Once venues for younger children that provided rainy-day entertainment through exhibits and a scattering of hands-on activities, they’re expanding their scope by offering a breadth of learning and support for a broader age group. - The New York Times
A decree has declared the traditional king of the region where the artworks were made, the Oba of Benin, their official owner. Now the museums and governments who'd been negotiating with Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments don't know whom they should be dealing with. - The Art Newspaper
To honor Kelly's 100th birthday, Jack Shear is dividing 146 works among 19 museums, with MoMA, Art Institute of Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and SFMOMA getting 25 each. He's also giving $100,000 to those four and the Whitney and $50,000 grants to 45 other museums. - The New York Times
A wealth adviser based in Florida whose firm has researched and invested in fintech companies told ARTnews that “cheap money” fueled a surge of interest in “exotic alternatives.” But the current economic environment has squelched that trend. - ARTnews
"The San Francisco Art Institute has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, a move that will force the 152-year-old institution to liquidate its assets" — most notably, a Diego Rivera mural valued at $50 million — "and abandon its legendary campus on the edge of Russian Hill." - San Francisco Chronicle
"(The) Gilder (Center) is spectacular: a poetic, joyful, theatrical work of public architecture and a highly sophisticated flight of sculptural fantasy. New Yorkers live to grouse about new buildings. This one seems destined to be an instant heartthrob and colossal attraction." - The New York Times
“Given the focus of most current donors on humanitarian needs, cultural heritage is inevitably regarded as marginal, despite the fact that conservation generates significant employment.” - The Art Newspaper
Museums are shifting gears — seeking artists of different backgrounds, arranging works in new thematic groupings, reinterpreting pieces they already own. - The New York Times
Over nearly five decades, Charles and Valerie Diker have amassed one of the country's biggest private collections of Native American art, and they've been lending or giving objects to the Met for30 years. But many of those items have little or no provenance history and could well be stolen. - ProPublica
"After two-plus years of occupying a temporary home on Madison Avenue at the historic Breuer building, Manhattan's beloved Frick Museum has announced it will be closing the space on March 3, 2024. It will spend the next several months … preparing to return … to its completely overhauled longtime home." - Artnet
In a nine-day sale that ended on April 10, Hirst sold 5,508 paintings (5,109 physical artworks and 399 NFTs) and generated $20.9 million in revenue. - Artnet
The Gallo-Roman graves "will offer further insight into the funeral practices of the Parisii, the Gallic tribe that inhabited Lutetia. In the process, we will also get to know a little bit more about how they lived." - El País
In Shrewsbury, a town of 40,000 a few miles east of the Welsh border, "the organisers of an ambitious arts trail in the Shropshire town are celebrating an unexpected coup. Three pieces made by Dalí are to play a starring role in this year’s trail." - The Observer (UK)
The National Gallery in London and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow both have a new show up - "After Impressionism." Back in the halcyon days before Russia invaded Ukraine, this was supposed to be one bigger, traveling show. No longer. - The New York Times
In the wake of the April 6 announcement, there has been an outpouring of support from Santa Fe community. Members of the community are rallying to reopen the doors, with plans to resume programming at the CCA Cinema on May 3 thanks to $195,000 in emergency fundraising. - Artnet
