It launched in 1996 via a city ordinance that originally earmarked 1 percent of the budget for capital improvement projects for public art. That amount was raised to 1.5 percent for the 2022-2027 bond program. - San Antonio Express (MSN)
The Council of the European Union announced on April 23 that it is formally sanctioning Mikhail Piotrovsky, the long-time director of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. The reasons given are that Piotrovsky is “a close associate of Vladimir Putin.” - ARTnews
“The whistleblower claims that the museum improperly moved funds between various accounts in order to meet severe cash crunches. The whistleblower alleged that a former director was forced out based on trumped-up staff complaints, and that the museum failed to even interview two qualified candidates to replace him before promoting an internal candidate.” - ARTnews
The move comes almost three months after news broke of a six-figure loan the museum made to Sirén for buying a house; the loan reportedly was never repaid. Under Sirén’s leadership, AKG greatly increased its collection, underwent a $230 million renovation and expansion, and achieved record attendance numbers. - ARTnews
Erwin Bankowski, 50, and Karolina Bankowska, 26, admitted in federal court in Brooklyn to wire fraud conspiracy and misrepresenting Native American–produced goods. The pair, a father and daughter, now face up to 20 years in prison, along with at least $1.9 million in restitution. - ARTnews
Known as the Zimbabwe Bird, it has long been a symbol of national identity, but behind it lies a complex tale of displacement, colonial plunder and restitution. - BBC (MSN)
Architecture is a Fox’s discipline. It sits between capital, politics, infrastructure, climate, design, engineering, art, psychology, and economics. Its task is to hold these domains together, manage complexity, and, at its best, make spaces and places in which we can live better together. - Time
Rather than treating education as a public good, elected officials shift the burden onto individuals, underfund institutions, and protect a system that redistributes wealth upward. Financialization destroys the relation between education, citizenship, and the public world that the university is supposed to build. - Hyperallergic
Only days after she was diagnosed with liver cancer last year, curator Koyo Kouoh passed away. Nevertheless, the Biennale’s flagship show will open next month under her name and chosen title, “In Minor Keys.” A five-person team of Kouoh’s assistants and advisers has tried to channel her work. - The New York Times
“According to new reports from Italian news outlets, Russia‘s group exhibition ‘The tree is rooted in the sky’ will only be accessible to members of the press and industry insiders during the Bienniale’s preview May 5-8. When the exhibition opens to the public (May 9-November 22), entry will be prohibited.” - Artforum
A former FBI agent who led the investigation for more than two decades is now offering the first detailed account of how investigators reached that conclusion — and publicly identifying the men he believes were involved. - AP News
“Dataland, the world’s first A.I. art museum, is set to open on June 20 after more than two-and-a-half-years of planning and construction. … The museum will be housed inside the Grand L.A., a Frank Gehry-designed complex comprised of high-end apartments, entertainment facilities, and a luxury hotel.” - Artnet
What’s worth more—a Picasso or a painting by a street artist no one has heard of? According to the AI model we built, the answer is the latter. - ARTnews
Carolina Miranda: "In some ways, this freeway-like building could not be more LA: messy, sprawling, too big to take in from a single vantage point. In others — its embrace of the road and its relentless horizontal-ness — it seems stuck in a vision of the past." - Bloomberg
Trump originally envisioned the pool being topped with turquoise so that it would look like the Bahamas, but was convinced by the contractor to choose “American flag blue” instead. - Artnet
