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How Did US Museum Design Get So Boring?

As trends go, one can only hope the style spreading through US museum design today will eventually fall out of fashion. All forms of creativity could use moments of self-reflection; perhaps it is time some museum architecture has its own. - The Art Newspaper

Designs For The Las Vegas Museum Of Art

The newly updated renderings follow news announced last year that the studio led by Pritzker-prize-winning architect Diébédo Francis Kéré is designing the building, which will be located in a former parking lot in the Symphony Park area of Downtown Las Vegas. SOM is the architect of record. - Dezeen

LACMA Staffers Vote To Unionize

"Workers at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art voted to unionize with (government workers’ union) AFSCME District Council 36, the union announced on Wednesday. The new union, LACMA United, will represent around 300 workers across the museum, from curators to art handlers.” - ARTnews

A Portion Of The Louvre Reopens As Strikes Continue

Unionized staffers voted unanimously on Wednesday morning to continue their rolling strike over staffing levels, building maintenance, security, etc. Management did open a “masterpiece route” in parts of the museum which allowed tourists to view its most popular attractions, Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. - ARTnews

The Art Market Roars Back In the Fall

Sellers tracking the market downturn started slapping lower price-tags on their pieces as well, which stoked momentum in the second half of the year. Overall, Sotheby’s and Christie’s sales topped $13.2 billion in 2025, up from $11.7 billion the year before. - The Wall Street Journal

The Arabian Peninsula’s Museum-Building Boom

In Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, a bumper crop of lavishly funded art and history museums is growing. They’re largely designed by foreign architects and, at least for now, developed and run by foreign consultants. Is enough local talent being trained to take over in the future? - Artnet

How Small Museums Are Going Viral

Small museums, looking to raise their profiles and educate the masses, are turning their paintings, sculptures and tapestries into the unlikely stars of TikTok microdramas. - The Wall Street Journal

After 14 Years, Libya’s National Museum Reopens

“The National Museum of Libya – housing Africa’s greatest collection of classical antiquities in Tripoli’s historic Red Castle complex – had been closed for nearly 14 years due to the civil war that followed the former dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s downfall.” - The Guardian

Time For The Art Market To Be “Right-Sized”

There is another way of looking at the shake-ups and shutdowns that have defined the art trade in 2025. Instead of a collapse, the process might better be thought of as the right-sizing of an industry where collectors were not alone in making big speculative bets on enormous growth that simply did not materialise. - The Art Newspaper

The 56 Artists Chosen For The 2026 Whitney Biennial

Guerrero said the biennial—which is the longest-running survey of contemporary art in the US—will interrogate themes such as kinship and infrastructure to try and shed light on how artists connect with the world, but also sometimes reject it. The event will also question the US’s role in global affairs. - ARTnews

Two Generations Of Rothschilds Battle Over Their “Mini-Louvre” Art Collection

The lawsuits centre on the family’s extensive collection of furniture, priceless historic objects and paintings held at the baronial domain, the Chateau de Pregny in Switzerland, which one visitor described as a “mini Louvre”. - The Guardian

Museum Tracker: This Year’s Most-Favored Artists

A narrow band of stars feature in a lot of shows, followed by a long tail of artists with much more limited visibility. Only slightly more than 200 artists are simultaneously in three or more shows in December, and only a little under 400 are in two or more. - Artnet

Collection Of One Of South America’s Leading Museums Has Just Doubled In Size

“One of the world’s most important collections of Latin American art will double in size following the acquisition of over 1,000 new works. Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) will accommodate its new holdings with a major expansion, which will be initiated next year to mark its 25th anniversary.” - Artnet

Louvre Closed As Threatened Strike Begins

“The world's most-visited museum was closed on Monday after workers walked out on strike in protest against working conditions and other complaints, dealing another blow to the landmark after an embarrassing jewellery heist in October.” - Euronews

How The Tate Museum Lost Its Way

 It’s become genuinely hard to understand what Tate’s priorities are when it chooses artists for the annual Turbine Hall commission. And the Turner prize is even more mystifying. Once the stage of shocking, provocative art that engaged – whether they were for or against – a massive public, it has retreated into wilful obscurity. - The Guardian

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