Museums

From artist residency to fully-fledged museum: Ghana's new space for contemporary African art prepares to open in March

Just a year after launching a studio programme in Accra, its ambitious young founder is turning it into a museum

National Museum of Afghanistan reopens—but staff are unpaid and Taliban are guarding the treasures

Recent images show militia taking photographs of artefacts on their mobile phones

Van Gogh gets a facelift: conservation of self-portrait to be revealed in London

The Kröller-Müller Museum painting will be unveiled in the Courtauld Gallery’s exhibition

a blog by Martin Bailey
Crime news

Italy’s museums move to stop ticket touts’ post-Covid comeback

The Uffizi and Galleria dell’Accademia are among those finding ways to prevent re-sellers from inflating ticket prices

'Frightening' price tag and soap opera drama: Moscow’s GES-2 House of Culture opens opposite Kremlin

Power plant arts centre backed by Russian billionaire makes its long-awaited debut with a “dream exhibition” for Ragnar Kjartansson and a carnival in four acts

Podcastspodcast

Fraud: the case of Inigo Philbrick

Plus, Warhol’s Catholicism and Moscow’s new museums

Hosted by Ben Luke. with guest speaker Georgina Adam. Produced by Julia Michalska, Aimee Dawson and David Clack. With Henrietta Bentall
Sponsored byChristie's

How China's museums are cosying up to commercial galleries for big-ticket exhibitions

Dealers are eagerly filling curatorial gaps in new museums with shows for their artists, but does the market hold too much sway?

Tate Britain director defends museum against accusations of ‘cancelling Hogarth’

Critics round on exhibition’s alternative interpretations of Hogarth paintings, describing them as "wokeish drivel"

Booksreview

As Missouri marks its bicentennial, new book explores a millennium of objects from the state

Countering settler narratives, Saint Louis Art Museum exhibition and catalogue examines the artistic contributions and experiences of marginalised groups

Uffizi gets down with the kids, lowering Renaissance masterpieces to children’s eye level

The new initiative also involves a team of museum guards tasked with responding to tiny tots' niggling queries

Blockbuster Vermeer exhibition forced to close as Germany faces fourth coronavirus wave

German health minister warns that by the end of the winter, everyone will be “vaccinated, recovered or dead”

Garage Museum expands in Gorky park with move into historic Hexagon pavilion

Sanaa architects masterplan turns 1920s site in Moscow into vast exhibition space and library

Loansnews

How a Milan museum won the battle to show the world’s most important private collection of Futurist art

Famous Mattioli collection loan will make Museo del Novecento “undoubtedly the most important centre for Futurist art” when it goes on display next spring

Abu Dhabianalysis

Abu Dhabi plans two new museums in addition to Guggenheim and Zayed

Announcement was made at yesterday's preview of Abu Dhabi Art 2021, where cultural leaders were keen to emphasise their commitment to the emirate following its strict lockdown

Review: Hong Kong's highly anticipated M+ museum opens—but can it withstand political pressure?

This world-class institution is a magnificent achievement, but it faces a profoundly different political environment today from its inception 25 years ago

'End BP sponsorship of British Museum': 90 heritage professionals sign open letter against oil giant

Archaeologists and museum professionals "urge" institution to cut ties with British Petroleum company

Skateboarders fight back against Berlin Neue Nationalgalerie ban

Museum says ban protects the building and sculptures—but has attracted criticism for ostracising younger generation

Experts raise alarm over fate of Georgia's leading art museum amid political upheaval

Concerns persist that a government-backed renovation of the Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts in Tbilisi could endanger its collection of 139,000 ancient and modern works

London’s National Gallery reveals slavery history in new research—including its founder’s ties to Caribbean

The data, published today, found 67 individuals connected to the slave trade including John Julius Angerstein who helped to establish the museum's collection

Humboldt Forum to remove medallion honouring far-right donor

Ehrhardt Bödecker’s family requested the removal after his “militaristic, anti-democratic and in some respects, radically right-wing and antisemitic” views became public

Removal of Welsh slave trader painting from National Museum Cardiff is ‘censoring history’, says BBC broadcaster

Newsreader Huw Edwards will now be invited to the museum to hear more about the reinterpretation process

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

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

Miss Clara, the Indian rhinoceros, and other fantastic beasts—a rich exhibition catalogue considers the cruel fashion for touring celebrity animals

This analysis, while celebrating the skill of artists and artisans, does not ignore the exploitative practices of previous centuries

Museums must take action on climate change now—before it’s too late

Cultural institutions have an ethical duty to speak out about the crisis, and are uniquely qualified to empower people to live more sustainably, says Horniman Museum director Nick Merriman

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

15 seconds of art: Brazil's Instituto Inhotim embraces Instagram

Art space in Belo Horizonte found an innovative way to engage with its audience during the pandemic—and now it's here to stay

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