The design is rapidly descending into parody—even as Sauer told the court it has been built so solidly that it cannot be demolished, should the court (correctly) so rule. Just like the “unsinkable” Titanic. The ridiculous grand stair from nowhere to nowhere has reappeared on the prominent elevation facing President’s Park. - Architecture and the City
Since her 2018 appointment, Havilah has been overseeing the $915 million build of Powerhouse Parramatta—the city’s most significant cultural infrastructure project since the Sydney Opera House, which opened in 1973 for an estimated cost of AU$102 million. - ARTnews
John Galliano, who transformed Dior into a global powerhouse before his disgrace, is scheduled to be the subject of a nine-month exhibition sponsored by the Met’s Costume Institute. - The New York Times
“It was very woke,” Dan Scavino explained. “It was by the gentleman who did Obama’s portrait. And it was aesthetically terrifying.” Strong words for a group portrait of four fully dressed, largely expressionless sitters in front of a background adorned with flowers. - The New York Times
The fight about these priceless works — where they should remain and who can have access to them — is really a battle over cultural patrimony and national sovereignty, and it’s one the Mexican government seems to have forfeited. - The New York Times
The platinum necklace with 673 diamonds, originally made for Egypt’s royal family and reportedly worth more than $4 million, was taken in a smash-and-grab at Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts. But at least the thieves paid for their tickets. - AFP (Yahoo!)
“In what came as a bolt from the blue to many, Powerhouse Parramatta staff were told on Thursday afternoon that chief executive Lisa Havilah would stand aside while an investigation (by the New South Wales state government) into governance and procurement practices at the museum is completed.” - Limelight (Australia)
“Portrait of Catrina Hooghsaet (1657) is ‘one of the artist’s most exceptional later works’ says the government. The painting, which (is valued at £71 million and) has been in the UK since the mid-18th century, was sold at Christie’s in a private sale last year.” - The Art Newspaper
By choosing Kehinde Wiley as the opening act in what may be a systematic effort to deaccession art from official government collections, the administration has chosen an artist whose work has become formulaic and clichéd, who has made comments that can easily be parodied as reverse racism. - Washington Post (MSN)
“Thieves in Spain have raided the Treasure of Villena – a stunning collection of Bronze Age gold artefacts that has been described as the most important prehistoric trove in Europe – in the latest high-profile smash-and-grab heist on the continent.” - The Guardian
“A former employee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has filed a class action complaint against the institution over a 2025 data breach that he claims has compromised sensitive visitor and employee information, including Social Security numbers.” - ARTnews
A PCS ballot registered 95% in favour of industrial action. The union did not say how many workers would be striking. It called for better pay, a cross-site policy to close public spaces when temperatures reached 30C, and for V&A East Storehouse workers "to drink and carry water at work". - BBC
On Monday, the New York Times reported that the State Department wants to sell the painting. Campos said in her Instagram post that the “Trump Administration and under my leadership we are turning away from globalist and woke ideologies.” - ARTnews
