Hadani Ditmars

Prizesnews

Lakota artist Dana Claxton, whose work subverts assumptions about Indigenous identity, wins one of Canada’s top art prizes

The Audain Prize, given annually to an artist based in British Columbia, comes with a C$100,000 cash prize

Unesco’s addition of West Bank archaeological site to World Heritage list fans Israel-Palestine tensions

The ancient site of Tell es-Sultan in Jericho is one of many archaeological sites in the region whose status has been mired in political and territorial disputes

Vancouver Art Gallery launches construction of new $295m building with ceremony, donation and new acquisitions

The celebratory event marked a major milestone in a process begun in 2004; the new building is expected to be complete in 2028

Morocco earthquake leaves key heritage sites severely damaged

Affected sites include the Tinmel mosque in the High Atlas Mountains, which is feared to have been almost completely destroyed

Artist duo Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller open dedicated space for their work in rural Canada

The work and life partners converted a former furniture showroom into a venue for their complex, large-scale installations

Remnants of First Nation village, including 1,000-year-old fish trap, discovered in Canada

A dig on Vancouver Island has revealed archaeological remnants of a 250-person fishing community

Curator Eva Respini joins Vancouver Art Gallery at transformative moment for the institution

Respini, previously the chief curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, comes to the Vancouver museum as it plans a major building project

‘Rare intact Roman burial site’ with more than 125 tombs discovered in the Gaza Strip

The find unearthed by Palestinian archaeology students includes sarcophagi decorated with dolphins and vineyards

Iraqnews

Outrage over demolition of 300-year-old minaret in Iraq

Cultural heritage officials are calling for greater protections of historic structures as the Siraji minaret in Basra is torn down for road expansion

Chinese Canadian Museum opens with timely reflection on national identity

Marking the centennial of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the museum’s inaugural exhibition is “the story of the Chinese community’s darkest period in Canada”

After leader’s resignation, Canada’s Royal British Columbia Museum faces uncertain future

While plans for an off-site storage and research building move forward, questions remain about the museum’ aging facilities, its community engagement efforts and who will lead it next

Abenaki artist and film-maker Alanis Obomsawin’s remarkable career comes into focus at the Vancouver Art Gallery

A survey of the 90-year-old activist, artist and documentarian’s tells a parallel story about the shifting relationship between Canada and its First Nations peoples

Emily Carr painting, unseen for more than a half-century, acquired by Canada’s Audain Art Museum

The painting was one of four Carr works featured in the first Canadian presentation at the Venice Biennale, in 1952

Canadian police uncover 'biggest art fraud in world history'

Eight suspects are arrested and more than 1,000 works seized following investigation into forgeries of paintings by the Ojibwe artist Norval Morrisseau

Toronto museum returns objects to family of famous Cree leader

The Royal Ontario Museum returned an ornate saddlebag and ceramic pipe to descendants of Poundmaker

Symbols of Iraqi civilisation unveiled at the Basrah Museum

A new project dubbed the “Garden of Civilization” is bringing replicas of iconic Iraqi heritage to the courtyard of the museum in Basra

First major dig in ancient Iraqi city since Isis destruction unearths ‘significant’ palace door sill

The artefact survived both Nimrud's decimation in 2016 and the fall of the Assyrian empire in the 7th century

Climate activists pour maple syrup on Emily Carr painting at the Vancouver Art Gallery

Two activists from the group Stop Fracking Around also glued their hands to the gallery wall to protest the construction of a major gas pipeline in northern British Columbia

Amateur historian discovers 600-year-old English coin in Newfoundland

The coin was minted 70 years before the first documented arrival of non-Viking Europeans to the region

The forthcoming Chinese Canadian Museum names its first chief executive

The institution is scheduled to open in summer 2023 inside the oldest building in Vancouver’s Chinatown

Laila Shawa—a revolutionary Palestinian artist who found international fame—has died, aged 82

The artist and activist, described as the ‘mother of Arabic revolutionary art’ has work in the collections of the British Museum and the Ashmolean

Archaeologists restoring monument damaged by Islamic State discover ancient stone carvings unseen for millennia

The seven alabaster reliefs document the military conquests of the Neo-Assyrian King Sennacherib

Stolen Afghan manuscripts have been coming up for sale at major auction houses, according to research group

The Himaya project based in Qatar has been working with Interpol to identify artefacts trafficked to London, Paris and Amsterdam

Prizesnews

Pioneering photo-conceptualist Ian Wallace wins one of Canada’s top art prizes

The Audain Prize, awarded to the province of British Columbia’s most distinguished artists, comes with C$100,000 cash

Toronto’s revered Power Plant art centre in peril after board members’ mass resignation

The resignations mark a major escalation of a long-running power struggle between the gallery’s leadership and its landlord, the Harbourfront Centre

Inuk artist Shuvinai Ashoona's new show combines her love of Inuit culture and the impending threat of climate change

Ashoona, who received a special mention for her work in this year's Venice Biennale, continues to draw attention to a previously underrepresented culture

Experts fear for preservation of 'spectacular' mosaic unearthed by farmers in Gaza refugee camp

The Byzantine-era gem has been described as "the most beautiful mosaic floor" found in Palestine

Canadian city’s decision to cancel statue of bison and fur trader is ‘authoritarian’, artist says

Ken Lum’s bronze statue, completed years ago but never installed, was deaccessioned by Edmonton for fear that it “may cause harm”

Winston Churchill portrait stolen from Canadian hotel and replaced with copy

Staff at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa noticed that the frame of the 1941 photograph did not match others in its reading room

Seven dead after landslide strikes Iraqi Shia shrine

The Qattarat al-Imam Ali shrine, a popular pilgrimage destination, collapsed on 20 August after rubble from a landslide struck its roof