Museums & Heritage
Iran closes museums and moves artefacts to secure storage
According to local news reports, emergency protocols have been enacted to safeguard cultural objects and heritage sites amid conflict with Israel
Israeli attacks on Palestinian heritage amount to war crimes, UN report finds
The independent UN investigative body released the findings last week
Orange County Museum of Art in talks to merge with University of California, Irvine
Less than three years after opening a $94m new building, the museum is “exploring a transformative agreement” with the nearby university
National Gallery of Canada receives gift of 61 works valued at $16.8m
The donation, from the Vancouver-based collector and businessman Bob Rennie, is the largest in the gallery's history
Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed again due to 'current regional developments'
The long-awaited museum has been postponed yet again amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran
New venue for video, sound and other durational art forms coming to Manhattan
Helmed by the philanthropist Robert Rosenkranz and the founding director of Mass Moca, Joe Thompson, Canyon will open on the Lower East Side in 2026
Kim Sajet, director of US National Portrait Gallery whom Trump tried to fire, resigns
Sajet said it was “not an easy decision” but “the best way to serve the institution I hold so deeply in my heart”
Security guards at three major London museums secure pay rise after months-long dispute
Guards at the Natural History, Science and Victoria & Albert Museums—all of whom are employed by an external contractor—will now earn a base salary in line with the London Living Wage
Newly opened Photography Museum of Seoul plans to become a ‘cultural anchor’ for the region
The new space in Dobong-gu district has been billed as country's first public museum dedicated to photography
Peruvian government reverses decision to shrink Nazca Lines site by nearly half
After outcry from civil servants and environmentalists, the Ministry of Culture has walked back a decision that might have left the famed geoglyphs more vulnerable to mining
Unesco raises ‘grave concerns’ for Kyiv's Saint Sophia Cathedral after Russian drone strike
The 11th-century World Heritage Site was damaged by a strike on Tuesday
Donald Judd campus in Marfa, Texas added to US's National Register of Historic Places
The Minimalist bought and modified more than a dozen buildings in Texas in the 1970s, using them as studios and galleries for his sculptures and transforming a small city into the art-world pilgrimage site it is today
US National Gallery of Art receives trove of Modern and contemporary drawings
The gift, from longtime benefactors Lenore and Bernard Greenberg, includes works on paper by Ed Ruscha, Franz Kline, Susan Rothenberg, Philip Guston and others
Tate Liverpool receives £12m from UK government to support delayed revamp
The reopening of regional UK museum was originally due to take place this year, but was pushed back to 2027
Malta’s mysterious prehistoric temples may have taught sailors to navigate by the stars, new research suggests
Experts have long wondered whether the layout of the temples, which were constructed between 3800BC and 2400BC, held specific meaning
Education union calls on schools to boycott London's Science Museum over ‘image-laundering’ sponsorship deals
Groups representing scientists, teachers and culture workers held a protest outside the institution on Sunday over its deals with oil company BP and Adani Green Energy
Smithsonian asserts authority to make ‘all personnel decisions’ following Trump attempts to fire gallery director
In response to the president’s targeting of National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet, the organisation has issued a strategically broad statement, touting its independence and governance by a board and secretary
New Frida Kahlo museum to open in Mexico City
Museo Casa Kahlo, in the artist’s family home in Coyoacán, promises to reveal an intimate portrait of the global icon’s childhood
Metropolitan Museum and watchmaker Vacheron Constantin launch artist residency
The 18-month residency includes time to explore the New York museum’s collection and meet with staff and scholars, plus opportunities to work with Vacheron Constantin’s experts in Geneva
Former director claims Frida Kahlo works went missing from Mexico City museum
Hilda Trujillo Soto, a leader at the museums for nearly 20 years, claims six pages from Kahlo’s diary and more than a dozen works went missing and some were reportedly sold by auction houses and a gallery in the US
Pussy Riot co-founder starts Los Angeles prison performance with existential scream
Nadya Tolokonnikova calls the two-week residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art her first durational performance
Mexico’s most popular museum reopens after lack of security guards caused it to shutter
It took the intervention of President Claudia Sheinbaum to open the doors again at the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City
Leader of Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum to depart after a decade at the helm
As director and chief executive, Josh Basseches has overseen far-reaching changes at the institution
Show at Civil War-era fort spotlights California’s Black history from the 19th century to today
A new exhibition at Fort Point in San Francisco, organised by the non-profit For-Site, features works by 16 artists and a collective
Pompeii visits being spoiled by soaring visitor numbers, tour guides say
New admissions systems and outdated ticketing software have been blamed for long queues and bottlenecks at the Unesco site
New museum of contemporary art, designed by David Chipperfield Architects, to open in Slovenian mountains
The Muzej Lah will house over 800 post-war works by more than 100 artists
Chinese museum visitors accuse artist Heman Chong of ‘cyber harassment’
Visitors to Chong's recent show at UCCA Dune in China have accused the artist of “misogyny” after he allegedly reposted images of them to his Instagram account without consent
Whitney Museum pauses Independent Study Program amid accusations of censorship
The cancellation of a performance addressing the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza has also sparked an open letter by alumni of the programme
UK national museums back call for end to ‘relentless negativity’ around corporate arts sponsorship
The British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and The National Gallery have signed a public letter authored by the co-chief executives of Sadler’s Wells
Wereldmuseum Amsterdam ponders space to ‘respectfully’ house human remains
The museum's director of content has suggested that spaces “where people can come and be with their ancestors” could provide an interim solution to the ethically fraught issue