NewsMuseums & Heritage
Greece completes long-awaited National Gallery revamp for Independence Day bicentenary
Greek culture minister promises €59m expansion will put the museum "on the map" ahead of public reopening
NewsMuseums
After more than a decade, Hong Kong's M+ building is finished and will open in 2021—even if international travel ban persists
Herzog & de Meuron-designed museum will not shy away from displaying controversial works, director assures
NewsLuma Arles
Frank Gehry’s twisting tower for Luma Arles to open its doors in June
Patron Maja Hoffmann is driving the ambitious cultural project in southern France
NewsNational Gallery
National Gallery London: new details of development plans revealed
A 1960s office block behind the Sainsbury Wing will be demolished to make way for a new building to provide more exhibition space
NewsBuilding projects
'Building on our strengths': National Gallery London unveils plans for £25m upgrade
Refurbishment, to be partly completed for the museum's 200th anniversary in 2024, will encompass the lobby of the Sainsbury Wing, a new research centre and improved outdoor space
NewsOpenings
Fast forward: revamped Australian Centre for the Moving Image promises a high-tech experience
The Melbourne museum of screen culture reopens with a contactless device that allows visitors to curate virtual collections
NewsArchaeology
Discoveries at Stonehenge highlight controversial new tunnel's threat to heritage
Recent excavation has uncovered late Neolithic and Bronze Age artefacts and human remains
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Exhibitions at new $450m Hong Kong Palace Museum will offer ‘a fresh, contemporary interpretation of Chinese culture’
Director Louis Ng insists that the institution—due to open in 2022—will be distinct from its namesake in Beijing's Forbidden City
NewsNazi loot
An arms dealer casts a shadow over Kunsthaus Zurich
Petition calls for more transparency in planned display of the collection of Emil Georg Bührle, who bought Nazi-looted art with a fortune built on weapons
NewsBuilding projects
National Arts Club in New York opens new galleries renovated during the pandemic
Restoration work uncovered the original plaster from the building’s former occupant, New York governor and 1876 presidential candidate Samuel Tilden
NewsAlphonse Mucha
Art Nouveau pioneer Alphonse Mucha’s Slav Epic finds a home at last—and it’s designed by Thomas Heatherwick
Monumental cycle of 20 paintings will be displayed in the Savarin development in central Prague
NewsArtists
Hundreds of artists’ studios in Moscow to be bulldozed amid government’s huge renovation plan
Evicted artists say authorities are leaving them out in the cold by failing to provide alternative workshops
NewsParis
Champs Élysées—one of Paris’s most polluted roads—to be transformed into ‘extraordinary garden’
The major avenue will undergo a €250m makeover to restore its former splendour, following the 2024 Summer Olympics
NewsIndia
India's Supreme Court approves Modi's £2bn 'vanity project' to redevelop Delhi parliament complex
The reconstruction of the Central Vista is a significant step in the prime minister's efforts to sever the nation from its colonial past
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Australian museum boom: as most institutions face cuts, National Gallery of Victoria’s massive expansion flies in the face of coronavirus
New NGV Contemporary building is the latest ambitious construction project planned in the country
PreviewThe Year Ahead 2021
Major museum openings and expansions in 2021
From the much-anticipated Grand Egyptian Museum to the Frick’s move to a Brutalist landmark, here are the building projects aiming to change cultural landscapes around the world
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Sneak peek: Snarkitecture designs new gallery in Detroit for Library Street Collective
The art space in a historic building in the Belt neighbourhood will open with a show curated by the street artist Kaws
NewsGreece
Huge historic tobacco factory in Athens to be renovated into cultural space by 2021
Arts organisation Neon are working on the project with the Greek government to mark 200 years since the country’s liberation from the Ottoman Empire
NewsIndia
'New Hindu India': Narendra Modi begins £2bn overhaul of Delhi's colonial parliament buildings
Politicians and cultural leaders have questioned the use of state funds for prime minister's "vanity project" during Covid-19 crisis
NewsMuseums
Kunsthaus Zurich counts down to ‘quantum leap’ for Swiss art scene after Chipperfield expansion
City hopes the $230m new building will raise its profile as an art destination to match Basel
NewsMuseums & Heritage
New Art Gallery of Nova Scotia building is inspired by indigenous Mi’kmaq culture
The winning design is meant to be both a centrepiece of Halifax’s burgeoning waterfront arts district and an earnest symbol of reconciliation, the project leads say
NewsHumboldt Forum
Opening of Humboldt Forum delayed again as coronavirus lockdown extended—but you can view it online
New Berlin arts complex suffers renewed setback in its problem-beset opening plans
NewsOpenings
Boola Bardip: Perth’s revamped Western Australian Museum opens with new name and focus on Aboriginal heritage
The museum worked with around 60 Aboriginal language groups across the vast state to bring their perspectives into every gallery
NewsOpenings
Challenges overcome as Houston's Museum of Fine Arts completes $450m campus expansion
Delayed by just three weeks amid the pandemic, new Kinder Building will dramatically increase space for Modern and contemporary art
NewsHong Kong
Hong Kong's M+ museum delayed to autumn 2021 amid management troubles and spiralling costs
West Kowloon Cultural District chief executive heads for early exit, accused of contributing to cost overruns and delays
NewsMuseum architecture
Space race: how the pandemic is pushing museums to rethink design
Experts predict bigger galleries, a stronger connection to the outdoors and an end to the expansion juggernaut
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Has Putin’s $1.6bn plan to build new cultural centres throughout Russia hit the rocks?
Foundation running the huge project has cut more than 80% of staff, but construction continues
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Inside The Box: Plymouth’s £48m bid for cultural revival
Pandemic scuppers city’s celebrations of Mayflower anniversary and hopes for tourist crowds—but flagship museum project opens against the odds
NewsMuseums
Plans for world's biggest Picasso museum in south of France scuppered
Aix-en-Provence city council says that sale fell through after negotiations with artist’s stepdaughter broke down
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Fotografiska complex in London—world’s ‘largest photography venue’—is dropped
Investment group behind the project blames Brexit and Covid-19
NewsOpenings
Sigmund Freud Museum reopens in Vienna after a €4m expansion
Family's private apartment, displays about psychoanalysis and collection of conceptual art go on view
NewsMuseums
The next Tate Modern? Helsinki power plant to become vast new arts hub under city masterplan
Hanasaari plant will be at the heart of burgeoning Suvilahti culture district
FeatureGrand Egyptian Museum
'Grand Egyptian Museum will be finished this year': behind the scenes of the giant $1bn project
We take a tour of Egypt’s vast antiquities museum—the future home of Tutankhamun’s treasures—before its long-awaited opening in 2021
AnalysisCathedral of Notre Dame
Where we are now with the restoration of Notre Dame after the rejection of modern architectural gestures
An insider report from the site on the latest discoveries and re-building techniques
NewsAustralia
Sydney's Powerhouse Museum saved from sell-off, but debate rages on
NSW government scraps controversial billion-dollar relocation plan but faces questions from community groups and parliament
NewsCathedral of Notre Dame
Notre Dame's spire to be rebuilt the way it was—but use of lead likely to spark new controversy
French President Macron makes u-turn after first suggesting the 19th-century spire, which was destroyed in the fire last year, should be replaced by a contemporary design
NewsContemporary art
Kentucky philanthropist launches ambitious arts hub and 'incubator' in the Appalachian mountains
Entrepreneur and contemporary art collector Brook Smith plans to turn former coal-mining region into a "cultural destination"
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture plagued by delays after top curators quit
Turkey’s national modern art collection, closed off for much of its 80-year existence, will be hard-pressed to open $25m new building this year
AnalysisSaudi Arabia
Are Saudi Arabia's big culture plans turning to dust?
As oil prices slump and the pandemic continues to spread, the kingdom's ambitious initiatives are being scaled back
Analysiscoronavirus
Russian museums in crisis: State Hermitage projects losses of almost half its annual revenue after closing for two months
Loss of tourism and oil market crash because of coronavirus pandemic wreak havoc as institutions seek state help
NewsPrizes
Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight wins Pulitzer prize
Writer was recognised for his criticism of Lacma’s controversial expansion plan
Newscoronavirus
Patrick Devedjian—French politician and driving force behind new museum dedicated to the Sun King—has died of coronavirus
Devedjian was leading plans for a museum project in Saint-Cloud, west of Paris, about the reign of Louis XIV
NewsMusee d'Orsay
Anonymous €20m donation kickstarts Musée d’Orsay transformation
Radical revelopment of former train station building will make way for more Impressionist works and visitors
NewsNational Portrait Gallery
Not bigger, but better: behind the scenes of the £35.5m revamp at London's National Portrait Gallery
Director Nicholas Cullinan and architect Jamie Fobert reveal how the gallery’s controversial three-year closure will transform its 600-year collection of portraits
NewsMuseums & Heritage
EMST—National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens finally opens its doors
The institution welcomes the first visitors to its renovated home in the former Fix brewery this week, after years of delays
NewsMuseums
Superman, Beatrix Potter and Virgil Abloh: London’s V&A reveals plans for revamped Museum of Childhood
Museum will reopen in 2022 with new focus on empowering children’s creativity
NewsMuseums
Tadao Ando-designed He Art Museum postponed because of coronavirus
The X Museum in Beijing has also delayed its opening show
NewsOpenings
Revamped, renamed, reopened: Musée Ingres Bourdelle honours Montauban's masters
After €13m expansion, French museum brings together works by painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and sculptor Emile-Antoine Bourdelle
NewsHungary
Budapest’s green mayor puts brakes on €250m New National Gallery
Local politicians block construction on cultural quarter backed by right-wing government, citing “enormous impact on environment”
NewsHong Kong
Hong Kong Museum of Art to reopen in spite of escalating violence of pro-democracy protests
Launch of revamped government-run museum to go ahead as planned following $119m facelift
NewsMuseums
Togo opens ground-breaking arts centre in former colonial palace
Palais de Lomé is the west African country's first major contemporary art centre and is unique on the continent for being financed by the state
NewsMuseums
German parliament approves extra costs for Berlin Museum of the 20th Century
The €364m budget is “a real pain threshold,” culture minister says
NewsRussia
Moving to the suburbs: vast museum collections centre destined for 'New Moscow'
State Tretyakov Gallery among 23 Russian museums planning to store and show works near former killing field Kommunarka
NewsMuseums
Gus Casely-Hayford, director of Smithsonian’s African art museum, to lead V&A East
The British cultural historian will take up his role at the Victoria and Albert Museum’s new branch in the spring
NewsNew York
Brooklyn Academy of Music opens its first gallery for visual art
The exhibition space, named after trustee and art collector Beth Rudin DeWoody, launches during annual New Wave Festival with works by Glenn Kaino
NewsOpenings
UCCA Center for Contemporary Art to open space in Shanghai
New outpost of the Beijing-based institution is due to open in 2021
NewsMonuments
Orlando chooses its memorial to Pulse shooting victims
More than three years after the massacre, a winning design has been selected for a $45m museum and memorial campus, but some survivors and victims’ families would rather it stay unbuilt.
NewsIraq
As protests rage in Iraq, experts say culture is key to long-term reconstruction
Iraqi culture ministry announces new national museum in Baghdad as Mosul restoration plan is extended to historic churches
NewsContemporary art
Ragnar Kjartansson re-creates US soap opera for vast GES-2 culture complex opening in Moscow
GES-2 complex is located in a former power plant, built in 1907, located near the Kremlin
NewsCentre Pompidou
Centre Pompidou to expand and move collections to new satellite venue in southern Paris
The “art factory” will be a conservation, exhibition and storage space and is expected to open in 2025
NewsOpenings
Paris Museum of Modern Art unveils €10m revamp of Art Deco home
Redesign by h2o architectes opens up 1930s building—with monumental murals by Matisse and Dufy—to disabled visitors
NewsRedevelopment
Cultural figures rally to save Reading Prison—where Oscar Wilde was once incarcerated—as it goes up for sale
Locals hope to prevent historic site "being gutted and turned into luxury flats" as building is put on the market
NewsOpenings
Centre Pompidou’s satellite space in Shanghai to open early November
New offshoot joins Málaga and Brussels in French museum’s burgeoning international network
NewsMuseums
Peabody Essex Museum's $125m expansion includes new displays shaped by its neuroscience research
Institution in Salem, Massachusetts, opens new wing to display maritime and Asian art collection
CommentMuseums & Heritage
Making the Art Institute of Chicago a more inclusive place is about more than just architecture
The museum’s director James Rondeau on why the institution is bringing Barcelona architects Barozzi Veiga on board to rethink the whole campus
NewsBuilding projects
Oakland’s ‘museum of the people’ launches $85m capital campaign
Renovation aims to reflect the demographic diversity of the birthplace of the Black Panthers
NewsCathedral of Notre Dame
Construction on Notre Dame pushed back to 19 August as steps taken to decontaminate site from lead
Construction had been expected to start a week earlier, but new safety measures for the protection of workers are still being tested
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Hungary presses ahead with sprawling culture hub in Budapest city park
Vast collections centre for 300,000 objects inaugurated as construction continues on ambitious museums quarter for Hungarian capital
NewsOpenings
Bordeaux gets €60m Meca for creative industries
Bjarke Ingels-designed culture hub will be the new home of the Frac regional contemporary art centre
NewsBuilding projects
New Museum unveils Rem Koolhaas design for addition
Building to rise next door that will double the museum’s exhibition space
CommentLacma
LACMA is building an institution for the 21st century
Museums were never “encyclopaedic”—nor should they be, Michael Conforti says
NewsState Russian Museum
State Russian Museum refurbishment cancelled amid protests
The renovation threatened the museum's architecture and collection, plaintiffs argued
NewsBuilding projects
Could a parking garage hold up Lacma’s new Zumthor building?
A local group has sued Los Angeles County over the plan’s environmental impact report
CommentLacma
Lacma’s $650m plan won’t wash
Community lawsuit brings welcome last stand against museum’s alarmingly secretive building project
NewsDia Art Foundation
Dia:Chelsea to begin revamp this month for fall 2020 reopening
The project, announced this year, is part of the Dia Art Foundation’s $90m multi-venue initiative
NewsBuilding projects
London’s Warburg Institute launches £14.5m expansion to revive the 'science of culture'
Research centre based on the library of German art historian Aby Warburg plans to open new public spaces in 2022
CommentMuseums & Heritage
A train wreck in slow motion? Why Lacma’s new building is an impending disaster
County officials prepare to vote on the $650m project this week, but the museum’s next incarnation could come at too high a cost for culture
InterviewNational Museum of Qatar
Jean Nouvel: 'desert rose' Qatar museum blooms against the odds
We speak to the French architect about the search for a national landmark and the hurdles that faced the mammoth project
NewsMuseum of Modern Art New York
Ninety years on, MoMA rediscovers its radical soul
New York museum's rotating rehang will emphasise diverse permanent collection to celebrate the “pluriverse” of art
NewsOpenings
Milton Keynes gallery expansion wants to ‘make people think again’
MK Gallery's new £12m building is inspired by utopian 1970s heyday of England’s maligned New Town
NewsBuilding projects
Miami’s Art Center/South Florida gets a new facility—and a new name
Oolite Arts is due to move from Miami Beach to a purpose-built space on the mainland
NewsMuseums & Heritage
National Museum of Scotland completes 15-year makeover revealing 'whole world under one roof'
The £80m masterplan has created 50% more public space and unveiled 6,500 forgotten objects
NewsMuseum of Modern Art New York
New York's MoMA to close for four months for renovation
Rethinking the Modernist canon, New York museum is changing the presentation of its permanent collection
NewsPrivate Museums
Grand opening of Russian billionaire’s power-plant museum is postponed to 2020
GES-2 will be part of Moscow's Museum Mile, linked to Garage, the Tretyakov and the Pushkin
NewsBeirut
Beirut Museum of Art vows to carry on as honorary chairman Carlos Ghosn remains in jail
Museum board says fundraising campaign to build delayed private museum is not dependent on the scandal-hit auto executive
PreviewThe Year Ahead 2019
Top ten new museums and major extensions due to open in 2019
A MoMA expansion, the opening of the Humboldt Forum, the unveiling of the National Museum of Qatar and a new Bauhaus Museum are just some of the highlights of the year ahead
NewsExhibitions
Berlin's 200-year-old replica workshop finds a niche at new Museum Island hub
First-ever exhibition on the Gipsformerei, which copies works for museums and Jeff Koons, will open the James Simon Gallery next summer
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Staff at State Russian Museum take legal action to halt renovation
Senior employees claim the $17m project threatens the Mikhailovsky Palace building and its collections
Feature
You have to renovate to accumulate: three South Florida museums expand in very different ways
The Norton Museum of Art, the Boca Raton Museum of Art and the Museum of Art and Design at Miami Dade College show that museum expansions can take different sizes and forms
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach
Art Basel looks to the future as ‘campus’ around the Miami Beach Convention Center grows
Fair organisers are "focusing on developing a new concept" after discontinuing the Film and Public sectors
NewsBuilding projects
Couple donates $40m for MoMA's renovation and expansion
Acknowledging gift, museum names a film center after Debra and Leon Black
NewsMuseums & Heritage
The Met looks back at Max Hollein’s first 100 days as director—and forward to its 150th birthday
The museum will mark its anniversary in 2020 by launching a renovation of the Rockefeller Wing and celebrating its permanent collection
NewsBuilding projects
Cost of Manchester arts centre The Factory jumps due to 'construction inflation'
City council will cover extra £20m costs for the Rem-Koolhaas designed venue
NewsNational Museum of Qatar
Jean Nouvel-designed National Museum of Qatar announces opening date
Architect, who also designed the Louvre Abu Dhabi, drew inspiration from the crystalline forms that emerge in the desert
NewsAcquisitions
Dallas school given largest collection of Swiss art outside of Switzerland
The University of Texas at Dallas is building its first museum to house the gift
InterviewMuseums & Heritage
Tristram Hunt unveils plans for V&A East—the Victoria & Albert Museum's satellite London location
Museum will receive the buildings in former Olympic park for free, director says
NewsBuilding projects
Houston's museum building boom continues with opening of Menil Drawing Institute
Campus expansions at three museums in Texas's biggest city focus on creating civic spaces as well as on showing art
CommentMuseums
Letter to the editor | Necessity, not secrecy, will close NPG’s doors
Nicholas Cullinan, the director of the National Portrait Gallery, responds to criticism about the museum's three-year closure
Nicholas Cullinan