The controversy engulfing the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Denmark’s most prestigious art school, over a dumped royal bust took a new turn last week when the college rector was forced to step down. Kirsten Langkilde resigned after the Danish culture ministry said “new powers” are needed at the academy. The move…
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Art dealers have joined the luxury goods and watch industries in condemning the UK government’s “hammer blow” plans to scrap tax-free shopping for tourists from 1 January. Mark Dodgson, the secretary general of the British Antique Dealers’ Association, warns that dealers who specialise in portable objects such as jewellery, silver and small pictures will be…
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Festival UK*2022, the controversial UK wide-event championing the country’s innovation and creativity in the wake of coronavirus and Brexit, has moved a step closer with the announcement of 30 teams that will develop preliminary projects for the new festival. The shortlisted candidates, which will receive “up to £100,000 of investment” each, include high-profile cultural institutions such as…
Read MoreAfter months of mini-crises ranging from delays in materials to frantic hurricane preparations, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is set to open the crowning element in its ambitious $450m expansion: the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building, devoted to the institution’s deep holdings in Modern and contemporary art. Opening its doors on 21 November,…
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A trailblazing publication on Thomas Gainsborough has won the 2020 William MB Berger Prize for British Art History, a UK-based award for scholarly publications which “recognises excellence in the field of British art history”. A panel of seven judges picked Thomas Gainsborough. The Portraits, Fancy Pictures and Copies after Old Masters by Hugh Belsey (published by Yale University…
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The idea of socially engaged artmaking is nothing new, and artists and designers have long used their work to give voice to the powerless, advance issues of economic and social injustice, and enhance the lives of the people within their communities. These values are woven throughout MICA’s culture and infuse the practices of our alumni…
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The activist group and Instagram account @changethemuseum has issued a public call to forgo visiting all US museums for the month of October, as many reopen after months of coronavirus-related closures. Yet some museum workers have expressed concerns that the initiative may actually harm workers, and fear that a boycott may not yield real institutional…
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The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation says the nation’s current monuments offer an “incomplete and even inaccurate” picture of the nation’s diversity and complicated history. So it’s pledging $250 million over five years to change that. “Statues are not just bodies in bronze, and monuments are not just stone pillars,” the foundation’s announcement says. “They instruct. They lift…
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A recently unveiled idealized nude sculpture honoring feminist philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft has been widely seen as a step backward for feminism. But the much-derided artwork has given a boost to efforts to honor other pioneering female figures, including Virginia Woolf. Spearheaded by art nonprofit Aurora Metro Arts and Media, the fundraising campaign to build a monument to the Bloomsbury author…
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Ancient Egypt is yielding some not-so-ancient discoveries. Archaeologists recently excavated more than 100 painted sarcophagi—some of which hold mummies—in Saqqara, an ancient burial ground south of Cairo. The details of the discovery, the largest made at the site this year, were shared during a splashy press conference on Saturday, November 14. The news follows the…
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