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Dubai's Fair Venue Abu Dhabi may have its Louvre, but rival city Dubai has its Gulf Art Fair, billed as the first major international contemporary fair in the Middle East and opening tomorrow (to Mar. 10). According to a description: The event will add to the cultural profile of a city that aspires to become a major center for the global art market, and bring world-class art … [Read more...] about Dubai’s Contemporary Art Fair: Education, Sotheby’s-Style

The Barnes Foundation has officially begun its search for an architect to design its planned new facility in Philadelphia. It appointed Martha Thorne, executive director of the $100,000 Pritzker Prize, the world's most prestigious architectural award, to advise in the selection process for the 120,000-square-foot megaBarnes. Thorne was previously associate curator and acting … [Read more...] about Barnes Begins Architect Search, Advised by Pritzker’s Executive Director

The agreement to create the Louvre Abu Dhabi has been signed today, as expected. And today's Financial Times adds more details to what had been reported Saturday by Le Monde (translated by CultureGrrl). The total value of the agreement for France will be about $1.3 billion (more than Le Monde had reported), according to French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres. (Le … [Read more...] about Abu Dhabi Deal: Louvre’s “Brand” Worth $520 Million

Antoni Gaudí, "Palau Güell, Dressing Table," Güell Family Collection, Barcelona, Spain. Photo © Ramon Manent Who doesn't feel more footloose and festive when sojourning in Barcelona? If you've ever been there, you'll recapture some of the exuberance of Catalan élan at the Metropolitan Museum's latest megashow, Barcelona and Modernity: Gaudí to Dalí, opening tomorrow. The city … [Read more...] about If You Love Barcelona, You’ll Like “Barcelona”

The London Guardian's art and architecture blog today has an entry written by architect Frank Gehry himself, discussing his plans for the new Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. Who knew that candid blogging was among his many talents? Some tasty quotes: We've done the designs and now we're waiting for the final go ahead, any time soon. This really is like nothing we've done before.... Abu … [Read more...] about Gehry Blogs on the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

A must-read article by architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff on the "Ideas & Trends" page of yesterday's NY Times "Week in Review" section: He critically examines how post-9/11 architecture has been conscripted to "create not only major civic landmarks but lines of civic defense, with aesthetically pleasing features like elegantly sculpted barriers around public plazas or … [Read more...] about Ouroussoff Deplores Fortress Mentality

I've heard of self-effacing, but this is ridiculous: I just found out from an AP story late last night that the Metropolitan Museum's director, Philippe de Montebello, yesterday received France's most prestigious award, the Legion of Honor medal. As far as I know, the Met issued no recent press announcement about the New York ceremony. (Or did I somehow miss it?) France's … [Read more...] about De Montebello Gets His Native Land’s Highest Honor

The Washington Post published an editorial on Thursday, taking Lawrence Small to task for his unauthorized expenses as top official of the Smithsonian Institution and criticizing him for refusing to discuss the controversy. (Similarly, the Museum of Modern Art's director, Glenn Lowry, has declined to speak on the record about his unorthodox compensation by a private … [Read more...] about More on the Smithsonian and MoMA Compensation Contretemps

Looks like a done deal. Le Monde reports today: Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres will go to Abu Dhabi Mar. 6...to sign...an intergovernmental accord permitting the creation of a "universal" museum that will bear the name Louvre-Abu Dhabi. Here are some of the details about the funds to be provided by Abu Dhabi, as reported by Emmanuel de Roux and Jacques … [Read more...] about Details of $924-Million Louvre-Abu Dhabi Agreement; Signing Due Tuesday

It had to happen. Now it has: On Monday, mega-collector Charles Saatchi launched a website, Showdown, which will pick new talent, "American-Idol"-style, for a three-month show at his prestigious new London gallery. The winner, voted upon by website visitors, also gets £1,000---not exactly the artworld equivalent of a megabucks recording contract, But, hey, it's a start. This … [Read more...] about Saatchi’s “Idol”: Is This Any Way to Pick an Art Star?

Here's today's Philadelphia Inquirer story about the efforts by the Montgomery County Commissioners to prevent the planned move of the Barnes Foundation to Philadelphia. CultureGrrl reported on this yesterday, but what I didn't know was that the county is also trying to block state funding for the project. Jeff Shields reports: The commissioners asked their lobbyists to try to … [Read more...] about Barnes Legal Maneuvers, Continued

Attention CultureGrrl readers: It's Friday morning, the beginning of a culture-filled weekend (culture-Philled, in my case), and we do need to get ourselves up to speed on the latest cultural news! So here are some of the top stories chosen by the NY Times for the Arts, Briefly feature in today's "Arts" section: "Paul McCartney Mum after Divorce Hearing," "Judge Warns Rapper," … [Read more...] about NY Times “Arts Briefs”: Whose Culture Is It?

I've just come across links to "Related Documents," in a sidebar to Sunday's Washington Post story about the Inspector General's audit of the Smithsonian Institution's compensation of its top official, Lawrence Small. (I had provided you with the link to the printer-friendly version in my post on Tuesday, which didn't include the sidebar.) Now you can peruse such engrossing … [Read more...] about Smithsonian Compensation Story: The Source Materials

The Montgomery County Commissioners today passed a resolution seeking "proposals from law firms to explore legal strategies and options" to keep the Barnes from moving to Philadelphia, as planned. In January the commissioners had voted to "support the retention of the Barnes Foundation in Lower Merion." The January resolution had stated "that plans to move the Barnes Foundation … [Read more...] about County Commissioners Seek Legal Advice to Stop Barnes Move

As CultureGrrl readers know, Sotheby's released its annual financial report this morning. It shows 2006 revenues of $664.8 million, up 29%, and operating income of $197.2 million, up 60%. These were Sotheby's highest annual totals for revenues and operating income in its 263-year history. Nevertheless, the number of its staff members will be cut this year by about 5%, the … [Read more...] about Sotheby’s 2006 Financial Report: A Record Year