Controversies

Coronavirus in Italy: Ai Weiwei criticised for 'insensitive' pasta meme and Raphael blockbuster closes

An emergency decree means that all museums in the country are on lock down until 3 April

Old Master scandal dealt fresh blow as Court of Appeal rejects arrest warrant

French investigation into Giuliano Ruffini, the prime suspect in the case, is hampered by Milan ruling

Russian artist Pyotr Pavlensky caught up in politician sex tape scandal is arrested in Paris

Dissident wants to create a “political porn” website focusing on behaviour of people in power

Don't be angry that Tate's 'Head of Coffee' gets £39,500—be mad that salaries in both hospitality and the arts aren't higher

The London museum's job advert has upset the art world but these industries should not be pitted against one another, says barista Celeste Wong

Luanda Leaks: Isabel dos Santos—who owns vast African art collection—accused of making her $2.2bn fortune by exploiting Angola

Dos Santos and her husband Sindika Dokolo own around 3,000 works by artists including William Kentridge and Zanele Muholi

Climate activists urge British Museum to reject BP funding, as Arctic exhibition announced

Planned show seeks to raise awareness of climate change, but London museum dogged by controversy over partnership with oil and gas giant

Artists criticise Palais de Tokyo partnership with Qatari museum over LGBTQ rights

Mathaf's guest show at Paris contemporary art centre marks Qatar-France 2020 Year of Culture

Russian collecting couple arrested in Belgium

Igor and Olga Toporovsky linked to controversial show of Russian avant-garde works in Ghent

Artist defends anti-racism football campaign that uses images of monkeys

Italian football league—which commissioned the paintings made by Simone Fugazzotto—have now apologised saying they are "inappropriate"

Sotheby's wins case over 'modern forgery' Frans Hals

A London-based investment company must repay more than $5.3m to the auction house, which refunded an American client for work

Artists call for Kyrgyz minister of culture’s resignation in wake of censorship scandal

Open letter argues that censorship of the exhibition Feminnale violated a number of constitutional protections

Art activists anger Holocaust survivors with Berlin monument containing ashes

Centre for Political Beauty says action targets conservatives open to allying with far right

Moscow Biennale opening marred by 2017 controversy

Event’s president Julia Muzikantskaya accused of allegedly threatening artists and withholding payments

Candice Breitz pulls work from South African museum that is exhibiting convicted murderer's art

Curator at newly opened Javett Art Centre defends decision to show drawing by artist who killed a sex worker in Cape Town in 2013

Officials reject reports of permanent Prince Philip statue for London's Fourth Plinth

Mayor of London’s office says contemporary art series will continue with Heather Phillipson sculpture planned for 2020

Bad bedfellows? French politician blasts Louvre over partnership with Airbnb

Paris deputy mayor Ian Brossat says that teaming up with the online rental giant is “disastrous and shocking”

Nazi design exhibition at Dutch museum braces for protests

The show called Design of the Third Reich features the Volkswagen Beetle and Riefenstahl’s films

Eleven artists withdraw or modify their works at Aichi Triennale in ongoing censorship row

Cuban activist Tania Bruguera closes down her exhibit while other artists reconfigure works to reflect the controversy

Censorshipcomment

'Museum directors have lost panache and grit': 30 years on, the legacy of the Corcoran's Robert Mapplethorpe cancellation

New exhibition at the George Washington University looks back the censorship of the photographer's work—but what impact did it have on the art world?

Photograph using ‘redface’ pulled from Brooklyn show

The work by the Taiwanese artist Ching-Yao Chen features him and three women wearing feathers, buckskin and body paint

Art Basel: where political cartoons still have a home

As the New York Times bans satirical illustrations, Art Basel has plenty on show, from the 1920s to today

Artists call for National Portrait Gallery to drop BP sponsorship

Gary Hume says funding for the arts is 'outweighed by the need to act urgently on the climate crisis'

Artist defends controversial mural of New Zealand prime minister embracing Muslim woman

Loretta Lizzio's memorial image of Jacinda Ardern unveiled in Melbourne divides public opinion

Uzbekistan’s troubled Nukus Museum embroiled in new row

Museum seeks fourth director in as many years amid claims its renowned avant-garde collection is being “mistreated”

Deadly boat that sank with hundreds of migrants on board becomes work of art at Venice Biennale

Swiss artist Christoph Büchel's Arsenale project is a symbol of global immigration crisis