These episodes highlighted the vulnerability of the US’s state-funded cultural sector under an autocratic populist president determined to suppress artistic expression perceived as intolerably “woke”. - The Art Newspaper
“Many of these artists deal with the idea that Nigerian culture has to be taken as a multinational and multi-ethnic question, in which artists are free to disrupt and redirect different narratives in service of their own artistic vision. So when we talk about independence in this exhibition, it’s not just about political independence. - The Guardian
In a move to “thoroughly reform the landscape” and achieve a “more logical distribution” of visual art there, the regional government of Flanders in Belgium will transfer the collection of the museum (known as M HKA) to what will become the Flemish Museum of Contemporary and Current Art in Ghent. - ARTnews
“More than 100 works of Austrian Expressionism worth ‘well over’ $60 million are being gifted to Los Angeles County Museum of Art by the family of Otto Kallir, a renowned art dealer who immigrated to America in 1938 after the German Reich annexed Austria.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
The move marks the latest step in a real estate overhaul that includes its 2023 acquisition of the Breuer Building, the Whitney Museum’s former home on Madison Avenue, and Gantry Point, a new 240,000-square-foot complex in Long Island City. - ARTnews
Both galleries reported a nearly 90% decline in pre-tax profits, coinciding with a rumored multiyear art market downturn marked by a global decline in public auction sales and a slew of gallery closures in the United States. - Hyperallergic
“Now, nearly seven decades later, the Museum of Wisconsin Art has commissioned a pair as part of a new exhibition that reframes Wright’s furniture within the Wisconsinite’s practice and American modernism more broadly.” - Artnet
The concern is a possible change to the ‘equivalency determination,’ through which a foreign organization can be deemed equivalent to a public charity in the US. This process makes possible the “American Friends” groups, such as the American Friends of the Musée d’Orsay and the American Friends of the Louvre. - ARTnews
Smithsonian–run institutions remain open using funds from previous years through October 11. Should the shutdown last beyond that date, the Smithsonian will also close. Open-air memorials and monuments, including the National Mall, are still open to the public under the National Park Service contingency plan. - ARTnews
The MoMA Store has become a brand in and of itself to the point where there are shoppers who know the acronym and logo but not necessarily the history behind them. And while retail has helped MoMA gain name recognition, the museum wants it to become a more effective ambassador for the flagship art institution. - Fast Company
The move, attributed by management to financial challenges, comes as the museum is set to open a $22 million public sculpture park this week. - Louisville Public Media
“It is the first major museum in D.C. to shutter because of the shutdown. The Smithsonian Institution, which runs an array of museums in D.C. and beyond, is using its own funds to remain open at least through Monday.” - ARTnews
The ubiquity of the flag is down to anime, you see. Specifically, young people waving the flag from Nepal to Madagascar to the Philippines - and even to the U.S. - are referencing the show One Piece. - NPR
He was accused of sexual misconduct in 2023, but no charges have been filed. Three of his buildings are about to open, and he’s nowhere to be found in the publicity. - The New York Times
