Closure threat to Scotland's top galleries
Plus: Sackler name stripped from V&A; Met Gala theme revealed
Happy Friday.
As if all the major exhibitions going on in London right now aren’t enough of a pull on your time (and your wallet), along has come a brand new art experience which is definitely worth a visit. Last night I was lucky enough to attend (alongside the actual Lewis Capaldi and the actual Simon Le Bon!) the world premiere of Frameless, the first permanent digital immersive art experience in the UK. You get plunged into 40 unique interactive digital interpretations of masterpieces by 28 iconic artists including Canaletto, Cézanne, Dalí, Kandinsky, Klimt, Monet, Rembrandt and van Gogh. It’s big, it’s bold and it’s definitely full on for the eyes and ears. And I rather liked it. I don’t think these type of attractions will ever replace the sensations of standing in front of one of these masterpieces IRL, but as fun digital experiences go, this is one of the very best. It opens to the public today.
Now on to this week’s news!
Maxwell
News from the UK
The National Galleries of Scotland has issued a stark warning that its four sites are threatened with closure over the growing cash and energy crisis. Edinburgh’s flagship art galleries - including the Scottish National Gallery - are facing extended or partial closure in the face of the “perfect storm” engulfing Britain’s museum sector. The National’s director general, Sir John Leighton, has warned the combined impact of soaring inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, rising energy bills and lower visitor numbers have left his organisation facing a crisis “more serious and more difficult to deal with than the pandemic itself.” He issued a blunt warning to the Scottish Parliament about what the financial turmoil means: “We will have an offer that falls severely short of what you would expect from a national cultural organisation”. The Scotsman
Newly unearthed documents from the early 19th century show that the UK’s foreign secretary helped Lord Elgin import the Parthenon Sculptures to Britain, and he waived the custom tax for the shipment. The academic who discovered the new documents believe it shows that it was always the intention for the marbles to join the national collection, which they did fours year after arriving when they were acquired by the British Museum. The Guardian
The last major museum to retain the Sackler name on its walls has had a change of heart and removed all mention of the controversial family. The V&A announced that it had “mutually agreed” with the Sackler family that the name would be erased. “We have no current plans to rename the spaces” a statement added. The museum didn’t answer media questions as to why there was an about-turn now after years of resisting the move. New York Times
Fancy a voyage to the edge of imagination? You’re in luck then as the Science Museum has just unveiled its major exhibition on science fiction which promises to take visitors on a journey into outer space. Themes include space travel, cyborgs, alien life and threats to humanity. At one point visitors can “touch down on an unexplored planet.” Beam me up I say! The Guardian
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Ernest Shackleton’s lost ship, Endurance, will “decay out of existence” on the Antarctic seabed unless it is raised and preserved, the archaeologist who discovered the wreck has said. “If we leave it there, it’s organic, it’s going to decay some time beyond our lifetime” Mensun Bound, who found the vessel in March, told an audience at an event in London. But he highlighted how the issue of raising it was hugely controversial. The Guardian
News from around the world
Police detained an American tourist at a Vatican museum after he damaged two ancient Roman sculptures by hurling them to the floor. The man toppled the artworks at the Chiaramonti Museum, which is part of the Vatican Museums, and images shared on social media showed the damaged busts strewn on the marble floor. Italian newspapers reported that the man grew angry because he was not allowed “to see the Pope.” The Washington Post
The theme - and accompanying exhibition - of the 2023 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has been revealed. It will celebrate the work of the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. The Gala will kick off the major exhibition Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty which will bring together around 150 designs that "explore the designer's stylistic language." But the announcement was met with some outrage due to controversies in Lagerfield’s history. Actor Jameela Jamil was particularly forthright with her condemnation of the Met’s exhibition. CNN
Major renovations at one of the world’s most visited museums - the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC - have been unveiled ahead of its public reopening next week. The museum has been closed since March, and its west wing has been closed for extensive refurbishment since 2018. Highlights going back on display include the Apollo 11 moon capsule. The museum’s east wing is now getting the refurb treatment and is closed over the coming years. The Washington Post
A forest fire that has torn across part of Easter Island and has charred some of its famous carved stone figures. Some of the damage is said to be irreparable. An unknown number of the statues, known as moai, have been damaged on the island, which lies some 2,175 miles (3,500km) off the west coast of Chile. Local experts have said they “are totally charred” and that the damage can’t be undone. The Times
And finally
Sad news: it looks like art magazine Elephant is closing for good. (Elephant named this very newsletter one of the very best cultural newsletters in 2021 so maxwell museums is feeling this particularly keenly.)
The Frieze art fair is back, and is taking over London’s Regent’s Park once again. Elle gives the rundown of everything to look out for during the art bonanza.
Did you read my interview with the Museum of the Year-winning Director of the Horniman which landed in your inbox this week? If not, get clicking here!
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