Politics

French culture ministry on the move?

Relocation could take place in two years’ time

Henry Moore's 'Old Flo' belongs to east London council, High Court rules

New mayor of Tower Hamlets scraps disgraced predecessor's decision to sell public sculpture

Why Italy’s museums need this shake-up

And why this major overhaul of the country’s state museums can still go very wrong due to vested interests and bureaucracy

UK to ratify Hague Convention—'at the first opportunity'

Commitment to protect cultural property during periods of armed conflict comes after destruction of antiquities in Syria and Iraq by Islamic State

Lawnews

Iranian artist sentenced to 12 years in prison

Atena Farghadani punished after depicting politicians as animals

Economicscomment

Five more divisive years for museums and art galleries

The new Conservative government has so far kept quiet about its plans for the arts but the signs point to a fractious battle for resources between national and local institutions

UK government still dragging its feet over Hague Convention

Destruction of artefacts in Syria and Iraq is a pressing issue but UK remains only major power not to ratify international law

Politicscomment

India’s leading institutions suffer political setback

Directors modernising formerly moribund museums are being undermined by Hindu extremists

Has Russian government’s half-billion dollar pledge to save historic city of Vyborg come too late?

Experts blame local authorities in Vyborg for failing to act as architecture begins to collapse

Fears for cultural heritage as Israel sells off property

Experts say Palestinian heritage is at risk as ministry makes money from buildings seized from refugees

Budapest’s anti-government Off biennial draws 35,000 visitors

Organisers say they started the art festival, which closed today, in direct response to the political interference at Hungary’s cultural institutions

London’s cosmonaut exhibition is back in orbit

Science Museum show was postponed last year amid political tensions with Russia

Cuban artist to stage new political project in Havana following arrest

Tania Bruguera, who has had her passport confiscated after planning a free-speech performance in Revolution Square, is due to host a 100-hour reading of the book The Origins of Totalitarianism ahead of the city's biennial

Prince of Wales’s positive pressure

“Black spider” letter helps to save Antarctic Shackleton and Scott huts

New UK culture secretary named

John Whittingdale is expected to focus more on the media than on the arts

Lawnews

How to get on with artists, handle mergers and avoid lawsuits

Legal conference tackles issues facing US museums, from commissioning work to developing diversity

Artists protest in support of Bruguera

International art world shows solidarity with Cuban artist—but her compatriots are less keen

UK General Election: parties fail to put money where their mouth is

Manifestos make big promises on the arts but remain vague on funding nation prepares to go to the polls <br>

Politicsfeature

Vote Bob, vote art: on the campaign trail with Bob and Roberta Smith

As the polls open today, and the UK votes for its next government, the British artist is standing against the architect of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition’s education policy, Michael Gove. We joined them on the campaign hustings

Mayor commissions new public art for London in regeneration plans

Ten new works for parts of the city thanks to High Street Fund initiated after 2011 riots<br>

Heritagecomment

Why there are no cash cows in European arts funding

As the European Union announces its latest grants, applicants find the barriers to success getting higher

Kiev Biennial finds a new venue and international support

Second edition to open at the Visual Culture Research Center in September with related projects across Europe, curators say

'We are grateful that many Middle Eastern treasures are in international universal museums'

Zaki Nusseibeh of the UAE endorses the role of institutions such as the British Museum during discussion with French cultural leader Jack Lang

Democrats lobby for US artists’ economic rights with two bills

But it remains unclear what chance either proposal has of passing into law while Republicans control both houses of Congress