Washington, DC

National Geographic Society defends disputed plan to remove sculptural installation

Organisation argues that Elyn Zimmerman’s site-specific 1984 work does not deserve protection

Washington, DC’s mayor and arts commission locked in conflict

Muriel Bowser launches rival office of creative affairs and blocks access to the city’s public art vaults

Marcel Duchamp’s box of delights opens at Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Readymades, miniature reproductions, collaborations with Man Ray, and games of chess to feature in new show

Ancient Bible fragments allegedly stolen by Oxford professor and sold to Hobby Lobby owner will be returned

Washington DC’s Museum of the Bible had acquired the artefacts through its founder Steve Green

Middle East think-tank opens art gallery in Washington, DC

New space for Modern and contemporary art from the Arab world will put on five exhibitions a year

Washington, DC mayor's office attempts to take control of the city Arts Commission's collection

Staff members found their keys to the city's Art Bank abruptly deactivated as tensions rose between Mayor Muriel Bowser and the commission

New US visa policy could stifle outspoken artists on social media

Several high-profile artists including Ai Weiwei have spoken out against the policy

Jewelleryinterview

Wakanda comes to Washington

Douriean Fletcher, who made the jewellery for Black Panther, speaks at the National Museum of Women in the Arts

Boom or bust for DC museums: how the US government shutdown affected visitor figures

In January, the 19 Smithsonian institutions had just 13% of the footfall they had experienced the year before

She persisted: DC’s National Portrait Gallery looks at the history of the women’s vote

One of the longest reform movements in American history, which continues to be an issue today, is explored in the show

Lawnews

Protesters, influencers and AI: what museums need to think about today

Legal experts discussed the pressing topics for institutions at a recent conference in Washington, DC

Hiroshi Sugimoto to redesign Hirshhorn's sculpture garden

The renovation taps into the spirit of the founding architect, Gordon Bunshaft

Pakistani-American painter Ambreen Butt imbues traditional miniatures with timely social criticism

Her show Mark My Words is at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC—one of the museums still open during the shutdown

Battle brews over Washington’s arts commission

The mayor’s plan to curtail the powers of the leading arts funder in the US capital could reduce its vital independence

Rachel Whiteread’s breakthrough work Ghost gets complex conservation treatment

Structural engineers and architects were among those restoring the room-sized cast at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC

Washington, DC grant-making commission issues morality clause—then quickly backtracks

Works made with the funding should not be “lewd, lascivious, vulgar, overtly political, excessively violent, constitutes sexual harassment, or is, in any other way, illegal,” according to the clause

Lawnews

Claim on Guelph Treasure can go to trial in US federal court

Lawyers for the Prussian Cultural Foundation argued that it was not “genocide” when the objects were sold in 1935

Lawnews

Art dealer sues Poland over its failed efforts to extradite him from the US

After offering to return a work looted by the Nazis in exchange for his family’s former real estate, Khochinsky was placed under house arrest in New York and faced a 10-year prison sentence in Poland

The art world reacts to US Supreme Court’s travel ban decision

Early signs of the order’s impact on cultural exchange have artists and curators concerned

Take it to the top—how US museums are dealing with diversity

Institutions need all hands on deck to redress imbalances in jobs and programming

Sittow survey in Washington, DC, helps celebrate 100 years of Estonian Republic

Court artist had an impressive roster of sitters including Mary Rose Tudor

Barack and Michelle Obama’s portraits unveiled in Washington

The former US president and first lady shared some personal connections with the artists, Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald

Washington show aims to clear up muddy ‘Outsider art’ label

From erotic photographs to psychedelic quilts, a reappraisal of autodidacticism features more than 80 eclectic artists

Prizesnews

David Adjaye's Museum of African American History wins prestigious Beazley Design prize

Smithsonian institution was inaugurated by President Obama in 2016

Washington's new $500m Museum of the Bible claims 'non-sectarian' mission

Private institution is funded by evangelical Hobby Lobby chairman, Steve Green

US groups urge fast broadband for all as online plans threaten access to art

Proposed “two-tier” internet could leave artists with inadequate technology, while wealthy content providers get super-fast connections

US could stop artists using drones

New regulations may restrict the use of surveillance technology in their work