VISUAL

Germany And The Netherlands Will Return 2,000 Artifacts To Ghana

The repatriation was announced by Ghana’s foreign minister during a conference in Accra, but no information on the types of artifacts or the timeline for their return was released. - ARTnews

Is The First AI Museum Really Art?

The sensory splash, co-founded by artists Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç, showcases four more reality-bending galleries to explore — like the classic “Alice in Wonderland” meets “Avatar” or the trippy, new horror film “Backrooms.”  - New York Post

How Billionaires Visit Museums

As exhibitions become more spectacular, donors expect engagement that goes beyond acknowledgment plaques. Exclusive access has therefore evolved into a sophisticated currency and is increasingly a luxury experience in its own right. - The Times

Blockbusters Are Dead? Tell That To Frida Kahlo Fans!

Tate was unprepared for the scale of demand. The gallery has said more than 41,000 tickets have already been sold for Frida: The Making of an Icon, which opens on 25 June, making it the highest pre-selling exhibition in Tate’s history, surpassing the previous record of 32,000 advance sales for David Hockney in 2017. - The Guardian

In Los Angeles, LACMA Hosts A Huge Art Parade

Michael Govan was feeling pretty good about the 600,000 people who came to the block party and parade, too: "We’re not gonna close Wilshire every weekend, but it’s an example of what we can do. … It’s really exciting to see the building work.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Basel’s Art Before Art Basel

For one thing, Basel “is a city of nearly 200,000 residents and nearly 40 museums — or about one museum for every 5,000 locals.” - The New York Times

Can You Pass This British Museum Quiz?

Sample question: Where was JMW Turner born: - The Guardian (UK)

In New York, The City’s Oldest Museum Celebrates An Expansive View Of Democracy

The New York Historical’s new wing features a show that's “historically broad, thematically loose, unabashedly polemical, made up of equal then and now.” - The New York Times

Norway Had Its Own John Singer Sargent

“Asta Norregaard was a sought-after portrait painter among the rich and famous in Norway at the turn of the 20th century, but when she exhibited her work in the country’s capital, critics were quick to dismiss her pictures as decorative and frivolous.” - The New York Times

What Might Have Been: Gaudí’s Design For A New York Skyscraper

A supertall skyscraper, no less, topping out at 360 meters/1180 feet. The great Barcelona architect did a speculative design of a hotel complex in 1908 for a pair of Manhattan businessmen. AI artist Thierry Lechanteur has used Gaudi’s surviving drawings to create renderings of the project. - Dezeen

Gaudí Was A Superstar. Why Didn’t He Have More Influence On Future Architects?

Architectural history and Antoni Gaudí just weren’t headed in the same direction. - Dezeen

The Obama Center: The Difference Between Libraries And Monuments

There is no question about its monumentality. It is at once colossal, haughty and ultimately inscrutable—as a great monument should be. The question is whether it should have been a monument in the first place. - The Wall Street Journal

Art Galleries Are Not Okay

What went wrong? The short answer is: The art world expanded wildly, but the art market — the total dollar volume of art sales — did not. In fact, if you read the Art Basel/UBS Art Market Report for 2026 carefully, and adjust for inflation, the data shows that the art market has stagnated. - The New York Times

For His First Work Of Performance Art, Ai Weiwei Will Re-Enact His Imprisonment

“From 5 p.m. on July 3 (in Manchester), Ai will enter a replica of his 25.92 square-meter cell, recreated by international architecture firm HawkinsBrown. Inside, (over 24 hours,) he’ll sleep, eat, exercise, write, wash, and face interrogation on personal, political, and philosophical matters by four famed journalists.” - Artnet

Debating The Color Of The National Mall Reflecting Pool

The Reflecting Pool now evokes the joy of a Green Bay Packers victory. Or a high-school prank. Or St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago.It most certainly is not the gleaming American-flag blue that Trump’s repainting of the pool was supposed to produce. - The Atlantic

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