What's the deal with art museums selling off their collections?

Hello! You're reading the CBC Arts newsletter, and if you like what you see, stick around! Sign up here, and every Sunday we'll send you a fresh email packed with art, culture and a metric truckload of eye candy, hand-picked by our small and mighty team. Here's what we've been talking about this week.

Hi, art lovers!

What are we reading?

The Art Gallery of Ontario auctioned 17 artworks by A.Y. Jackson this week, which prompted the team at CBC News to unpack why (and how) an institution goes about selling off bits of its collection. "Deaccessioning" is the proper word for it. And if you're at all curious about what's involved, definitely read their explainer. Curiously, the whole subject of how museums collect — and deaccession — their holdings happens to be the subject of a project by Sameer Farooq called the BOOP Museum. (It's going on at The Visual Arts Centre of Clarington right now.) All I'll say here is this: 1) there are creepy dolls and; 2) at the end of the exhibition, they're inviting kids to "loot" the place.

On the pop culture front, I'm counting down to the Season 3 premiere of The Handmaid's Tale (June 5!). Artsy charted the history of how the show's handmaid costumes have become "visual icons" of protest, an evolution that the Guardian's tracked before. (Same with Vanity Fair.) But is it time for demonstrators to hang them up? That's the argument in this recent column from the Washington Post.

Some updates on a few of the folks you've seen on CBC Arts: Calgary's Dena Seiferling, a.k.a. Pickle and Francois, is included in an official Hello Kitty art show. She Instagrammed a preview of her piece. Santee Smith and Esie Mensah, two of the choreographers featured on The Move, were nominated for Dora Awards this week. And to mark Pride, CBC's launched a special website that puts the spotlight on LGBTQ stories — including Queeries, the CBC Arts column from (newly minted Digital Publishing Award-winner!) Peter Knegt.

What are we watching?

The word "essence" is about to give a whole new generation the fear-barfs. The trailer for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance arrived this week! The '80s vibes are also strong in the latest music video from Electric Youth. (They're the Toronto duo behind that "real human bean" song from Drive. Their new album, Memory Emotion, arrives Aug. 9.) Even more '80s vibes! As soon as I've sent this email, I'm bingeing the rest of this supremely bizarre Instagram cartoon Tux and Fanny. The guy behind it, Albert Birney, just compiled all of the Instagram posts into a feature-length film...that you can buy on VHS. Here's The New Yorker (over-)analyzing why it's worth your time.

And because we promised you eye candy

The world is your pencil case! Apparently there's such a thing as "National Stationery Week" in the U.K., and for that, be grateful — because now we have a gallery of public art that doubles as "stationary stationery."

Like Escher, but make it books. (Sidebar: Add David Bowie as the Goblin King, and this bookstore is what my dorkiest teen dreams are made of.)

Like Calder, but make it GIFs. Animation by Jimmy Simpson.

As for GIFs on a (much, much, much) larger scale, peep the latest augmented reality mural from INSA. (Toronto readers might remember his "GIF-iti" installation at The Drake Hotel.)

H/T to The Ann Friedman Weekly for this one. Now #deadmall is my favourite thing about Instagram, too.

You've got to see this

So you're applying for an artist grant - Step 1: Read this article. Hustling for funds can be a nightmare, but artist Hanan Hazime is here to guide you through the process.

Oh, Rocketma-a-a-a-a-aa-an. Rocketman! - Queeries columnist Peter Knegt loves the musical biopic as much as he hated Bohemian Rhapsody.

These objects spark joy...and pain and other heavy feelings - Love brings people together. And according to the Museum of Broken Relationships, the same could be said for heartbreak. This ongoing international art project is about to land in Toronto. Here's how you (and your ex's old pants) can be a part of it.

Follow this artist

Svea Ferguson (@sveaferguson) - Remember Svea? She featured in one of the stories from last week's email. This work of hers, Extreme Calm, is part of the permanent collection at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

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Until next week!

XOXO, CBC Arts