Culture news · 20 October 2026
Egyptian Farmer Unearths Two Colossal Ramses II Statues in the Nile Delta
A cucumber farmer in Egypt's Nile Delta led archaeologists to two colossal granite statues of Ramses II after he reported an unusual pink stone on his land. One head alone stands 1.6 metres tall, suggesting the full statue was nearly nine metres high.
Students Force the Louvre Shut as France's Nationwide Youth Protests Reach the Musée
Dozens of students from the École du Louvre blockaded the world's most-visited museum on the morning of 19 October, preventing it from opening, as month-long youth protests over France's underfunded education system spread to cultural institutions.
Colombian Judge Halts Museum Purge as Court Protects 30 Exhibits Removed in 'Culture War'
A Colombian judge ordered the conservative government to stop removing historical artefacts from Bogotá's National Museum after President de la Espriella's administration pulled more than 30 exhibits linked to LGBTQ+ rights, the 2016 peace accord and political violence.
All 46 Hokusai "Thirty-Six Views" Shown Together in UK for the First Time
Dulwich Picture Gallery in London opened a landmark exhibition on 20 October featuring every print from the Iuchi Collection's complete set of Hokusai's celebrated Mount Fuji series, including a rare blue-impression "Blue Fuji" and three pristine copies of "The Great Wave".
AI Companies Are Buying Millions of Books, Scanning Them and Destroying the Copies
A France 24 investigation revealed that tech companies are secretly purchasing millions of secondhand books through intermediaries — including rare and out-of-print titles — scanning their contents for AI training data and then shredding or pulping the physical copies.