Articles

Sri Lanka's cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal to appoint a committee to take steps for the repatriation for stolen Sri Lankan artifacts from various countries, a statement from the government information department said on Tuesday.

Presented by Fundación Paiz para la Educación y la Cultura and curated by Francine Birbragher-Rozencwaig and Juan Canela, the XXIII Paiz Art Biennial includes 131 artworks, by 30 artists and collectives from Guatemala and 12 other countries.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Tate St Ives, Their Majesties The King and Queen visited the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden. They were given a tour of Hepworth’s studio and garden, which is cared for by Tate St Ives, and were introduced to several people who have played important roles in Tate St Ives’s success over the past 30 years.

A former Birmingham, Michigan art dealer pleaded guilty to defrauding more than 10 customers who had entrusted her with the sale of their art of over $1.5 million, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has today given the go-ahead to a twin-bore 3km tunnel and some 2km of massive approach cuttings to be gouged through the unique landscape of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site (WHS). The WHS was designated by UNESCO as of “outstanding universal value” to mankind for its remarkable remains of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.

A suspected arson attack in Naples destroyed a work from Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Venus of the Rags (1967–1974) series yesterday, Wednesday, July 12. The piece was unveiled two weeks ago in the city’s central Piazza Municipio as part of a city-wide initiative to bring art into public spaces. Italian police announced last night that they arrested a 32-year-old unhoused man in connection with the incident. The authorities identified the suspect through security footage and traced him to a soup kitchen.

Fast fashion giant Shein is again under fire as a group of independent designers sued the company for committing intellectual property theft and engaging in activities related to racketeering.

In view of the brutal Russian attack on Ukraine, a comprehensive biennial project in Kyiv long seemed deeply uncertain, if not impossible. But, with a cascade of openings – starting in Kyiv and Vienna in October 2023, finishing in Berlin in 2024 – the fifth Kyiv Biennial will take place.

A team of specialists and students led by UNC-Chapel Hill professor Jodi Magness has uncovered a spectacular mosaic panel in the late Roman (ca. 400 C.E.) synagogue at Huqoq, an ancient Jewish village in Israel’s Lower Galilee. The panel, which identifies the mosaic donors or artists, decorates the floor just inside the main entrance.

In 2024, the Zurich Art Prize, awarded annually by Museum Haus Konstruktiv and Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, goes to Olaf Holzapfel (b. 1967 in Dresden, lives and works in Berlin and Brandenburg). He is the 17th winner of the renowned award. Endowed with CHF 100,000, the prize consists of an CHF 80,000 budget for the production of a solo exhibition at Museum Haus Konstruktiv and CHF 20,000 in prize money.

An art collective has hacked into the controversial Bührle Collection exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zurich museum. It replaced written information accessible to visitors by QR code with critical comments about the provenance of the works on display.

Frieze has announced the acquisition of The Armory Show in New York and a signed agreement to acquire EXPO CHICAGO.

The Illinois State Museum has returned 37 wooden memorial statues, known as vigango, to the National Museums of Kenya for repatriation to Mijikenda communities. These statues are considered sacred cultural objects and are believed to carry the spirits of male elders who have passed away.

For the 2023 edition of their joint initiative, the Musée du Louvre and Paris+ par Art Basel have invited Annabelle Ténèze, presently Director of Les Abattoirs, Musée - Frac Occitanie Toulouse and incoming Director of the Louvre-Lens Museum, to curate an exhibition for public audiences in the Tuileries Garden, this time bringing together contemporary works by more than 20 international artists.

The development of a National Contemporary Art Gallery for Wales is a commitment in the Programme for Government and in the Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru. Delivery is being taken forward through a collaboration between the Arts Council of Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru and National Library of Wales.

“Venus of the Rags,” one of the most famous works by Italian contemporary artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, has been destroyed by an overnight fire in Naples.

In 1996, 25-year-old Tupac Shakur was prepared to enter a new phase in his ever illustrious career. Leaving behind a period of incarceration, and having signed the now notorious deal with Death Row Records, Tupac—always a multi-hyphenate dreamer—spent the first half of that year strategizing the expansion of his artistic empire.

Tate Modern launches a major new exhibition celebrating the dynamic landscape of photography across the African continent today. Bringing together 36 artists from different generations and geographies, A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography explores how photography and video has allowed artists to examine legacies of the past while imagining more hopeful futures. Unfolding across three chapters, the exhibition charts the dialogue between photography and contemporary perspectives on cultural heritage, spirituality, urbanisation, and climate change to reveal shared artistic visions that reclaim Africa’s histories and reimagine its place in the world.

The portrait of Captain Frederick Cornewall entered the National Maritime Museum collection in 1960. While the painting had previously been recognised as a work by Gainsborough, when it arrived at the Museum it was re-attributed to an unknown British artist.

Angelina Jolie, an actress and humanitarian, signed a deal for renting a place where Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat worked and lived. This apartment lies on 57 Great Jones Street in New York. John Roesch and Garrett Kelly, directors at the real estate agency Meridian Capital Group, confirmed the deal yesterday. Jolie will use it for her creative studio, Atelier Jolie.