Russia-Ukraine war

On the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, The Art Newspaper looks at the human and cultural costs of the conflict, the art world’s efforts to support displaced institutions and individuals, and how Ukraine’s built and artistic heritage has been used to tell the opposing narratives of war.

Special investigation: Serious concerns over fate of Ukraine’s museum works taken by Russians

The Art Newspaper probes the complex issues arising from the removal of the Kherson Museum’s collection, sent to Crimea for “safekeeping”

Opinion

'Scythian gold is at the heart of Russia’s identity war'

Art historian and curator Konstantin Akinsha asserts that Russian attempts to claim succession from the ancient Scythians date back to the 18th century

Farewell to contemporary art in Russia: the cancellation of the Moscow Biennale marks the end of an era

Dozens of contemporary art shows have been forced to close since the outset of the war with Ukraine—but this one was meant to serve Putinist propaganda

Art in the shadow of war: curating a show at Latvia's Mark Rothko Art Centre

Signs of the Russia-Ukraine conflict are everywhere in Latvia—and there's a growing number of culturally disenfranchised citizens, too

Podcasts

What will happen to Ukraine's museum collections after the war?

Plus, Okwui Enwezor’s Sharjah Biennial and Ming Smith at New York's Museum of Modern Art

Hosted by Ben Luke. With guest speakers Martin Bailey and Nadine Khalil. Produced by David Clack and Aimee Dawson
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Saving Ukraine’s heritage: an eyewitness account of relief efforts

Plus, the Cezanne blockbuster at The Art Institute of Chicago and Nicola L.’s Gold Femme Commode at Alison Jacques

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Ukraine: the response of the art community and the risks of photojournalism

Plus, Chris Burden's unrealised projects and an in-depth look at F.N. Souza's Mr Sebastian at the Barbican in London

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What can the arts do to help Ukrainian refugees?

Plus, NFTs and more at Art Dubai, and Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s golden curtain in Toronto

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Artists

Heritage

Getty Trust pledges $1m to help protect Ukrainian cultural heritage

The International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas is partnering with the Getty to save Ukraine’s museums and monuments

Vladimir Putin’s martial law decree has given Russian forces ‘legal’ cover to loot art in Ukraine

In a move similar to the Nazis’ self-legalised art thefts, ancient gold treasure, paintings and Prince Potemkin’s mummified remains all risk being “preserved” by “evacuation”

Unesco adds Ukrainian city of Odesa to World Heritage List of endangered sites

The decision "recognises the outstanding universal value of the site and the duty of all humanity to protect it", the UN cultural organisation states

Banksy

Banksy in Ukraine: seven new works appear in war-torn sites

The pieces are located throughout the country, from Kyiv to Borodyanka

High-tech security systems installed on Banksy’s Ukraine murals

Ajax Systems has deployed $13,000 worth of security and monitoring apparatuses at four Banksy murals in and around Kyiv

Ringleader of group who attempted to steal Banksy mural in Ukraine could face 12 years in prison

The suspect has not been identified by police, but is likely to be an environmental activist who told press that he intended to auction the work in support of the Ukrainian army

Banksy shares behind-the-scenes video of his Ukraine interventions

The secretive artist has dropped a short making-of documentary chronicling his guerilla interventions in war-torn Horenka

Banksy creates mural on bombed out building in Ukraine

The secretive artist apparently created a stencil of a gymnast amid the wreckage of a building in a city northwest of Kyiv

Exhibitions

Postponement of exhibition on Russian architecture school sparks accusations of ‘censorship and historical erasure’

New York’s Cooper Union postponed an exhibition on Vkhutemas, a school that operated in Moscow for ten years in the early 20th century before Stalin shut it down

Effects of war on young Ukrainian artists exposed in PinchukArtCentre Prize exhibition

Contemporary art prize, held in Kyiv, shows images of conflict and ideas for post-war reconstruction by 18 shortlisted artists aged 35 and under

Ukrainian artists’ monumental projection takes over Chicago riverfront

A projection by Kyiv-based studio PHOTINUS and based on composer Mykola Leontovych's work is taking over a building in Chicago, which is home to a large Ukrainian diaspora community

War-ravaged Ukrainian mosaics digitally recreated in London show

Exhibition builds on a project to document Ukraine's monumental and contested public art created during Soviet era

Art Market

Nefarious art world players: after Russian freeze out, will Saudi Arabia or China be next?

For decades Russian billionaires were feted for their free spending on the arts. Now, they are officially personae non gratae. But what of the other individuals and regimes with dubious reputations?

Art fairs have become a lifeline for Ukrainian galleries—even in Basel

Stands offered for free at Liste, while some gallery workers are living on the art fair circuit, unable to return home

Kabir Jhala. With additional reporting by Tom Seymour

Russian culture minister and a billionaire arts patron are included in latest lists of sanctions from the West

Olga Lyubimova has been sanctioned by the European Union and Vladimir Potanin is on the US list

Fabergé egg allegedly found by US officials on $300m yacht seized from Russia oligarch

A photograph of the "egg" has yet to be released, leading to heightened speculation

Interviews

'Art will go back underground': artist Emilia Kabakov on the war in Ukraine and the fate of the Russian art world

Born in the Soviet Union, the artist reflects on how works by her and husband Ilya have taken on new meaning since the war

Alexey Beliayev-Guintovt—a Putin supporter who is one of Russia's best-known artists—discusses why he is happy his country's art market is in ruins

The artist, who has widely been accused of being a fascist, believes that Russia's invasion of Ukraine will free the country from "a Nazi dictatorship”

Sunflowers: the symbol of Van Gogh—and Ukraine

Vincent’s beloved bloom will eventually flourish again in the war-torn country

a blog by Martin Bailey

Russian authorities confirm that famous 'Trinity' icon will be transferred to church despite protests from restorers and art historians

The announcement that President Putin will return Andrei Rublev’s masterpiece has sparked criticism from experts due to its fragile condition

A pioneering Ukrainian American modernist’s wartime imagery gains new relevance

Janet Sobel has gained belated recognition for developing drip painting before Jackson Pollock, but a new exhibition at the Ukrainian Museum in New York focuses on her work during the Second World War

Putin now orders return of Russia's most precious icon to the church

Following the restitution of the silver Nevsky sarcophagus last week, the handover of Andrei Rublev's 15th-century Trinity has sparked concerns among conservators

Fire damages Russian cultural centre in Cyprus

Moscow officials describe that blaze as a "terrorist attack"

Leaderscomment

Now is the time to honour not censor Russia’s dissident artists

The director of the Zimmerli Art Museum, which is home to the world's foremost collection of Soviet nonconformist art, says recent calls to censor all Russian art in light of the war in Ukraine oversimplify the issue

Ukrainian artists reflect on Russia’s war at Expo Chicago

Kyiv-based Voloshyn Gallery is showing works by two emerging Ukrainian artists on its stand at Expo Chicago

Pro-Putin Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovsky speaks out again in support of war in Ukraine

The veteran Russian museum chief tells Kremlin newspaper that war is “a means of cultural exchange”

Unesco chief vows to help rebuild Ukraine’s heritage and culture—but $6.9bn investment is needed

Audrey Azoulay met President Zelensky and toured sites in Kyiv, Chernihiv and Odesa during an official visit to the country this week

What has happened to visitor numbers at Russian museums since the start of the war?

As Russia leaves the world cultural stage following its invasion of Ukraine, we look at how its art institutions have reacted

Inaugural New York fair for Ukrainian artists wants to show that the country is ‘a solution, not a problem’

The event, called I Am U Are, is demonstrating that Ukraine’s creative industries are alive and kicking despite Russia’s invasion

How one year of Russian sanctions have shaped the art market

Businesses urged to tighten approach to client background checks as US subpoenas auction houses for sales records

US authorities seek forfeiture of $75m in luxury real estate linked to sanctioned Russian collector and the former director of his museum

Vladimir Voronchenko, the founding director of the Faberge Museum, has been indicted and named in a civil forfeiture complaint against billionaire Viktor Vekselberg as part of US efforts to crack down on sanctions evasion

US imposes sanctions on Russian culture minister

Olga Lyubimova, who has served as Russia’s top cultural official since 2020, was sanctioned by the European Union late last year

Ukraine benefit exhibition blossoms in Los Angeles

A pop-up exhibition in aid of Ukrainian relief efforts has opened in Los Angeles following a stint in New York

Moscow museum director removed after complaint against institution’s lack of ‘traditional Russian spiritual and moral values’

Zelfira Tregulova, who has headed the State Tretyakov Gallery since 2015, will be replaced by Elena Pronicheva, who has links to Vladimir Putin

US authorities subpoena auction houses in effort to crack down on violations of Russian sanctions

Prosecutors in New York are seeking auction house sales information going back years in order to track potentially illicit transactions by sanctioned Russian collectors

Art trade benefits as wealthy Russians flock to sanction-free Dubai

The emirate, currently a haven for 'half of Moscow', is enjoying a post-pandemic economic boom

Russian artist flees LGBTQ crackdown

Yulia Tsvetkova was acquitted on charges of distributing gay ‘pornography’ but strict new laws have forced her to leave the country

Exhibitions in 2022: the best shows and major trends of the year

Big hitters were the subject of major shows, from Donatello in Florence to Faith Ringgold in New York and Alice Neel in Paris

Museums and heritage in 2022: industrial unrest, climate protests and damage to historic artefacts in Ukraine

New and refurbished museums open in Antwerp, Los Angeles and Sydney as Italian archaeologists make the "discovery of a generation" in a hilltop town in Tuscany

The Year in Art: We take a look at 2022’s biggest stories—and what they mean

Plus, our writers sit down to discuss their favourite works of the year

Hosted by Ben Luke. With guest speakers Louisa Buck, Kabir Jhala and Benjamin Sutton. Produced by David Clack, Aimee Dawson and Henrietta Bentall
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How the war in Ukraine reveals the heightened politics of Unesco

Boycotted Russia resigned as chair of the World Heritage Committee last month

Police detain group attempting to steal Banksy mural from Ukraine wall

The work is one of seven the artist created in war-torn areas of the country last month

The last hurrah? Art world excess at Art Basel Miami Beach

Plus, UK culture cuts and Ukrainian Modernism in Madrid

Hosted by Ben Luke and Aimee Dawson. With guest speaker Anny Shaw. Produced by David Clack and Henrietta Bentall
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Ukrainian Modernist masterpieces transported from Kyiv under missile fire find refuge in Madrid exhibition

Survey show at Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza will open with an address by President Zelensky and a symposium calling for a European cultural deal with Ukraine

Sophia Kishkovsky. With additional reporting by Kabir Jhala

Banksy shares behind-the-scenes video of his Ukraine interventions

The secretive artist has dropped a short making-of documentary chronicling his guerilla interventions in war-torn Horenka

Fake video claims German auction house will raise funds for Ukraine by selling—and then destroying—Russian art

Bolland & Marotz in Bremen issued a statement this week saying it was "outraged" by the incident

New platform offers mentoring and financial aid to art students in Ukraine

Bursaries and a "Sister School" network of universities across Europe have been organised by UAx Platform to support war-affected Ukrainian students and staff

Banksy creates mural on bombed out building in Ukraine

The secretive artist apparently created a stencil of a gymnast amid the wreckage of a building in a city northwest of Kyiv

'We must accelerate efforts to protect Ukraine’s culture,' says British Council chief

Culture will be central to the country's recovery—enabling people to process trauma, share a common identity and articulate shared experiences