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Istanbul Gets A New Cultural Hub

ArtIstanbul Feshane, spread across 8,000 sq. m, includes galleries, a library, concert space and conference hall in the 190-year-old building, named after the fez cap produced here for Ottoman soldiers. - The Art Newspaper

With San Francisco Art Institute Bankrupt And Closed, Its Diego Rivera Meta-Mural Is For Sale Again

SFAI attempted to sell the work, titled The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City, in 2021, hoping to save the school, but the city then landmarked it. Now the bankruptcy estate is selling the mural after all, either as part of the building or separately. - ARTnews

Painter At Center Of Old Master Forgery Ring Is Arrested — Again

"Once again, Italian authorities have arrested Pasquale 'Lino' Frongia, the artist suspected of forging a string of Old Master paintings that have appeared at high-profile museums and made millions at auctions by passing as the work of Frans Hals, Orazio Gentileschi, Diego Velázquez, El Greco, and Parmigianino, among others." - Artnet

Republicans In Congress Revive Trump’s Plan To Make New Federal Buildings In Classical Style

This month, Republicans in both the House and Senate introduced legislation to once again make classical architecture the preferred house style for federal buildings. The Beautifying Federal Civil Architecture Act would restore Trump’s lame-duck vision for a “Council on Improving Federal Civic Architecture.” - Bloomberg

$2 Billion Of Art In The Attic: The Story Of The Greatest Art Thief Ever

He piled all $2 billion worth of artifacts he amassed over eight years into that same attic in his mother Mireille Stengel’s “nondescript” stucco house. - The New York Times

The Most Expensive Artwork Ever Sold In Europe: Gustav Klimt’s Last Portrait

Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan) — said to have still been on the easel when Klimt died — was sold at Sotheby's in London for £85.3 million ($108 million). The previous European record, $104.3 million, was set by Alberto Giacometti's sculpture Walking Man I in 2010. - Artnet

Another Director Quits The Much-Troubled Royal British Columbia Museum

In the wake of the recent resignation of Alicia Dubois, the chief executive of the Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM) in Victoria, British Columbia, 16 months after she was hired, concerns remain about the future of the beloved but troubled institution. - The Art Newspaper

Jackass Tourist Carves Juvenile Love Graffiti Into Wall Of Rome’s Colosseum

"The video, which was posted to Reddit, shows a man using his keys to scratch the words 'Ivan + Hayley '23' on an exterior wall of the 1,900-year-old structure. Next to him is a woman — presumably Hayley — who also watches as the defacement take place." - Artnet

Leaky Berlin Museum Is Reduced To Covering A Rembrandt With Plastic And Duct Tape

"On June 23, as heavy rains in Germany flooded streets and shut down rail transportation, staff at Berlin's Gemäldegalerie taped up some plastic sheeting to protect a painting by Rembrandt" — Portrait of the Mennonite Preacher Cornelius Claesz Anslo and His Wife Aaltje Gerritsdr Shouten (1641) — "from a leak." - ARTnews

How Did Steven Holl’s Queens Library, With All Its Accessibility Issues, Get Approved?

How a public building constructed in the 21st century, having journeyed through New York City’s laborious approvals process, can emerge so ill-prepared to receive the actual public is mind-boggling. - Los Angeles Times

Some Homeless Shelters Are Getting A Radical Redesign

"Severe stress can literally change the brain, affecting memory, coping skills and abilities to regulate emotions. Aware of just how much the physical environment can shape people’s lives, more architects are starting to rethink how they design homeless shelters." - The Guardian (UK)

European Museums’ Numbers Appear To Be Rebounding Somewhat

A year after many European countries declared the COVID-19 emergency "over," museum attendance is ticking back up, at least domestically. Compared to 2019, at the National Gallery of London, "the ratio of domestic to international visitors almost reversed, with 57% of all visitors coming from the UK." - Hyperallergic

Goodbye, Philip Schuyler

Another statue goes down for its inspiration being an enslaver. For a century, few knew who he was, but "in recent years it sometimes drew Hamilton fans to snap selfies" at Albany's City Hall.- The New York Times

The Fight Is On To Preserve Denver’s Iconic Chicanx Murals

In the 1960s and 1970s, Denver's Chicana/o community painted murals partly because the city knew they were cheaper than removing graffiti. Now they're disappearing. "The National Trust named the Chicano/a/x Community Murals of Colorado to its 2022 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places." - Hyperallergic

Making Sculptures Of Body Parts We’d Maybe Rather Not See

In artist Mire Lee's work, "motors, tubes, and pumps paired with silicone, ceramics, fabrics and liquids become sculptures that are bizarre, messy and (in more ways than one) moving. Pushing lines of taste, her inventions can suggest organs ripped from bodies." - The New York Times

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