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Comment
CommentMonuments
Tearing down troubling statues is not lying about our history—it is removing impediments to truth
The UK communities secretary Robert Jenrick's plans to prevent the removal of controversial monuments reveals his inability to view the past as shifting and complex
Ben Luke
CommentMuseums
Could 2021 be the year of the African museum?
While the West continues to grapple with its colonial past, institutions from Togo to Cairo are creating more expansive models to celebrate art
Nana Oforiatta Ayim
CommentArt market
How will US money laundering crackdown actually impact the art market? A lawyer explains
Congress is increasing its regulation of antiquities trade and while its powers are limited for now, change will come so the art industry must prepare
Nicholas M. O'Donnell
CommentArt market
A Covid-19 silver lining? Let’s not return to family-unfriendly art business as usual
The industry could work better for mothers and fathers if it doesn’t go back to the out-of-hours, out-of-town way things were
Melanie Gerlis
CommentDiary of an art historian
Auction houses have finally entered the Amazon age—and I’m addicted
I thought I’d kicked my online art and antiques buying habit but too much lockdown screen time has been my undoing
Bendor Grosvenor
CommentCovid-19
As 2021 beckons.... I crave new art in the new year more than ever
With talk of vaccines dominating the airwaves, a return to regular contact with the latest works and upcoming artists may be on the horizon
Ben Luke
CommentCovid-19
'Museums had better not be planning for a return to the status quo'
If institutions keep admission limits in place, they’ll come out of the coronavirus crisis in better health, says art critic Blake Gopnik
Blake Gopnik
CommentThe Year in Review 2020
Art could have dwindled into insignificance in the upheaval of this year—instead it endured
Through the major shifts and moments of victory, art has proved itself to be cathartic, resistant and powerful
Ben Luke
CommentArt market
How art world leaders can embrace new money laundering regulations and create a 'think risk' culture
Punishment for the new rules now falls on the art market's top dogs, says Sotheby’s founding global compliance director Rena Neville
Rena Neville
CommentMuseums & Heritage
California needs a plan to restart the arts
There is not a person in the arts who wants to open until it is safe to do so, but we cannot even prepare to start without state guidelines
Julie Baker
CommentArt Market Eye
Asian art market flies in the face of coronavirus
Why are Asians in hot pursuit of art, and what are they buying?
Georgina Adam
CommentMuseums
Gabrielie Finaldi: 'What is the National Gallery if you can’t visit and you can’t see the pictures?'
Museums have a responsibility to the people to protect and share the collection, says the London museum's director
Gabriele Finaldi
CommentHumboldt Forum
'Humboldt Forum must have a clear policy that only objects of proper provenance can be used'
The question of restitution as well as a new order of north-south relations should be top of the agenda, says George Abungu an international adviser to the project
George Abungu
CommentArt market
The art trade benefits from the UK's low import duty. What will happen to it after Brexit?
As talks with the EU resume to reach a last-ditch trade deal, the lawyer Louise Williamson looks at what UK import rules might look like after 1 January
Louise Williamson
CommentArt market
Provenance: the Trojan horse that can make or break a work of art
The who, where and when of ownership can lead on to scholarly, ethical, legal and existential issues
David Anfam
CommentMuseums
A new kind of museum is emerging—here's what the future holds
International museum leaders are confronting manifold challenges in the wake of Covid-19 and innovating in six principal ways, writes András Szántó
András Szántó
CommentArt Market Eye
The turn of the screw: will tighter regulations impact the art market?
Often described as totally unregulated, the art trade is facing more stringent rules
Georgina Adam
CommentArt market
Pastures new: why some top gallery staff are moving on from longtime jobs
Without art fairs and hectic travel, the pandemic has transformed the way most of us work—and some are branching out rather than returning to their old lifestyle
Melanie Gerlis
CommentCultural heritage
Finally, rebel experts come to the rescue of Unesco’s failing World Heritage programme
New organisation, Our World Heritage, is putting Unesco's feet to the fire
Anna Somers Cocks
CommentDiary of an art historian
People see only 'silver tits' and 'bouffant pubes' now—but I predict Mary Wollstonecraft sculpture will become widely admired
One of the iron rules of art history is that the more derided a work of art at first, the more celebrated it will become
Bendor Grosvenor
CommentHeritage
Fifty years on, Unesco’s convention against illicit trafficking of cultural artefacts still shines bright
International treaty of 1970 has helped establish an ethical basis for the actions of law enforcement and museums
Alexander Herman
CommentDiary of an art historian
Is the UK seeing the emergence of a ‘Godfather approach’ to arts funding?
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has been ignoring the arm's length principle and offering museums unsolicited advice
Bendor Grosvenor
CommentPhilip Guston
Philip Guston show: 2022 opening is welcome news but confusion still remains
The museums should make urgent use of the delay already caused by the pandemic rather than lurch towards lengthy postponement
Ben Luke
CommentArtists
A message of hope from David Hockney for Lockdown 2: 'Remember, they can't cancel the autumn either'
UK’s leading artist sends two new images of hope
The Art Newspaper
CommentSaudi Arabia
Why culture is so important in the time of coronavirus
As Saudi Arabia prepares to host the G20 summit, the kingdom's culture minister argues that culture should be part of the agenda
Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud
CommentArtists
Portrait of Tracey: how Emin's cancer diagnosis hasn't stopped her from being an artistic dynamo
With exhibitions at the Royal Academy and Xavier Hufkens, as well as her return to Margate, the artist is doing more in convalescence than most people manage in full health
Louisa Buck
CommentArt Market Eye
A flood of art? The market issues around museum deaccessioning
A flurry of museum pieces is heading to auction, but will there be enough buyers for them?
Georgina Adam
CommentSackler family
Nan Goldin: We must stop the Sacklers’ imminent Justice Department immunity deal
The family behind Purdue Pharma is poised to buy their way out of liability once again
Nan Goldin and PAIN
CommentClosures
'Another yawning gap': radical London Print Studio closes its doors
Art world pays tribute to vital public space that served community organisations as well as artists including Lucian Freud, Billy Childish and Shezad Dawood
Hettie Judah
Commentcoronavirus
Exhibitions need a perfect storm to succeed—but shows opening during Covid-19 are getting a disappointing drizzle
With no group student visits, no art-world private view, and limits on public access, the buzz of new exhibitions has potentially been short-circuited
Ben Luke
CommentDeaccessioning
Baltimore Museum of Art curators respond to deaccessioning criticism
Equity and diversity make history fairer, more accurate, and more meaningful in the present, they say
Asma Naeem and Katy Siegel
CommentHeritage
Confronting the allure, and the dangers, of 'fake heritage'
Monetary gain is one reason people create counterfeit heritage—but political power, personal fame or the imposition of beliefs are equally compelling motivations
John Darlington
Commentelection 2020
Why vote? To protect those who cannot
The proverbial arc of history will not bend toward justice without our help
Sue Coe for The Art Newspaper
CommentDiary of an art historian
I finally went to see some art—and caught Covid-19
A trip to the National Gallery was eerie and alien—although a newly restored Van Dyck painting briefly shook off my anxiety
Bendor Grosvenor
CommentDeaccessioning
‘Uniquely egregious’: The disturbing precedent of the Baltimore Museum of Art’s deaccessioning plan
Sale of three valuable paintings by Warhol, Still and Marden points to a thirst for a $65m windfall, with no curatorial rationale
Martin Gammon
CommentMuseums & Heritage
Visionary leaders, big business and the digital boom: 30 years that changed museums
On The Art Newspaper’s anniversary, Donatien Grau reflects on the radical expansion of museums' financial, political and cultural influence
Donatien Grau
CommentArt market
Bubbles, sheikhs and the freeport frenzy: Georgina Adam reflects on 30 years of art market reporting
Our art market editor-at-large looks back on three decades of booming sales and soaring prices, from Middle Eastern emergence to the evolution of auction houses
Georgina Adam
Comment US politics
For the arts, there’s only one choice in this election
The Biden-Harris campaign has pledged funding and support for arts and culture as a key policy issue
Tanya Selvaratnam
CommentMuseums & Heritage
The only way is ethics: US museums should not neglect provenance research in the funding crisis
Ethical institutional practices such as staff equity and due diligence are essential investments, "not merely a luxury for flush times"
Elizabeth Campbell
CommentDeaccessioning
Done right, selling museum pieces can work—but probably not with Michelangelos
UK museums may deaccession collection objects with curatorial justification and transparency, but it cannot be treated as a quick financial fix
Alexander Herman
CommentPolitics
Philip Guston drew Richard Nixon's face as a hairy scrotum and phallus—what would he make of President Trump?
The physiognomy of deviousness, greed, ruthless opportunism, risible self-importance and gobsmacking albeit garden variety stupidity provides artists of Guston’s bent and calibre with a virtually bottomless well of imagery
Robert Storr
CommentArt market
Gatherings are taboo in the Covid-19 world, so where does that leave experiential art?
New venture Superblue aims to attract younger audiences by selling tickets for immersive events, but its model is at odds with a socially distanced society
Melanie Gerlis
CommentLabour
Art unions need to agitate beyond worker contracts
The only way to change the exploitative culture and entrenched racism of art institutions is collectively, from the bottom up
Dana Kopel
CommentVenice
How to save Venice: a five-point plan by a leading citizen
Polls show that Venetians are about to re-elect a populist mayor who promises to bring back all the tourists—but none of the other eight candidates has presented a realistic alternative
David Landau
CommentBanksy
Banksy’s activism is his greatest work
Funding a refugee rescue boat is just the latest in a long history of politically motivated acts
Anny Shaw
CommentChina
'We cannot build a truly globalised art world without China'
Artistic exchange has been vital to the mutual understanding between China and the West, says Karen Smith, the director of OCAT Contemporary Art Terminal, Xi’an, China
Karen Smith
CommentFunding
'Be commercially minded or lose future funding': UK government's threat puts museums in peril
In a letter leaked to The Art Newspaper, the culture minister Oliver Dowden tells directors they must raise their own funds during the pandemic—but how?
Bendor Grosvenor
CommentCultural heritage
Why we should be concerned about President Erdogan turning museums into mosques
Hagia Sophia and the Chora Church will remain “open to all”, Turkish government promises—but restricted access may not be the primary worry
Holger A. Klein
CommentArtists
Remembering the beautiful melancholy of Matthew Wong
The astronomical increase in the value of works by the Canadian artist, who died by suicide last year, is driven by morose opportunism
Kenny Schachter
CommentDiary of an art historian
National Trust restructuring plans are ‘one of the most damaging assaults on art historical expertise ever seen in the UK’
Job cuts and planned repurposing of country houses will lead to a corporatisation of the nation's heritage sites
Bendor Grosvenor
Commentcoronavirus
Business can and should help the arts through this crisis
The pandemic has laid bare the betrayal of the cultural sector, but corporations and individuals can alleviate the hardship
Thomas Girst
CommentMuseums & Heritage
'Museums need to press the reset button and become more radical'
Directors and curators should consider this challenging moment as an opportunity diversify the stories they tell and the staff that tell them
Ben Luke
CommentMonuments
The problem with Marc Quinn's Black Lives Matter sculpture
Racism runs far deeper than representation, says the artist Thomas J. Price
Thomas J. Price
CommentDiary of an art historian
'When the politics change, so must the statues'
History can teach us a lot about how to—and how not to—deal with problematic historic monuments
Bendor Grosvenor
CommentPhotography
Photographs are the monuments of our online visual culture
But which ones will ascend to a more permanent station in today’s social imagination?
Kevin Moore
CommentMuseums & Heritage
'If a person of African descent wants a career in the arts—well, good luck'
Only by looking backwards can we start to tackle inequality in the arts sector, says Gus Casely-Hayford, the director of V&A East
Gus Casely-Hayford
CommentArt market
Can the art market be an ally in the fight for racial equality?
The industry remains subtly discriminatory and must abandon some obsolete ways if it is to truly change for the better
Olivia Anani
CommentArt market
We need to talk about guarantees. And art loans
Dealers who finance deals by taking out loans against art may well find themselves in difficulty because of the Covid-19 pandemic
Georgina Adam
CommentArt market
No rest for the frazzled for many in the art world
As galleries and auction houses slowly awaken from lockdown (some of them, at least), this summer will be one of work, not rest
Melanie Gerlis
CommentRacial injustice
If we want more artists like Khadija Saye, we need to give young BAME people the help they need
Would-be artists from ethnic minorities have it harder than most—which is why a new programme will continue Saye’s inspiring work, says the artist Nicola Green
Nicola Green
CommentMuseums & Heritage
US needs monuments celebrating African American history, not Confederate statues
Telling America’s overlooked stories is fundamental to building a true national identity, says preservationist Brent Leggs
Brent Leggs
Podcast
Art and social media: do museums need memes?
Plus, artist Rita Keegan on her postponed show and Julia Peyton-Jones on Leonardo. Produced in association with Christie's
Hosted by Ben Luke and Aimee Dawson. Produced by Julia Michalska and David Clack
CommentMuseums & Heritage
Institutions need to follow artists’ lead to make a material impact on the world
Museums can learn a lot from artists like Mark Bradford, Shan Wallace and Rick Lowe about how to more effectively engage with their communities
Christopher Bedford and Katy Siegel
CommentArt market
What’s the ideal post-pandemic art market? One that's no longer a Disneyland for the rich
Capitalism has gobbled up the art world over the past decade—it is high time for a reset
Jane Kallir
Commentcoronavirus
Oxford Economics report: an emergency fund for the UK creative sector 'needs to come soon'
It is time for a Creative New Deal amid the coronavirus crisis, says Caroline Norbury the chief executive officer of the Creative Industries Federation
Caroline Norbury
CommentFunding
Museums will need ethical funders all the more after the coronavirus crisis
As institutions reopen their doors to a world that has changed significantly, public scrutiny of private money is not going away
Joe Dunning
CommentArt market
Who are the art market's virtual winners?
As digital fatigue sets in, a little editing goes a long way with online viewing rooms—and sometimes a humble PDF with a few human touches makes a welcome break
Melanie Gerlis
CommentDiary of an art historian
Museums are about to reopen—but should they?
Social distancing measures mean a lot of money will be spent on a small number of visitors, institutions should be focusing on their online presence instead
Bendor Grosvenor
CommentMuseums
Eight ways museums could make the most of the coronavirus crisis
Failure to seize this opportunity to make changes would be a graver error than any breach of etiquette
Adrian Ellis
Commentcolonialism
Edward Colston monument: 'UK must face the truth of what helped it become a mighty power'
Once it is fished out of the water in Bristol, the statue of slave trader Edward Colston should go in a museum. But what kind of a museum?, asks writer Bonnie Greer
Bonnie Greer
CommentProtest
Dread Scott: America God Damn
The multidisciplinary artist and social justice activist reflects on the recent protests in response to the killing of George Floyd and the history of racialised police violence in the US—and how change may finally be underway
Dread Scott
CommentBlack Lives Matter
The Art Newspaper's statement on the Black Lives Matter movement
We will redouble our efforts to shine a light on prejudice, injustice, tokenism and hypocrisy, to call for real diversity in the workforce, including our own team of writers and staff
The Art Newspaper
CommentArt market
What sort of art will we want after the pandemic ends?
Performance out, domestically-sized painting in
Georgina Adam
CommentExhibitions
Must London always win? National Gallery of Scotland cancels Titian show for all the wrong reasons
By bowing out of the Renaissance blockbuster tour, the Edinburgh museum has not only let down the Scottish public but shown its priorities are misplaced
Bendor Grosvenor
Commentracism
The US has a big racism problem and the art world is not helping
A looted Kaws sculpture and museums' silence reveal a predatory not progressive industry as protests flare following the killing of George Floyd
Margaret Carrigan
CommentMuseums & Heritage
After Covid-19, museums need to plan ‘must see’ exhibitions instead of blockbusters
The Brooklyn Museum’s director of exhibitions explains how institutions can rethink their offerings going forward
Sharon Matt Atkins
Commentcoronavirus
Why I made a mountain of fortune cookies in my little London flat during lockdown—all in the name of art
Biscuit sculptures have sprung up worldwide as part of a global initiative to celebrate the late artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Gareth Harris
CommentMuseums & Heritage
Our mission is to be Miami’s art museum—that’s why we spent $145,000 to buy works from local galleries
Franklin Sirmans, the director of the Perez Art Museum Miami, explains the impetus behind the Collectors Council’s largest group acquisition ever
Franklin Sirmans
CommentSustainability
Art museums should use their endowments to help battle climate change
In April, Harvard University announced plans to realign its $40bn endowment to reflect “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050—other US institutions can do the same
Anna Raginskaya
CommentDeaccessioning
Why the Association of Art Museum Directors’s move on deaccessioning matters so much
Decision to relax rules on selling art exposes chinks in a fortress
Mark S. Gold and Stefanie S. Jandl
CommentPersonal stories of coronavirus
After years of sanctions and political upheaval, the pandemic is a new hurdle for the fragile Iranian art scene
Pejman Foundation in Tehran opened a museum at the start of this year only for it to close soon after as coronavirus struck
Carolyn Tso
CommentArt market
Auctions are like dating: you can do it online, but sparks only fly in the flesh
The coronavirus lockdown is boosting lower level virtual sales, but only a major live auction will kick-start the top end of the art market and revalidate prices
Philip Hook
Commentcoronavirus
Britain's young artists had a hard time before the pandemic. What will happen to them now?
Inequality is rife in British society, not least in the arts, where decades of ‘class-cleansing’ policies have made it harder than ever to be an artist and designer
Scott Reyburn
CommentArt law
Selling art online? Here are the legal pitfalls to avoid
Lawyer Petra Warrington on how to protect your business if you are holding online auctions, exhibiting and selling works on Instagram, or entering into sale contracts by email
Petra Warrington
CommentDiary of an art historian
'Being an art historian now is easier and more productive than it’s ever been'
Publishers and libraries are extending their online access to help art historians put their period of enforced seclusion to good use
Bendor Grosvenor
Commentcoronavirus
When this is all over we must reimagine the infrastructure of the arts
Our enforced isolation during the coronavirus crisis gives us time to think about the role of culture in the public realm
Robert Hewison
CommentBiennials & festivals
Why we cancelled the 2020 FotoFocus Biennial and dispersed its $800,000 budget as arts grants
As the coronavirus pandemic raised concerns about their 10th anniversary event plans, the leaders of the Cincinnati festival explain why they decided to support the local arts community instead
Mary Ellen Goeke and Kevin Moore
CommentArt Market Eye
Auctions: what will change, post-Covid-19?
In the era of social distancing, auctioneers may have to conduct sales to an empty room
Georgina Adam
CommentMichael Craig Martin
'Politicians have failed us': Michael Craig-Martin's thoughts from isolation
The great plagues and wars of the past were followed by dramatic changes in the arts—the same will happen again, says the conceptual artist
Michael Craig-Martin
CommentNew Deal
UK artists deserve a New Deal
Instead of commissioning creatives to respond to the current crisis as if this were a war, the country should pump millions into community art projects
Ben Luke
CommentMuseums
Greetings from a museum leaving lockdown: lessons from Beijing's UCCA Center for Contemporary Art
Philip Tinari, the director and CEO of the Chinese museum, shares what the institution has learned during closure and its future plans
Philip Tinari
CommentMuseums
Museums must adopt new models to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic
Institutions need visionary leaders to find ways to adapt to a dramatically altered culture
Susan Lubowsky Talbott
CommentArt market
‘I’ve always been wary of big business’: Paula Cooper on weathering adversity and building better social systems
The veteran New York dealer shares her concerns about the current coronavirus crisis—and what the art world needs to stay focused on
Paula Cooper
CommentMuseums & Heritage
Notes from the lockdown: Making a situated museum in Queens
The director of the Queens Museum reflects on how the coronavirus pandemic may change how communities use public spaces, and how museums can help rebuild these communal experiences
Sally Tallant
CommentA message from
A message from... Yayoi Kusama: 'Let us joyfully sing this song of a splendid future'
Japan's beloved artist has penned a poem of hope for the world
Yayoi Kusama
CommentPersonal stories of coronavirus
'We are all Surrealists now': how life with Leonora Carrington prepared me for coronavirus lockdown
Joanna Moorhead, the biographer and relative of the rediscovered Surrealist woman artist, talks about learning to adventure creatively from the confines of home
Joanna Moorhead
CommentReligious art
Pope Francis, his crucifix and the Virgin Mary: miraculous or merely traditional?
Art history removes the numinous from art. At the Vatican’s Covid-19 blessing we saw it invoked again
Anna Somers Cocks
CommentArt crime
Don't let your guard down: three things you can do now to protect your art during the pandemic
With sparse personnel and visitors, some criminals will try to see if the “closed” sign actually means “open”, say K2 Intelligence FIN's art crime experts
Jordan Arnold and James Wynne
Commentcoronavirus
Mourning a ‘golden' exhibition season curtailed by coronavirus
Major shows by male artists dominated the London museum landscape before the crisis, now women and non-binary artists are missing their turn
Ben Luke
CommentEconomics
Don’t forget to support our artists, the chroniclers of such crisis
Suzy Delvalle, the president of Creative Capital, urges us all to help artists hurt by the coronavirus pandemic
Suzy Delvalle
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