Museums & Heritage

How a tribute to 'victims of communism' became Canada's most controversial monument

A year after its unveiling was postponed indefinitely, concerns about Ottawa’s Memorial to the Victims of Communism remain

New Zealand art museum reopens with anti-earthquake reinforcement and a new wing

Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui closed in 2014 after a report found it vulnerable to earthquake damage

Benin City museum opens first part of planned campus

Opening of the Museum of West African Art Institute in the Nigerian city will include a live archaeological dig

Come one, come all: Museum of Sex finally opens in Miami

After postponing for more than a year, the museum’s second location celebrates with a debaucherous Halloween party

Prizesnews

Moca Los Angeles announces recipients of new environmental art prize

The artists Cecilia Vicuña and Julian Charrière will each receive $100,000 and exhibit new work at the museum

In a gallery far, far away: new Star Wars-themed museum to bring together 1.5 million objects, including 15ft-long painting

The museum, whose owners are still searching for a building, seeks to merge the four largest current collections of Star Wars props, toys and works of art

Mixed news: the UK's culture sector reacts to Labour's Autumn budget

While a boost in funding for national museums has been welcomed by key figures, concerns remain among regional institutions

Gareth Harris. Additional reporting by Joe Ware

Nazi-looted art panel rejects claim from Grosz's heirs

The panel said there is no evidence that the works, which are held in the collection of Bremen Kunsthalle, were lost as a result of Nazi persecution

Maya city with pyramids, plazas and a ballcourt discovered in Mexican jungle

Research team uncovers settlement hidden for centuries using laser mapping technology

New-York Historical Society changes its name and reveals plans for new $175m wing

The museum's new wing dedicated to American democracy will open in 2026, just in time for the US’s semiquincentennial

A new study seeks to establish ethical collecting practices for US museums

The Penn Cultural Heritage Center’s three-year national study amplifies ongoing calls for transparency and will provide a collecting framework

State Tretyakov Gallery accused of making ‘gross and inexcusable mistake’ by restructuring contemporary art department

An open letter signed by hundreds of Russian art professionals claims that the decision to merge several departments into one could lead to the museum losing pioneering recent works as well as specialists

Gift of more than $45m and 331 works for the Clark Art Institute

The gifts, from the foundation of the late trustee Aso O. Tavitian, will allow the Massachusetts museum to build a new wing

Modern Art Oxford gallery gets a £2m revamp

The new space's inaugural show is dedicated to the pioneering Cuban artist Belkis Ayón

Leonora Carrington’s Mexico City home will no longer become a public museum

The house will be a research centre instead, allegedly due to a labour struggle at the university that owns it

Just Stop Oil protestors place high-vis jacket on ancient Greek statue at the British Museum

The campaign group dressed up a sculpture of the goddess Demeter and added a speech bubble beside it reading “just stop famine”

Fate of Frank Lloyd Wright’s only skyscraper remains uncertain amid duelling lawsuits

Oklahoma’s Price Tower is caught in a tug-of-war between its current crypto-enthusiast owners, Wright’s conservancy and a company that restores historic buildings

Educationfeature

Old Master forgeries’ second lives as teaching tools

Museums, universities and other art organisations have tapped into the enduring fascination with forgeries for pedagogic purposes

House featuring erotic art unearthed at Pompeii

Frescoes show, among other saucy scenes, a satyr coupled with a naked nymph

Whitney Museum to waive admission fees for 25s and under thanks to gift from Julie Mehretu

The artist, a member of the museum’s board of trustees, gave more than $2m to expand its free admission policy

North Carolina museum receives $5m in art and funding from artist and philanthropist Carol Cole Levin

The Weatherspoon Art Museum at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro will get around 270 works for its collection and funds to renovate its building

Smithsonian receives $40m from the Lilly Endowment

The money will be used for programming related to the semiquincentennial of the US in 2026

'Courageous and resilient individuals': why the Illinois Holocaust Museum is embracing virtual reality to share survivors’ stories

New technologies are helping to protect and preserve the vital eye-witness perspectives of a dwindling but determined community

Will the Warhol Museum’s $80m plan pop?

Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Museum has big dreams for its Pop District project—but critics say the institution is putting all its soup cans in one basket

'We have been able to act as a safe space': amid war in Gaza, London's Mosaic Rooms announces major expansion plans

The non-profit space dedicated to Arab culture has been a vocal supporter of a ceasefire, and now aims to increase its space and income streams

'Not just the oldest, but the biggest': Alain Dominique Perrin on what to expect from Fondation Cartier's new gallery

Due to open in late 2025, the foundation's president hopes the new Palais-Royal location will draw around a million visitors each year

Florida art organisations face long recovery after hurricanes Helene and Milton

Museums, residencies and other art non-profits on the state’s Gulf Coast are grappling with a range of impacts from the hurricanes

Early Emily Carr watercolour acquired by Canada’s Audain Art Museum

The museum already owns a subsequent, oil-on-canvas work depicting the same subject; both versions of “War Canoes, Alert Bay” will now be displayed together

Darren Walker elected board president of US National Gallery of Art

Walker has led the New York-based Ford Foundation for the past 11 years

Protestscomment

An open letter from Just Stop Oil and Youth Demand: 'we need institutions to confront their responsibilities'

Responding to a recent letter from the National Museum Directors' Council, the campaign groups have proposed a meeting in London's National Gallery—promising to “leave the soup at home”