NewsLiverpool Biennial
Liverpool Biennial director Fatos Üstek resigns after run-in with board of trustees
Two trustees, the artist Fiona Banner and the art lawyer Jon Sharples, also stepped down in support
NewsMuseums
Tate suspends curator for publicly criticising its decision to delay Guston show
Mark Godfrey has been disciplined after posting a long statement on his Instagram account describing postponement as "extremely patronising to viewers"
InterviewAi Weiwei
Ai Weiwei: If you do not question Chinese power, you are complicit with it—that goes for art organisations too
Dissident artist says that European museums in China are betraying their own values
NewsMuseums
Museums grapple with ethics of China projects
Institutions including Tate, V&A and Pompidou are forging partnerships with the country despite terrible human rights abuses
NewsHeritage
Steve Bannon wins first major battle for medieval monastery
Italy retaliates with criminal prosecution of right-wing religious group funded by US President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist
NewsExhibitions
Major Raphael show in Rome returns for three-month run
Securing the loan extensions was “really easy” says director of the Scuderie del Quirinale
Newscoronavirus
'Like a permanent bank holiday': museums at greater risk of break-ins during lockdown
Reduced security staff and distracted police forces could lead to a rise in art thefts—but there are measures that can be taken to protect collections
Newscoronavirus
Take a virtual tour of once-in-a-lifetime Raphael show in Rome that closed after four days due to coronavirus
Video is part of Italy's "Culture never stops!" initiative providing online access to cultural and heritage sites
NewsItaly
Steve Bannon wins again in battle against Italian ministry of culture
President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist wants to set up a nationalist bootcamp in an Italian monastery
NewsNative American
President Trump blows up Native American grave site for his border wall
“Sacrilegious” act on Unesco-recognised site in Arizona which contains remains of Indigenous peoples
NewsSponsorship
Climate activists take over British Museum in all-night protest against BP sponsorship
Organisers of the three-day action, the group BP or not BP?, called it the "largest protest in the history of the museum"
NewsCollectors
Angola freezes assets of billionaire and her art collector husband
Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman, is married to Sindika Dokolo who has been working for years on repatriating works to the African continent
NewsSteve Bannon
Steve Bannon’s nationalists can stay in medieval monastery (for now)
In the first round of a lengthy legal battle, an Italian court has ruled in favour of a right-wing Catholic organisation which the Ministry of Culture is trying to oust from a historic abbey
NewsPolitics
Culture ministry failed to vet right-wing religious group close to Steve Bannon
Decision to lease Italian medieval monastery to an organisation affiliated with President Trump’s former chief strategist is blamed on staff shortages
AnalysisSalvator Mundi
Is the $450m Salvator Mundi really on a Saudi yacht?
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia’s luxury vessel has unexpectedly circumnavigated Europe and docked in the Netherlands
NewsSpanish politics
Spain begins exhumation of General Franco's remains from civil war memorial
Country's ruling Socialist party has argued that far-right supporters attracted by the former dictator's tomb distract from the monument's real purpose
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Green light for Leonardo's Vitruvian Man to go to Louvre
An Italian appellate court has overturned the ban on the loan of the celebrated drawing
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Italian court blocks loan of Leonardo's Vitruvian Man to Louvre
The ruling also suspends the wider agreement for the exchange of works of art between France and Italy
InterviewTrevor Paglen
Trevor Paglen on questioning the intelligence of AI
US artist’s new show at the Barbican continues his exploration into how artificial intelligence is shaping how organisations control us
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
If Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man goes on show at the Louvre, we won’t see it again for a decade
Italian conservationists say they may attempt to block the loan of the famous drawing
NewsArt & Technology
Leading online database to remove 600,000 images after art project reveals its racist bias
Artist Trevor Paglen and AI researcher Kate Crawford have investigated the troubling ways in which ImageNet classifies people
NewsUK politics
Boris Johnson’s Olympic mega-sculpture is £13m in debt
Visitors decline steeply at ArcelorMittal Orbit by Anish Kapoor in east London
NewsInstagram
Former Venice Biennale director launches satirical Instagram attack on Italian government
Francesco Bonami's new political party EXAGERAMOS! promises to introduce new laws including forbidding contemporary art in museums
Podcast
Ibrahim Mahama's ghosts of Ghana. Plus, China's epic Picasso show
We speak to the Ghanaian artist as he unveils a major new commission at the Whitworth as part of the Manchester International Festival. Plus, we find out about the Picasso blockbuster at UCCA in Beijing. Produced in association with Bonhams, auctioneers since 1793.
NewsRefugees
Dear Christoph Büchel, this is how you provide context
An exhibition about migrant deaths at sea provides the information missing from the Swiss-Icelandic artist’s display in Venice
InterviewWilliam Kentridge
Interview: William Kentridge on his life lessons
Self-interrogation is central to the work of the South African artist, whose latest piece on show at the Kunstmuseum Basel poses a series of questions that get half-answered
NewsPolitics
Italy blocks Steve Bannon’s plans for nationalist bootcamp in medieval monastery
Despite eviction procedures, the US strategist’s collaborator says they will fight to stay in the 13th-century building
NewsVenice Biennale 2019
Fierce debate over Christoph Büchel's Venice Biennale display of boat that sank with hundreds locked in hull
Up to 1,100 may have died on board the fishing vessel; critics say its display is grossly insensitive at best while others describe it as a powerful reminder of exploitation
ReviewVenice Biennale 2019
We've chosen the best of the art in Venice, now here's the worst
We’ve seen a lot of exhibitions in the city so you don’t have to
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in Venice this weekend
From Tuymans's Third Reich paintings, to Kounellis's poor materials, there's more to see in the city than the Venice Biennale
PreviewVenice Biennale 2019
Exhibitions during the Venice Biennale: a festival of painting
Among the many official “collateral” exhibitions connected to the Biennale and independently organised shows, painting is noticeably abundant
NewsAnthony d'Offay
Artists protest Tate decision to resume ties with Anthony d’Offay
Over 35 artists and curators have signed an open letter to the institution asking it to reveal details of its investigations into allegations of sexual harassment made against the retired dealer
NewsItaly
Battle over Bannon’s nationalist bootcamp in Italian monastery
Protests against the right-wing group’s takeover of a 13th-century cloister are growing
NewsCathedral of Notre Dame
France launches international architecture competition to rebuild Notre Dame's collapsed spire
French Prime Minister wants to crown the building with a “spire adapted to the techniques and challenges of our times”
NewsCathedral of Notre Dame
Notre Dame benefits from the battle of the billionaires
Competitive philanthropy can help save France’s flagship cathedral
InterviewLuc Tuymans
Luc Tuymans: ‘People are becoming more and more stupid, insanely stupid’
As a major new exhibition of his work opens in Venice, the Belgian painter explains how painting can help us confront our own ignorance
NewsSackler Trust
Sackler Trust charity in UK suspends all new gifts
The move is a “face-saving” measure says US photographer and activist Nan Goldin
NewsCollectors
Collectors pledge support for contemporary art in Italy
Private spaces throughout the country are uniting to host a joint show in the face of government funding cuts
NewsSalvator Mundi
'We want Salvator Mundi' for Leonardo blockbuster, Louvre says
Claims that it had "cancelled plans" to show the work are "fake information", the museum says
NewsExhibitions
Monty Python snub 'pretentious' Victoria and Albert Museum
Comedy troupe was planning a show at the institution but clashed over the title
NewsArt market
Enigmatic Gino De Dominicis subject of complex fakes investigation in Italy
Market for Italian artist’s works slows as police investigation into alleged forgeries scares off some collectors
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Italy blocks Leonardo loans for Louvre anniversary show
Populist government says sending paintings to French museum would put Italy 'on the margins of a great cultural event'
NewsOld Masters
Heart-stopping: man has heart attack in front of Botticelli
Another tourist had an epileptic fit in front of the artist's Venus in 2016
News
DR Congo to request restitution of works from former coloniser Belgium
Country's president Joseph Kabila made the announcement ahead of opening of revamped Africa Museum outside Brussels
NewsExhibitions
Three exhibitions to see in London this weekend
From Anni Albers' textile masterclass at Tate Modern, to an exploration of artist couples at the Barbican
InterviewFrieze London 2018
Rachel Maclean: Brexit wrapped up in cotton candy
The Scottish video artist throws visitors into a post-Brexit apocalypse at London’s Zabludowicz Collection
PreviewExhibitions
Mantegna and Bellini go head-to-head in show exploring how they influenced each other’s work
Exhibition at London's National Gallery will compare the early Renaissance artists who were brothers-in-law
NewsArchitecture
'This was no accident', says architect Renzo Piano about Genoa bridge collapse
Italy lacks effective site diagnosis, he tells Italian newspaper La Repubblica
NewsArt market
Unpaid invoices, vetting issues and bad marketing: dealers call out ‘mismanaged’ Bahrain fair
Despite a group of exhibitors describing Art Bahrain Across Borders as disappointing, royal patron says event will continue
NewsFunding
Will museums stop accepting Sackler money in wake of Massachusetts lawsuit?
Eight members of the family are being sued for helping to fuel the opioid epidemic through their pharmaceutical company
NewsLaw
Top experts dispute Italian police claims about seized ‘antiquities’
“I cannot imagine where a terracotta life-size horse head could come from in antiquity,” a specialist says
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Return Persian antiquity to Iran, New York district attorney says
The dealer it was seized from knew it was stolen, a motion filed with the State’s supreme court alleges. The dealer categorically denies this
News
Royal Academy launches new £34,000 postgraduate course. But who can afford it?
The institution is entering the lucrative world of branded education
News
Top Italian museum director faces trial over gym visits
The director of the Galleria Borghese in Rome has been suspended without pay for leaving the office
News
Norval Foundation near Cape Town opens months after launch of city's Zeitz museum
Staff from Africa's first mega museum have defected to the new private institution
NewsThefts
Chinese antiquities stolen in raid on Bath museum
Haul includes precious gold and jade artefacts, which police say may have been stolen to order
NewsEstates
Thaddaeus Ropac lands Joseph Beuys estate
Deal revealed as major show of German artist opens at gallerist's London space, which includes huge Stag Monuments installation
NewsContemporary art
Kehinde Wiley—the artist behind Obama's presidential portrait—signs with Hollywood talent agency
Brillstein Entertainment Partners will licence the US artist's paintings and "identify directing opportunities"
NewsArt market
Piero Manzoni Foundation criticised for destruction of works
Foundation denies allegations that it manipulates the authentication process to inflate the value of its holdings
AnalysisArt Basel Hong Kong 2018
How big is the Picasso 'brand' in China?
Sotheby’s tests the waters with first oil painting at auction in Hong Kong
NewsPrizes
British art teacher wins $1m prize
In accepting the award, Andria Zafirakou asked for more support for the “power of the arts” in schools, particularly in poor communities
FeatureTEFAF Maastricht 2018
Getting to know the real Tintoretto
A string of exhibitions celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Venetian master’s birth will help to bring him back into favour
NewsPeggy Guggenheim Collection
Case dismissed: France's highest court rules in favour of Guggenheim foundation
The judgment ends a lengthy legal battle between the heirs of Peggy Guggenheim and the US organisation
NewsTechnology
Elon Musks's Telsa Roadster: Is it art? Or is it ‘garbage in space’?
The entrepreneur has begun implementing his plan to colonise Mars and make us a “multi-planetary species”
News
Soft power and contemporary art: Vatican Museums director on fulfilling Pope Francis's vision
Barbara Jatta speaks to us one year after her landmark appointment
NewsAndy Warhol
The Vatican to host major Andy Warhol exhibition
Show will 'explore the artist's spiritual side' with Last Supper series and skull silkscreens
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach
Insiders’ tips: what not to miss at Art Basel in Miami Beach
We asked curators, directors and collectors to tell us about the works that stopped them in their tracks
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach
Collector Jorge Pérez accuses Miami-Dade County of slashing museum’s funding as 'punishment' for Cuban art show
Funds promised to Pérez Art Museum Miami were allocated to American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora instead
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Was a 'double-bind guarantee' behind the $450m Leonardo sale?
Rumour mill has gone into overdrive over record-breaking auction
NewsFunding
Business as usual for museums funded by Sackler opioid money?
Beneficiaries of the family’s largesse deflect or ignore questions about the donors’ role in the drugs epidemic sweeping the US
FeaturePodcast
Podcast episode eight: how hackers are attacking the art world
Galleries are losing huge sums to cybercrime, what makes them vulnerable? Plus: the dubious restoration along the Camino di Santiago.
NewsFraud
Galleries hit by cyber crime wave
Hackers are using an email scam to intercept payments between galleries, collectors and others
NewsFrieze 2017
Marina Abramovic abandons plans for New York institute
Performance artist unable to raise $31m required for Koolhaas design
FeatureFeatures
Encore! Tate’s New Performance plan
Artists like Marvin Gaye Chetwynd have prompted a rethink in the Tate’s approach to live art
FeatureFrieze 2017
The market boom for Basquiat
A year after his death, MoMA turned down an offer of the artist’s work. Today, the appetite for his paintings has never been greater
FeaturePodcast
Podcast episode two: Zeitz Mocaa and London autumn preview
The lowdown on the new Thomas Heatherwick-designed museum in Cape Town. Plus: London's most enticing shows this autumn
NewsZeitz MoCAA
Inside Zeitz Mocaa: our guide to Cape Town’s new mega-museum
From spectacular architecture to an army of curators, what you need to know about Africa’s landmark contemporary art institution
News
Iñárritu's VR project brings terrifying experiences of migrants and refugees to life
Oscar-winning director, whose work opens at Milan's Fondazione Prada this week, says it's reductive to call it anti-Trump
Review
The road to the Venice Biennale is paved with good intentions
Curator Christine Macel’s worthy aims of saving the planet and helping refugees has seriously backfired
NewsVenice Biennale 2017
Kenya works a miracle to bring its exhibition to the Venice Biennale
Pavilion organisers put on a show despite receiving no government money
News
Damien Hirst turns film-maker for Venice show
Artist's new documentary tells story of his underwater exhibition at Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana
News
Nitsch performance using slaughtered bull to go ahead in Tasmania
A petition launched by an animal rights group to block the work has attracted 20,000 signatures
News
Peggy Guggenheim's great-grandchildren say New York exhibition violates her legacy
Row follows long-running legal dispute between the Guggenheim Foundation and the collector's descendants
NewsExhibitions
Storm erupts over Nitsch’s bull slaughter at Tasmanian museum
Campaigners demand axing of performance by Actionist at MONA's Dark Mofo festival
News
Kentridge opens Johannesburg space for artists to learn by failing
The independent Centre for the Less Good Idea aims to stay small and be creative
News
Damien Hirst launches shipwreck spectacle in Venice
British artist's monumental sculptures fill François Pinault’s museums
News
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi should be postponed or downsized, says the man who launched the project
Thomas Krens doubts the time is right for an American museum "with a Jewish name" to be built in the Gulf
News
‘We want to bring the world to Hong Kong’
Suhanya Raffel, who took over as head of M+ late last year, pledges to champion the museum’s curatorial independence
News
Former Met curator speaks candidly about the New York museum's current challenges
George Goldner, who led the museum’s department of prints and drawings for two decades, says it needs to reassess its priorities
NewsExhibitions
Ibrahim Mahama presents a portrait of Ghana told through its objects
Ghanaian artist’s first exhibition at White Cube in London opens tonight
News
Three African artists will take centre stage at new Zeitz MoCAA
Major contemporary art museum will open in Cape Town in September with three exhibitions
News
New M+ director brings Asia-Pacific vision to West Kowloon flagship
Rooted in Hong Kong, Suhanya Raffel is reaching out to MoMA and the Tate
NewsCommercial galleries
The anti-white cube: entirely black gallery expands in Hong Kong
Stephen Cheng says another space in Silicon Valley may follow
NewsExhibitions
The best of Amsterdam Art Weekend
Dustin Yellin's environmental apocalypse and Jordan Wolfson's creepy puppets among highlights of Dutch capital's annual art initiative
NewsReport
In praise of the lesser- known photographer
For the collector and dealer Michael Hoppen, big names can get in the way of the image as compelling evidence
NewsReport
Why a collection of British photography is probably going abroad
Lack of support from UK institutions could mean that James and Claire Hyman donate vast collection elsewhere
NewsAuctions
Bidding war for Bowie's angst-ridden Auerbach in record-breaking sale
Musician collected unfashionable works by British artists as well as Basquiat and Tintoretto
News
Is the curator who resigned in St Louis heading to Miami Beach?
Jeffrey Uslip, who organised a controversial Kelley Walker show, has been hired by the Bass Museum but may not take up the post