"Culture change underway" at British Museum says Osborne
PLUS: Man dies at Tate Modern
This edition features over 20 news stories from Tate Modern | George Osborne | Rubin Museum | Dorset Museum | Bank of England Museum | National Museums Liverpool | English Heritage | Centre Pompidou | Brooklyn Museum | Greta Thunberg | Mona Lisa
Happy Friday!
Firstly, thank you to the 196 readers who have signed up to this newsletter in January.
Last week I wrote about how the traditionally-quiet January turned out to be a surprisingly busy month in terms of news coming out of the museum and art world. But January did maintain its other tradition: a month with barely any new exhibition openings.
Now it’s February, that all changes. The turbo engines have fired and there’s a TON of blockbuster fair opening in the next 29 days.
In fact it’s already begun with the launch of the British Museum’s huge exhibition on the Roman army which critics have LOVED (more on that below). Tomorrow, the RA opens its big show — Entangled Pasts, 1768–now — dealing with the institution’s colonial past, which the critics have far from loved.
In the coming weeks there’s Frank Auerbach at The Courtauld, Yoko Ono at Tate Modern, a major study of the Black figure at the National Portrait Gallery, a massive textile show at the Barbican, and Sargent and Fashion comes to Tate Britain. Outside of London there’s William Blake at the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge, Do Ho Suh at the National Galleries of Scotland, the book covers of Quentin Blake in Rugby Museum, and — one I’m personally hugely excited about — Victorian Radicals sees the return of Birmingham’s incredible Pre-Raphaelite collection to the city. And even further afield there’s Frank Gehry in Gagosian NYC, a huge Impressionism show at the Dallas Museum of Art, and Frieze Los Angeles sneaks into February’s extra day. Phew. How much is too much?!
Let’s get into the news!
— maxwell
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Need To Know
Man dies at Tate Modern
A man has died this morning after falling from Tate Modern in London.
Police arrived at the scene at around 10:45am following reports a person had fallen from the gallery.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: "The death is currently being treated as unexpected but is not thought to be suspicious.” Tate said on social media that the gallery would be closed for the rest of the day but would reopen at 10am tomorrow.
The gallery’s local MP said on X it was “terrible news” and that “Tate Modern is an amazing venue, hosting so many people for a positive experience in central London - open to all and a dynamic, warm and welcoming institution.”
In 2019 a six-year-old boy suffered devastating injuries after being thrown from the Tate Modern balcony by Jonty Bravery. Bravery was convicted of attempted murder in 2020 and jailed for 15 years. (Read more)
British Museum ‘taking ownership’
A "culture change [is] underway" at the British Museum its Chair George Osborne has proclaimed, as the beleaguered institution enjoyed a week of positive press and rave reviews for its new Ancient Rome blockbuster exhibition.
Critics have unanimously loved the new Legion: Life in the Roman Army show. Alastair Sooke in the Telegraph said it was “among the most powerful exhibitions” in memory at the museum, while Jonathan Jones in the Guardian said “It is one of the warmest encounters with individuals from the remote past you could ever hope for.”
But Osborne’s comments came as the museum announced that some of the recovered objects from last year’s ‘inside job’ thefts would go on display later this month. He said it showed they continued to “open up and take ownership of our own story”. (Read more)
Meanwhile Interim Director Sir Mark Jones gave his first interview in the role. In it he revealed that £500k had already been raised to ensure the entire 8-million-strong collection would be catalogued in five years — at no extra cost to the taxpayer — and he defended the museum’s recently announced 10-year funding from BP for a major refurb. “To turn down that very major act of generosity would imperil our chances of doing work that is badly needed” he told the Times. (Read more)
NYC’s Rubin Museum shock closure
Manhattan’s Rubin Museum of Art is to close permanently after 20 years of operation. The doors will shut on the museum dedicated to art from the Himalayas for the final time on 6 October, but bosses have pledged to carry on through loans and touring exhibitions. But they will sell their building and will make 40% of staff redundant.
“The definition of what a museum is has evolved dramatically in recent years” Noah Dorsky, the museum’s president said, adding that their future plans away from a permanent site would “[redefine] what a museum can be.”
What the Rubin hasn’t been in recent years, is in the black. It ran a $5.9 million deficit in 2022. The sale of its Chelsea home will likely fetch millions.
The museum however insisted to the New York Times the closure was not a financial decision. A spokeswoman said that its endowment had grown to more than $150 million in 2023. Executive Director Jorrit Britschgi said “People hear ‘museum’ and think it is a space where we can walk into...that is changing for us.” (Read more)
News from the UK
Multi-million miss | Dorset Museum’s £16.4m renovation is pulling in just a third of projected visitor numbers, and its Director says it faces permanent closure unless fortunes change. Claire Dixon says it needs to triple footfall to meet £1m annual running costs. The museum has now received emergency cash from the local council and the National Lottery which will be used for digital marketing. “We need an injection of cash actively to enable us to reach an audience” Dixon said. (Read more)
Bank blocks renovation | The Bank of England has shelved its £250,000 plan to revamp its museum in London. The Bank refused to explain the decision to delay a refurbishment that was expected to introduce interactive exhibits. The Guardian reported that the museum had faced constraints with refurb work in a Grade I-listing building, but the axe comes amongst the ongoing pressure in museum funding. (Read more)
Strike action imminent | Staff at National Museums Liverpool ARE set to strike after balloting union members. 94% favoured walking out in a dispute over the taxpayer-funded museum group’s refusal to pay them a £1,500 cost-of-living payment mandated by the UK government. The PCS Union says the museum is the ONLY employer out of 200 covered by the civil service pay remit guidance to withhold the payment. (Read more)
Chair search ditched | Ministers have said that the search for a new Chair of the V&A — replacing Sir Nicholas Coleridge — must be restarted. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has ordered that it must begin again after the frontrunner Samir Shah instead accepted the opportunity to chair the BBC. Insiders say that scores of roles are waiting to be filled on boards at museums and cultural institutions. (Read more)
Nighthawking castle thefts | Devon and Cornwall Police have released images of suspected ‘nighthawkers’ who are accused of removing valuable archaeological items from a 15th century castle, under the cover of darkness. English Heritage have said the six suspects have caused "irreversible" damage to the protected Berry Pomeroy Castle near Totnes. The incident is thought to have taken place in the early hours of Sunday morning. (Read more)
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News from around the world
France 🇫🇷 | The longest ever strike in the Centre Pompidou’s history has come to an end. After three months, museum management and labour unions signed an agreement after the Ministry of Culture promised to guarantee workers’ jobs during the Centre’s planned five-year closure starting next year. Unions praised controversial new culture minister Rachida Dati for playing a decisive role in bringing the stand-off to an end. (Read more)
Poland 🇵🇱 | The director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum has spoken about the museum’s involvement in Jonathan Glazer’s devastating Holocaust film In the Zone of Interest, which is nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture. Piotr Cywinski revealed he made an exception for filming to take place near the preserved camp because he was satisfied Glazer was committed to credibility. The museum’s historians also worked with Glazer’s team for three years to ensure details were correct. (Read more)
Switzerland 🇨🇭 | 273,000 visitors came through the doors of the FIFA Museum in Zurich in 2023 — an annual record for the eight-year-old museum dedicated to international football. Last year also saw the museum open its first permanent exhibition outside Switzerland: in the Spanish capital Madrid. Managing Director Marco Fazzone said 2023 showed how successful they had been in their “mission and responsibility to share the magic of football with the entire world.” (Read more)
USA 🇺🇸 | The Brooklyn Museum turns 200 years old this year, and they’ve announced a range of programming to celebrate. The year-long celebration kicks off in October with the flagship event The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition, a major group show highlighting Brooklyn artists and curated by an artist committee that will include Jeffrey Gibson. There’ll also be a significant rehang of the Museum’s American Art galleries. (Read more)
Australia 🇦🇺 | A museum celebrating “adorable poop” has opened in Melbourne. The Australian outpost of the Unko Museum — which has already expanded across Japan and China over the past five years — is mostly ‘Instagrammable’ set pieces infused with Japan’s kawaii aesthetic, or cuteness culture. In one installation, visitors are encouraged to stomp on coloured turds to rack up points for a game. Don’t all flush at once. (Read more)
Best of the rest
Heist accused charged | In October, this newsletter reported on an audacious museum heist in Nottingham where antique silverware was snatched. Police have now arrested and charged a 36 year old man, but the items are still missing. (More)
Biennale bonanza revealed | The full list of 331 artists which will be exhibited in this year’s Venice Biennale have been revealed. The theme of ‘Foreigners Everywhere’ will see 69 countries represented. (More)
Louvre eco-attack | Activists threw soup over the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in the latest attack on artworks in the name of eco protest. It’s thought they were calling for ‘healthy and sustainable food.' (More)
Greta’s museum protest | Greta Thunberg turned up at the Science Museum Late event last night. But she wasn’t there to try the WonderLab slides, she was protesting against the museum’s sponsors. (More)
Tapestry: “gimme shelter!” | A life-size Victorian replica of the 70-metre Bayeux Tapestry has been acquired by the Bayeux Museum in Normandy. It was bought from the estate of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021. (More)
Arts marketing webinars | This upcoming FREE webinar will explain how AI can help arts marketers streamline their work and get better results. Missed the recent webinar on social media ethics? Watch a recording here.*