The items, seized under the terms of three separate search warrants executed during the last six months, will be returned to their countries of origin — 21 to Italy and six to Egypt — in ceremonies scheduled for next week. - The New York Times
AAM’s announcement comes alongside heightened calls for salary transparency in the museum world and as salary transparency laws have taken effect across the country. In New York City, all employers will need to disclose salaries beginning November 1. - Hyperallergic
"The paintings ... were initially found by Sudanese archaeologists in 2021 while excavating the remains of the El Lagia church at el-Ga’ab depression on the west bank of the Nile. ... The works have now been documented and restored by a team of Polish researchers." - Artnet
"When (the Islamists) returned to power a year ago, many cultural heritage advocates worried about the fate of the National Museum and its irreplaceable treasures. ... When the museum reopened in December, it was a hopeful sign to cultural heritage advocates that things might be different this time under Taliban rule." - NPR
A London-based project called Oxia Palus has already produced speculative versions of works by van Gogh, Modigliani, and Picasso which the artists later painted over; now it's using DALL-E 2, the text-to-image AI software, to reconstruct Old Master paintings we know of only by description. - Artnet
Known at its 2008 opening mainly for its building, one of the last major designs by I.M. Pei, the MIA has completed an 18-month "reimagination and reinstallation of its permanent collection galleries," with which it means to re-establish itself as one of the Mideast's most important museums. - The Art Newspaper
Several public museums and universities in Germany have become embroiled in criminal investigations into the widespread trafficking of Middle Eastern antiquities. - The Art Newspaper
Set to be 550-metres tall and 3,000 metres in circumference, the skyscraper would be composed of two interconnected main rings that will house residential, public, commercial and cultural spaces. - Dezeen
Jason Allen did not paint “Théâtre D'opéra Spatial,” AI software called Midjourney did. It used his prompts, but Allen did not wield a digital brush. This distinction has caused controversy on Twitter where working artists and enthusiasts accused Allen of hastening the death of creative jobs. - Vice
"Chairs have done the same job for centuries, whenever we wanted to sit. Presented like art, however, their variety is striking, from the delicate sensuality of the lyre-back to the plush comfort of a wing-back. Like most art, there's a social story of status and prestige attached." - Broad Street Review (Philadelphia)
"Unionized workers ..., in talks since October of 2020 on their first labor contract with museum management, voted Tuesday night to authorize a strike should leaders deem it necessary." The vote count was 164 to 0 with one abstention. - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Ruling that it lacks jurisdiction, the federal District Court for Washington, DC accepted the motion to dismiss the suit by the German state foundation governing Berlin's museums, the defendant in a case brought by the heirs of Jewish art dealers who sold the medieval trove in 1935. - AP
Several hours after the pre-dawn Sunday attack, five children, aged 8 to 11, were caught throwing rocks at parked cars; they were arrested when found to have bicycles and other material stolen from Sculpture Space. They've been charged with burglary, larceny, criminal mischief, and possession of stolen property. - Hyperallergic
However it happened, it's clear those who stole a world-famous portrait of Sir Winston Churchill from the Château Laurier planned the heist meticulously. It took more than eight months for anyone to realize the photo hanging from the wood-panelled walls of the Reading Lounge was a fake. - CBC
The Gagosian Gallery closed last year, and Pace will close its Palo Alto gallery next month. Working artists have had to leave their Bay Area studios for less expensive regions. And last month the San Francisco Art Institute, which has counted a long line of distinguished artists among its alumni and faculty over the decades, shut its doors after...
