Museums & Heritage

Smithsonian Museum of African Art removes Benin bronzes from display and plans to repatriate them

“We cannot build for the future without making our best effort at healing the wounds of the past,” the museum’s director says

Seven ways museums are responding to the climate crisis

We talk to museum innovators around the world who are taking climate action, from the art on the walls to the food on the restaurant menu

Crime news

Trial begins for Spanish museum director accused of spending €3.4m on forged works

Consuelo Císcar, the former director of the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, is said to have bought works attributed to Gerardo Rueda—but that were painted by his son

Archaeologists have mapped the ancient capital of the Mongolian Empire

Little has been know about the city of Karakorum where Genghis Khan once established a camp—until now

'An important chap': archaeologists in Egypt discover the tomb of an ancient royal treasurer

The tomb from the time of King Ramesses II is the latest big discovery at Saqqara, south of Cairo

Diego Rivera's grand vision for Mexico City's Anahuacalli complex realised after nearly eight decades

Thirteen new structures now flank the main museum building of the complex, which houses Rivera's collection of pre-Hispanic art

How British Museum's maintenance woes have kept Parthenon Marbles off view for a full year

The poor condition of the London museum’s Greek and Assyrian galleries—with roofs in disrepair causing long closures—is adding to calls for the restitution of the contested works

Napoleonic-era mass grave discovered beneath cellars in the Czech Republic

Skeletons of 12 men believed to have fought in the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805 have been discovered in Brno

Official at St Petersburg's State Hermitage breaks visitor's nose—live on Instagram

Russian influencer posts aftermath of assault to her 1.5 million followers as state authorities target social media users posting in museums

More turmoil at UK Science Museum Group as two trustees step down over ties to coal conglomerate

Hannah Fry and Jo Foster quit museum as it partners with Indian company Adani to sponsor a new "green" gallery, due to open in 2023

Angolanews

Major art space and residency programme opens in Angolan capital of Luanda

The Nesr Art Foundation, a philanthropic enterprise by the family behind Webcor Group, intends to counter under-representation of African art

Studio Museum in Harlem raises $210m for new David Adjaye building

Site for black artists expected to open in 2024 with site-specific commission by Theaster Gates

Cambridge University college becomes first UK institution to return looted Benin bronze to Nigeria

Following restitution of a cockerel sculpture by Jesus College, the University of Aberdeen will hand over another looted artefact in a ceremony today

Museumscomment

In returning an ancient gold ewer to Turkey, the UK's Gilbert Trust made the right decision

The Anatolian artefact had been on long-term loan to London's Victoria & Albert Museum, although not on display. Restitution is a complex issue, but in this case it was the right move

Fragonard’s The Swing has been restored—and it's saucier than ever

The great Rococo painting in the Wallace Collection in London has been cleaned, revealing some mischievous details

Ancient gold ewer returned to Turkey after V&A expert links it to illicit antiquities trade

The piece was part of the Gilbert Collection which is not bound by the same legal restrictions around deaccessioning as the London museum

England's culture sector to receive £850m in extra funding from Treasury

The budget, to be announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Wednesday, has earmarked £300m for museums to "redevelop and refurbish their sites"

Chinese heritage sites see boost from local tourists as pandemic closes borders

The travel restrictions—and political encouragement—have driven increasing domestic demand for cultural travel experiences in China, prompting concerns over preservation

As the Photographers’ Gallery in London turns 50, we look at five of its defining shows

The institution's director Brett Rogers has selected five key shows from the past five decades

Centre Pompidou's three-year closure delayed until after the Paris Olympics—but will it now miss its own 50th anniversary?

Crucial renovations will happen after the games in 2024, putting a question mark over whether the gallery will be open for its 50-year celebrations in 2027

'Most important gift in recent decades': trove of works by Kandinsky, Otto Dix and Max Ernst donated to Städel Museum in Frankfurt

The bequest from the estate of the German photographer Ulrike Crespo includes 90 works and will go on show in November.

Denver’s Gio Ponti-designed Art Museum gets a $150m revamp and a remix

Campus expansion opens up “standoffish” building and inspires a total rehang of the encyclopaedic art collections

Queens Museum director on its transformative expansion and learning from the pandemic

Led by Sally Tallant, the community-focused museum is building a new educational centre thanks to a $26.4m grant from New York City

French art foundation unveils plans for mobile museum on board a €32m catamaran

Art Explora, set up by the tech entrepreneur Frédéric Jousset, will launch the vessel in 2023 with a tour around the Mediterranean

Maltanews

Cristina Iglesias creates new cave-like sculpture for Malta's first contemporary art museum

Commissioned work—currently on view in a public garden in Valetta—will move to the Malta International Contemporary Art Space sculpture garden after it opens in 2023

Berlin museum restitutes—and then buys back—Nazi-looted Pissarro painting

The work was bought by Armand Dorville, a Jewish lawyer, but his heirs were forced to sell it at an auction in France

Italian mayor launches underwater excavation to find third Riace bronze

Town of Riace is planning a museum, while a new investigation hopes to confirm whether there are more ancient Greek statues to be found

New blood reinvigorates MoMA leadership

The museum has appointed four impressive women who are breathing new life into the curatorial, education and outreach divisions, including 23-year MoMA veteran Sarah Suzuki.