Controversies

Sicilian town seeks director to run its civic museum—for free

The town of Aci has attracted criticism for wanting to hire a new head for the Civic Museum of the Norman Castle of Svevo, who must be educated to degree level, but will not be paid

Artist's climate change sculpture near Salisbury Cathedral sparks criticism from residents

Hilary Jack says she hopes the controversy around her work, showing a house falling into the sea, will help bring attention to the issue of global warming

Géricault show in Paris sparks authentication controversy

Experts have criticised the exhibition at the Musée de La Vie Romantique for presenting works as autograph with little evidence

Damien Hirst backdated at least 1,000 paintings from his NFT project, investigation reveals

Discrepancies in the dates of Hirst's works are—once again—coming under scrutiny

Moroccan pavilion cancelled at the 2024 Venice Biennale

Plans for country to make its Venice debut have been dropped, but no one—including the artists due to show there—knows why

Major discrepancy in dates of Damien Hirst formaldehyde works revealed in Guardian investigation

Four of the artist's preserved animal works, said to be from the 1990s, were produced in 2017, raising questions of transparency in artistic production

Medianews

Following David Velasco's dramatic dismissal, Tina Rivers Ryan is named Artforum's next editor-in-chief

A curator at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, she brings a focus on digital and hopes that the publication will "participate in activism"

Tate Britain unveils Keith Piper's artistic response to racist Rex Whistler mural

"One of the most challenging issues I've faced”, says museum director Alex Farquharson on dealing with the controversial 1927 artwork

Auction of living artist's skin cancelled after collector buys all lots in advance

Christie’s was due to support the sale of Wolfgang Flatz's tattooed tissue

‘Effeminate’ image of Jesus sparks culture war in Spain

Image of semi-naked Christ by Salustiano García prompts petition while LGBTQ groups defend the work

Iwona Blazwick stands down as Istanbul Biennial curator—event postponed until 2025

A row erupted last summer over transparency issues concerning her appointment

Friends of the Louvre chair forced to step down

Louis-Antoine Prat, a French art historian and Old Master drawings collector, has been accused of slandering a respected art dealer with antisemitic stereotypes in his new book

Louis-Antoine Prat, chair of the Friends of the Louvre, accused of slandering Paris dealer in new book

French art historian is “horrified by the accusation of antisemitism” following the publication of his collection of short stories

Israelnews

Artforum reportedly fires editor David Velasco over Israel-Hamas open letter

The publication of the letter, which called for a ceasefire to the Israeli bombing of Gaza, was "not consistent with Artforum’s editorial process", the magazine's publishers said in a statement

'Museums should be safe spaces to explore issues and not used as pawns in political agendas'

The simplification of complex issues is enabled by weak or fearful cultural institutions and and strident self-righteousness

Dutch exhibition on Black culture and ancient Egypt faces social media backlash

The National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden has reportedly been criticised for “portraying Tutankhamun as Black”

'Public sculptures are tricky to get right: would making them temporary help?'

Public art is often lauded for bringing art out of hallowed gallery spaces and inviting everyone to see and opine on it. But it’s also fiendishly difficult to do well

Report into Documenta 15 backs claims of antisemitism

The 2022 edition of the German exhibition became mired in controversy after criticism that some works included antisemitic images

Chiara Zampetti Egidi. With additional reporting by Kabir Jhala

London artists face eviction from studios of ten years

Landlords have given the community of 25 artists and small businesses one week to leave

LGBTQnews

Controversial UK politician slams Tate for hosting children's drag queen storytime session

Conservative Party peer Emma Nicholson has lambasted the London museum for "propaganda" in open letter

Prophet Muhammad image controversy rages on as US university staff demand president's resignation

After a professor was dismissed for showing the depictions, faculty have voted that Fayneese Miller should step down over mishandling the issue

Professor who was controversially fired for 'Islamophobia' after showing depictions of Prophet Muhammad is named

US university's decision to dismiss employee for displaying the 14th- and 16th-century works has been described as an "egregious violation" of academic freedom

What can we learn from the Wellcome Collection's gallery closure backlash? What museums are really capable of

Professor Ken Arnold, co-curator of the Medicine Man display that was considered "racist, sexist and ableist", on the recent controversy

Miami’s controversial dog and cat sculpture park is unleashed

The new garden, containing 52 sculptures of pets by 50 local artists, has been criticised by many in the city’s arts community

Fake video claims German auction house will raise funds for Ukraine by selling—and then destroying—Russian art

Bolland & Marotz in Bremen issued a statement this week saying it was "outraged" by the incident

Artists take to Instagram to criticise Gilbert & George’s claims that museums are now ‘woke’ and only focus on Black and women artists

Candice Breitz, Chika Okeke-Agulu, Ghada Amer and Athi-Patra Ruga all spoke out against the duo on social media

Exhibitionsinterview

'Germany has cancelled us': As embattled Documenta 15 closes, its curators ruangrupa reflect on the exhibition—and what they would have done differently

This edition of the Kassel quinquennial was engulfed by a row over antisemitism and racism that has drawn comment from Germany's senior politicians

Art and activist body a/political to open London space with exhibition by Russian artist facing trial over sex video

Pyotr Pavlensky has been ordered to stand trial in France over leaked sex videos that brought down a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron

Former trustees of Florida museum claim they were kept unaware of FBI’s interest in allegedly fake Basquiats

Trustees who say they were summarily dismissed over email as retaliation claim that the board chair concealed information about an FBI subpoena months before the Basquiat exhibition opened