ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

VISUAL

London’s Gallery Commune Proves Sharing Is Caring

Ten years in, Condo's cooperative model has emerging dealers singing Kumbaya while actually making money. Who knew that playing nice could be the art world's best-kept business secret? — Artnet News

South Africa Pulls Venice Biennale Show, Proving Art Diplomacy Dead

When your culture minister cancels a Palestinian grief exhibition for Venice, you've officially entered the realm where politics trumps artistic integrity. Two scholars aren't having it, calling out the betrayal. — Hyperallergic

Museums Having Identity Crisis, Film at Eleven

Another year, another promise to "redefine" art institutions. But this conversation with curator eunice bélidor and administrator Dejha Carrington might actually cut through the usual reform rhetoric to examine what museums are really for. — Hyperallergic

More Trump-Taunting Art Placed On The National Mall

A massive replica of a birthday note and crude drawing signed with the typed name Donald J. Trump and a “Donald” signature that was part of a 2003 book of birthday wishes for the deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was placed on the National Mall early Monday morning. - Washington Post

Starchitect Firm Snøhetta Accused Of Firing Employees For Unionizing

“In a complaint issued on Friday, a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board accused Snøhetta of illegally dismissing eight employees because they supported the union and ‘engaged in concerted activities’ — that is, collective action — ‘and to discourage employees from engaging in these activities.’” - The New York Times

A New Show Shares ‘A Gush Of Affection’ For A Giant Of Art History

Meyer Schapiro "was one of the most important figures in the evolution of art history as an academic field. He combined close formal analyses of artworks with an understanding of how style related to social conditions. … He introduced a lot of complexity.” - Washington Post (MSN)

What’s Going On With A Proposed Audit Of The Houston Airport’s Public Art Program?

In November, the mayor of Houston said, “Quite frankly I like art, but I like parking at the airport and access and picking up the baggage more than I do art.” - Glasstire

More Of The Met’s Employees Vote To Unionize

"The exact size of the bargaining unit is still being determined because museum officials challenged the eligibility of more than 100 employees; the union said it could ultimately represent nearly 900 people, about half of the museum’s entire work force.” - The New York Times

One Art Student Hung An AI-Generated Show As His Own, And Then Another Art Student Ate Some Of It

The student who ate some of the show was then arrested and charged. One Bluesky post about the event said, “Look for the helpers.” - Art News

Buildings Of The Past Are Underused Tools For Dealing With Climate Change

During Britain’s “little Ice Age,” builders used common-sense tricks that could still keep houses warmer - or cooler - today. - BBC

Nazis Stole Fragments Of The Bayeux Tapestry

A textile specialist “is assumed to have stolen the fragments, each only a few centimetres long, when he was sent to Bayeux as part of a research team to study Germany's ‘ancestral heritage’ - a racist and antisemitic project run by Adolf Hitler's Nazi SS.” - BBC

Both The Pompidou And The Grand Palais Appear To Be In Financial Difficulties

"The Centre Pompidou gave up one of its two spaces at the Grand Palais due to what the Paris museum described as ‘financial constraints faced by both institutions,’ according to Le Monde.” - Art News

After The Big One In An Art City In Japan, Trying To Preserve An Ancient Craft

The massive earthquake on New Year’s Day 2024 washed away the homes and studios of “hundreds of Wajima artisans in this Holy Land of Lacquerware at the tip of the Noto Peninsula, about two hours north of Kanazawa.” - The New York Times

First Look At The New Beijing Art Museum

Designed by Snøhetta in collaboration with Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD), the project broke ground on 31 December above a metro line in Beijing's Tongzhou district. - Dezeen

We Have Quite Enough Visitors, Thank You, Says Director Of Madrid’s Prado

“The Prado does not need a single visitor more. We are comfortable with 3.5 million,” (Miguel Falomir) said. ... “A museum can collapse due to success, like the Louvre, with some rooms becoming over-saturated. The important thing is not to collapse.” - The Times (UK)

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