Hannah McGivern

Londonnews

What to see during Mayfair Art Week in London

From portraits of Napoleon and his wife reunited after nearly 200 years to Rafael Nadal's buttocks

Appointment of former UK Chancellor George Osborne as new British Museum chairman draws criticism

Ex-politician, who presided over austerity cuts to culture, takes up the position on 4 October

Home truths: east London's museum of domestic life emerges from lockdown after £18.8m makeover

Museum of the Home reopens on 12 June with double the public space in its 18th-century almshouse buildings

Door still open to Hermitage Barcelona after city council calls for revised project

Ongoing negotiations for a new satellite of the Russian museum will focus on a collaboration with the Barcelona opera house

Best shows for... art history nerds

Tear yourself away from museums and libraries for one weekend to catch a rare revival of Jean Dubuffet’s “living painting” performance and Takis’s first European show since his death in 2019

Hermitage Amsterdam close to reaching €1m in urgent crowdfunding appeal to survive Covid-19 crisis

The privately funded Dutch branch of the State Hermitage Museum has attracted 10,000 donations from the public but director says "we're not done yet"

TikTok and masterpieces on tour: London's National Gallery reveals plans leading up to 200th birthday in 2024

Five-year strategy pledges to ramp up digital content and send historic paintings on UK "community tours" to mark bicentenary

Christoph Büchel’s controversial migrant boat finally returns to Sicily after 2019 Venice Biennale display

The vessel was on loan from the town of Augusta, which intends to turn it into a memorial for the hundreds of migrants who died on board in 2015

Beirutnews

France gives €500,000 towards reconstruction of Beirut's blast-hit Sursock Museum

French aid will restore the stained-glass windows and Arab salon of the historic villa, which was severely damaged in port explosions last August

Can museums really make digital visits pay?

As venues experiment with selling virtual exhibition tours, talks and workshops online, the key to success may be an emphasis on the expert, bespoke and exclusive

‘Mirror pandemic’: art’s vital role in tackling the mental health crisis

A multi-agency $15m initiative backed by the WHO and funded through a series of charity auctions at Christie’s will support artist-led projects to improve mental, social and environmental health

World Health Organization joins art world to launch global campaign confronting mental health toll of pandemic

Year-long series of Healing Arts auctions and events aims to support mental health treatment and recovery in the wake of Covid-19

National Trust's report on colonial and slavery history did not breach charity law, regulator says

Research commissioned by the trust provoked complaints from Conservative politicians amid UK culture war around controversial monuments

Immerse yourself in V&A’s new digital platform of 1.2 million objects

Collections website unites technical data, open-access images, videos and even sewing patterns from the museum of art, design and performance

Museum revolution: 100 French directors call for 'essential' reopening

Petition urges culture minister to lift coronavirus restrictions on museums and galleries so they can "take care of visitors now"

Weston Culture Fund gives UK arts organisations £30m in relief from 'devastating impact' of Covid-19

Wallace Collection, Birmingham Museums and the MAC Belfast are among more than 100 charities receiving recovery grants from the Garfield Weston Foundation

From Roman dining to the victims of Vesuvius: Pompeii hails reopening of archaeological museum

The Antiquarium reveals treasures and recent discoveries charting the ancient Roman city's rich history before deadly volcanic eruption

Raphael Cartoons are ready for their close-up on V&A website

High-resolution images of Renaissance treasures go online, revealing the tiniest details of Raphael’s creative process

Major museum openings and expansions in 2021

From the much-anticipated Grand Egyptian Museum to the Frick’s move to a Brutalist landmark, here are the building projects aiming to change cultural landscapes around the world

French restitution bill passes final hurdle in parliament

Vote by National Assembly paves the way for the return of 27 colonial-era artefacts to Benin and Senegal within one year, but “will not create a legal precedent”

French Senate and government lock horns on restitution

Deputies rejected senators' proposal for a national council to advise the government on future restitution claims

Museums 2020: the year of crashing revenues and anti-racism disputes

Turbulent year draws to a close with sector wracked by pandemic lockdowns and Black Lives Matter challenges

Museumsanalysis

Where next for museums? Four key takeaways from Louvre Abu Dhabi symposium on the post-pandemic future

Event marking anniversaries of the Emirati museum and New York University Abu Dhabi looked at museum collections, buildings and people, and the impact of coronavirus

Art Fund launches £1m crowdfunding appeal to help UK museums fighting for survival

After months without income due to coronavirus closures, new survey shows that museums are operating with just 25% of previous visitor numbers

French Senate votes unanimously for restitution to Benin and Senegal in 'act of friendship and trust'

Senate approves bill to return 27 colonial-era artefacts from museum collections to Africa within one year

Company behind blockbuster immersive art experiences expands to New York former bank and Dubai shopping mall

French organisation Culturespaces plans fifth and sixth locations for shows of digitised paintings

Ghana appoints experts to draw up 'radical' new plan for museums and monuments

Committee will advise on cultural initiatives in the country and research Ghanaian objects held in international collections

Prizesnews

Museums of the year: Art Fund names five joint winners of UK’s biggest arts prize

Aberdeen Art Gallery, Gairloch Museum, the Science Museum, South London Gallery and Towner Eastbourne will share £200,000 award

Nearly 450 heritage rescue grants announced from UK's £1.57bn cultural bailout fund

First funding round hailed as a "lifeline" for heritage sites and specialists reeling from the pandemic, but job losses continue

The story behind a student who discovered Edward Hopper's earliest paintings were copies

New research finds teenage artist's landscapes were based on a magazine for amateurs learning how to paint