Museums & Heritage

Archaeologists discover ancient Maya necklace made from conch shell

The delicately carved choker necklace was found during excavations for the Maya Train project in the Yucatán Peninsula

The Met and Yemeni government reach agreement for long-term display and care of two ancient sculptures

The artefacts, dating from the third millenium BC, will remain in New York as Yemen’s civil war drags on

Restored Turkish bath reopens to the public as site for art and respite

The Çinili Hamam, which will open in Istanbul in September after a 13-year restoration and excavation, will operate once again as a traditional Turkish bath and also as a contemporary art space

'Non-profit burnout is real': Brooklyn Museum offers funding and specialised training to culture leaders of colour

Eight Brooklyn-based arts non-profits will each receive $25,000 and ten months of workshops and other sessions

After provenance concerns were raised over Greek antiquities in Florida museum's exhibition, its curator was fired

The dismissal of Michael Bennett, a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts in St Petersburg, came after colleagues at another institution raised flags about provenance gaps

Unesconews

Unesco reiterates plea for UK government ‘not to proceed’ with Stonehenge redevelopment

The UN cultural body is requesting modifications to the controversial scheme, which will see a dual-carriageway tunnel running close to the ancient heritage site by next year

Russia’s boycotted Hermitage Museum inks culture deal with Iranian research institute

Cooperation agreement follows Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy strategy to forge closer ties with Iran

Unesco adds Junta prison in Argentina to World Heritage list

As the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory in Buenos Aires gains international recognition, the history it seeks to safeguard is under attack by Argentina’s extremist frontrunner in the upcoming presidential election

After ten years, the British Museum’s Reading Room is still out of bounds

Glacial progress being made on reopening the magnificent domed space at the heart of the institution

An architect for the centuries: how to share in events marking 300 years since the death of Christopher Wren

Church walking tours, online talks and light art installations in St Paul's Cathedral are some of the events being held to celebrate the work of Britain's most celebrated architect

Awardsnews

Nominees announced for annual Freelands Award dedicated to overlooked UK women artists

The top prize of £110,000 will go to an exhibition that will take place in the next three years, with £30,000 awarded directly to the winning artist

New plaques on controversial City of London sculptures highlight links to slavery

Artists, poets and writers will also respond to statues of William Beckford and Sir John Cass following the introduction of the UK's "retain and explain" policy

Unesco adds 13 new sites to World Heritage List as Riyadh committee session enters second week

The committee voted to protect ancient sites in China, Iran, the West Bank and along the historic Silk Road, but Venice was not included

Commissioners appointed to oversee Birmingham city council as debt crisis puts museums in firing line

The group, brought in by UK housing secretary Michael Gove, will oversee the council's accounts following the announcement earlier in September that it was facing serious financial difficulties

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

Colour focus: the third annual Art History Festival offers over 60 free events to the public around the UK

Organisers, speakers and curators see the most diverse festival to date as a chance to demonstrate that art history is central to education and to reading the signals of modern life

Climate protestors call for removal of MoMA’s board chair over ties to fossil fuel industry

After a protest in front of the museum’s main entrance, 16 activists were arrested after further actions inside the museum

Unesco adds sites in Kyiv and Lviv to list of world heritage in danger

Amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the historic centre of Lviv join Odesa on Unesco’s endangered list

Recovering the stolen Van Gogh: the museum director recalls the emotional moment

Seized in a violent raid in 2020, returned in a blue Ikea bag—now being bought back from the insurer

Is Saudi Arabia the next big cultural powerhouse?

Plus, Michelangelo at the Albertina in Vienna and Julianknxx at the Barbican in London

Sponsored byChristie's

Artist Graham Crowley wins prestigious John Moores Painting Prize

Meanwhile Eloise Hawser, a sculptor and mixed media artist, has been awarded the annual David and Yuko Juda Art Foundation grant

MoMA raises ticket price to $30 as US museums face tough choices on entry fees

Many of the biggest art museums in New York and elsewhere have raised the price of general admission to $30, while others continue to pursue free-entry policies

‘Retain and explain’: still no sign of guidelines on contentious UK heritage

Art world figures, meanwhile, have continued to question the relevance of the approach

Wide disparity in museum access among UK school pupils, new research reveals

The Art Fund also reveals a drop in teachers taking students to institutions since the pandemic

Heritage destruction brings Putin one step closer to prosecution, according to landmark report

Blue Shield workers have been able to access and gather evidence in destroyed cultural buildings and heritage sites in Ukraine. What have they found?

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair launches Moroccan earthquake relief project

Appeal brings artists and institutions together to raise funds to support survivors and long-term reconstruction

Letters of Light: joining the threads through the written word

A new exhibition at Louvre Abu Dhabi brings together some of the oldest and most important religious manuscripts from Judaism, Christianity and Islam to show the deep connections between the three faiths

In partnership withLouvre Abu Dhabi

'Handed over in an Ikea bag': art detective recovers Van Gogh painting stolen from Dutch museum

Three years ago, 'The Parsonage garden at Nuenen in Spring' was taken in a smash-and-grab raid in Laren

Chris Ofili’s mural on Grenfell Tower tragedy unveiled at Tate Britain

The work honours the artist and activist Khadija Saye who died in the fire in 2017