Damon Albarn, Mike Leigh and Victoria Wood. Not the first names that spring to mind when you think of sport but they're all in the Olympics. At least, they're in the art world's answer to them, known as the London 2012 Festival, or the Cultural Olympiad, depending on which bit of the Kafka-esque 140-page brochure you get lost in.

The Tate is looking to take performance and live art into the mainstream with the world’s first ever dedicated gallery space launching later this year.

Stop making an exhibition of yourself

The divorce of Katy Perry and Russell Brand is no bombshell. Brangelina, you'll have to do more than whip out a pasty leg at the Oscars if you wish to stay in our hearts and minds. For lo, there is a new power couple in town, and they've come for your crown. The rapper, producer, and all-round pop warrior Kanye West is stepping out with Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star whose celebrity marriage recently came to a tragic celebrity end after 72 long and hard celebrity days. Kanye and Kim, whose affair will be so intense that it's unlikely to last much beyond August, are the hottest couple of all time, ever. They've been papped eating in restaurants, staying at his apartment, going to the cinema, even going to a toy shop. He's written a song about falling in love with her! She says she likes it! Here's why you need to give a damn:

A new retrospective at the Tate Modern shows how little of himself Damien Hirst reveals, says Adrian Hamilton

Enfant terrible of Brit Art insists 'Hang on to your Hirsts' as row escalates over claim his work is worthless

From sliced-up cows to dead sharks, Damien Hirst is the master of statement, but his retrospective at the Tate shows how little of himself he reveals

Damien Hirst merchandise, from a deckchair to a plastic skull, is on sale for eye-watering price tags of up to £36,800 at the first UK retrospective of the controversial British artist.

Still a Sensation? A chance to reassess Hirst's 'greatest hits'

The star of Arte Povera is full of bright ideas in a show that winds its way through the human condition and its orderly creations, from postage stamps to vast embroideries

The Art of Monarchy on Radio 4 began with a small black-and-white photograph. In it was a two-year-old girl standing in front of a large ivy-smothered house and staring daggers at the camera. In the background an elderly lady, whom you presumed to be her grandmother, looked benignly on. The date was 1927, the girl was Princess Elizabeth, and the photographer was her father Bertie, the future King George VI.

Visitors to a famous museum stare in awe at ancient wonders - the ideal starting point for a cultural tour

Arifa Akbar looks forward to Tate Modern's retrospective of the Italian artist Alighiero Boetti

Arifa Akbar looks forward to Tate Modern's retrospective of Italian artist Alighiero Boetti