ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

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What Cultural Appropriation Really Means

What people think it means: "A member of the dominant culture — an insider — taking from a culture that has historically been and is still treated as subordinate and profiting from it at that culture’s expense. The profiting is key." - The New York Times

After Years Of Protests, The Victoria And Albert Museum Finally Drops The Sackler Name

"This weekend the signs that directed V&A visitors to the Sackler Centre for Arts Education, and to the £2m tiled 'Sackler Courtyard' on Exhibition Road, have gone, as the museum finally jettisons its damaging association with the opioid drug market." - The Observer (UK)

Workers Strike At The Philadelphia Museum Of Art (Signs Of Unrest At Other Museums)

Since the Philadelphia union was formed, organizing efforts have succeeded at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York, as well as the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. - The New York Times

Was King Charles Actually Right About Modern Architecture?

"If you read his 1984 'carbuncle' speech in full, what follows might come as a surprise. Far from issuing a decree for more Corinthian columns and pumped-up pediments, he outlines principles that are now found in practically every best-practice design guide." - The Guardian

A Museum Hosted A Family-Friendly Drag Show At An LGBTQ+ Exhibit. Then The Proud Boys Showed Up — With Guns

Said one employee at Memphis's Museum of Science and History, "Whether the police couldn't or just wouldn't do anything about them, I don't know. All I know is we had 30 armed bigots trying to break in, and that was when our director made the decision to evacuate." - Hyperallergic

The Crash Is Here: NFT Sales Have Fallen By 97% In Nine Months

"In January 2022, $17.2 billion was traded on the NFT market, a stunning high that eclipsed 2021's NFT mania. ... But since the start of this year, the market has slowed down significantly. ... As a result, once-thriving NFT businesses have been dissolving or downsizing." - ARTnews

Canadian Museums Issue Guidelines To Decolonize Museums

The Association urges legislation to support the repatriation of Indigenous belongings and remains of ancestors, and dedicated funding for the repatriation process. It was funded by the Heritage Department and responds to a call by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to review museum policies. - Toronto Star

Christie’s New NFT Platform Is Called Christie’s 3.0

“This is a platform for us to more rapidly scale our digital art offerings and do more frequent emerging artists auctions and work with a more diverse array of artists and collectors.” - ARTnews

Mondrian’s Fanatical Pursuit Of Perfection

“Beneath the surface there was always a major concern which would compromise with nothing. Even though, like Baudelaire’s albatross, he had ‘giant wings,’ he was able to walk, provided he could walk slowly at his customary pace. But those ‘wings’ did scare off other birds.” - The Wall Street Journal

Finland Is Forgoing Concrete For Wood In Its Buildings. Is This The Future?

Developers are increasingly swapping out more mainstream materials like concrete and steel, in favour of wood. It's linked to the country's ambitious efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 and become Europe's leading circular economy. - BBC

UK Amends Museums Law To Allow Deaccessioning Items For “Reasons Of Morality”

"The country's High Court of Justice ruled in 2005 that, per the British Museum Act 1963, national museums could not remove items from their collections except in very rare circumstances.  New provisions allow for transferring items ex gratia, which should make repatriating looted artworks easier. - Hyperallergic

In Antwerp, They Built One Museum Inside Of Another

The city's Royal Museum of Fine Arts is now opening after a $100 million, 11-year renovation that involved constructing a small white-cube museum for contemporary art inside the elegant 1890 original building without altering the exterior (except for cleaning and repair). - Deutsche Welle

The Uber-Rich’s Mad Rush To Evacuate Art As Hurricane Ian Approached

“It reinforces the importance of the pre-storm plans, because after the storm, the conditions are so detrimental to the artwork. The humidity, you don’t have air conditioning, you have water damage—it’s just really, really bad for art.” - The Daily Beast

Meet Andres. He’s 10. His Last Painting Sold For $230,000

In the last year, he has gone from a relative unknown to a bona fide art phenomenon. His surrealist-style paintings were acquired by deep-pocketed collectors like Tommy Mottola and Jessica Goldman Srebnick during Art Basel Miami Beach. - The New York Times

Philadelphia Museum Of Art Staffers Are On Strike

The 180 unionized members of the museum's 350-strong workforce walked out after two years of negotiations failed to yield agreement on a contract.  The museum is remaining open with its usual visiting hours. - The Philadelphia Inquirer

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