Museums & Heritage
For the first time ever, a Korean museum is selling off 'national treasures' at auction
Two bronze Buddha statues are likely to make records for cultural artefacts at auction in Korea
Tate Liverpool plans £30m gallery overhaul—with help from UK government’s ‘level up’ fund
The £10m public grant is part of a new initiative aimed at equalising quality of living between the north and south
Delhi's heritage buildings at risk of being sold to private buyers by right-wing government
The ruling BJP has been accused by a rival party of "selling off Delhi's history" following new licensing around historic structures in the capital
Employees at the Art Institute of Chicago museum and school vote to join union
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will now represent 266 employees at the museum and another 249 at the school
Kazakhstan protestors entered leading museum looking for ancient armour
The Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the capital sustained some damage, according to a government statement
Three new non-profit spaces challenge the dominance of real estate and the market in China's contemporary art ecosystem
The Longlati Foundation in Shanghai and the Macalline Art Center and Fen Sonic HQ in Beijing put curation at the forefront
Cameroonian provenance researchers denied visas for Munich conference
The researchers are investigating the origins of 200 artefacts from Cameroon at Munich’s Museum Fünf Kontinente
British Museum banks on Turner NFTs after Hokusai initiative
Prices for Ultra Rare editions start at €4,999 but museum sales percentage remains under wraps
Plans to close pottery museum in Stoke for five months a year and cut full-time positions spark backlash
Gladstone Pottery Museum to be used as a film location under controversial council proposals
American Folk Art Museum gifted major work by itinerant 19th-century portraitist Ammi Phillips
‘Portrait of Frederick A. Gale’ is quintessential of Phillips’s paintings of children, who are the subjects of his most beloved works
What's the tea? Oldest brew in the world discovered in China
The 2,400-year-old remains of tea leaves were discovered in a royal tomb in Shandong province
'It’s time for museums to take critical race theory seriously'
There’s a campaign against discussions of race in the American education system—and museums have a part to play in fighting that
Nigeria seeks to calm tensions over return of Benin bronzes
Government museums body takes control of repatriated artefacts after ruler of Benin challenges new trust set up to unify Nigerian claimants
How an Australian collector’s strings-attached gift paved the way for a new $36m museum
Shepparton Art Museum opened late last year but a ballooning budget and conflicting local politics have made led to a mixed reception
The Virginia museum spotlighting overlooked histories and perspectives
In a trio of current and upcoming exhibitions, the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University will showcase prints, paintings and a sonic environment that champion underrepresented narratives
Archival discovery prompts exploration of 1980s movement to support Central American artists at time of political upheaval
A dozen boxes of materials found in the Museum of Modern Art’s library served as the impetus for a new exhibition on the legacy of the Artists Call group at Tufts University Art Galleries
Louvre's attendance last year dropped to 1986 levels
Covid continued to impact on French museum visits, but the government provided a much-needed financial safety net
McDonald’s blocked from building drive-through at Rome's ancient Baths of Caracalla
The council of state upheld a previous ruling preventing the fast food chain from opening at the popular heritage site
Belgium plans to hand back colonial loot to DR Congo
New law will set up expert commission to sift through thousands of objects at the Royal Museum for Central Africa
Two years after forming union, MOCA Los Angeles employees still negotiating first contract with museum leaders
Negotiations have been delayed, with wages proving a major sticking point and with administrators proposing increases well below union members’ demands
US museums close or reduce capacity as Omicron variant causes surge in Covid-19 cases
The Metropolitan Museum will stay opened at reduced capacity, while others like the Yale University Art Gallery and the Baltimore Museum of Art close temporarily
Closed since early 2020, Puerto Rico’s Museo de Arte de Ponce faces long road to reopening
Despite challenges wrought by the pandemic and earthquake-caused damage to its building, the museum has a new director and new momentum
Utah museum acquires works by Japanese American artist Chiura Obata made in internment camp
Obata was incarcerated at the Topaz Relocation Center in Utah during the Second World War; now 35 of his works have been acquired by the Utah Museum of Fine Arts
Seoul, sneakers and the end of steel monoliths: the highs and the lows of the art world in 2021
Who had a good year and who had a bad one? We aim to find out
Museums in London start to shut down as Omicron wave sweeps capital
Natural History Museum closes due to front-of-house staff shortages caused by Covid-19
Nelson-Atkins Museum acquires one of the earliest daguerreotype portraits made in the US
The 1840 profile portrait is part of a collection of early photographic works by Henry Fitz Jr. that is joining the Kansas City museum’s holdings
Business as usual for European museums operating in China, despite genocide ruling
A London panel has assembled the largest cache of evidence on the concentration camps in Xinjiang, but museums will not say if they have examined it
Swiss museum to part with 29 works from Gurlitt trove suspected of being Nazi loot
Kunstmuseum Bern announces results of in-depth provenance investigation of controversial 2014 bequest
Saudi Arabia-led campaign puts Arabic calligraphy on Unesco heritage list
Proposal was put forward by 16 Arabic-speaking countries
From NFTs to LFTs: 2021's biggest art stories—and what they mean
The Art Newspaper team picks apart this year’s most important developments, from demands for colonial restitution to the return of culture wars