Jon Blackwood
@jonblackwood.bsky.social
Associate Prof of Contemporary Art at Gray's School of Art, RGU, Aberdeen. Scottish Balkanist, Post-Sovietist. Art worker, educator, writer, ageing footballer. Based between Aberdeen, Skopje, Sarajevo.
Pinned
Jon Blackwood
@jonblackwood.bsky.social
· Sep 27
Novy Mir- 32
The first Novy Mir for nearly 5 months which I’ve been sitting on like an Emperor Penguin on an egg. Amidst all the shonkily mixed chaos there’s some genuinely spectral beauty from Two Way Mirrors, la
soundcloud.com
Novy Mir 32 is here: new music from all around Europe- from the UK to Armenia and many points in between. Enjoy! on.soundcloud.com/sTKsYn6yz9Ra...
Novy Mir 32 is here: new music from all around Europe- from the UK to Armenia and many points in between. Enjoy! on.soundcloud.com/sTKsYn6yz9Ra...
Novy Mir- 32
The first Novy Mir for nearly 5 months which I’ve been sitting on like an Emperor Penguin on an egg. Amidst all the shonkily mixed chaos there’s some genuinely spectral beauty from Two Way Mirrors, la
soundcloud.com
September 27, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Novy Mir 32 is here: new music from all around Europe- from the UK to Armenia and many points in between. Enjoy! on.soundcloud.com/sTKsYn6yz9Ra...
Game 1 25/26. Cowdenbeath v Bo’ness
July 29, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Game 1 25/26. Cowdenbeath v Bo’ness
The Systemic Collapse of North Macedonia (Media Diversity Institute)
www.media-diversity.org/the-kocani-f...
www.media-diversity.org/the-kocani-f...
The Kočani Fire and the Systemic Collapse of North Macedonia - Media Diversity Institute
By Milena Trajkovska "Politics and the mafia are two powers that thrive on control over the same territory: they either go to war or strike a deal." — Giovanni Falcone, Italian anti-mafia magistrate a...
www.media-diversity.org
July 29, 2025 at 10:16 AM
The Systemic Collapse of North Macedonia (Media Diversity Institute)
www.media-diversity.org/the-kocani-f...
www.media-diversity.org/the-kocani-f...
Happy to share my Field Report on the situation in North Macedonia from a visual arts point of view, co-written with Bojan Ivanov and published in Field Journal:
field-journal.com/issue-30-spr...
field-journal.com/issue-30-spr...
Field Report—North Macedonia
Jon Blackwood and Bojan Ivanov
field-journal.com
June 23, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Happy to share my Field Report on the situation in North Macedonia from a visual arts point of view, co-written with Bojan Ivanov and published in Field Journal:
field-journal.com/issue-30-spr...
field-journal.com/issue-30-spr...
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
Last week on Wonkhe: Student numbers over the decade are up 15.5 per cent, but their term time hours in employment are up 79.6 per cent. Reviewing this year's Student Academic Experience Survey, Jim Dickinson works out who or what has got to give
The student experience is beyond breaking point
Student numbers over the decade are up 15.5 per cent, but their term time hours in employment are up 79.6 per cent. Reviewing this year's Student Academic Experience Survey, Jim Dickinson works out who...
buff.ly
June 15, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Last week on Wonkhe: Student numbers over the decade are up 15.5 per cent, but their term time hours in employment are up 79.6 per cent. Reviewing this year's Student Academic Experience Survey, Jim Dickinson works out who or what has got to give
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
One of the many factors in moving the needle in favor of gay and trans visibility in NYC in 1969 was a designated gay arts scene pioneered by partners, collectors, and activists Charles Leslie and J. Frederic “Fritz” Lohman. It paved the path for what is now known as the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art.
From a Soho Loft to the World’s First LGBTQ+ Art Museum
In the face of discrimination, harassment, and the AIDS crisis, the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art became a beacon for queer creativity.
hyperallergic.com
June 12, 2025 at 8:37 PM
One of the many factors in moving the needle in favor of gay and trans visibility in NYC in 1969 was a designated gay arts scene pioneered by partners, collectors, and activists Charles Leslie and J. Frederic “Fritz” Lohman. It paved the path for what is now known as the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art.
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
This is the United Kingdom in 2025!
Immigrant families are being forced to put up signs saying 'I work in a care home' to escape the racist violence that's been unleashed in Northern Ireland
I come from this part of the world and I cannot tell you the sense of profound shame and horror this fills me with. It disgraces us
I come from this part of the world and I cannot tell you the sense of profound shame and horror this fills me with. It disgraces us
June 12, 2025 at 5:19 PM
This is the United Kingdom in 2025!
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
Israeli government issuing ‘illegal’ orders that must not be obeyed, say IDF intelligence officers
Israeli government issuing ‘illegal’ orders that must not be obeyed, say IDF intelligence officers
In letter to Netanyahu, 41 signatories say hostages given ‘death sentence’ and Israel waging ‘unnecessary’ war
*
Middle East crisis – latest updates
Israel’s government is issuing “clearly illegal” orders that must not be obeyed, a group of Israeli military intelligence officers have said, announcing they will no longer participate in combat operations in Gaza.
In a letter addressed to Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the defence minister, Israel Katz, and the head of the military, the group of 41 officers and reservists said the government was waging an “unnecessary, eternal war” in Gaza. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
June 11, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Israeli government issuing ‘illegal’ orders that must not be obeyed, say IDF intelligence officers
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
🇺🇦❗️ Zelensky: Kharkiv. These are Russian strikes not “in response”, but for destruction. They want the complete destruction of life.
In more than 11 years of Russia’s war, they have brought only one new thing to our land, and this is really the most widespread Russian product – ruins and death.
In more than 11 years of Russia’s war, they have brought only one new thing to our land, and this is really the most widespread Russian product – ruins and death.
June 7, 2025 at 5:15 PM
🇺🇦❗️ Zelensky: Kharkiv. These are Russian strikes not “in response”, but for destruction. They want the complete destruction of life.
In more than 11 years of Russia’s war, they have brought only one new thing to our land, and this is really the most widespread Russian product – ruins and death.
In more than 11 years of Russia’s war, they have brought only one new thing to our land, and this is really the most widespread Russian product – ruins and death.
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
Help find bees in art for #WorldBeeDay 🐝
We're encouraging bee fans to use our Tagger feature to tag bees in artworks 👉 buff.ly/z9YqPur
Have a go and help make it easier for anyone to search and enjoy artworks featuring bees on Art UK 💛
📷 Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
We're encouraging bee fans to use our Tagger feature to tag bees in artworks 👉 buff.ly/z9YqPur
Have a go and help make it easier for anyone to search and enjoy artworks featuring bees on Art UK 💛
📷 Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Art UK | Participate Tagger
Discover artworks, explore venues and meet artists. Art UK is the online home for every public collection in the UK, featuring over 600,000 artworks by over 60,000 artists.
buff.ly
May 20, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Help find bees in art for #WorldBeeDay 🐝
We're encouraging bee fans to use our Tagger feature to tag bees in artworks 👉 buff.ly/z9YqPur
Have a go and help make it easier for anyone to search and enjoy artworks featuring bees on Art UK 💛
📷 Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
We're encouraging bee fans to use our Tagger feature to tag bees in artworks 👉 buff.ly/z9YqPur
Have a go and help make it easier for anyone to search and enjoy artworks featuring bees on Art UK 💛
📷 Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Novy Mir - 31 is out, featuring lots of downtempo ambient, some house & ending in chaotic Futurist nonsense from a century ago. Enjoy! soundcloud.com/user-2768031...
Novy Mir 31
A lengthy, ambient & downtempo-heavy intervention, this. We begin with a lovley slice of T_A_M's new cake before a growling low-geared descent through some unusual sounds from mainly Ukraine, and old
soundcloud.com
May 19, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Novy Mir - 31 is out, featuring lots of downtempo ambient, some house & ending in chaotic Futurist nonsense from a century ago. Enjoy! soundcloud.com/user-2768031...
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
This article is so good
Definitely read it, especially if you aren't British and want to understand what is going on
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-tra...
Definitely read it, especially if you aren't British and want to understand what is going on
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-tra...
The Gist: Trans rights are Data rights
A UK court has made a decision defining genders which has put it at odds with a less noticed, more important, decision from the CJEU. This is the Gist.
www.thegist.ie
April 22, 2025 at 7:15 AM
This article is so good
Definitely read it, especially if you aren't British and want to understand what is going on
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-tra...
Definitely read it, especially if you aren't British and want to understand what is going on
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-tra...
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
‘The Trump assault had caught Denmark off guard because it was based on Greenland’s desirability, a concept Denmark had long ago rejected.’
@jamesmeek.bsky.social reports from Greenland:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
@jamesmeek.bsky.social reports from Greenland:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
James Meek · ‘Everything is possible’: In Greenland
None of the Greenlanders I met want to, or expect to be forced to, accede to President Trump’s high-handed claim. But...
www.lrb.co.uk
April 9, 2025 at 12:39 PM
‘The Trump assault had caught Denmark off guard because it was based on Greenland’s desirability, a concept Denmark had long ago rejected.’
@jamesmeek.bsky.social reports from Greenland:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
@jamesmeek.bsky.social reports from Greenland:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
A new Novy Mir is out, no. 30! Lots of Macedonian music in this one alongside favourites such as Kevin Richard Martin, Loops Haunt, Garden Krist, & Tøtal. Enjoy!
soundcloud.com/user-2768031...
soundcloud.com/user-2768031...
NovyMir-30
Novy Mir – 30
Nikolaenko- Meta II (Muscut, Ukraine, 2024)
Lagowski-Strange Minds 12d (England, 2025)
Kevin Richard Martin / Dis Fig- Silent (Intercranial Recordings, England, 2025)
Gligor Kondovski-
soundcloud.com
April 9, 2025 at 10:18 AM
A new Novy Mir is out, no. 30! Lots of Macedonian music in this one alongside favourites such as Kevin Richard Martin, Loops Haunt, Garden Krist, & Tøtal. Enjoy!
soundcloud.com/user-2768031...
soundcloud.com/user-2768031...
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
1. I've been banging on about the existential crisis facing our food system for years. But don't take it from me. Take it from the food professionals now risking their careers in an urgent and devastating warning to their own industry. Key quotes from their memo in 🧵 drive.google.com/file/d/1tATF...
Investor Memo - Inside Track.pdf
drive.google.com
April 9, 2025 at 10:08 AM
1. I've been banging on about the existential crisis facing our food system for years. But don't take it from me. Take it from the food professionals now risking their careers in an urgent and devastating warning to their own industry. Key quotes from their memo in 🧵 drive.google.com/file/d/1tATF...
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
1/7. In case you haven’t been following, here is a short summary of the misnamed Russian-American "peace process" regarding Ukraine.
March 28, 2025 at 4:08 PM
1/7. In case you haven’t been following, here is a short summary of the misnamed Russian-American "peace process" regarding Ukraine.
Scunthorpe should be nationalised without compensation and without delay. Let's see if the UK government matches words with actions. Lots of mealy-mouthed thoughts and prayers in repsonse to an opposition question today, and blather. Very concerning.
British Steel plans to close Scunthorpe blast furnaces, putting up to 2,700 jobs at risk
British Steel plans to close Scunthorpe blast furnaces, putting up to 2,700 jobs at risk
Chinese-owned group will start consultation with workforce but unions call move ‘devastating’
* Business live – latest updates
British Steel plans to close its two blast furnaces and steelmaking operations in Scunthorpe, in a move that puts up to 2,700 jobs at risk and that unions described as “devastating”.
British Steel, which is owned by China’s Jingye, said it would immediately start consultations with its workforce and unions on redundancies stemming from the planned closure of the blast furnaces and steelmaking alongside a reduction of steel rolling mill capacity. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
March 27, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Scunthorpe should be nationalised without compensation and without delay. Let's see if the UK government matches words with actions. Lots of mealy-mouthed thoughts and prayers in repsonse to an opposition question today, and blather. Very concerning.
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
For Sidecar, Jason Stearns on the escalation in the DRC:
'There is a Rwandan elite intent on projecting power, a Congolese elite invested in fragmenting and weakening the state, and an international system propping up this status quo.'
newleftreview.org/sidecar/post...
'There is a Rwandan elite intent on projecting power, a Congolese elite invested in fragmenting and weakening the state, and an international system propping up this status quo.'
newleftreview.org/sidecar/post...
Jason Stearns, Causes of War — Sidecar
Escalation in the DRC.
newleftreview.org
March 20, 2025 at 12:55 PM
For Sidecar, Jason Stearns on the escalation in the DRC:
'There is a Rwandan elite intent on projecting power, a Congolese elite invested in fragmenting and weakening the state, and an international system propping up this status quo.'
newleftreview.org/sidecar/post...
'There is a Rwandan elite intent on projecting power, a Congolese elite invested in fragmenting and weakening the state, and an international system propping up this status quo.'
newleftreview.org/sidecar/post...
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
First London concert of Electronic Music by British composers
Queen Elizabeth Hall Monday 15 January 1968
Presented by Tristram Cary / Peter Zinovieff EMS
francisrouth.net/epilgomena/a...
Queen Elizabeth Hall Monday 15 January 1968
Presented by Tristram Cary / Peter Zinovieff EMS
francisrouth.net/epilgomena/a...
March 15, 2025 at 8:29 PM
First London concert of Electronic Music by British composers
Queen Elizabeth Hall Monday 15 January 1968
Presented by Tristram Cary / Peter Zinovieff EMS
francisrouth.net/epilgomena/a...
Queen Elizabeth Hall Monday 15 January 1968
Presented by Tristram Cary / Peter Zinovieff EMS
francisrouth.net/epilgomena/a...
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
Word of the day is ‘hingum-tringum’: 19th-century Scots for feeling feeble or barely presentable, and just about hanging together.
March 12, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Word of the day is ‘hingum-tringum’: 19th-century Scots for feeling feeble or barely presentable, and just about hanging together.
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
#OtD 9 Mar 1879 anarchist Carlo Tresca was born in Sulmona Italy, after emigrating to the US he became a prominent organiser of @IWW union. Involved in strikes across the US, he opposed fascism, Stalinism and the mafia, which eventually assassinated him libcom.org/history/carlo-tresca-1879-1943
March 9, 2025 at 4:10 PM
#OtD 9 Mar 1879 anarchist Carlo Tresca was born in Sulmona Italy, after emigrating to the US he became a prominent organiser of @IWW union. Involved in strikes across the US, he opposed fascism, Stalinism and the mafia, which eventually assassinated him libcom.org/history/carlo-tresca-1879-1943
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
#Belarus It's been two years since Siarhei Tsikhanouski was placed in incommunicado detention.
Since March 9, 2023, he has been completely isolated from the world, with no communication or confirmed information about his condition.
Since March 9, 2023, he has been completely isolated from the world, with no communication or confirmed information about his condition.
March 9, 2025 at 12:39 PM
#Belarus It's been two years since Siarhei Tsikhanouski was placed in incommunicado detention.
Since March 9, 2023, he has been completely isolated from the world, with no communication or confirmed information about his condition.
Since March 9, 2023, he has been completely isolated from the world, with no communication or confirmed information about his condition.
Reposted by Jon Blackwood
Word of the day is ‘whiffling’ (17th century): fickle, inconstant, and making it up as you go along.
March 7, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Word of the day is ‘whiffling’ (17th century): fickle, inconstant, and making it up as you go along.