Category: visual

The Swiss art fair held out for a long time. Then, on May 30, dealers sent a letter. “‘Art Basel is the most important and powerful art fair in the world but even in the best possible scenario, an edition held this year would be a mere shadow of its established stature and imperil its reputation,’ the letter said. Signed by more than 50 dealers, it concluded: ‘We believe that risks are simply too great and that regrettably 2020 is a lost year.'” – The New York Times

In recent years, designers and city-builders have largely come to reject defensive strategies and the exclusionary policies from which they stemmed. Great public spaces are now built with flexibility and approachability in mind, offering ample amenities and public resources. Yet, even in the best of times, the creation and operation of public parks, squares and community hubs remains both an honourable and difficult pursuit. – Spacing Toronto

At a site in Limmen National Park in the Northern Territory are 17 paintings, stenciled on rock, that are far smaller than usual for such art, featuring detailed renderings of humans, kangaroos, turtles, boomerangs, and geometric figures. Researchers, working with the Marra people native to the area, think the painters may have used the same beeswax figures they used to make toys. – Artnet

“The group of more than 50 claimants — none of whom wanted to be named — includes major contemporary art galleries, museums and sole traders, with claims ranging from around £50,000 to £35m.” – The Art Newspaper

“The funds, which will be made available this year and next year, will be widely distributed across cinemas, music clubs, memorials, museums, theaters, and festivals. €250 million will go to help cultural institutions reopen with new hygiene protocols, such as updated ventilation systems and new socially-distanced visitation arrangements. Some €30 million has been earmarked for galleries, cultural centers, and publishing. The package, called New Start, also decreases the tax rate on art by 3 percent.” – Artnet

“Eike Schmidt, the director of the Uffizi gallery in Florence, told the press [last week] that he thought many religious works of art currently in Italy’s museums and stores should be returned to the churches from which they came. … This idea is part of the Uffizi’s reaction to the coronavirus crisis, in which it is thinking about diversification and the distribution of its works of art in order to create a ‘wider’ [diffuso] museum beyond the immediate premises of the gallery.” – The Art Newspaper

According to ICOM, out of the 1,600 international museums that were surveyed, 13 percent reported that they had plans to close permanently, and another 19.2 percent said the future of their museums were uncertain. As for the museums that reported they would open their doors again, 83 percent said that they would reopen with reduced programming. – Travel and Leisure

“In an Instagram statement that explicitly mentioned the Black Lives Matter movement and Floyd’s death, the museum wrote, ‘The Walker will no longer contract the services of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) for special events until the MPD implements meaningful change by demilitarizing training programs, holding officers accountable for the use of excessive force, and treating communities of color with dignity and respect. Enough is enough.'” – ARTnews

French art institutions—including the Louvre, the Centre Pompidou, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Grand Palais—revealed this week that they are planning to welcome visitors again in June and July. Some museums in Germany and Italy, with the Haus der Kunst in Munich and Galleria Borghese in Rome among them, reopened in May. – ARTnews