Museums
Welcome to the slow museum, where less is more
In an effort to deepen existing programming and community engagement, some institutions are choosing to stage fewer exhibitions
Victory without damage: ‘Just Stop Oil’s climate activism is one of the most successful disobedience campaigns ever’
The climate catastrophe has been brought to the forefront of the public mind without causing serious harm to the targeted works, says John Paul Stonard
Walker Art Center invites visitors to reimagine its galleries
The Minneapolis institution has crowdsourced its rehang—which means a lot more than just new configurations of works
Collector Reinhard Ernst’s abstract art gets a new home in Germany
The Museum Reinhard Ernst, opening this week in the city of Wiesbaden, houses works by Frank Stella, Jackson Pollock, Damien Hirst and Neo Rauch
Palm Springs Art Museum launches permanent LGBTQ+ programming
The California institution’s new Q+ Art initiative is the first of its kind in the US and includes exhibitions, public programming, acquisitions and awards
Almost untouched for a century, Swiss painter Albert Anker’s rural home opens to visitors
The Centre Albert Anker in Ins, Switzerland, is set to open to visitors on 7 June with an exhibition on the artist's travels to Italy
British Museum opens new storage and research facility
Known as BM_ARC, the site in Berkshire houses around 1.3 million objects from the London museum and is intended for scholars as well as members of the public
Where do the UK political parties stand on culture?
Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party—even the Animal Welfare Party—tell us about their policies for the arts
Tate director Maria Balshaw criticises British Museum’s sponsorship deal with BP
In an interview in the Observer newspaper, Balshaw also discussed the controversy around Tate Britain's Hogarth show, which one art critic described as "wokeish drivel"
Los Angeles's Institute of Contemporary Art reveals details of $12m revamp and expansion
The downtown museum has announced an ambitious renovation plan that centers local artists
Ukrainian museums call for better recognition of their role in reconstruction
More than 100 Ukrainian museum professionals, meeting in Berlin, pledge to rebuild a modern, inclusive cultural sector
New ‘Caravaggio’ work unveiled at the Prado divides scholars
Ecce Homo work goes on show at Madrid museum but some critics disagree with new attribution
Palais de Tokyo patron row intensifies after French art world figures sign letter of support
Sandra Hegedüs, who withdrew funding for the Paris centre, responded to the letter, signed by Chris Dercon among others, in Instagram posts
Palais de Tokyo ‘strongly rejects' patron's accusations it is ‘dictated by wokeism’
Sandra Hegedüs quit the Amis du Palais de Tokyo patrons group, withdrawing her financial support of the Paris institution, after stating that a show on Palestine was misleading
The Week in Art podcast | Should UK museums charge for entry? Plus, Michelangelo’s last decades and Maria Blanchard
The case for and against the policy of free admission for UK museums, a tour of the British Museum's new Michelangelo show and an in-depth look at Maria Blanchard’s Girl at Her First Communion in Malaga
Baroque guardhouse’s floating concrete cube in Dresden holds vast avant-garde gift
Archive of the Avant-Garde in German city’s renovated Blockhaus hosts Egidio Marzona’s collection of paintings, drawings and vast documentary archive of letters, manuscripts, sketches, invitations and stickers
Young V&A makes shortlist for UK museum of the year prize
The shortlist of five for Art Fund's ₤120,000 award also includes the Craven Museum, Dundee Contemporary Arts, the National Portrait Gallery and the Manchester Museum
Anger as Vienna's new Actionism museum shows child abuser's art
The inclusion of Otto Muehl, who was convicted of sexual abuses against minors, has triggered protests at the Vienna Actionism Museum, which opened in March
Gallery devoted to customs officer-turned-artist George Wyllie opens in Scotland
The Wyllieum is part of a new cruise ship visitor centre in Greenock
How Koyo Kouoh is getting Zeitz Mocaa museum back on track
Over the past five years Kouoh has been turning around the fortunes of one of Africa's biggest museums, focusing on its collection, governance and funding streams
Macabre wax models take limelight in Florence museum
La Specola reopens, displaying its realistic 18th- and 19th-century corpse stand-ins
Acquisitions round-up: Louvre acquires Jean-Siméon Chardin's Basket of Wild Strawberries after fundraising campaign
Plus, Morel cup enters the Musée d'Orsay and non-profit Joy of Giving Something gifts photography collection to Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
'La Psyché': London's National Gallery acquires its first painting by the Impressionist Eva Gonzalès
Acquisition a month before museum's 200th anniversary makes Gonzalès just the 20th woman artist to be represented in the collection
Boston science museum brings climate action to the fore with year-long initiative
Year of the Earthshot features more than 1,000 interdisciplinary programmes that explore climate solutions, from immersive exhibitions to a project with Unesco and four World Heritage Sites—and an online cooking show
Austria names Fatima Hellberg to run Mumok, Vienna’s museum of Modern art
Currently director of Bonn’s Kunstverein, Hellberg takes up her new post in October 2025
Museum employee hangs his own art in Munich institution—and gets the chop
Budding artist surreptitiously displayed his work alongside art by Andy Warhol
UK museums take global lead in sustainability
However arts organisations worldwide trail behind the corporate sector and academia, according to a study, often because of limited resources
'Building your way to sustainability is a bad idea, no matter how green your new building is'
Renovations need to win out over new extensions, says sustainability professor Martin Müller, and museums need to 'get back to basics'
How a Louisiana museum is teaching students about African American history through contemporary art
The Louisiana institution's Wangechi Mutu exhibition gives students a new perspective on African American studies
Judith Butler pulls out of Pompidou lectures after Israel-Hamas comments
The Berkeley professor did not want to be a "distraction" to the event in Paris after she was criticised for describing the 7 October attacks as an “act of armed resistance”