Meaning of artwashing | Babel Free

Definitions

The use of art and artists in a positive way to distract from or legitimize negative actions by an individual, organization, country, or government, originally in reference to gentrification.

uncountable

Examples

“When a commercial project is subjected to artwashing, the work⟳ and presence of artists and creative workers is used to add⟳ a cursory sheen to a place's transformation.”

“They, and the artists, fear The Denizen risks becoming a similar ghost building. They are also deeply suspicious of the “artwashing” strategy, through which civic bodies, hand in hand with the developers, use⟳ culture as a Trojan horse for the advancement of the developers’ schemes.”

“Hundreds of artists and tens of thousands of people across the world have⟳ endorsed the call⟳ for public broadcasters and artists to withdraw⟳ from the event in support⟳ of Palestinian rights and against Israel’s blatant artwashing and pinkwashing of apartheid.”

“Art critic Ben Lewis agrees: “It’s artwashing – it launders oligarchs’ reputations. The more these individuals, and these countries, weave themselves into the international art world, the harder it is to criticise them.””

“Notable in the delegation was a significant contingent of cultural bodies, a move⟳ which immediately drew criticism that the Gulf state was “art-washing” – using Britain’s venerable institutions to improve⟳ its international image even as concerns over Riyadh’s human rights record⟳ continue⟳ to mount⟳.”

CEFR level