic reflection of impermanence”.

Alfredo Jaar’s “shrine” to base materials, a thrumming scarlet cathedral titled The End of the World meanwhile, so overwhelms the senses that I felt faint. I later saw a young woman collapsed outside it, attended by paramedics. Numerous other works draw on ritual traditions and spiritual practices from “the powerhouse of Africa” (Buttofuocco’s term).

Police presence was pervasive throughout the previews. Armed, helmeted officers held a line around Pussy Riot’s demonstration at the Russian pavilion, where protesters released blue, yellow and pink smoke canisters chanting “bloody Russian art” and “curated by Putin, corpses included”.

On the final preview day, as many pavilions closed early in strike protest, police stomped through the Giardini in heavily armed groups ten or 20 strong. At 4.30pm a peaceful crowd of ANGA protesters, many with young children in pushchairs or carried on shoulders, marched from the Giardini to the Arsenale where riot police used batons to beat them back. Surveillance helicopters hovered over the city until long after midnight.

Visions of hell

When future art historians study the 61st Biennale, they may notice a poster slogan from the ANGA protest: “Palestine is the Future of the World.” Meanwhile, visitors would do well to venture beyond the Giardini and Arsenale to an unofficial collateral exhibition organised by the Museo Moderno Buenos Aires.

Taking its title from John Milton’s description of hell, Darkness Visible: The Long Shadow of the Dictatorship brings together a trans-generational group of artists. Their work has been shaped by a regime of state terror (1976-83) that implemented a systemic policy of kidnappings, torture, murder and the forced disappearance of thousands.

Darkness Visible positions art as a vehicle for understanding history, protecting memory and human rights, and engaging in activism against state violence. One photograph by Marcelo Brodsky documents a demonstration by the Madres de Plaza de Mayo demanding information about their forcibly disappeared children. Brodsky’s mother (whose son was disappeared) appears in the image holding a banner that draws connections between second world war concentration camps in Warsaw and ESMA, a clandestine torture and extermination centre used by the Argentinian junta during the dictatorship.

As I contemplated this image, the exhibition’s curator Victoria Noorthoorn explained: “We wanted to present this show in Venice now because our Argentinian artists have much to say about fear, violence, pain and trauma that remain as scars from Argentina’s repressive regime. Their work reminds us of the need to protect core values: human and civic rights, democracy, freedom of expression and artistic creation.”

The protests I witnessed in Venice were marked by real anger, solidarity but also moments of tenderness and joy. A hopeful sign of how art and artists might imaginatively reinvent future biennales, undo the cursed present and lead us away from the darkness closing in.

Bring a physical card on board

Anything else?

Psychologists say that a curious mindset is a superpower against anxiety, tempering stress and that it can even help cope with feelings like uncertainty. Similarly to volunteering, it also lights up the brain’s reward centres, delivering a dopamine boost whenever we learn something new or achieve a cherished goal. 

Those at the Mental Health Foundation suggest planning things to look forward to as a way of helping us to cope with difficult situations. It could be small, from carving out time to watch your favourite TV programme, to planning a holiday or even booking a day of annual leave to spend some time doing what makes you feel great.

“Decide what you’ll do, when and with who and, if needed, book it,” they say.

Image: Dushawn Jovic
Main image: Kevin Wolf