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Arts feature

Our great art institutions have reduced British history to a scrapheap of shame

Calvin Po laments the pious distortions of history at two of Britain’s best-known galleries

12 August 2023

9:00 AM

12 August 2023

9:00 AM

Let’s indulge in some identity politics for a second: I am from Hong Kong, born as a subject of the last major colony of the British Empire, minority-ethnic, descended from Chinese refugees, now living here in exile. This summer, both the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Britain are presenting new displays that are meant to reflect the ‘inclusive’ and ‘diverse’ identities of Britain.

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