Museums

Museumscomment

Curatorial risks worth taking to foster a sense of belonging in museums

Stephanie Sparling Williams, curator of American art at the Brooklyn Museum, on how Black feminist practices informed the rehang of the museum’s American art collection

Museumsinterview

‘We were ahead of our time’: Guggenheim Bilbao’s outgoing director on the factors behind its success—and the challenges on the horizon

Juan Ignacio Vidarte is stepping down from his role after more than 32 years. As he prepares to move on, he tells The Art Newspaper about the “transformative power of culture” and the difficulty of replicating the “Bilbao effect”

Warnews

Sudan’s cultural heritage is threatened to an 'unprecedented level', Unesco says

Looting by armed groups has been reported at institutions in Sudan, including the National Museum

After 20 years without a permanent home, Warsaw’s Museum of Modern Art will open this month

The museum is preparing to open a major new building in the heart of the Polish capital

Dutch museum aims for improved accessibility with launch of short-form captions

The 'long story short' boards, which summarise each display using less complex language, have so far received a largely positive response

Palestinians begin preservation of Gaza’s heritage with help from $1m fund

Support includes the evacuation of artefacts, surveys of damage to buildings and training to bolster safeguarding of historical sites

Nazi-loot restitutions in France face 'disproportionate delays' due to lack of funds, auditor report says

Despite legislative relaxation, little progress has been made in returning art stolen during the Second World War since the 1950s

‘Art is the opposite of war’: amid a new wave of bombardment, Beirut's culture professionals remain defiant

Israeli airstrikes have led to gallery and museum closures, but artists and gallerists are determined to continue their work

Ten years on from the genocide, Yazidi culture is still absent from Western museums

Institutions have a moral duty to better represent the persecuted Kurdish religious minority

Refik Anadol Studio reveals plans for world’s first museum of AI arts

Dataland is due to open in 2025 at the Frank Gehry-designed The Grand LA development in Los Angeles's downtown arts district

Repatriation of objects is on the government’s agenda, says UK culture secretary

Lisa Nandy's apparent support for repatriation reform has been welcomed by the head of London's Victoria and Albert Museum

Sicilian town seeks director to run its civic museum—for free

The town of Aci has attracted criticism for wanting to hire a new head for the Civic Museum of the Norman Castle of Svevo, who must be educated to degree level, but will not be paid

Why it's time for museums to take risks—or risk obsolescence

Jorrit Britschgi, executive director of the Rubin Museum of Art, on ‘embracing non-attachment and impermanence’

Bavaria acquires Picasso’s Woman with a Violin from a private collection

Six sponsors cooperated to buy “a masterpiece of Cubism of priceless art historical value” for the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich

How to make Florence’s 'Museum of Tourism', the Uffizi, enjoyable again, according to its new director

Simone Verde cannot reduce visitor numbers, so he means to spread them out over new delights

Rome’s Maxxi museum ousts dentist to appoint second interim president in a week

An art historian and journalist has been chosen to replace dentistry teacher Raffaella Docimo, who recently took up the role amid a wave of criticism

An open letter to Chris Bryant, the tenth UK arts minister in ten years

Labour’s pre-election arts manifesto, Creating Growth, included policies to put the arts back into education and bring museums into line with universities on open data

Noguchi Museum fires three employees for failing to comply with ban on overtly political dress

The firings come after museum leaders disciplined several employees who refused to remove their keffiyehs, traditional scarves often worn as a sign of support for Palestinians

Ready for the art-world reckoning?

The Readying the Museum group has created a blueprint to help institutions address inequity within their own walls—and to make the public, rather than trustees, their key priority

Pressure mounts in Slovakia as cultural workers announce nationwide strike alert

The "Cultural Strike" follows the dismissal of the directors of the Slovak National Gallery and the Slovak National Theatre in early August

Japanese art museum—home to one of world's only four Rothko rooms—faces closure and collection selloff

The Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum Art, operated by the chemical manufacturer DIC, may have to downsize or close for good

Rijksmuseum acquires controversial early botanic book on Suriname

Maria Sibylla Merian was accused of exploiting native knowledge of enslaved people without credit for her 1705 book Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium

Israel museums close amid general strike over Gaza hostage deaths

Thousands take to streets following news that six bodies were recovered in a tunnel in Rafah

‘It's not about being disabled, it's about great art’: Unlimited festival returns to London's Southbank Centre

The UK's largest celebration of work by D/deaf and disabled artists opens on 4 September with a packed and varied programme

A smashing day out: boy accidentally breaks 3,500-year-old pitcher at Israeli museum

The Middle/late Bronze Age object was “pulled” by the “curious” four-year-old while visiting the Hecht Museum in northern Israel

British Museum reveals that 2022 bequest from tycoon and former trustee was worth £123m

Joseph Hotung’s collection of hundreds of jades, as well as metalwork and early Chinese porcelain is one of the most valuable gifts the museum has ever received

Louvre visitor figures plummet during Paris Olympics disruption

Security measures and transport upheaval prompted 22% decrease in attendance at the world's most visited museum

International arts community calls for reinstatement of Slovak National Gallery director

At least 360 professionals sign open letter in defence of Alexandra Kusá, who was sacked alongside the head of the national theatre

London’s National Gallery acquires major work by Lawrence Alma-Tadema for £2m

The painting, purchased with the help of Christie’s auction house, is a prime example of the Victorian artist’s interest in antiquity