National Gallery teams with My Little Pony
Plus: Firstsite wins Museum of the Year
Today's edition is presented with blooloop V-Expo
Happy Friday (yay!) and happy autumn (boo!). To my many readers in the Southern Hemisphere: we pass the baton of spring/summer on. Enjoy it. Pray for us.
This week I took a little trip to a really exciting new contemporary art gallery in the heart of the STUNNING South Downs in West Sussex. Newlands House Gallery opened just last year, and they invited me to take the train from London (less than 90 mins!) to see their current exhibition which is a ‘parallel’ show of work by husband and wife artist couple Liliane Tomasko and Sean Scully. It’s a must for abstract art-lovers, but hurry, as it closes on 10 Oct. You can see more from my visit on my insta: @maxwellmuseums.
If you’re yet to catch up on my recent interview about another exciting new art gallery, this time a not-for-profit venue in the heart of Mayfair, then read it here.
Now let’s read on!
Maxwell
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This week’s top story
My Little Pony has galloped into the esteemed halls of London’s National Gallery. Yes really. Visitors can transform 10 famous equine images, which include the famous Whistlejacket by George Stubbs, into the colourful characters from the cartoon series through QR codes. It’s a partnership with the new Netflix film My Little Pony: A New Generation (out today), and the app is voiced by the model Jodie Kidd. PA Media
Unsurprisingly not everyone is a fan of the news. Laura Freeman writing in the Telegraph called it “a truly awful collaboration,” and the same paper’s arts editor said it was “the trashiest thing I've ever seen.” I did rather enjoy this Alan Partridge-spin on the project.
It’s definitely a bit of a jarring partnership. But as a National Gallery spokesperson makes clear: “the unrestricted funding that this provides enables the gallery to continue to work to deliver on core objectives, and enable free access to art for everyone.” With My Little Pony owners Hasbro being worth $4 billion, and Netflix valued at north of $200 billion, it looks like the Gallery got a fair bit of cash for not a huge amount of work. Neigh-bad.
This week’s other stories
The world’s biggest museum prize was this week awarded to Colchester’s Firstsite as it was announced as winner of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2021. It was a remarkable turnaround for a venue that just six years ago was placed in special funding measures because of concerns over its viability. Jenny Waldman, director of Art Fund and chair of the judges, said Firstsite was “an outstanding example of innovation and integrity” and it gets £100,000 for its efforts. Massive congratulations. I look forward to visiting. The Guardian
Museum of the Year judge, and Director of Tate, Maria Balshaw told an event at Art Basel that her museums will not prioritise visitor numbers because of the climate impact of those who come to the sites. “I’m with XR” she said. Evening Standard
“We don’t need it” says Liverpool’s new heritage chief of UNESCO’s (now revoked) World Heritage status…as he considers submitting an application to get it back. The Guardian
A bright pink pen is the latest piece of public art in Oxford. It was unveiled by artist Michael Craig-Martin who claims it is the tallest, heaviest and “most daring” sculpture he has ever produced. You can find it outside the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government. I quite like it. The Art Newspaper
A man has been arrested over the theft of rosary beads once belonging to Mary Queen of Scots during a £1m raid on Arundel Castle. But there’s no word on whether the precious object has been recovered. Daily Mail
The (very) long-awaited Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will now open in 2026 according to the institution’s director. This means it will welcome visitors 14 years after the initial proposed opening, and a whopping two decades after the project was first announced. The Art Newspaper
£7.4 million. That’s how much the National Gallery of Australia is paying to commission (commission!) a new artwork by Australian artist Lindy Lee. It will be the Gallery’s most expensive acquisition ever and will be a 13-tonne sculpture for their garden. “It’s very exciting and very expensive” Lee said, modestly. The Sydney Morning Herald
Four years after removing stained-glass windows honoring two Confederate generals, the Washington National Cathedral have chosen acclaimed artist Kerry James Marshall to design two replacements, which will address themes of racial justice. New York Times
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