Museums

Russia opens up new museum front in its war against Ukraine

“Liberation museum” and propaganda-rich displays aim to rewrite history and legitimise war.

Censorshipcomment

From shadow bans to privacy laws: how the internet has become less free—by stealth

The chilling of artistic freedom is impacting artists and those they connect with

Canaries in the coal mine: is the art world facing a rising tide of censorship?

The death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny last month, after years of confinement in a Siberian jail, and subsequent quelling of protest, emphasised the flourishing of censorship across a globe riven by geopolitical crises, in a year when democracy is put to the test in more than 70 countries. With the threat of electoral misinformation being boosted by AI-generated content and social media algorithms, artists have been warning of new kinds of censorship. The effect is being felt in real life, online and in social media

Fowler Museum offers historic and contemporary expressions of Sikh experience

Exhibition brings together works representing the world’s fifth largest religious community

The dawn of the entrepreneurial museum

With traditional philanthropic models on the wane, US institutions like the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and the Andy Warhol Museum are engaging in unconventional partnerships and launching spin-off businesses

Netherlands to open museum telling ‘the whole story’ of nation’s links to slavery

The National Museum of Slavery, due to open in 2030, is part of an ongoing process being undertaken by the Dutch state to investigate the repercussions of its colonial past

'It's censorship': Arts Council England under fire over new policy deterring 'overtly political statements'

Update to guidelines warns partner organisations that funding arrangements could be jeopardised by "reputational risk"

How Poland’s new government has begun shaking up the arts sector

Donald Tusk’s coalition is revoking cultural leadership appointments made by the previous right-wing regime—but is cancelling Poland’s Venice Biennale artist a step too far?

Black museums face greater peril in the climate crisis

The Association of African American Museums outlines heightened issues facing Black cultural centres, including old infrastructure, coastal locations and lack of access to funds and resources

Is Italy’s government meddling in who runs top museums?

Cultural figures voice concern about culture ministry’s appointments to run institutions including Florence’s Uffizi Galleries and Milan’s Pinacoteca di Brera

Dispute between Philadelphia Museum of Art and employee union drags on, after strike in 2022

The union claims the institution has not implemented an agreement concerning length-of-service pay increases

Tipping point: how new immersive institutions are changing the art world

Digital art venues are a global phenomenon, attracting massive audiences with radical new forms of immersive experiences. Are they a threat or an opportunity for traditional galleries and museums?

Devastating fire destroys more than 4,000 paintings in national collection of Abkhazia

Fire marks tragic loss for cultural heritage in the region, which broke away from Georgia three decades ago

Berlin Senate drops 'anti-discrimination clause' in funding agreements after protests

Senator Joe Chialo says he is responding to criticism that the clause restricted the freedom of art

The hangover after the museum party: institutions in the US are facing a funding crisis

As the baby-boomer generation of major donors pulls back or dies off, museums are struggling to attract their heirs’ interest

‘Culture is fragile’: Dutch art world figures express concerns for future under potential coalition government

Directors of leading institutions in the country warn of the damage that budget cuts and a scaling back on international collaboration could do to the sector

Frankfurt’s Städel shows anniversary gift of works by Honoré Daumier

Collector Hans-Jürgen Hellwig will donate more than 4,000 works by the French artist best-known for his cartoons

Taiwan’s cultural sector seeks higher profile as country heads to polls

As three contenders battle it out to become president, artists plead for them to see there is more to Taiwan than semiconductors

Italian court sides with Getty Museum in export dispute over Bassano painting

The Council of State dismissed the Italian culture ministry’s belated attempt to repatriate “absolute masterpiece” from the Los Angeles museum

Valongo Wharf—historic hub of Brazil's slave trade—opens following overdue $400,000 renovation

The Rio de Janeiro site, where one million enslaved Africans disembarked, retains its Unesco World Heritage status

Court of Appeal ruling will prevent UK museums from charging reproduction fees—at last

Those © symbols on UK museum websites and catalogues are now redundant if the original work of art is out of copyright

There is no end to the museum exodus

Higher salaries are a major reason why mid-level museum workers are leaving for commercial gallery jobs, but instability caused by the Covid pandemic is also a factor

Polandcomment

A change of regime in Poland presents challenges and opportunities for the culture sector

After eight years of the right-wing PiS-led government, breaking down the silos in the country's arts sector will be key

Jack Lohman

Why all museums need an in-house TikToker

Keen to capitalise on the social media channel's rising profile in the art world, the Peabody Essex Museum hired two dedicated creators in residence

Will Las Vegas finally get an art museum? Collector Elaine Wynn and Lacma back new $150m institution

Council moves forward with plans for 90,000 square-foot Las Vegas Museum of Art in Symphony Park

The big museum openings and expansions of 2024

The Grand Egyptian Museum should open at last, while Masp in São Paulo gets a tower-block extension

New displays at Imperial War Museum come at a crucial time for world peace

The London museum's thematic approach to conflict references current conflicts as well as historic ones

New National Museum of… (fill in the blank) invites contemplation on the role and pervasiveness of US museums

The public art project in Pittsburgh is preparing to launch its second phase, titled the “National Museum of Broken Treaties”

Visitor numbers for UK museums show signs of recovery

Figures for the first half of 2023 show an increase over the year before, although still below their pre-Covid peaks