Chaos at Van Gogh Museum
Shop mobbed for Pokemon collaboration
— In partnership with Better Lemon Creative Audio
Also in this edition: Retain and Explain policy published, Pitzhanger Opie fundraiser, Naomi Campbell retrospective, Barbie’s birthday show, tragedy at Courtauld
Happy Friday.
For a city that’s so full of places and spaces to explore art, I’m always amazed that more keep popping up in London. Of course I’m not complaining — the more the merrier — but like where do they even find space?! Well in 112-year old former Swedish gymnasiums for one I found out this week.
The Hellenic Centre just off Marylebone High Street in central London has reinvented itself as a (free) arts centre and it’s just opened two simultaneous new exhibitions which I was lucky enough to attend a preview of yesterday. The Centre’s Great Hall is a wonderful space to display art, and I must say that the large-scale works by Vlassis Caniaris — one of the most important post-war Greek artists — look pretty great in there right now. One is on loan from Tate. Do pop along to visit. They promise an extensive art programme over the coming months and years. And speaking of new London art venues, another has managed to find a spot and is coming as you’ll find out below.
And a thank you to those who last week pledged to support me with a monthly donation to help mark the fifth (FIFTH!!!) anniversary of me writing this newsletter. As mentioned, every penny is gratefully received to help me plan, write and send you six free newsletters a month. If you’re able, please consider shouting me a fiver a month — less than the cost of a pint — because it ensures this newsletter is sustainable well into the future.
Maxwell
— In Partnership with Better Lemon Creative Audio
Mummies in museums
Should there be mummies in your museum? Is it ethical to display them? And why are they there? These are the important questions explored in a brand new episode of podcast We the Museum.
Created by Better Lemon Creative Audio, We the Museum is the podcast for museum workers. Each episode features museum workers in the US and beyond, exploring ideas, programs, and exhibitions that inform and inspire.
This week's new episode sees host Hannah Hethmon speak to museum ethics expert Dr. Angela Stienne on the rights and wrongs — and everything in between — of displaying ancient Egyptian mummified remains in museums.
Listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Need To Know
Government guidance issued
The UK government has published its long-awaited guidance for the cultural sector on what to do with contested statues and monuments. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s new document formalises the ‘retain and explain’ policy, reiterating that controversial works should be kept in place but complemented with a comprehensive explanation. It was first suggested two years ago after the toppling of Bristol’s Colston statue.
Writing in the Telegraph to coincide with the publication, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said it was “time we stopped trying to see history in one dimensional terms and stood up to those who seek to erase it” and added that the guidance advises organisations “how to stand firm and deny those who seek to whitewash the parts of our past that they dislike.”
The new document was created by a seven-member heritage advisory board, with members including the former director of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Trevor Phillips, the historian Robert Tombs and Anna Keay, the director of the Landmark Trust. Former culture minister Ed Vaizey said that the policy was “broadly sensible” but “undermined by a blanket refusal to countenance removal.” Historian David Olusoga told the Art Newspaper his “problem is not so much with the practical guidance, but with the historical falsehood it repeats.” (Read more)
Museum shop mobbed
The Pokemon company has been forced to apologise after a crowd was captured mobbing the cash tills at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and because all their products released as part of a new collaboration sold out on the first day.
The unlikely partnership that included a drop of brand new merch was only announced last week, but footage emerged on social media on day one of chaotic crowds snapping up the special edition trading cards and other goods. It’s thought many of them were ‘flippers’ so ‘scalpers’ — those planning on selling the limited edition goods on quickly for profit. The entire collection also sold out online in less than 24 hours, prompting the Pokémon Company apology.
To prevent enthusiasts clearing out the shop again, the museum has now capped purchases to “one of each item per person”. Most in demand have been the limited edition Pokemon trading cards. These new Van Gogh ones are now being advertised on eBay for prices in excess of £100. (Read more)
📺 WATCH: Chaotic scenes at Van Gogh museum:
Curly Hair fundraiser
A striking ‘walking figure’ by Julian Opie has welcomed visitors to west London’s Pitzhanger Manor ever since the artist’s exhibition there in 2021. But this week the museum revealed they are planning on turning the long-term loan into a permanent landmark, as Opie has agreed they can acquire it for their collection.
A fundraising campaign has now been launched to ensure that the LED work Curly Hair can be one of the very first pieces of contemporary art in Pitzhanger’s growing collection. They need to raise nearly £25,000 to cover the work’s costs, and are asking the public to help them secure 10% of that.
Speaking to me this week after launching the campaign, Pitzhanger Director Clare Gough said that "Curly Hair is so popular with our visitors” and that “It breaks down the barrier to entering Soane's neoclassical manor [so] we would love the community of Ealing to be able to enjoy this celebration of contemporary art for years to come." (Read more)
News from the UK
Fitz gets Skip | Acclaimed African American artist Kerry James Marshall has donated his first formal portrait of a living person to the University of Cambridge, where it has gone on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum. It’s only the second work by the artist in a public institution in the UK, and depicts Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr, an alumni of Clare College, Cambridge. Gates has just been awarded an honorary degree. (Read more)
A model exhibition | The V&A will host a major exhibition on the 40-year career of Naomi Campbell next year. It’ll be first time that a model will be the focus of an exhibition at the museum and visitors are promised around 100 of her looks. Campbell’s — shall-we-say lean – press release quote said she was “honoured to be asked by the V&A to share my life in clothes with the world.” NAOMI will open in June. (Read more)
Tetley’s ten ends | Leeds gallery The Tetley is shutting its doors in its current home after a decade and 56 exhibitions. Bosses have said that their lease in a huge former brewery had come to an end and so a move was needed. Details of whether a new location has been secured have not been confirmed. December 17 will be the last opening day. (Read more)
Renovation delays | Preston's Harris Museum closed two years ago to undergo a £16.2m renovation programme and was due to open next year. But its opening has now been delayed by another year. More asbestos than anticipated in the Grade I-listed building, and other unexpected challenges have contributed to the delay. But the budget has not been affected due to contingency. (Read more)
Life in plastic | It’s Barbie’s world and we are all just living in it. Mark your diaries as a blockbuster exhibition on the history and design evolution of the world’s most famous doll is coming to the Design Museum in July next year. The museum has been granted special access to the Barbie archives to put on a show to mark the brand’s 65th birthday. (Read more)
News from around the world
USA | Vogue editor Anna Wintour will lead fundraising efforts for the Met Museum in New York to create a huge new gallery for its blockbuster Costume Institute exhibitions (of Met Gala fame) to help tackle overcrowding. The museum will also turn an entrance lobby into a grand new shop and restaurant. It’ll cost more than $50 million (!). Wintour said she was “always dedicated to helping the museum.” (Read more)
Israel | A US tourist has been arrested after smashing ancient Roman statues he considered "blasphemous" during a rampage at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Police say the suspect deliberately destroyed the marble sculptures because ‘he believes they go against the Torah’. In a statement the museum said it “condemns all forms of violence and hopes such incidents will not recur”. (Read more)
France | Paris’ Musée d’Orsay has unveiled a major new exhibition of Van Gogh’s final works, featuring a significant AI experience and paintings which have never been loaned from Amsterdam before. Visitors can ask questions to an AI incarnation of the artist, with responses supposedly based on scientific research involving the analysis of his numerous letters. (Read more)
Italy | Banksy’s 2019 Migrant Child mural in Venice will be restored according to the Italian government, despite a last-minute and unexplained cancellation of a press conference announcing the project. An “important bank” is cited as providing funding to repair the piece which has badly deteriorated due to excessive damp over the past four years. (Read more)
Best of the rest
Delusions of Grandeur | Grayson Perry will celebrate his 65th birthday in style with a brand new exhibition at London’s Wallace Collection. Opening in 2025, the show will feature new works and will explore themes from his long career. (More)
Marble Arch museum | The arrival of a new London branch of the Moco Museum has been approved for Oxford Street. It’ll be open until 9pm daily too and promises three floors of world-famous artists. (More)
Millennium Bridge closes | Perma-wobbly design icon (and Tate Modern funnel) the Millennium Bridge will close for urgent repairs — again. It was first shut (for two years) just two days after opening in 2000. (More)
Courtauld’s tragic event | London’s Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House was closed for three days this week due to a fatality on the premises. The police are not treating the event as suspicious but no further details have been revealed. (More)
Brum’s Ozzy museum? | Sharon Osbourne has revealed she’s planning a museum for husband Ozzy in his home city of Birmingham. She says it’ll also include 'School of Rock'-style music centre. (More)
Please consider shouting me a fiver a month — less than the cost of a pint — because it ensures this newsletter is sustainable well into the future.