The BMA final vote was 89 to 29 in favor of joining the union, and the vote happened as workers at other Baltimore area cultural organizations - "the Enoch Pratt Free Library, the Baltimore County Public Library and The Walters Art Museum have all begun organizing." - Baltimore Sun
The main scandal is about antisemitic art. "So many people worked for so much time on this, ... and by not addressing the accusations of antisemitism — both warranted and unwarranted — in a decisive and transparent manner, Documenta has let this debate eclipse everything else." - The New York Times
And the effort paid off: The Horniman's "values are woven through everything it now does, with a passionate team breathing life and meaning into every object, performance, plant and animal. In many ways it’s the perfect museum." - The Guardian (UK)
The ornate gold-and-lapis lazuli vessel, which houses vials said to contain blood that flowed from Jesus's body as he was crucified, was stolen on June 1 from Fécamp Abbey in Normandy. When the thief realized it couldn't be sold, he had it returned to famed Dutch art detective Arthur Brand. - BBC
"Experts at the National Galleries of Scotland made the find when the canvas was X-rayed before an exhibition. The hidden self-portrait was covered by layers of glue and cardboard on the back of an earlier work called Head of a Peasant Woman." - BBC
The new law comes within a suite of rules intended to give the police more power over protesters. "Anyone caught damaging a memorial in the U.K. could now face harsh penalties of up to 10 years in prison." A specialist in art law says it's a "political judgement." - Artnet
Mind you, these aren't the Benin Bronzes, which come from what's now southwestern Nigeria. These were taken by French colonial soldiers in the late 19th century from the Kingdom of Dahomey, now part of the Republic of Benin, to which France has given them back. - The Guardian
Archaeologists report that the site, about 20 miles southeast of Pamplona, was "of urban character — the city's name is currently unknown — and it developed during the (Roman) imperial period. Later, the same site (became) a rural habitat during the Visigoth and early Andalusian periods." (in English) - El País (Spain)
"A growing number of Latino artists are working to broaden and elevate how Americans view piñatas and (their) history. Some are carving out a place for piñatas in the arts world, while others use the object to make pointed social and political commentary." - The Guardian
Can a painter plagiarize a film? Maybe not in the legal sense - but instead of litigation, the museum and the artists involved in this case created something like reparation instead. - ARTnews
Basically, the plaintiff sued the wrong entity - Cattelan's gallery and a museum, not the artist himself. So "the ruling still leaves the key question of the case in doubt: whether a fabricator can rightfully claim authorship of an artwork made on commission for an artist." - Artnet
After an eye-popping NFT sale for the Uffizi turned out to net the museum only €70,000, far less than half of the sale, the government worries that its museums will forever lose control over Italy's culture in digital environments. - Artnet
The Museum of London - whose collection and attitude are absolute gems - has been squeezed into "an eccentric building" for years. Now "in a five-month blowout, the museum will host a packed programme of events" before moving to a new, larger home. - The Guardian (UK)
