Museums & Heritage

Historic Chilean church to be restored after arson attacks

Santiago’s 19th-century Church of San Francisco de Borja, known for its stained-glass windows, will resume its community role as a national shrine to Our Lady of Fátima after it was set aflame during nationwide protests in 2020

Ukraine’s historic Academy of Sciences severely damaged by Russian drone

At least two were killed in the direct strike on the country’s top scientific institution, which is the latest cultural site to be targeted by Russian forces

‘He has committed no offence other than wanting to defend heritage sites’: arrest of Iraqi archaeologists sparks backlash

Many fear the real reason for Ali Tabar’s and Amir Al-Jumaili’s arrests are their campaigns against a controversial investment law

Vancouver Art Gallery makes its interim leaders permanent co-chief executives

Eva Respini and Sirish Rao will share chief executive duties, with the former also serving as chief curator while the later takes on the role of executive director

Culture secretary confirms free admission for all at England’s national museums will remain

The announcement by Lisa Nandy, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, came after recent discussions of introducing admission fees for overseas visitors

Restorers expose trove of 16th-century nude murals in Rome that were covered by disapproving nuns

Hidden for 300 years, the paintings inside Italy's Villa Silvestri Rivaldi are by some of the leading artists of the day

Switzerland’s Fondation Beyeler opens £109.7m expansion

The Basel institution has added three new structures designed by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, while also extending its grounds

Greek prime minister rejects idea that Bayeux Tapestry loan offers template for Parthenon Marbles deal

“Greece cannot accept any arrangement that would require it to recognise the British Museum’s ownership of the sculptures,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis says

Moca Los Angeles picks longtime public media executive as next director

Jonathan Abbott takes the helm at the museum after 15 years as chief executive of GBH in Boston

Comment | Why drones are a game-changer for archaeologists protecting heritage sites

As climate change and development place growing pressure on archaeological sites, drones are providing a faster, cheaper way to track damage and guide conservation efforts

Art made with human hair from ‘the Louvre of hairwork’ comes to Brooklyn

The Morbid Anatomy Library has acquired dozens of unique pieces from the recently shuttered Leila’s Hair Museum in Missouri

Giant Diego Rivera sculpture on Mexico City’s Olympic stadium to be restored

The restoration of Rivera’s work launches a multi-year initiative to preserve public art on the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México campus

AI can strengthen human connections to museums, report suggests

Remuseum’s latest report explores the role of artificial intelligence in US art institutions, highlighting five areas where the technology can be particularly impactful

From ailing cooling systems to toxic chemicals, a museum tour shines a light on the effects of austerity

To drive home the impact of stagnant support for arts and culture, the Museum of Vancouver is offering “austerity tours” of its aging campus

Art Institute of Chicago restitutes Metzinger painting sold in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam

The 1913 painting, “Woman With a Fan”, was one of a number of paintings from the Lewenstein collection to be auctioned in 1940 under unclear circumstances

From the Bronx to the Lower East Side, New York’s museum building boom continues

Several institutional construction projects have already opened this year, with more in the pipeline

This autumn’s standout shows in New York, from Modern architecture in Africa to Fluxus co-founder Alison Knowles

Exhibitions celebrating Arthur Jafa and Teresa Margolles, examining the legacy of Orientalism, and more are on the itinerary this season

The Big Review: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art ★★★½

While the swooping building is impressive and easy to navigate, the collection is patchy and the displays are at times “bizarre”

Amid affordability crisis for artists, Vancouver’s city council establishes cultural land trust

The model—already deployed in San Francisco, Helsinki and London—aims to protect creative communities from rampant real estate speculation and development

Rising costs force museums across North America to rethink climate control guidelines

Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems often account for 60%-70% of an institution’s energy consumption and lead to large carbon footprints

UK government places export bar on ‘rare’ Renaissance sculpture worth £4.6m

‘Seated Nymph’ was created in the early 16th century by the Italian sculptor Antico, nicknamed for his Classical-inspired bronzes

Hundreds gather at Kennedy Center to protest Trump’s attacks

More than 1,000 attendees formed a human chain around the Washington, DC, performing arts centre that Trump has taken over, sought to rebrand and threatened to shutter and demolish

600-year-old funerary platform discovered in Peru

The massive burial site containing human remains and rich offerings likely belonged to Chimú elites

Cave markings discovered in Ireland could transform understanding of when humans first settled there

Researchers believe that humans may have walked across the sea from Wales during the last Ice Age and made art

Malba picks architect for expansion that will double its exhibition space

The Buenos Aires museum has selected the Mexican architect Frida Escobedo to lead its ambitious build-out

Researchers rescuing war-damaged manuscripts in Gaza receive Unesco prize

Abdul Latif Hashim and Haneen Al-Amassi have been awarded the $40,000 Unesco/Jikji Memory of the World Prize

One of Lima’s oldest mills, uncovered by chance in 2020, to open to visitors in January

The Molino de Aliaga, the Peruvian capital’s earliest colonial structure discovered to date, was built by the Spanish conquistador Jerónimo de Aliaga in the 16th century

New cultural centre focused on archiving Ghana's history to open in Accra

The members-only organisation will open during Accra Cultural Week in October

Major Swiss museum acquisition proves far larger after extra works revealed in donor’s unopened portfolios

Philippe Bodenmann has gifted his entire collection—including pieces by Joseph Kosuth, Lawrence Weiner and Max Bill—to the Musée des beaux-arts de La Chaux-de-Fonds

Paris's Picasso museum reveals designers shortlisted for €55m sculpture garden project

Five teams of designers, featuring architects and landscape designers, will compete for the project, expected to be completed by 2030