NewsMuseums
'It feels slightly surreal!' German museums can open from Monday—but with complicated caveats
In a surprise ruling, the government prioritises museum openings ahead of restaurants and sports facilities
NewsArts funding
UK Budget 2021: further £408m boost for struggling culture sector
Chancellor Rishi Sunak digs deep, adding £300m to the £1.57bn Cultural Recovery Fund, £90m more for museums, and £18m for cultural community projects
NewsCensorship
Governments are ‘weaponising’ Covid-19 to silence dissident artist voices, report says
Seventeen artists were killed, 82 imprisoned and 133 detained over the past year in 26 countries, according to new Freemuse study
Newscoronavirus
Economic reports reveal drastic loss of arts jobs in the US
In New York, two-thirds of posts in the creative sector are gone, while nearly a quarter of the workforce in Los Angeles has been cut
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Swiss museums can reopen from 1 March as country eases lockdown restrictions
Fondation Beyeler will shows Arp and Rodin while Kunstmuseum Bern has a show on Latin American political art
NewsArts funding
‘Many museums will be lost’: US association appeals to Congress to support funding for institutions
Invoking the pandemic, advocates seek federal money for agencies that support museum programmes as well as operations grants and charitable tax deductions
Newslayoffs
Whitney lays off 15 more staff members, citing ‘extremely low’ attendance
Museum’s director notes that it may take until 2025 for tourists to return in force to New York
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Officials confirm: museums in England can reopen from 17 May under Boris Johnson’s lockdown roadmap
Commercial galleries will be permitted to open from 12 April under the new plan to gradually lift Covid-19 safety measures
NewsDeaccessioning
Met director defends move to consider deaccessioning for collections care rather than art purchases
Max Hollein argues that more art will not necessarily be sold, although proceeds can now go to other purposes amid the pandemic financial crisis
NewsMuseums
Visitor crush at Vatican museums
Tourists left “shocked and afraid” by their experiences at the museum say Covid-19 security measures were not followed
NewsConservation
Thanks to a £3m gift, the National Trust could finally uncover a secret portrait of Mary Queen of Scots
Conservation boost from a US charity comes after the heritage organisation faced a £200m revenue collapse due to the pandemic
NewsMuseums
Far-right mayor reopens four museums in southern France—without government’s permission
Although national museums are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Perpignan's Musée Rigaud, Casa Pairal, Musée Puig and the museum of natural history are open to the public again
AnalysisArt market
Pandemic prompts New York artists to leave the city in search of more affordable space
Tara Donovan, GaHee Park and artist-owners of Brooklyn's Elijah Wheat Showroom are among those who are leaving in pursuit of nature
NewsWallace Collection
Art library and archives at London's Wallace Collection could close to public as part of cost-cutting plans
Petition claims management want to ‘orientate the museum to income generation’
NewsGermany
Germany doubles pandemic aid for arts with an extra €1 billion funding
Some galleries received funding in the first package for exhibitions they can’t open in lockdown
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Museum revolution: 100 French directors call for 'essential' reopening
Petition urges culture minister to lift coronavirus restrictions on museums and galleries so they can "take care of visitors now"
NewsFunding
Weston Culture Fund gives UK arts organisations £30m in relief from 'devastating impact' of Covid-19
Wallace Collection, Birmingham Museums and the MAC Belfast are among more than 100 charities receiving recovery grants from the Garfield Weston Foundation
CommentArts funding
Arts researchers can help America overcome its toughest challenges
As the Biden-Harris administration begins to fill its leadership roles, it is vital that our federal government includes creative thinkers
NewsArt market
Tefaf Maastricht 2021 postponed again—this time to September
Dutch art fair will now run immediately before the delayed Art Basel, while Tefaf New York Spring has been cancelled altogether this year
NewsArt market
Déjà vu: Art Basel postponed from June to September—again
Swiss fair was also delayed from June to September in 2020, before being cancelled altogether due to coronavirus
NewsArt market
UK Supreme Court judgment on pandemic insurance payouts 'not a blank cheque' for art organisations
Some insurers using "aggressive tactics" to reduce barrage of claims following rejection of appeal on clarification of business interruption cover
Newscoronavirus
Museums around the world step up to be transformed into vaccination centres
London's Science Museum and a West Midlands museum where Peaky Blinders was filmed are just some of the venues doubling up as Covid-19 vaccine hubs
Newscoronavirus
Culture injection: Coronavirus vaccination centres in Germany are giving patients a dose of art
As exhibitions are cancelled due to the pandemic, local artists are finding creative ways to show their art—and distract patients
NewsDocumenta
Documenta 15 postponement increasingly likely, general director says
Travel restrictions could derail preparations, making 2022 date impossible, Sabine Schormann says
NewsDesert X
Desert X postpones opening amid Covid-19 surge in California
The outdoor festival, due to take over Coachella Valley in February, will now wait until lockdown restrictions are lifted
NewsCollectors
Moderna vaccine billionaire Timothy Springer explains his love for Chinese scholar rocks
Gongshi—whose unusual forms are created by years of river erosion—have long been highly prized in Asia. Now they are garnering admirers in the West
NewsMuseums
Opening of Pinault's Bourse de Commerce postponed as French museums told to remain closed
Scheduled to reopen this week, cultural institutions must keep their doors shut after an increase in Covid-19 cases
NewsConservation & Preservation
From lockdowns to looting: how Covid-19 has taken a toll on world's threatened heritage sites
Sites of major importance—many in regions already ravaged by conflict—are contending with security problems and funding shortfalls
NewsVenice
Culture war erupts over Venice mayor's closure of Doge's Palace and other civic museums until April
Luigi Brugnaro's "entrepreneurial" decision violates Venice's historic agreement with Italian state to keep the landmark open to the public
NewsMuseums
Closure of London's Florence Nightingale Museum fuels fears that the pandemic will force smaller UK institutions to shut
Williamson Art Gallery & Museum in Birkenhead is also under threat of closure as part of cost-cutting measures by local council
CommentArt market
A Covid-19 silver lining? Let’s not return to family-unfriendly art business as usual
The industry could work better for mothers and fathers if it doesn’t go back to the out-of-hours, out-of-town way things were
CommentCovid-19
As 2021 beckons.... I crave new art in the new year more than ever
With talk of vaccines dominating the airwaves, a return to regular contact with the latest works and upcoming artists may be on the horizon
CommentCovid-19
'Museums had better not be planning for a return to the status quo'
If institutions keep admission limits in place, they’ll come out of the coronavirus crisis in better health, says art critic Blake Gopnik
FeatureLost art
Lost art: will virtual exhibitions replace in-person museum-going?
A lasting change of the coronavirus pandemic might be how shows are viewed
InterviewArt market
A crisis hits the art market once a decade. What is different this time? Christie's president Dirk Boll assesses the impact of the pandemic
As his new book is published, the auction house chief compares coronavirus fallout to previous economic disasters
NewsArt market
Gallery asks collectors to give their discounts back to the artists
Los Angeles-based Commonwealth & Council has launched the Council Fund to help support artists' financial needs with the help of its clients
CommentThe Year in Review 2020
Art could have dwindled into insignificance in the upheaval of this year—instead it endured
Through the major shifts and moments of victory, art has proved itself to be cathartic, resistant and powerful
NewsFunding
No additional funds: UK's £1.57bn emergency arts bailout must last organisations until March 2022
Arts Council England launches second round of loans worth £100m with £300m grant applications to follow
CommentMuseums & Heritage
California needs a plan to restart the arts
There is not a person in the arts who wants to open until it is safe to do so, but we cannot even prepare to start without state guidelines
NewsEmergency grants
Grants multiply as government agencies and foundations seek to rescue US cultural organisations amid pandemic
Latest allocations include $32.8m from the National Endowment for the Humanities and $47.1m from New York’s Department of Cultural Affairs
NewsArt market
Organisers confident physical Art Dubai fair will go ahead in March 2021
It will be the first major international art fair to return to the art world calendar since the pandemic upended business around the world
CommentMuseums
Gabrielie Finaldi: 'What is the National Gallery if you can’t visit and you can’t see the pictures?'
Museums have a responsibility to the people to protect and share the collection, says the London museum's director
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Museum of Fine Arts Boston and other US institutions announce a second wave of pandemic closures
Some say they hope to reopen in January, while many others have remained shut for nearly a full year
NewsRedundancies
London's Southbank Centre rehires 40 workers who lost their jobs in the wake of Covid-19
Staff who have been made redundant are being recruited again following extension of furlough job retention scheme by UK government
NewsIndia
'New Hindu India': Narendra Modi begins £2bn overhaul of Delhi's colonial parliament buildings
Politicians and cultural leaders have questioned the use of state funds for prime minister's "vanity project" during Covid-19 crisis
NewsMuseums
French museums dismayed as reopening pushed to 7 January
Three-week delay caused by rising cases of coronavirus in the country
NewsMuseums
Leeds museum makes history by hosting Covid-19 vaccination hub
High-risk patients get Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at Thackray Museum of Medicine
NewsFunding
Historic Royal Palaces gets £40m lifeline loan and Southbank Centre gets £11m in latest round of UK Covid-19 funding
Rem Koolhaas’ Factory arts hub in Manchester—scheduled for completion in 2022—gets £21m grant
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Victoria and Albert museum to close for two days a week due to coronavirus financial crunch
Visitor numbers will take years to recover with a drastic impact on income, the London institution reports
AnalysisArt fairs
The art world's Miami vice: bored with OVRs, galleries return with some physical events in lieu of Art Basel—but should they?
While the city’s flagship art fair was cancelled this year, other in-person events and pop-up projects abound despite rising coronavirus cases
NewsTate Modern
Tate will cut 120 jobs to 'survive crisis'
The institution has launched a voluntary redundancy scheme but could ‘move to compulsory redundancy in 2021’
NewsExhibitions
Strict rules and new tech: Qatar's young artists respond to life during coronavirus
New exhibition Outbreak—organised by Doha Film Institute—has been able to go ahead in real life because the country's Covid-19 cases are low
NewsMuseums
Masp announces abridged 2021 programming as museums seek solutions to budget shortfalls
After drastic financial losses due to Covid-19, the Brazilian museum says it will hold a smaller number of shows for longer periods of time and boost its digital offerings
NewsHumboldt Forum
Opening of Humboldt Forum delayed again as coronavirus lockdown extended—but you can view it online
New Berlin arts complex suffers renewed setback in its problem-beset opening plans
NewsMuseums
Why us? European museums cry foul over second lockdown
Shops remain open in many countries even as museums are plunged once more into Covid-19 deep-freeze
CommentMuseums
A new kind of museum is emerging—here's what the future holds
International museum leaders are confronting manifold challenges in the wake of Covid-19 and innovating in six principal ways, writes András Szántó
AnalysisThe Year in Review 2020
Museums 2020: the year of crashing revenues and anti-racism disputes
Turbulent year draws to a close with sector wracked by pandemic lockdowns and Black Lives Matter challenges
NewsMuseums
A date with Mona Lisa? A painting by Soulages? Louvre's fundraising auction offers all to the highest bidder
Online sale seeks to support a new space for art education and outreach that will open in the autumn of 2021
NewsUK politics
Spending Review: UK museums to receive £320m during ‘biggest economic decline in 300 years’
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announces slight boost to culture department's budget, but some institutions face extended closure under new tiered system
NewsPrizes
London teenagers in cancelled prom outfits win Taylor Wessing Prize
Alys Tomlinson spent three months during lockdown taking the portrait of teenagers in the midst of their “lost summer”
AnalysisArt market
'One of the most shocking, tumultuous years on record': art market figures reflect on 2020—and guess at what 2021 might hold
The pandemic has ripped apart the industry as we know it this year but it has sparked innovation and conversation like never before
Newscoronavirus
Colourist painter and Royal Academician Philip Sutton opens new gallery—at the age of 92
Artist—who is now blind in one eye and lives in a sheltered care home—is launching a space in Bridport, England, to sell his own works
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art will shut down again amid spike in coronavirus cases
Move by Washington, DC museums comes amid a wave of new US closures
NewsArt Fund
Art Fund launches £1m crowdfunding appeal to help UK museums fighting for survival
After months without income due to coronavirus closures, new survey shows that museums are operating with just 25% of previous visitor numbers
CommentArt market
Pastures new: why some top gallery staff are moving on from longtime jobs
Without art fairs and hectic travel, the pandemic has transformed the way most of us work—and some are branching out rather than returning to their old lifestyle
NewsMuseums & Heritage
‘From bad to worse’: over half of US museums have laid off or furloughed staff, survey shows
Museums expect to lose an average of 35% of budgeted income this year, plus an additional 28% in 2021
NewsArt market
Frieze Los Angeles bids goodbye to Paramount Studios as art fair is postponed to July
Social distancing rules have limited the number of people on film sets creating a movie production backlog
Newscoronavirus
Russia sends Moscow’s museums into second lockdown until mid-January
Cultural workers voice frustration at mixed closure orders, as theatres, concert halls and restaurants are allowed to stay open
NewsArt market
Art Basel in Hong Kong postponed to May as coronavirus throws 2021 art fairs into disarray
Summer crush expected with Art Basel’s flagship show in Switzerland still scheduled for June and Taipei Dangdai moved back to July
NewsOpenings
Challenges overcome as Houston's Museum of Fine Arts completes $450m campus expansion
Delayed by just three weeks amid the pandemic, new Kinder Building will dramatically increase space for Modern and contemporary art
Outdoor sculpture
A breath of fresh air: The Clark opens its first outdoor exhibition
Known for its esteemed collection of European and American paintings and art historical research library, the institution's 140-acre meadow now features contemporary sculptures set against the bucolic landscape of the Berkshire Highlands in Massachusetts
FeatureArtists
Holiday gift guide 2020: artworks for every budget
From a £14.95 Fuck You 2020 bauble by Jeremy Deller to a £125,000 woodcut by Edvard Munch, we've assembled some our favourite stocking fillers
NewsPolls
A ‘snapshot in time’: how US museum directors viewed their world before the pandemic
In a sign of how drastically things would change, fewer than half prioritised online offerings in a wide-ranging survey
Newscoronavirus
Uffizi director Eike Schmidt has contracted coronavirus
Museum chief is asymptomatic and says he will continue working in quarantine
NewsArts funding
Will UK government furlough extension make museums rethink redundancy plans?
Petition launched calling for Southbank Centre staff to be reinstated in light of Chancellor’s announcement while Royal Academy confirms coronavirus funding snub
Newslayoffs
Keith Davis, senior curator at Nelson-Atkins, resigns to protest colleague's layoff
Museum’s drive to cut 36 jobs eliminated the position of photography curator Jane L. Aspinwall, who helped oversee acclaimed collection
CommentArtists
A message of hope from David Hockney for Lockdown 2: 'Remember, they can't cancel the autumn either'
UK’s leading artist sends two new images of hope
NewsArt market
London galleries to accommodate collectors ‘by appointment’ during second coronavirus lockdown
Some dealers say they will continue to hold private viewings for buyers, while opening hours are extended in the West End tonight
NewsMuseums
German museum chiefs say enforced November closure is 'wrong decision'
More than 40 directors sign an open letter to regional governments saying museums should not be included in month-long coronavirus lockdown
NewsMuseums
Museums and galleries to close across England as second coronavirus lockdown announced
Exhibition schedules disrupted and concerns raised over funding after institutions required to shut down until 2 December
NewsYayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama on 2020: ‘O demons of unwonted fate. We will stand and face you’
New publication—described as “most personal book to date”—will focus on artist’s use of language
NewsMuseums
Louvre and French museums close, while German museums await clarity in second coronavirus lockdown
Closing German museums would be “a hard blow for the institutions and society,” the country's museums association says
NewsArt market
Miami Beach launches residency programme to help artists and businesses in lieu of Art Basel tourism revenue
The initiative encourages property owners to lend their vacant spaces for free and offers $2,500 stipends to artists—but they may still need to pay rent
ReviewResidencies
New York artists find second chance in Governors Island residency programme showcase
The free residencies were part a multi-organisation initiative to replace the annual artist-run Portal art fair and other cultural programming cancelled due to Covid-19
Newscoronavirus
New York lawmakers to discuss the economic impact of Covid-19 on cultural institutions
"The arts and cultural sector has been especially hard hit," says Senator José Serrano
NewsArt fairs
ArtRio forges ahead, making it the first major event to take place in Brazil since the pandemic began
Marking the fair's tenth anniversary, a live event with limited ticketing for collectors continues even as Covid-19 cases climb
NewsArt market
From flat white to white cube: Lévy Gorvy opens gallery in former Pret a Manger in Mayfair
Firm now plans to extend its lease after Long Museum buys huge Tu Hongtao painting on show in the new space
NewsFunding
'Publicise your grants online': UK culture minister wades into row over rescue funding demands
Oliver Dowden confirms recipients were "encouraged" to acknowledge fund on websites and social media
Commentcoronavirus
Exhibitions need a perfect storm to succeed—but shows opening during Covid-19 are getting a disappointing drizzle
With no group student visits, no art-world private view, and limits on public access, the buzz of new exhibitions has potentially been short-circuited
NewsHeritage
Machu Picchu all to yourself? Japanese tourist gets special solo tour of ancient site
Culture ministry gives Jesse Katayama access after being stranded in Peru for seven months because of coronavirus
NewsFunding
First government grants for UK art spaces announced with £789,000 for London's ICA and £804,000 for Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Whitechapel, Whitworth, Mary Rose Trust and Photo London are also among the recipients for long-awaited Covid-19 rescue funds
NewsSingapore
Singapore art space prepares final show in Gillman Barracks after Covid-19 shortfall
NTU Centre for Contemporary Art to close physical venue in March, casting doubt on future of gallery district
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Nearly 450 heritage rescue grants announced from UK's £1.57bn cultural bailout fund
First funding round hailed as a "lifeline" for heritage sites and specialists reeling from the pandemic, but job losses continue
NewsNational Trust
National Trust—UK's largest conservation charity—to cut 1,300 jobs
The coronavirus-hit heritage body looks to save around £100m through redundancies
AnalysisArt market
A Covid success story: how the London Original Print Fair helped its 68 dealers keep selling
London’s longest-running art fair survives virus by going fully online and diversifying
Comment
Freelance workers are the backbone of the art world—but how are they expected to survive on a pittance?
If culture is to recover from the pandemic, the sector must value the self-employed more so that the next generation—of all backgrounds—can afford to live a creative life
Robert Hewison