It takes extraordinary measures to deal with the thieves. "Looters have been plundering Italy’s cultural sites for decades, but since 2012 their trade has not been as fruitful, owing to an intensified crackdown by Italy’s art police. ... In 2020, the squad found 24 illegal digs, arrested 68 thieves and recuperated 17,503 archaeological artefacts. The unit carries out controls...
Yes, that's a weird confluence, but Cruella still makes it happen. "Cruella signposts something essential about punk: the power of reinvention. For the original punks, clothes weren’t just clothes but a ticket to a whole new you, cut to your own design." - The Guardian (UK)
And that goal is to decolonize itself. Museum director Bethany Montagano: "We felt a sense of urgency to do this because colonial systems of oppression were really rearing their ugly head in the wake of COVID ... especially as it relates to Asian Americans and the colonial brand of poison projected onto Asian Americans." - Los Angeles Times
Does that sound hyperbolic? It is, a bit. It's time to abolish what musuems have been in order to see what they can be, how we can be. "Museums exert control over how we vision ourselves, past, present and future. They are the time loops that hold and hoard the works of art that can help us chart a...
Philip Kennicott: "The new members aren't just visionaries with a firm command of inspiring rhetoric; they know how to read a plan, look at a model, scrutinize a drawing and make precise comments about the small questions of design, materials, spacing, proportion and light. … Rather than simply assess the impact and design of selected federal projects, most of...
"The long-awaited Barcelona branch has finally been given the green light for development. The port of Barcelona's board of directors announced on Thursday that a proposal for the Hermitage Barcelona was approved, despite considerable resistance from the city authorities. The building, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Toyo Ito, is slated to open in 2024." - ARTnews
Despite the fact that Nefertiti and many other works of African cultural heritage reside within the “white cube” of the museum, the developing digital space for a new version of the museum, known as the “black box,” carries both potential and risk. The idea of a universally accessible, digital museum could challenge traditional models. Conversely, it may allow algorithms...
Centuries have gone into the making of these rules and assumptions — and a bit of sleight of hand, as well. Men were not always inclined toward minimalism. For a good portion of human history, they were flamboyant in their dress, prone to peacocking their social rank, financial success and sexual prowess from 100 paces. - Washington Post
"In 1950, the Italian village of Curon was flooded to merge two adjacent lakes and make room for an electric plant. Since then, the only evidence of the town's existence has been a lone 14th-century church steeple that rises, somewhat hauntingly, from the center of the man-made body of water, Lake Resia. Until recently, that is. The state began...
In an act of protest, the artists are now calling for any of their works on view in the museum to “be covered in such a way as to prevent their ‘communication’ to the public, and that those works that are not exhibited but belong to the collection be removed from the museum's web page” until Manuel Luis Alcántara...
Mayor Sadiq Khan said it was the "most international line-up" of artists. The landmark has been home to a rolling commission of artworks since 1998. The plinth was built in 1841 but remained empty due to a lack of funds. - BBC
"The French president Emmanuel Macron has nominated Laurence des Cars, currently the president of the Musée d'Orsay, to helm the Louvre in a major shake-up at the world-famous Paris institution. … Des Cars will head across the Seine river to replace its current president Jean-Luc Martinez, who was unsuccessful in his campaign for a third term." - Artnet
This model of financial support has not only allowed the DIA to weather the storm of the past year, but has also given the museum the ability to reinvest in our endowment. Through robust fundraising, strong returns, and by not needing to draw from the operating endowment, it has more than doubled in the past five years, from $124...
"The fight for justice has produced many unforgettable images over the past year — former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck; multiracial throngs of protesters filling the streets of cities around the world; Floyd’s face projected on the graffiti-marred statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond; Chauvin being led away in handcuffs after being convicted of...
"This is an existential moment for museums across America, with many facing yawning budget deficits alongside calls for deep structural change — and visitors only trickling back through their doors as the pandemic's chill on cultural life slowly lifts. For some directors of small and midsize museums, the events of the last 12 months have given fresh urgency to...
