‘Art-washing’? Unease as British cultural institutions lend lustre to Saudi trade push

Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, being greeted at the Great Futures Anglo-Saudi trade conference this week. Photograph: Cabinet Office/Twitter

It was an unusual gig for YolanDa Brown, the saxophonist and composer who this week performed high above the clouds for a UK delegation on a private British Airways plane bound for Saudi Arabia.

The flight was part of a trade offensive for British businesses and institutions in Riyadh, with Brown’s performance part of a new focus for Saudi-UK relations – international arts.