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Much like the ‘thrift stores’ of the US, ‘charity shops’ in the UK are often run by faith-affiliated nonprofits, and sell mostly secondhand goods, but they tend to be smaller and dedicated to a single cause. In 2017, the US director Miranda July devised a plan for a unique experiment at the intersection of art, identity and commerce, which was inspired by her love of London’s charity shops, as well as her sense of injustice at the discriminatory scrutiny faced by the charity Islamic Relief over its shops’ funds. Partnering with Jewish, Buddhist, Christian and Muslim charity shops in London, as well as the public art organisation Artangel, she led the opening of an interfaith ‘pop-up’ at Selfridges, the luxury department store in Oxford Street. This charming short chronicles the inception, life and closing of the project, including how it developed into a living work of crosscultural art during its six-week lifespan.
Director: Miranda July
Website: Artangel
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Architecture
Tour the European architecture that dreamed of a wondrous, fictitious China
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Spirituality
Trek alongside spiritual pilgrims on a treacherous journey across Pakistan
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Thinkers and theories
Photographs offer a colonialist window to the past – one that must be challenged
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Animals and humans
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Mathematics
How a curious question about colouring maps changed mathematics forever
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Meaning and the good life
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Cities
The rise and fall of Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong’s infamous urban monolith
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Art
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