NewsRepatriation
Digital Benin: a milestone on the long, slow journey to restitution
When British troops plundered the Royal Palace of Benin in the 19th century, at least 3,000 objects were dispersed internationally. A new online database is bringing them together
NewsBiennials & festivals
AI you ready for this? Bucharest Biennale to be curated by artificial intelligence called Jarvis
The 2022 edition will exist in virtual reality and use data harvested from universities, galleries and art centres to select artists
AnalysisArt & Technology
Extended reality: what future do AR and VR offer the art world?
Potential of new digital technologies comes to the fore as 5G connectivity expands and specialist equipment becomes more user-friendly
NewsVirtual Reality
Google unlocks prehistoric art of France’s Chauvet cave
One of the world's oldest rock art sites is now accessible through virtual reality
NewsMuseums
Uffizi wins legal battle against 'cybersquatter' owner of Uffizi.com domain name
The unofficial websites were used to sell tickets to the Florentine museum at inflated prices
NewsClimate Change
Heritage on the edge: new Google project reveals climate change damage to Unesco sites
Digital visualisations gathered for online exhibit will be a “blueprint” for heritage managers planning climate adaptation in the future
FeatureVideo, film & new media
Reality check: is VR set to revolutionise museums?
With the Louvre revealing its virtual reality Mona Lisa, museums ponder the power of tech experiences
ArchiveTechnology
Ancient cities rise again: Introducing virtual archaeology
Technology developed by a California-based firm has made it possible to walk through vanished sites.
NewsArt & Technology
Get the app and the church door will open to you
How often on our walks do we get to an enticing old church, only to find that it’s locked? Mobile phones provide the 'open sesame'
NewsTechnology
Paris digital art venue Atelier des Lumières is a hit, and expanding abroad
French museums operator Culturespaces has launched a space in South Korea and is planning another in Bordeaux in 2020
NewsTechnology
Marina Abramovic to make digital appearance at London's Serpentine Galleries
Performance using cutting-edge Magic Leap One device is world first
NewsTechnology
Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery develops blockchain app to bring Russian art to the world
Digital initiative will invite users to explore and sponsor more than 190,000 works in the collection
Commentartificial intelligence
We must not let the art market hoodwink us in the AI debate
The AI work that was sold at Christie's is profound in its conservatism, but others reflect how the technology can impact on art in fascinating ways
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Victoria and Albert Museum brings Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks to life online
New technology allows novices and scholars to zoom in on the artist’s sketches and notes
NewsCensorship
Facebook censors artist's work criticising male-dominated society because it features naked breasts
The social media giant also deleted her comments and friends
NewsTechnology
After a year-long journey in the California desert, Desert X's art rover Shybot is found
The missing and crowd averse work has been recovered in Palm Springs, a bit banged up but otherwise intact
NewsArt market
Will blockchain deliver a registry of all traded works of art?
Christie’s summit weighs up pros and cons of the technology and how it might bring greater transparency to the art market
FeatureArtist interview
Trevor Paglen lets you view the world as the machines see it
Ahead of his retrospective at Washington, DC's Smithsonian American Art Museum, the artist discusses his interest in the social and political implications of technologies, including mass surveillance systems and artificial intelligence
CommentSaudi Arabia
Letter to the Editor: Saudi Arabia will collaborate with the world, not only France, to make its cultural heritage accessible
Al-Ula, the most important cultural heritage site in the north-west of the kingdom, will benefit from international standards in heritage preservation and planning
NewsConservation & Preservation
How do you conserve time-based media? Museums invest in research to keep up with new technologies
Symposium on the subject to open at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts
News
The dark web, surveillance dolls and Van Gogh’s zombie ear: technology’s role in art debated at Boston conference
While artists and museums embrace futuristic tools, legal experts point to a number of pitfalls with cutting-edge work
FeatureArt Basel in Hong Kong 2018
From Abramovic to Kapoor: how artists are making VR a reality
Pair are the latest big names to step into the sixth dimension, with their first works using VR tools on show at this year’s Art Basel Hong Kong fair
NewsBuilding projects
New York art and technology organisation announces new programmes for its 20th anniversary
Eyebeam plans residencies, fellowships and exhibitions for its new Brooklyn headquarters
NewsTechnology
Elon Musks's Telsa Roadster: Is it art? Or is it ‘garbage in space’?
The entrepreneur has begun implementing his plan to colonise Mars and make us a “multi-planetary species”
NewsConservation & Preservation
Where petroleum exploration meets art
Researchers use terahertz scanning to understand artist’s methods
BlogIn the frame
Leonardo DiCaprio lends star power to the Magnus art app
NewsBuilding projects
Royal College of Art's new £108m campus gets green light and will focus on art, technology and science
Building designed by Herzog & de Meuron will be a centre for robotics and drone technology
NewsArt market
Sotheby’s acquires tech startup Thread Genius
The company uses image recognition software to find works of art that match users’ tastes
InterviewArtist interview
Robot wars: Mark Pauline and Survival Research Laboratories
The Bay Area artist and his team build massive machines that act in dangerous performances—and they are opening their first gallery show in New York
BlogIn the frame
Is Donald Trump lurking in your art collection?
NewsExhibitions
Hirshhorn to show Lozano-Hemmer’s ‘Pulse’ works
Show will include several of artist's immersive works that use biometric technology
FeaturePodcast
Podcast episode eight: how hackers are attacking the art world
Galleries are losing huge sums to cybercrime, what makes them vulnerable? Plus: the dubious restoration along the Camino di Santiago.
BlogIn the frame
“Electronic passport” for artworks wins Investors Allstars award
Articheck enables art world professionals to create digital condition reports for works of art
News
New app invites art lovers to 'build a playlist across museums'
UK startup Smartify partners with major museums worldwide, from the Met to the Hermitage
NewsArt trafficking
Germany launches internet portal to fight art trafficking
Site gives information on international regulations and protected German heritage
AnalysisTechnology
Blockchain: how the revolutionary technology behind Bitcoin could change the art market
The software has the potential to improve transparency, copyright and ownership issues
ArchiveDigital Age
The race to digitise the world’s heritage
Non-profit organisation has big plans to gather data from 500 sites over the next five years
ArchiveNews
Cold War spy photos help locate archaeological sites across the globe
Major grant to expand project that uses images from Corona military satellite system to pinpoint archaeological remains
ArchiveSport
Prosthetic technology in sport on display at the Wellcome Collection ahead of the Olympics and Paralympics
The Wellcome Collection puts its best (false) foot forward
ArchiveInternet
Website could be holy grail of private market prices
Art.sy will unite would-be collectors with art and dealers they may not know—and it’s all built on trust
ArchiveTate
Serota on a sustainable future for museums: why Tate needs to change in a changing world
Moving on from traditional didacticism and adapting to a new level of modern communication
ArchiveSotheby's
Sotheby’s sues technology entrepreneur for non-payment
Defendant says auction house did not disclose its ownership of painting
ArchiveArtnet
Artnet and Art Basel team up to create virtual experience for Miami Beach attendees
The program will be accessible to the public on the last day of the fair
ArchiveTokyo
How the Pentagon is (indirectly) helping restore Chinese cave paintings
American engineers are preparing to introduce the latest military espionage equipment to Dunhuang
ArchiveBooks
Book review: Kirsh and Levenson's "Seeing through paintings: physical examination in art-historical studies"
A popular, non-technical explanation of the physical composition of paintings is not easy
ArchiveOctober 2000
Former Christie's director launches online venture eAuctionRoom.com
“We are a technology platform, not an auction house,” said Mark Poltimore in 2000. The onetime auction boss wants to make European sales more accessible to US and UK audiences
ArchiveUnesco
Deliberation over ownership of submerged vessels and their booty at the bottom of the ocean leads to Unesco intervention
An estimated three million shipwrecks lay undiscovered. UNESCO is calling for a global treaty to protect them. Salvors say it is unrealistic and unworkable, despite developments in deep-sea exploration technology
ArchiveApril 2000
How the internet will change the art market: the new kids on the block are smarter than you think
The advice on how to be successful in the online world offered here in 2000 centred on building a community and having a shared sense of purpose and trust
ArchiveUnesco
Where underwater treasure-hunters go, legislation must follow: Unesco's proposal explained
Unesco is calling for a global treaty to prevent commercial interests from destroying shipwrecks found in international waters
ArchiveCambodia
Radar imaging reveals ancient Cambodian ruins
Evidence of an earlier culture is found in the jungle surrounding Angkor
ArchiveAntiquities & Archaeology
The search for ancient Alexandria goes underwater
The greatest city of the Hellenistic age has been neglected by archaeology for decades. Now underwater survey techniques have provided us with glimpses of the centre’s greatness. But many decry the techniques being used
ArchiveTechnology
One of the most advanced and sophisticated computer-based analyses of an ancient landscape in Europe is taking the excavation out of discovery
To dig or not to dig?
ArchiveExhibitions
"China: cradle of knowledge" officially opens in Birmingham 25 February
Astonishing science and technology show from Peking
ArchiveWindsor Castle
Conservators fighting fire and time for the Royal Academy
Sculptor conservators Taylor Pearce are working on Windsor, Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Hall
ArchiveAncient Rome
Radar helps find amphitheatre without digging
New combination of techniques leads to important finds at ancient Italica
ArchiveArt & Technology
Centrox and Thesaurus offer new tech services to dealers and collectors
The art market at the touch of a button
CommentData
A crisis of faith: is Big Data the art world’s new religion?
The rise of Big Data means that connoisseurship is being replaced by "intel", which has far-reaching implications for the art world
Margaret Carrigan