Museums & Heritage

Will Mexico’s push for repatriation continue with the country’s new government?

Under former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who in October was replaced by Claudia Sheinbaum, 14,000 artefacts were returned over a period of eight years

Restoring a 300-year-old mural in Boston’s historic Old North Church

The cherub paintings that once looked down on Paul Revere will soon be back in all their original glory

Explosive volcanic eruption may have led to growth of ancient city in Bolivia

New study suggests rise of ancient city Tiwanaku coincided with major volcanic event in Lake Titicaca Basin's vicinity

Architects denounce Trump's call for ‘traditional and classical’ architecture

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has criticised an executive order signed by the new president, claiming his plans could harm local communities

‘A masterpiece’: rediscovered Bernini statue arrives at Rijksmuseum

The 72cm terracotta model depicting the mythical sea god Triton offers an important link to the Italian artist’s thought process, says a curator at the Amsterdam museum

Indianews

‘Not for critique’: museum planned near India's grand Ram temple will ‘skip’ site's history of sectarian violence, official says

The immersive, hologram-filled Ram Katha Museum in Ayodhya is planned to open next year, while the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation struggles to secure funding for a mosque and museum nearby

Documentary on Jewish dealer Max Stern’s collection finds answers and absurdity

A new film focuses on two paintings Stern was forced to sell as the Nazis rose to power in the 1930s, which ended up at the Düsseldorf City Museum

Aaron De Groft, Orlando Museum of Art director fired in Basquiat forgery scandal, has died, aged 59

Following successful stints at museums in Virginia and on Florida’s Gulf Coast, De Groft’s career became mired in the Basquiat fakes fiasco

How a controversial bust of Winston Churchill made its way back to the Oval Office

President Donald Trump has returned the statue—one of an identical pair—to his office, but it has not been a simple journey

How National Galleries of Scotland aced the sustainability transition

The Edinburgh institution is leading the way for cultural institutions to reduce their environmental impact with a deeply-embedded, long-term strategy

Investigation shines fresh light on British Museum’s looted, Dürer-inspired diptych

The piece, one side of which is an enamel copy of a 16th-century woodcut, the other side crafted in Ethiopia, reveals how European icons became incorporated into the African country’s traditions

Donald Trump begins second term as US president following fundraising galas at Washington museums

Trump spoke to donors at the National Building Museum one day after JD Vance hosted supporters at the National Gallery of Art

Sara Raza to lead revamped Centre for Contemporary Art in Tashkent

The London-born curator, who has previously organised shows at events such as the Venice Biennale, has been appointed as the artistic director and chief curator of the museum in Uzbekistan’s capital

Vancouver Art Gallery gifted collection of 122 Modern and contemporary works

The gifted works, collectively valued at C$10m ($7m), come from Vancouver collectors Brigitte and Henning Freybe and include pieces by Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, Julie Mehretu and more

Elizabeth Catlett bust of Martin Luther King Jr goes on view for first time in 40 years

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco recently acquired the work, which is being exhibited at the de Young Museum ahead of Martin Luther King Jr Day

New art trail for pedestrians and cyclists to connect museums in the Berkshires

The 9.3-mile bike and pedestrian path will connect the Clark Art Institute, Williams College Museum of Art, Mass Moca and other cultural and historical sites in western Massachusetts

Ancient Incan tunnel system discovered in the Andes

A Chinkana, or labyrinth, with three branches has been found beneath the ancient city of Cusco

Out of this world: the Moon features on World Monuments Fund’s list of threatened sites

For the first time, the list of threatened heritage sites raises awareness beyond Earth’s atmosphere

New Alexander Calder institution in Philadelphia sets opening date

Calder Gardens, which will be housed in a Herzog & de Meuron-designed building on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, has also appointed a senior director of programmes

Union alleges London museum guards face ‘discrimination, victimisation and unlawful pay cuts’

Around 100 members of United Voices of the World, who are employed by the external contractor Wilson James, will take strike action later this week

Who will save South America’s vast, ancient earthworks from destruction?

Industrial farming in Brazil and off-road racing in Chile continue to threaten geoglyphs that are so big, they can only be properly appreciated from the air

Inside Tate St Ives' plans for Barbara Hepworth's former dance hall

Semi-derelict for almost 50 years, the Palais de Danse—where the sculptor created some of her most famous monumental works—will aim to engage the local community in the Cornish town as well as housing an exhibition about the artist

Mary Miss and Des Moines Art Center settle lawsuit over Land art piece's demolition

The artist had sought to force the museum to repair her 1996 outdoor installation, while the institution claimed it could only afford to tear it down

Dallas Museum of Art will undergo $6m repairs to fix damage from 2022 rainstorm

The museum's Impressionist collection galleries and interactive education facility have been closed since for more than two years

Ancient petroglyph irreparably damaged in Mexico

Someone attempted to dislodge a drawing of a hand from a rock with more than 150 motifs dating back thousands of years

National Trust announces plans to address UK's mental health crisis

As part of its ten-year strategy, the heritage organisation will work with mental health charity Mind

Hawaiian tsunami museum fights to stay open amid economic woes

The Hawai'i shoreline fixture is struggling to keep its doors open amid post-pandemic costs

Police seize Sally Mann photographs at Texas museum amid accusations of child pornography

A 1990s culture-war déjà vu at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth—with the same photographs causing a stir decades later