NEED-TO-READ
Artist Draws Inspiration From Climate Protesters – The Brooklyn-based artist Jacqueline Humphries initially found climate protesters’ target at masterpieces at museums horrifying, but this emotional response was soon turned into fascination as she began to feel a connection with them. “They are saying art is powerful,” Humphries says. Inspired by protesters’ shock tactics, the artist has created a new body of work that is on show at Modern Art on Helmet Row and Bury Street in London opening this week, coinciding with the London Gallery Weekend. ()
Newfields’ New Chief Wants to Recover From “Tragedies” – Colette Pierce Burnette, the new president and chief executive of the 152-acre cultural campus that includes the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA), is working on new collaborations to bring the institution’s reputation back onto solid ground after a job posting for a new IMA director that was accused of being racist. ()
Rijksmuseum’s Vermeer Show Closes this Week – The sell-out blockbuster show that has forced the Amsterdam museum to open extra hours to accommodate public demand is ending this Sunday. One of the artist’s most famous paintings, , has already gone home to the Mauritshuis in the Hague, causing some visitor confusion but it has not dampened the public’s enthusiasm for this once-in-a-life-time exhibition. If you don’t have a ticket, you can still view every single artwork here virtually. ()
Hartmut Dorgerloh Is Renewed at Humboldt Forum – Dorgerloh, who has led the Berlin-based culture center since 2018 will continue in his role for another five years, as decided by the board of trustees of the Humboldt Forum Foundation. According to board chair and Minister of State Claudia Roth, the Forum should be “a place of democratic, cosmopolitan debate, a place of exchange and polyphony.” ()
MOVERS & SHAKERS
USLAF Names Class of 2023 Latinx Artist Fellowship – Fifteen artists of Latin American or Caribbean descent have been awarded the 2023 Latinx Fellowships, which consists of $50,000 in unrestricted grants given to each artist. Administered by the only national organization exclusively focused on Latinx visual art and artists, the class this year includes artists Mario Ybarra Jr., Postcommodity, and Beatriz Cortez. ()
A Blade of Grass Names New Executive Director – Lu Zhang will be the new executive director of the New York-based, socially-engaged arts organization beginning on June 20, 2023. Zhang previously served as initiatives director of the national arts funding organization United States Artists and also deputy director of the alternative, non-collecting museum The Contemporary in Baltimore, MD. In 2020, A Blade of Grass made a drastic change in response to the stressors of the pandemic and let go of all of its full-time staff and scrapped its lauded fellowship program. ()
2023 Joan Miró Prize Awarded – Vietnamese-American artist Tuan Andrew Nguyan is the winner of this years Joan Miró Prize, for which he will receive €50,000 ($53,000) and have a solo show at the Fundació Joan Miró in 2024. Nguyan’s practice “is informed by his research and engagement with communities that have had to deal with traumas caused by colonialism, war and displacement.” ()
Museum of Liverpool Acquires Eurovision Butter Churn – The museum has acquired the wooden churn that went viral when the U.K. city hosted Eurovision last month on behalf of Ukraine, which was the winner of 2022. ()
Xavier Hufkens Takes on Estate of Leon Kossoff – The Belgium-based gallery now represents the late British artist, who died in 2019. Kossoff, who was committed to his pursuit of figurative painting when it had fallen out of favor in lieu of minimalism and conceptualism, will be included at the gallery’s upcoming presentation at Art Basel in Basel this June. ()
FOR ARTS SAKE
London Gallery Weekend Returns – The annual London Gallery Weekend returns this week. Running from June 2 to 4, this year’s edition features more than 150 galleries offering new exhibitions, late night openings, and live events. Nicole Bachmann, Li Hei Di and Minh Lan Tran have been selected for this year’s performance program jointly presented by LGW and UP Projects. Leading art world figures such as curator Cedric Fauq, creative director Rejina Pyo, and artist Larry Achiampong have shared their gallery recommendations in the curated routes section. Artist duo Gilbert & George, on the other hand, offers a “no galleries” recommendation for this weekend, and instead a highlights of restaurants and places to see in Spitalfields, where the recently opened center is located. ()
