PreviewThe Year Ahead 2020
New museums and major expansions opening in 2020
From Tutankhamun's new king-sized home in Cairo to Munch's sleek space in Oslo, here is our pick of the big openings this year
NewsStatues
City of London to remove statues of politicians with slavery links
The decision to take down historic William Beckford and John Cass sculptures could go against new UK government policy
NewsAcquisitions
Trove of Surrealist publications and paintings donated to Dutch museum
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen's gift from collectors Laurens Vancrevel and Frida de Jong “opens up new horizons on surrealist activities”, says expert
NewsArt market
New York art dealer Helly Nahmad pardoned by Trump
Hours before leaving office, former US president granted a pardon to Nahmad, who pleaded guilty to a federal gambling charge in 2014 and owned an entire floor of Trump Tower
Newscoronavirus
Museums around the world step up to be transformed into vaccination centres
London's Science Museum and a West Midlands museum where Peaky Blinders was filmed are just some of the venues doubling up as Covid-19 vaccine hubs
NewsAwards
Singer RM from Korean boyband BTS named 'art sponsor of the year'
The Bangtan Boys musician was recognised for donating $90,400 to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul last September
NewsPublic art
UK government announces new laws to protect controversial historic monuments from 'woke worthies and baying mobs'
Proposed plans have been criticised as distraction tactics from the state's "lethally failed response to the pandemic and the consequences of a disastrous Brexit"
NewsHeritage
From mummies to mosques—new Google Arts & Culture initiative brings Egypt’s archaeological treasures to the masses
New online platform aims to turn traditionally scholarly subject into something "easily digestible and fun to explore"
NewsAuctions
Rejected Tintin cover design sets record for comic book art with €3.2m auction price
Sale of controversial 1936 painting criticised by organisation behind artist Hergé’s estate
NewsPablo Picasso
Saga of Picasso murals ripped from Oslo building continues as heirs head to court
Family of artist Carl Nesjar—who collaborated on the works with Picasso—say they have a copyright claim and should help decide where the pieces are relocated
NewsGeorge Floyd
Giant painting of George Floyd murder displayed on Los Angeles billboard after being cancelled in Minneapolis
Advertising firms in Minneapolis—where Floyd was killed by police—refused to show the work saying it was too violent, but advocacy group says it will try again
NewsCelebrities
Cate Blanchett is building her own art gallery at her English country home
Old outbuildings on the actor's estate will be knocked down to make way for the studio—and provisions will be made for the protected bats that live there
News US politics
Storming of US Capitol: art world condemns police hypocrisy in pro-Trump riot
Artists Dread Scott and Glenn Ligon among cultural figures pointing out stark contrast in how law enforcement handled the mob compared with Black Lives Matter protestors
NewsMuseums
Closure of London's Florence Nightingale Museum fuels fears that the pandemic will force smaller UK institutions to shut
Williamson Art Gallery & Museum in Birkenhead is also under threat of closure as part of cost-cutting measures by local council
NewsDiscoveries
Is this ‘enormously powerful’ painting of Jesus Christ by El Greco? Spanish expert questions new attribution
Art history scholars disagree over possible discovery of work by Renaissance master, which is owned by private collector
NewsAnniversary
Remembering Dante—Uffizi unveils online exhibition of 'Divine Comedy' drawings by Federico Zuccari
Florence gallery also planning vast exhibition dedicated to the poet in Forlì featuring works by Michelangelo
PreviewBook Club
A selection of 2021 art publications—Musa Mayer on her father, Philip Guston; Jean Dubuffet in the spotlight
A monograph on Catherine Opie, an analysis of museums in the 21st century and an overview of Joseph Beuys also make the grade
NewsObituaries
In memoriam: remembering art world figures who died in 2020
John Baldessari, Beverly Pepper, Irina Antonova and Christo were among those who died last year
PreviewThe Year Ahead 2021
Our guide to the top biennials and triennials coming up in 2021
Previews of the 34th Bienal de São Paulo, Prospect.5 and the 11th Liverpool Biennial—plus, lots of dates for your diary
NewsAcquisitions
A 'milestone' moment—US National Gallery of Art acquires 40 works by Black Southern artists
Works were purchased from Souls Grown Deep Foundation in a move that could ‘alter the canon of American art'
NewsMuseums
Spanish government sets January deadline to break deadlock over Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum collection
Culture minister wants to move the ‘red lines’ in negotiations with Baroness Carmen Cervera
NewsAwards
UK New Year’s Honours 2021: awards for artists Michael Landy and Denzil Forrester
Former Tate Britain chief Stephen Deuchar is knighted; curator Lesley Fitton and ceramicist Jennifer Lee also recognised
NewsMonuments
Vilified statue of Abraham Lincoln and kneeling slave removed from Park Square in Boston
Artist’s campaign and petition prompted dismantling of ‘Emancipation Group’ piece—but original still stands in Washington DC
NewsBrexit
Art specialists pore over the Brexit trade deal—and deliver their verdict
Artist’s resale right, import VAT, red tape, and smuggling directives are addressed by our experts
NewsObituaries
Artist David Medalla—the kinetic art pioneer known for his Cloud Canyons foam sculptures—has died, aged 82
Tributes paid to Manila-born trailblazer who co-founded hugely influential Signals gallery in 1960s London
NewsEmergency grants
Numbers game: UK cultural emergency funds in the spotlight
Despite a £1.57bn pot, an algorithm-based grant-making process and complex criteria have left some major institutions empty-handed
NewsMuseums
Rehung and revamped Mona museum in Tasmania opens its doors after nine-month closure
Collector David Walsh’s celebrated subterranean gallery marks tenth anniversary next month
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Ancient ‘fast food’ stall comes to light during Pompeii dig
Thermopolium snack bar is revealed in full, providing "extraordinary evidence of the Mediterranean diet', says director
NewsMedia
Belgian artist Wim Delvoye’s ‘human canvas’ piece inspired new body tattoo movie
‘The Man Who Sold His Skin’ is about a Syrian refugee who gets inked and exhibited in a Brussels museum
NewsRedundancies
Curators responsible for Queen’s art collection lose their jobs in Covid-19 cost-cutting exercise
Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures post, held by Desmond Shawe-Taylor, will be ‘lost and held in abeyance’
NewsAcquisitions
Acquisitions round-up: European museums co-purchase El Anatsui sculpture from collector Uli Sigg
Woodland scene by Jan Brueghel the Elder heads to Washington DC; London’s National Portrait Gallery gets a Gainsborough via acceptance in lieu
NewsDenmark
Rector at Danish art academy steps down over royal bust drowned by artist protesting school’s colonial legacy
Row over plaster cast of monarch dumped in the canal escalates after Danish culture ministry steps in
NewsDavid Hockney
David Hockney appoints Royal Academy curator Edith Devaney as his new managing director
Devaney, previously at the RA for 22 years, will oversee artist’s catalogue raisonné among other projects
NewsRestitution
Congolese activist who tried to seize an artefact from the Louvre is fined €5,000
Mwazulu Diyabanza says that “museums do not deserve respect” as restitution debate intensifies
NewsAuctions
Warhol, Oldenburg, Fontana: star works from Christo and Jeanne-Claude collection go on the block
Proceeds from the pieces sold at Sotheby’s Paris in February will go towards the artist duo's estate
NewsDamien Hirst
Damien Hirst installs giant sculpture in middle of frozen St. Moritz Lake
UK artist is showing more than 40 works in his Mental Escapology exhibition in the Alpine Swiss city
NewsPhilanthropy
Billionaire Leonard Blavatnik donates £10m to the Courtauld Institute of Art
Suite of galleries in refurbished Courtauld Gallery will be named after the Ukraine-born industrialist
NewsExhibitions
Botticelli bonanza in Paris next year with major show of masterpieces
New exhibition at Musée Jacquemart-André presents 15th-century artist as an entrepreneur and prolific designer
NewsRedundancies
London's Southbank Centre rehires 40 workers who lost their jobs in the wake of Covid-19
Staff who have been made redundant are being recruited again following extension of furlough job retention scheme by UK government
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Museums and galleries in London to close from Wednesday under new Covid Tier 3 restrictions
But arts professionals heavily criticise the government decision, saying there is “no logic” behind the move
NewsSaudi Arabia
Philip Tinari appointed curator of inaugural Ad-Diriyah Biennale in Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom’s largest ever contemporary art exhibition will aim to deliver a more "open" image of the country
NewsMuseums
Leeds museum makes history by hosting Covid-19 vaccination hub
High-risk patients get Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at Thackray Museum of Medicine
NewsFunding
Historic Royal Palaces gets £40m lifeline loan and Southbank Centre gets £11m in latest round of UK Covid-19 funding
Rem Koolhaas’ Factory arts hub in Manchester—scheduled for completion in 2022—gets £21m grant
NewsMusee d'Orsay
French politicians want Musée d’Orsay named after late French president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing
Former minister Rachida Dati calls on Emmanuel Macron to authorise the change
NewsInstitute of Contemporary Art, London
ICA London to reopen early 2021 after closing for almost a year
Exhibition on advocacy group Tottenham Rights—with a focus on Mark Duggan shooting—scheduled for next Spring
NewsArt market
New online platform puts London’s emerging art scene on the map—literally
Credit X has created digital map and database of less established art spaces and galleries in the hopes of balancing out an art world "shaped by market forces", it says
NewsPolitics
Tania Bruguera under house arrest in Cuba as anti-government protests escalate
Authorities are “building a case against” the artist, says sister
NewsPrizes
New art prize allows London's National Gallery to tour Dutch masterpiece around UK
Tech entrepreneur Frédéric Jousset wants to shake up long-standing museum models through the ambitious award
NewsManifesta
Biennial on the beach: Barcelona to host 2024 edition of Manifesta
German city lined up for 2026 edition but the next edition will vie with Venice Biennale and Documenta
BlogBook Club
What was the best art book you read in 2020? The art world’s biggest names give us their top tips
The directors of the Met, Tate Modern, British Museum, Centre Pompidou and more, as well as artists such as Tracey Emin, tell us all about their favourite book—just in time for Christmas shopping
FeatureBook Club
Extract | Why I made Love is the Message—Arthur Jafa describes the inspiration for his seminal film
In a recently published Cahiers d’Art monograph, the US artist speaks about responding to “a tsunami of footage of Black people getting killed”
NewsTate Modern
Tate will cut 120 jobs to 'survive crisis'
The institution has launched a voluntary redundancy scheme but could ‘move to compulsory redundancy in 2021’
NewsExhibitions
Vivian Maier, reclusive nanny turned photographer, gets biggest ever show in Paris next year
Unseen works and Super 8 films reveal new aspects of her practice
NewsStonehenge
Stonehenge campaign group plans to sue UK government over controversial tunnel scheme
£1.7bn project breaches Unesco’s World Heritage convention says campaign group
NewsCuba
Hunger strike against Cuba's human rights abuses left artist in ‘critical condition’
Activists and artists were trapped in Havana building following demonstrations against police action
NewsUK politics
Spending Review: UK museums to receive £320m during ‘biggest economic decline in 300 years’
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announces slight boost to culture department's budget, but some institutions face extended closure under new tiered system
NewsMuseums & Heritage
'Rent has increased by 3,100% since 2012': London heritage society says it may sell collection after UK government hikes costs
The Society of Antiquaries is launching a campaign to stay in historic home of Burlington House, close to Piccadilly
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Pompeii dig unearths incredible preserved remains of two men engulfed in volcanic ash
Plaster casts were made of the newly discovered victims of Vesuvius eruption, which are believed to have been a wealthy landowner and his slave
FeatureBook Club
In Pictures | Andy Warhol's explicit drawings from the 1950s that he never got to publish
New book brings together hundreds of images of nude young men, which “are imbued with an emotional vulnerability that few of his later works exhibit”
AnalysisMuseums
Where next for museums? Four key takeaways from Louvre Abu Dhabi symposium on the post-pandemic future
Event marking anniversaries of the Emirati museum and New York University Abu Dhabi looked at museum collections, buildings and people, and the impact of coronavirus
NewsMuseum entry fees
London's National Gallery charges £8 for virtual tour of blockbuster Artemisia Gentileschi exhibition
Move reflects how museums could cash in on digital initiatives
NewsGwangju Biennale
Gwangju Biennale artistic directors discuss Korean shamanism and planning in a pandemic
13th edition of the biannual Korean art exhibition will look at queer theory, feminism and how centuries of tradition collide with contemporary art
NewsCollectors
Actor Samuel L. Jackson and footballer Samuel Eto’o pay tribute to art collector Sindika Dokolo during six-hour televised memorial
Dokolo was buried at Brompton Cemetery in West London yesterday following his funeral at Westminster Cathedral
NewsMuseums
Friends forever? Museums rely on generosity of paying members and loyalty schemes to survive pandemic
Many UK institutions are hoping members will continue to support them despite limited benefits and recurring closures
NewsBooks
Prize-winning Gainsborough publication shines light on lives of painter's female sitters
New book, which reveals how the Old Masters influenced the 18th-century British artist, has won the William MB Berger Prize for British Art History
NewsBiennials & festivals
UK's £120m post-Brexit festival selects teams—including art organisations—for next step of controversial initiative
Serpentine Galleries, Tate and historian David Olusoga are on the shortlist for £3m research and development funding
NewsHeritage
New heritage body aims to keep Unesco in check by calling on public to report sites in danger
Our World Heritage says it is stepping in to save at-risk locations as “safeguarding has become a secondary concern” for Unesco
Newscolonialism
Somerset House to dig into its colonial past
Move follows release of National Trust’s slavery report, which was accused of following a ‘woke agenda’
NewsHeritage
Plans for £1.7bn tunnel under Stonehenge—approved by UK government—sparks criticism
Unesco opposes the scheme which could result in "total loss" of archaeological treasures but English Heritage says it will "reconnect the site with its prehistoric landscape"
NewsPhilanthropy
Freelands Foundation awards £1.27m in diversity funding—including Windrush education programme
The move follows the foundation's launch of a diversity action plan which aims to stamp out racial inequality in the visual arts
NewsPerformance art
Popular apocalyptic beach performance from 2019's Venice Biennale will pop up in Berlin Bauhaus swimming pool
Sun & Sea (Marina) won the Golden Lion for Lithuania
Newscoronavirus
Uffizi director Eike Schmidt has contracted coronavirus
Museum chief is asymptomatic and says he will continue working in quarantine
NewsMuseums & Heritage
From the Dalai Lama’s tailoring to beekeeping in Kenya, British Museum saves world's dying skills
Endangered Material Knowledge Programme will be extended for seven more years with £8.8m grant from Arcadia fund
NewsArts funding
Will UK government furlough extension make museums rethink redundancy plans?
Petition launched calling for Southbank Centre staff to be reinstated in light of Chancellor’s announcement while Royal Academy confirms coronavirus funding snub
News US politics
Kara Walker kicks Donald Trump to the curb and more of the best Instagram art responding to the US election
From Jules de Balincourt's painting of Kamala Harris to Rania Matar's photograph of Boston celebrations, we look at artists' reactions to Joe Biden's win
NewsSaudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia continues relentless cultural drive with Jean Nouvel subterranean desert resort
The plans are part of a ten-year agreement between France and Saudi Arabia to develop the AlUla region into a tourism destination
FeatureBook Club
Extract | How artist couple Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore resisted the Nazis with their ‘paper bullets’
New book outlines the campaign led by the gender-fluid artists on the island of Jersey during the Second World War
NewsPublic art
Marina Abramovic work to show on 'world's largest digital canvas' in London
Curator Marco Brambilla says public art programme on vast screens off Tottenham Court Road will rival Tate's Turbine Hall commissions in impact
NewsMuseums
Museums and galleries to close across England as second coronavirus lockdown announced
Exhibition schedules disrupted and concerns raised over funding after institutions required to shut down until 2 December
NewsYayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama on 2020: ‘O demons of unwonted fate. We will stand and face you’
New publication—described as “most personal book to date”—will focus on artist’s use of language
AnalysisDigital Age
The Art Newspaper at 30: how has art criticism changed in the digital age?
Through blogs, websites and social media, there is more writing than ever on the arts. But whether it adds meaningful insight, or just noise, is a matter of debate
NewsArt market
Richard Saltoun Gallery builds entire 2021 exhibition programme around late political philosopher Hannah Arendt
Her work addresses relevant issues today such as tyranny, fascism and totalitarianism, dealer says
NewsHeritage
Historic Book of Lismore returns to Ireland from Britain
Medieval vellum manuscript has been donated to University College Cork by Chatsworth, seat of the Dukes of Devonshire
NewsObituaries
'King of colour': tributes paid to Moroccan artist Mohamed Melehi who has died of Covid-19, aged 84
The abstract painter transformed the art scene in post-colonial Morocco
NewsArt crime
Man tries to take artefact from Louvre—just two weeks after being charged for the same crime at Quai Branly
Congolese activist Emery Mwazulu Diyabanza, fined €1,000 earlier this month, will go to court again later today
News US politics
Shepard Fairey—creator of famous Obama 'Hope' poster—makes new Time cover image ahead of US election
For first time in 100-year history, magazine replaces logo with the imperative to vote
NewsProtests
Art X Lagos fair supports frontline photographers in Nigeria who are documenting anti-police brutality protests
Images capturing unrest will be shown during the next edition of the fair
NewsPrizes
Actor Russell Tovey to judge 2021 Turner Prize
Award's exhibition moves to Herbert Art Gallery and Museum as part of the year-long UK City of Culture 2021 festival
NewsGustav Klimt
Stolen Klimt painting—buried for 20 years—to go back on show at Italian museum
Discovered by the gardener at the Ricci Oddi gallery last year, Portrait of a Lady will be the star of a series of exhibitions on the much-loved artist
NewsArt crime
Criminal claims 13 works from legendary Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist are hidden in a Dublin house
BBC4 documentary—released today—unpicks theory that the stolen art was shipped to Ireland
NewsArt market
Fancy a free Takashi Murakami work? Perrotin gallery launches art treasure hunt in Paris
French gallery is hiding 20 valuable works in the empty nave of the Grand Palais—and the public have 48 hours to find them and take them home
NewsPace Gallery
Talking Heads singer David Byrne sells his quirky quarantine illustrations
The images, known as dingbats, are offered by Pace Gallery in New York for $3,000 each
NewsVenice Biennale
Nordic pavilion gets political for 2022 Venice Biennale as space is renamed after Indigenous Sámi people
"It is a symbolic reversal of colonial claims that have sought to erase Sámi land and culture," says a project statement
NewsVenice Biennale 2022
Simone Leigh will be first Black woman to represent US at Venice Biennale
Brooklyn-based artist acknowledges 'depth of white supremacy in America' on social media
NewsFunding
'Publicise your grants online': UK culture minister wades into row over rescue funding demands
Oliver Dowden confirms recipients were "encouraged" to acknowledge fund on websites and social media
NewsHeritage
Machu Picchu all to yourself? Japanese tourist gets special solo tour of ancient site
Culture ministry gives Jesse Katayama access after being stranded in Peru for seven months because of coronavirus
NewsFunding
First government grants for UK art spaces announced with £789,000 for London's ICA and £804,000 for Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Whitechapel, Whitworth, Mary Rose Trust and Photo London are also among the recipients for long-awaited Covid-19 rescue funds
NewsArt market
Christie's sale in collaboration with cancelled La Biennale Paris fair flops
Online auction of art and antiques that would have been exhibited at Parisian fair achieves €1.5m with 21 of 91 lots sold
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in London this weekend
From the National Gallery's long-awaited Artemisia Gentileschi exhibition to Damien Hirst's career-spanning show at his own Newport Street Gallery
NewsNational Trust
National Trust—UK's largest conservation charity—to cut 1,300 jobs
The coronavirus-hit heritage body looks to save around £100m through redundancies