Belgium once claimed it had finished its work on looted art in 2001. But no, says one museum director. "I can say without hesitation, the Belgian state has been very late in taking action." Then there's Tate Britain. - The Observer (UK)
Don't stress, artists: "What the majority actually had problems with — what the decision was mostly about — was the Warhol Foundation’s failure to pay Goldsmith a licensing fee in 2016." - The New York Times
Kate Levy says she loves "to tear into hypocritical institutions or political actors who rely on oppressive yet hokey, family-first, nice people, I’m-just-doing-my-job narratives. Calling out and satirizing corny, offensive propaganda is one of my greatest pleasures." - Hyperallergic
"The publicly- and privately-funded museum will open in Palermo's 18th-century neoclassical Palazzo Jung palace, sources report. Joining an existing No Mafia Memorial and museum, the new institution will offer archival documents, film, and photos on loan from major Italian museums, as well as immersive experiences featuring scent and sound." - Artnet
“I would just say that we are, without changing … our fundamental position about the ownership of the sculptures, we’re trying to explore a possible win-win proposition that would work for both sides.” - Artnet
It's still too early to assess damage to museums and heritage sites in Emilia-Romagna, where 13 people have died and 10,000 are displaced amid the region's worst floods in a century. In Ravenna, the Classis archaeological museum housed 800 human and 150 canine evacuees. - The Art Newspaper
How lopsided has the program been? Of the 11 shows on view at the museum last year, just two centered on historical art. The other nine — 82% of the program — presented art of the modern era. - Los Angeles Times
"Pandora VII, which resulted in crackdowns across 14 European countries and was led by Spanish authorities, involved checks across airports, ports, border crossings, auction houses, museums, and private residences. The operational phase took between September 13 and 24, 2022." - Artnet
The Asante people's traditional monarch, "the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who attended the Coronation of King Charles, later met the museum director (to discuss) works taken from the Asante palace in Kumasi during the war with the British of 1874." - BBC
It was the shuttering of an art space that served Santa Fe for over four decades. Five weeks later, with a board member-initiated fundraising campaign securing pledges and donations of over $300,000, CCA reopened in a purely cinematic capacity last Thursday, May 11. - Hyperallergic
The comparison for the Pompidou project is the Louvre Abu Dhabi. In that landmark 2007 deal, the UAE paid France €1 billion for a 30-year agreement that granted the new museum the priceless Louvre brand, as well as expertise and guidance on exhibitions and acquisitions, and, perhaps most crucially, art loans. - Art in America
"(In) the biggest art heist in modern history, the thieves made off with a haul worth more than €113 million ($123 million) from the Green Vault museum in 2019. Some, but not all, of the loot was recovered in exchange for four of the defendants confessing in court." - Yahoo! (AFP)
"We will never recognize that these sculptures are owned, legally owned by the British Museum,” said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. "But again, we have to be constructive and ... innovative if a solution is to be found. … That word 'loan' is not part of … what I consider a win-win solution." - AP
No, this isn't about young protesters from Just Stop Oil gluing themselves to Renoirs. It's about moths, mostly, and other pests that might eat, bore through, and otherwise damage artworks — and how chief conservation officer AnnaLivia McCarthy does her bug patrols. - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
