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
NewsGermany
Record culture budget approved by German parliament
The budget for 2021 allocates funding to preserve Berlin museum buildings, renovate the Bayreuth Festival theatre, boost provenance research and grant free admission to the Jewish Museum Berlin
NewsCuba
Hunger strike against Cuba's human rights abuses left artist in ‘critical condition’
Activists and artists were trapped in Havana building following demonstrations against police action
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
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
NewsLooted art
Museum of the Bible returns hand-written gospels looted from Greece during the First World War
The Eikosiphoinissa Manuscript 220 was among hundreds of objects taken from the Kosinitza Monastery by Bulgarian separatist troops in 1917
NewsArt market
New gallery platform South South launches to promote art from outside the dominant US-Europe axis
Goodman Gallery's Liza Essers came up with the idea in lockdown and plans an online selling event, called Veza, using auction technology in February
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”
NewsRestitution
Chair of Dutch Nazi-loot committee resigns ahead of report on restitution policy
Alfred Hammerstein’s departure follows criticism of Dutch committee’s decisions
NewsIndigenous art
Where to learn about and support Indigenous art and culture on Native American Heritage Month
From the Smithsonian's award-winning Americans exhibition to virtual Indigenous art markets
NewsBritish Museum
Caffè Nero? The British Museum is looking for help with naming its blockbuster show on the Roman emperor
The survey, with suggestions including “the man behind the monster” and “emperor, tyrant, traitor?”, was sent out to members of the museum’s Friends scheme
NewsRepatriation
Artist discovers looted statue in Canadian museum and returns it to India
The 18th-century work was stolen by the museum's namesake from an active temple over 100 years ago
NewsPrizes
Exiled Kurdish artist—who smuggled paintings from her Turkish jail cell—wins inaugural Carol Rama Award
Zehra Doğan was imprisoned for nearly three years under terrorism charges for work of art shared on Twitter
News US politics
What will Joe Biden's culture policy look like?
The art world cheered at Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential election. But, with a formidable to-do list—not least dealing with the coronavirus pandemic—where will the arts feature on his agenda?
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Hallucinogenic flower inspired Native Californian rock art, archaeologists say
“Doses” of datura plant used in communal ceremonies have been found embedded in the ceiling of Pinwheel Cave
NewsMuseums & Heritage
'Rent has increased by 3,100% since 2012': London heritage society says it may sell collection after UK government hikes costs
The Society of Antiquaries is launching a campaign to stay in historic home of Burlington House, close to Piccadilly
NewsDocumenta 15
Dozens asked to participate in Documenta 15—only to realise invitations are fake
Documenta organisers have warned about scam emails and requests recipients to contact them
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
NewsArt market
'The law has to fall on someone': Seller of allegedly fake Frans Hals must pay Sotheby's $5.3m for cancelled sale, judge insists
Co-vendor of the painting, Fairlight Art Ventures had appealed the ruling last year but court upheld the decision yesterday, finding in favour of the auction house
NewsLand art
Alien visitors or avant-garde installation? Mysterious monolith discovered in the Utah desert
The large object spotted by biologists resembles the work of sculptor John McCracken, or a prop from Kubrick's sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey
NewsObituaries
Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, Outsider art champion and Art Preserve founder, has died, aged 79
She helped establish the John Michael Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin as one of the leading institutions dedicated to self-taught artists
NewsLabour
MFA Boston workers vote to unionise in sweeping vote
An overwhelming 90% of employees voted to join the United Auto Workers Local 2110
NewsAcquisitions
Jaws shark installed in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles
The museum, due to open in April 2021, has acquired the 25-foot prop model for its permanent collection
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
New York authorities return ancient stele to Egypt
The object was seized on its way to an art fair last year and came from the same network that sold other looted antiquities to museums
NewsAcquisitions
Stedelijk expands collection of socially critical art by acquiring works by Russian activists Yulia Tsvetkova and Anna Tereshkina
Both artists have been detained by Russian authorities
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Pompeii dig unearths incredible preserved remains of two men engulfed in volcanic ash
Plaster casts were made of the newly discovered victims of Vesuvius eruption, which are believed to have been a wealthy landowner and his slave
NewsOpenings
Boola Bardip: Perth’s revamped Western Australian Museum opens with new name and focus on Aboriginal heritage
The museum worked with around 60 Aboriginal language groups across the vast state to bring their perspectives into every gallery
NewsPublic art
Provocative Marilyn Monroe sculpture to return to Palm Springs—and the arts community is not happy about it
A plan to install the kitsch work in front of the city’s art museum has raised complaints from the community, which has called Forever Marilyn “blatantly sexist”
NewsArt fairs
Salon fair releases glossy, digitally enhanced publication instead of another online viewing platform
The New York art and design event has issued a 152-page magazine with interviews, features and QR codes that link to multi-media content
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
NewsArt market
'A crisis is always a good time to unite': Russian art galleries form new alliance to boost industry
The Association of Galleries aims to simplify the country's customs procedures and secure government funding
NewsMuseum entry fees
London's National Gallery charges £8 for virtual tour of blockbuster Artemisia Gentileschi exhibition
Move reflects how museums could cash in on digital initiatives
NewsArt market
Carphone Warehouse billionaire David Ross did buy the Royal Opera House's $12.8m Hockney—now he is loaning it back
The portrait of David Webster will return immediately to the opera house before going to the National Portrait Gallery in 2023 for its reopening exhibition
NewsLooted art
Jewish collections looted by the Nazis to be examined and traced in new database
The Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project will begin with a pilot scheme focusing on the Old Masters collection of Adolphe Schloss, which was seized by the Gestapo
NewsSculpture parks
A seven-mile underwater sculpture park is slated to open in Miami Beach next December
The Reef Line, designed by the architect Shohei Shigematsu/OMA, will include new commissions by Leandro Erlich, Ernesto Neto and Agustina Woodgate
NewsResignations
After controversy over her leadership, Stanford says director of its Cantor Arts Center has resigned
Museum undertook an investigation of Susan Dackerman’s allegedly “toxic” leadership style and departures of many staff members
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 market
Billionaire art collector Sheldon Solow's tax-exempt art foundation was infamously inaccessible—now his widow says she will open it to the public
The real estate developer died on Tuesday aged 92. His collection in New York has been parodied for being almost impossible to visit despite receiving tax breaks
NewsBakehouse Art Complex
Miami non-profit launches virtual sales platform with a generous donation from the Martin Margulies Foundation
The Bakehouse Art Complex hopes to raise $100,000 in its inaugural sale to help artists amid the Covid-19 pandemic
NewsArt market
Rediscovered painting by Leonardo da Vinci's 'little devil' lover and collaborator sells for record €1.7m in France
Penitent Magdalene by Salaì, who entered Leonardo's workshop at the age of ten, was estimated at €100,000 to €150,000 and is one of only a handful of known works by the artist
NewsArt market
Pace to take over Blain Southern's former gallery in London expansion
Announcement comes as two of the gallery's presidents in the US are facing allegations of abuse in the workplace
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
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Incredible 1,000-year-old Viking burial site found in Norway belonged to 'Iron Age elite'
Using radar technology, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a 19m-long ship beneath a farmer's fields
NewsGwangju Biennale
Gwangju Biennale artistic directors discuss Korean shamanism and planning in a pandemic
13th edition of the biannual Korean art exhibition will look at queer theory, feminism and how centuries of tradition collide with contemporary art
NewsCoronavirus resources
Artists combat New York’s Covid-19 hunger crisis, one plate at a time
As the city braces for a tough winter, the Coalition for the Homeless launches limited-edition Artist Plate Project
NewsPerforma
Performa biennial hosts virtual telethon, evoking the work of George Orwell, Nam June Paik—and, of course, Jerry Lewis
The event has been produced in partnership with Pace gallery and will feature new and archival material
NewsLaw
US museums groups raise concerns as settlement deal over Nazi-looted Pissarro heads back to court
The work, returned to the French heiress Léone-Noëlle Meyer in 2016, was meant to go back on display at Oklahoma’s Fred Jones Jr. Museum next year
NewsCollectors
Actor Samuel L. Jackson and footballer Samuel Eto’o pay tribute to art collector Sindika Dokolo during six-hour televised memorial
Dokolo was buried at Brompton Cemetery in West London yesterday following his funeral at Westminster Cathedral
NewsArchaeology
Egyptian archaeologists make the 'biggest discovery of 2020'
More than 100 painted coffins have been found at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, south of Cairo
NewsArchitecture
Architect Emilio Ambasz’s foundation donates $10m to MoMA to create a green architecture institute
New entity will spur research on the relationship between architecture and nature and work toward “environmental justice”, the New York museum says
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
NewsNagorno-Karabakh
Metropolitan Museum of Art appeals for protection of cultural heritage sites in Nagorno-Karabakh
Plea comes as Azerbaijan moves to take control of swaths of territory under a Russian-brokered peace deal
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
NewsThefts
German police arrest three suspects in Dresden jewel heist investigation
More than 1,600 police officers take part in raids in Berlin to solve violent theft from Dresden’s Green Vault
NewsMuseums
Friends forever? Museums rely on generosity of paying members and loyalty schemes to survive pandemic
Many UK institutions are hoping members will continue to support them despite limited benefits and recurring closures
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
NewsBooks
Prizewinning Gainsborough publication shines light on lives of painter's female sitters
New book, which reveals how the Old Masters influenced the 18th-century British artist, has won the William MB Berger Prize for British Art History
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
NewsBiennials & festivals
UK's £120m post-Brexit festival selects teams—including art organisations—for next step of controversial initiative
Serpentine Galleries, Tate and historian David Olusoga are on the shortlist for £3m research and development funding
NewsArt market
Seller contests having to repay Sotheby’s for allegedly forged Frans Hals
In latest hearing of ongoing legal saga, Fairlight Art Ventures, co-vendor of painting sold in 2011 for $11.75m, is refusing to pay auction house more than $5.3m
NewsHeritage
New heritage body aims to keep Unesco in check by calling on public to report sites in danger
Our World Heritage says it is stepping in to save at-risk locations as “safeguarding has become a secondary concern” for Unesco
NewsDiscoveries
Constable oil sketch—previously dismissed as fake—goes on sale for £150,000
Sworder's auction house is selling the work, which is one of many by the Romantic painter depicting the area around Dedham Vale where he grew up
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Unesco under fire for using Met objects in anti-trafficking campaign
Advertisements said that the works were looted in recent years, but Met documentation shows that they have a much longer provenance
Newscolonialism
Somerset House to dig into its colonial past
Move follows release of National Trust’s slavery report, which was accused of following a ‘woke agenda’
NewsHeritage
Plans for £1.7bn tunnel under Stonehenge—approved by UK government—sparks criticism
Unesco opposes the scheme which could result in "total loss" of archaeological treasures but English Heritage says it will "reconnect the site with its prehistoric landscape"
NewsPhilanthropy
Freelands Foundation awards £1.27m in diversity funding—including Windrush education programme
The move follows the foundation's launch of a diversity action plan which aims to stamp out racial inequality in the visual arts
NewsJoan Miró
Miró Labyrinth meanders towards restoration at south of France's Maeght Foundation
Conservation project tackles damage to Joan Miró's terraced maze of sculptures and ceramics in grounds of Modern art museum
NewsMuseums
First look at David Adjaye's planned museum for Benin City
Ghanaian-born London architect is working with the British Museum and Nigerian organisations to show “the most comprehensive display in the world of Benin Bronzes”
NewsDesign
Archives of Ivan Chermayeff, the designer behind Smithsonian sun and MoMA logo, donated to New York’s School of Visual Arts
The influential designer taught at the school and for years and students will now have access to his professional and personal work
NewsArt market
Frieze art fairs global director Victoria Siddall takes ‘strategic’ role as board director
Frieze magazine publisher Rebecca Ann Siegel appointed director of Americas and content and will oversee the New York and Los Angeles fairs
NewsArt market
Collection of Balthus drawings and paintings to be sold for €1.2m—so why no mention of his infatuation with pubescent girls?
The works are from the estate of the artist’s teenage “muse and model” Frédérique Tison, who was also his step-niece
NewsStolen art
Samsung partners with art crime expert to hunt for world's missing masterpieces
Works by Monet, Van Gogh and Cézanne, which were stolen in dramatic art heists, are available to view online
NewsPerformance art
Popular apocalyptic beach performance from 2019's Venice Biennale will pop up in Berlin Bauhaus swimming pool
Sun & Sea (Marina) won the Golden Lion for Lithuania
NewsHeritage
Unesco, stop citing 'bogus' $10bn figure, art trade pleads
Ahead of a major anniversary this weekend, the international organisation is under fire for apparently exaggerating the scale of the illicit trade in cultural goods
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
NewsAcquisitions
John Waters, the ‘Pope of Trash’, gives his treasures to Baltimore Museum of Art
The director and film-maker has donated around 375 works to his hometown institution—and will have a pair of restrooms named after him
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Metropolitan Museum board appoints first woman co-chair
Candace Beinecke and Hamilton James will lead the trustees
NewsPublic art
Anselm Kiefer makes first new works for Paris's Pantheon in almost a century
President Emmanuel Macron chose the German artist for the commission that commemorates the French writer and First World War soldier Maurice Genevoix
NewsAppointments
Gordon Parks Foundation hires programme director to expand artist and social justice initiatives
Michal Raz-Russo, a photography curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, will oversee new grants, fellowships, exhibitions and publications
NewsArt market
The devil is in the paperwork—don't be caught out by provenance fraud
The rise of the online art market means due diligence on purchasing art is becoming increasingly complex
NewsRestoration
The potato head of Palencia: defaced Spanish statue latest victim of botched restoration
Conservation professionals have questioned why Spain's heritage is continually handed over to those with no formal training
Newscoronavirus
Uffizi director Eike Schmidt has contracted coronavirus
Museum chief is asymptomatic and says he will continue working in quarantine
NewsMuseums & Heritage
From the Dalai Lama’s tailoring to beekeeping in Kenya, British Museum saves world's dying skills
Endangered Material Knowledge Programme will be extended for seven more years with £8.8m grant from Arcadia fund
NewsPublic sculpture
Twitter explodes with debate around long-awaited statue of feminist trailblazer Mary Wollstonecraft
Sculpture by Maggi Hambling is the result of a decade-long campaign to honour the 18th-century women's rights advocate
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
NewsProtest
Amid nationwide pro-choice protests, leading Polish artist Joanna Piotrowska donates poignant photo to raise money for women's rights charity
Only one edition out of a 100 are left as donations flood website
NewsMemorials
In honour of Armistice Day, more than 100 English war memorials listed as sites of historical importance
Monuments commemorating the First and Second World Wars—mostly built in small towns and villages—are added to Historic England's list of protected places
NewsArt market
All eyes on Shanghai as city hosts multiple fairs despite first coronavirus case in months
New Art Tower will be hub of a busy art week alongside Art021 and West Bund Art & Design Fair
NewsIndigenous art
Minneapolis art museum criticised for keeping ancient Indigenous objects
University of Minnesota graduate students have joined Native nations in a long repatriation fight for Mimbres funerary objects controversially held by the Weisman Art Museum
NewsRobert Indiana
End in sight for legal battle over Robert Indiana's legacy
After two-and-a-half years and $8m in legal costs, an agreement between the artist's estate and his long-time representative is on the table
NewsArt market
New York state sues Sotheby's for allegedly helping collector evade tax on $27m of art
Auction house "vigorously refutes the unfounded allegations" made by the attorney general, who claims the auction house knowingly aided the offshore company Porsal Equities
NewsVatican
Hackers target oldest bible and Vatican’s other priceless treasures in online attacks
The Apostolic Library has partnered with a cybersecurity firm to prevent further attempts to steal and manipulate its digital collection
News US politics
Kara Walker kicks Donald Trump to the curb and more of the best Instagram art responding to the US election
From Jules de Balincourt's painting of Kamala Harris to Rania Matar's photograph of Boston celebrations, we look at artists' reactions to Joe Biden's win
Newselection 2020
Art world rejoices in Biden’s win of US presidency
Artists, collectors, policy makers and gallery owners share their reactions after the tightly fought election
NewsDesign
Mississippi voters approve new state flag design, trading controversial Confederate symbol for magnolia flower
The replacement banner was approved by a 71% majority, and was created by a local graphic designer
NewsPhilip Guston
After tumult, museums say that a delayed Philip Guston exhibition will open in 2022
Citing “unease and anxiety” about the show, the director of MFA, Boston predicts it will spur “in-depth discussions about great art”
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
NewsHeritage
Historic churches of Naples are at risk from sinkholes
Researchers have identified nine buildings that require a “quick response” and a further 57 places of worship that could suffer from future cavity collapses