Arts In 30

• Weekender: Wayward maintains its direction, on the hunt against After the Hunt, and two great art exhibitions.

  Featuring troubled children in a small American town, an outsider who can sense that something is wrong, and hints of the supernatural, Wayward seems influenced by the work of Stephen King, but Ce argues that the new Netflix series fares a lot better than most of King's actual adaptations.The new Luca Guadagnino film, After the Hunt, is aiming for ambiguity, but lacks the strength of its convictions, with Sky calling it one of the worst prestige scripts of the year. In apology, he offers up The Beast, the latest film by Bertrand Bonello, which is new to streaming. The Key's Under the Mat, the new Mick Hewson exhibition at The Tank in Sydney is a delight that shares its pleasures in person, rather than on social media. And Heide's combination of Man Ray and Max Dupain is a cleverly curated combination of surrealist photography and history.In music, Sky offers up Blight, the new album by The Antlers, while Ce is excited about Sam Fender taking out the Mercury Prize.And bonus offerings include Lesbian Space Princess, Bleak Squad's live tour, and Opera Australia's production of Rent.

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• László Krasznahorkai wins the Nobel Prize for Literature and how the arts engage with politics and the environment

  A “compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.” That’s how the jury for the Nobel Prize for Literature described the work of Hungary’s László Krasznahorkai, who was awarded the 2025 prize. For those of us who haven’t had a chance to dive into the novels, Julian Murphet, Jury Chair of English Language and Literature at the University of Adelaide, is here to give us the cliff notes. And from funding decisions to censorship, we report a lot about how politics impacts the arts. This week, we turn our gaze the other way. How do the arts impact policy, politics, and the way we see the world. Freyja Gillard from the Environmental Film Festival, Claire G Coleman from The Centre for Reworlding, and Angharad Wynne-Jones from Creative Climate share how artists are working to change our perspective on the environment.Our track of the week is Track 3 from Gift - Our Breath of Life by William Barton and Omega Ensemble.Headlines include:Tasmanian government cuts funding to TAFE arts coursesHuman Rights Watch refuses donations from Riyadh Comedy Festival performersCreative Australia announces $1.6 million in new commissionsJulia Gillard to chair the jury of the 2026 Prize for Women's FictionLargest ever international touring exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art delayed by US Government shutdownDiane Keaton dies at age 78

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• Weekender: Taylor Swift breaks her own records, The Invocations wins a prize, and why is the current glut of caper films so disappointing?

  Taylor Swift's twelfth album, Life of a Showgirl, has broken sales records and immediately jumped to the top of the charts across the world, but critical praise has been in shorter supply. Has a return to the production team of Max Martin and Shellback led to a reinvigorated pop star? Or are the lyrics to Wood a sign of things to come?Sky makes a pitch for The Invocations, a great YA novel that just won the PM's Literary Awards.And why does it seem so hard to make a successful mid-budget caper movie this year? The team take on one last job as they catch Play Dirty, Caught Stealing, and Eenie Meanie, but find their best laid plans don't lead to much of a payoff.

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• From the Riyadh Comedy Festival to the EA acquisition, why does Vision 2030 see Saudi Arabia making a huge investment in the arts?

  The Riyadh Comedy festival continues this week and while comedians like Louis CK and Bill Burr defended their decision to perform, many of their colleagues and fans have been forthright in their critiques. The festival is one small part of a major investment in the arts by Saudi Arabia as part of their Vision 2030 strategy. Andrew Leber, assistant professor of Political Science at Tulane University explains the background behind Vision 2030 and explores whether the initial international response matters or whether the Saudi regime is playing a longer game.And, as part of mental health week, Beci Orpin and Maria Bradshaw talk about the workshop and series of murals at the Women's Recovery Network, a mental health ward in Melbourne.Our track of the week is Beautiful Strangers by Mavis Staples.

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• Weekender: Bad Bunny headlines the Super Bowl, The Lowdown makes a play for show of the year, and Dwayne Johnson asks for your consideration

  Bad Bunny is one of the biggest musicians of the 2020s, with multiple hit records and a massive worldwide fanbase. With the recent announcement that he'll be headlining the Super Bowl half-time show, we look back at his 2025 album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, and discuss why the announcement has raised the ire of some people on the far right of American politics. Sky explains why The Lowdown, a Southern noir with a healthy dose of humour and a standout lead performance by Ethan Hawke, is making a play for best TV show of the year. Ce sells the comforts of Sherlock & Co, a podcast adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic mysteries.Dwayne Johnson is getting serious praise for his performance in The Smashing Machine, a biopic about the MMA fighter Mark Kerr, but is the film visceral enough to support the acting, or does it pull its punches?Plus a stunning new jazz album from precocious Australian saxophonist Tessie Overmyer, and a tour from the Luminescence Chamber Singers, inspired by Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights.

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