Artist Abdoulaye Conde has won the ArtPrize 2023 public vote grand prize for ‘Raining Wisdom,’ a massive, bright and colorful mural depicting elephants in the African wilderness that captured the attention and imagination of festival attendees. - Michigan Live
"The aim is not to cure, but to empower, outside of the medical framework." When it comes to relieving depressive episodes, discouraging suicidal thoughts and supporting people with autism spectrum disorders, the art world does not claim to replace medicine but, more simply, to play its part. - Le Monde
68% of art museum workers have considered leaving the field, 74% cannot always cover basic living expenses, and it takes an average of 12 years before a worker receives a promotion. Turnover is high — art museums lost 30% of full-time employees hired between 2020 and 2022. - Los Angeles Times
"Police identified the suspect as a radical 40-year-old Jewish American tourist and said initial questioning suggested he smashed the statues (at the Israel Museum) because he considered them 'to be idolatrous and contrary to the Torah.'" - AP
"Developed with Interpol, whose database of cultural objects stolen from museums, collections and archeological sites worldwide lists more than 52,000 artefacts, the $2,5 million virtual museum should open in 2025. Visitors will be able to navigate a succession of virtual spaces containing detailed 3D images of the artefacts." - The Guardian
The 49-year-old Nigerian is the first winner from Africa and the first since the award changed from annual to biennial. The $100,000 prize is the only one dedicated specifically to sculpture. - MSN (The Dallas Morning News)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, apparently no longer content with just being America’s largest and most famous art institution, has a rapidly growing licensing strategy to help it move into even more homes and the daily lives of people around the world. - ARTnews
The Pritzker-winning architect at one point said that the troubled project led him to decide never to work in the US again. In fact, there were factors Zumthor had failed to anticipate (such as the site being on a bed of tar in an earthquake zone). - The New York Times
"'Yesterday afternoon, a tragic event occurred at The Courtauld Gallery premises that led to a fatality,' the museum said in a statement on Tuesday. 'The police are not treating the event as suspicious.' … Additional information about the incident has not been released. The gallery is expected to be closed through Friday." - ARTnews
"The structure is the latest iteration of Ban's Paper Log House model, which he developed as a quick-to-construct and affordable shelter for victims of natural disasters. … It is to be rolled out in Morocco following the 6.8-magnitude earthquake on 8 September." - Dezeen
"In roughly 20 interviews with the Globe, former museum employees and board members described a stressful workplace, characterizing (director Matthias) Waschek as an 'intimidating' and 'erratic' leader prone to 'lashing out' at others for perceived social slights and other offenses." - MSN (The Boston Globe)
"Asked why he had cut off his left ear, the artist replied that this was a misconception and he had in fact only cut off 'part of my earlobe.'" (The M d'O also has an immersive Van Gogh room in this show, proving that pop culture can influence even the French.) - The Guardian (UK)
If you are fond of "odd, ugly, small-scale art that has a cracked and thwarted look, is radically antisocial, and radiates hidden agendas, you’re probably a fan of Albert Pinkham Ryder." - Washington Post
