AnalysisHeritage
If the US destroys Iranian cultural sites, President Trump will be criminally liable by international law
The US is signatory to The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, which forbids any act of hostility to cultural property
NewsSteve Bannon
Steve Bannon’s nationalists can stay in medieval monastery (for now)
In the first round of a lengthy legal battle, an Italian court has ruled in favour of a right-wing Catholic organisation which the Ministry of Culture is trying to oust from a historic abbey
NewsThe Year in Review 2019
From a Paris inferno to the Leonardo tussle: the art world's top stories of 2019
We look back at the major events that made the headlines this year
NewsFeminism
Women artists fight for reproductive rights with US election fundraising show
"I want to normalise abortion as a life-saving medical procedure, mentally and physically," says Marilyn Minter
NewsClimate Change
Climate emergency in Miami: large-scale protest march planned during Art Basel fair
With Miami Beach predicted to be 30% underwater by 2045, the convention centre where the fair currently takes place could soon become an island
NewsMuseums
Michael Rakowitz wants to pause his video work at MoMA PS1 as a protest against museum's ties to 'toxic philanthropy'
"It's censorship", the artist says of curators' denials to suspend work that is part of show on the artistic legacy of the Gulf War
NewsPolitics
Culture ministry failed to vet right-wing religious group close to Steve Bannon
Decision to lease Italian medieval monastery to an organisation affiliated with President Trump’s former chief strategist is blamed on staff shortages
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Los Angeles's Marciano Art Foundation lays off staff trying to unionise
The private museum cited low attendance records over the past few weeks in a short letter to nearly six dozen workers who recently announced they voted to join a union
Comment US politics
Museums must engage more with Indigenous peoples
There is a direct connection between how predominantly white curators have categorised Indigenous peoples as part of “natural history” and how we are misrepresented in contemporary art spaces
NewsExhibitions
Women artists take over museum schedules in 2020 to coincide with US presidential election
Coalition of curators organise events and exhibitions of art by women at 50 museums
NewsPerformance art
Artist reimagines Louisiana slave uprising with a different outcome
Hundreds to take part in re-enactment of America’s largest slave rebellion, ending with a victorious celebration in New Orleans
News US politics
Goethe-Institut Los Angeles examines architecture and design amid housing crisis
A symposium bringing together architects and scholars from around the world takes place as homelessness surges in the state of California
InterviewShirin Neshat
‘This US government looks more like Iran's every day’: Shirin Neshat talks about the power of political satire ahead of LA show
The Iranian artist's major exhibition opens at the Broad museum features new work addressing discrimination in Trump's America
News US politics
Experts fear California's gig economy law may hit culture workers
Independent curators and handlers could be affected but no major changes predicted in museum recruitment practices
NewsArt market
US-China trade war expands to books and maps as increased tariffs hit art imports
Trump's newly increased tariff of 15% on Chinese goods now applies to the antiquarian trade, further affecting dealers and auction houses
NewsUK politics
Too much politics? UK Green party MP and anti-Brexit campaigner Caroline Lucas turns curator
High-profile UK politician will organise a show of works at Towner Art Gallery that focus on the environment
NewsRestitution
Trump opens door to restitution claims on art seized by Cuba
While the president is the first to allow Title III of Helms-Burton Act to be used, some whose collections were taken doubt it will have an impact
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Philanthropy, but at what price? US museums wake up to public's ethical concerns
Daniel Weiss, Adam Weinberg and other museum leaders speak out following the fallout from the resignation of the Whitney’s vice chairman and the ongoing Sackler affair
NewsArt market
Trump delays tariffs on Chinese goods until December—but not for art and antiquities
New 10% tax will come into force on 1 September and apply to all works originating from China, regardless of where they are imported from
News US politics
African American leaders object to erasure of controversial school mural in San Francisco
Local figures defend portrayal of the nation’s blemished early history
News US politics
Anti-Trump seesaw by architect duo unites children on US-Mexico border
“Actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side,” say project founders
BlogIn the frame
The ‘most petty piece of art’ or an apt satire of the US presidency?
NewsCensorship
New US visa policy could stifle outspoken artists on social media
Several high-profile artists including Ai Weiwei have spoken out against the policy
News US politics
Russian artist denied US visa over ‘planted’ drugs
Artem Loskutov’s application was rejected on the same day that journalist and supporter Ivan Golunov was arrested
CommentArtists
Abortion will happen—whatever the law says
The artist Paula Rego on why her abortion works are the best thing she's ever done
ReviewBook Shorts
Book on artists’ opposition to the Vietnam War
Part of the 1960s US anti-war movement, artists then had nothing like the impact they have today
InterviewAdrian Ghenie
Painting is more important than politics: Adrian Ghenie on his Trump-inspired portraits in Venice
Romanian artist, whose show is open at the Palazzo Cini during the Biennale, compares his art market ascendancy to working in porn
NewsItaly
Battle over Bannon’s nationalist bootcamp in Italian monastery
Protests against the right-wing group’s takeover of a 13th-century cloister are growing
NewsShutdown
Counting the cost of the longest government shutdown in US history
The shutdown dealt a blow to federally-funded museums, with disappointed visitors, furloughed staff, disrupted exhibitions and lost revenue that “can never be regained”
News US politics
Trump spent $60,000 in foundation money to buy vanity portrait, Michael Cohen reveals in testimony
The US President’s former lawyer and “fixer” tells Congress the candidate used a straw bidder to ensure his likeness was the top lot of an Art Hamptons auction
NewsExhibitions
Parkland victims remembered through New-York Historical Society photo show
As part of her residency at the museum, the photographer Bettina von Zwehl made portraits with New York City high school students
News US politics
NEA, Smithsonian museums and National Gallery of Art to reopen
A temporary budget deal ended the US government shutdown on Friday, allowing state-funded arts organisations to get back to work
Comment
The recent protests at the Whitney show museum trustees’ dealings cannot be ignored
The same old arguments in favour of ignoring the business dealings of trustees, of pretending museum programming can function independently of those funding it, cannot stand for long
PreviewPolitics
Latin American galleries reassess sales strategies for Miami Art Week after border crackdown
Trump's decision to station 15,000 troops at the country's southwest border has further soured political relations between the US and its South American neighbours
NewsArt market
Art dealers across the US are mobilising in support of Democrats ahead of US mid-term elections
Galleries in New York and Los Angeles make the most of their cultural and financial capital
CommentIran
'The normalisation of cultural warfare cannot go unanswered'
Tristram Hunt, the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, calls on the international community to condemn President Trump's threat to target Iran's cultural sites
Tristram Hunt