Parthenon progress?
Plus: Horniman to return its bronzes, and fears for unique London museum
Happy Friday.
This week we waved goodbye to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The Games were a hailed as a huge success both on and off the field the play, and I was lucky enough to see some of the action IRL (screaming along with 30,000 people to get the England 4x400m women’s relay team to the tightest of victories, only to have them DQd minutes later…..it still stings!). But just as incredible was the atmosphere across the city. Central Birmingham was BUZZING, helped along by the raging bull sculpture which drew thousands to come and see it. Thankfully, it’s going to be found a permanent home. While there I also made a visit to the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery which had temporarily reopened for the Games. I was very impressed. All the open spaces had newly revamped displays, many of them co-curated. They were meaningful, accessible and made sense (which is never a given). If I had one criticism: perhaps there were a few too many disparate displays going on. But they did all celebrate the city, and with Birmingham’s new found confidence, they are well worth a visit before the museum closes again at the end of the year. Oh, and you have mere days left to see Hew Locke’s reimaginging of the famous Queen Victoria statue. Foreign Exchange comes down on Monday. It’s brilliant.
You’ll see below that Substack (the platform I write this on) now allows reader polls. So do have a cheeky vote, if only so I know that it works.
Till next time!
Maxwell
If you enjoy this newsletter, please take time to support it. Buy me a digital coffee here
The British Museum has revealed it is seeking a reset in its relationship with Greece over the ongoing debate around the Parthenon Sculptures. In a surprising move, the Museum’s Deputy Director revealed to the Sunday Times that it wants an “active Parthenon partnership” but gave no details on what that meant. But he did add that he wants to "change the temperature of the debate" around the works. The comments came after the Museum’s Chair George Osborne had said earlier this year that there was a “deal to be done.” While these plans are seemingly as far from concrete as you can possibly get, the noises coming out of British Museum have been broadly welcomed from all sides of the debate, even if it looks like a loan is as much as is being offered at this stage. The director of the Acropolis Museum, Nikolaos Stampolidis, said there could be a “basis for constructive talks” with the “positive Parthenon partnership” offer. Bestselling author and historian Dominic Selwood, who has often argued the value of the sculptures remaining in the UK, told this newsletter that the British Museum’s new remarks “return much-needed sanity to the debate” and that it reminds people that “that the Parthenon sculptures are available to travel in the same way as anything else in the museum’s collection.” He added that “what has been missing is a public and governmental environment for collaboration. But the signs are now there that this is beginning.” Not everyone is convinced however. Writing in the Times, David Aaronovitch said that while the moral case for the return of the Benin Bronzes is overwhelming (more on that below), “the Parthenon Sculptures were not looted” and that it’s now simply fashionable to call for their return. It represents an example of how our great universal museums are under siege he says.
The Horniman in south London - Art Fund Museum of the Year 2022 no less - is giving back its Benin Bronzes. A total of 72 objects will be transferred to the Nigerian government it said. It’s significant, because it is the first UK government-funded museum to accept such a request over its bronzes. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which funds the Horniman, said it was up to the Museum’s trustees to decide what it did with its collections, as unlike many national museums, there’s no legislation preventing it from deaccessioning items. The Art Newspaper
Tate has agreed to pay a six-figure settlement to three artists after one of them filed a claim alleging discrimination, victimization, and harassment under the Equality Act. Amy Sharrocks was initially appointed as the lead artist of the 2020-2021 season of the Tate Exchange program, and brought Jade Monsterrat on board. But Tate told Sharrocks she could not work with Monsterrat, who had accused art dealer and Tate donor Anthony d’Offay of sexual misconduct. Tate has not admitted liability and the Chair of Trustees, writing in response to the Guardian article revealing the story, said that while Tate apologised to the artists for how the relationship ended “much remains disputed” and that there are “allegations that Tate denies.” The Guardian
A sculpture by Sir Antony Gormley commemorating the wartime codebreaker Alan Turing has been approved for the University of Cambridge's King's College. The 12-foot abstract steel sculpture will be erected in the grounds of the college where Turing studied from 1931 to 1934. But some have criticised the plans, saying it won’t be visible enough as public access to the college is restricted. BBC News
It’s been over a year since the UK emerged from lockdown , and much of life has been back to normal for sometime. The City of London Police Museum, however, has remained firmly shut. Originally closed and turned into a covid testing center, it’s now feared that it may never reopen. It’s home to a huge collection telling the story of policing one of the world’s smallest police districts over the past 200 years. The City Corporation and the City of London Police said they “are currently considering options for the museum.” Which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence to go and bet your house on it’s reopening. Evening Standard
Ai Weiwei will curate an exhibition of art by UK prisoners. Titled Freedom, it will open at the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre in London in October and will also feature works by individuals in prisons, secure mental health facilities, immigration removal centres, young offender institutions and people on community sentences. The Art Newspaper
Manchester has unveiled its answer to New York’s High Line, and all thanks to the National Trust. The giant 330 meter steel Castlefield Viaduct has been transformed into an elevated park with trees, plants and flowers. The viaduct used to be a railway line but has been unused since 1969. A National Trust spokesperson said “Creating a garden on an industrial heritage structure such as this is new territory for us.” ITV News
Some of the world’s most prized works of contemporary Western art have been unveiled for the first time in decades, in the Iranian capital Tehran. 19th and 20th century American and European minimalist and conceptual masterpieces are now on display at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. Despite Iran’s growing global isolation and the hard-line government elected a year ago, young Iranians are increasingly exploring the international art world on social media, and footfall to the exhibition is strong. ABC News/Associated Press
Delhi's only museum dedicated to the partition of India is set open its doors at the end of this year. Delayed due to covid, restoration work has finally been completed on the 17th-century Dara Shikoh Library, where the museum will be housed. It is the sister museum to one located in Amritsar in the northern state of Punjab which was itself the first of its kind in the country to focus on the 75-year-old event. The Art Newspaper
Native Americans are calling on tourists to boycott a ‘tone deaf’ Massachusetts museum, saying that it is too small, in disrepair and not staffed by workers not from local tribe. The Independent
And finally
Speaking of Ai Weiwei, he has a big interview in today’s Times. It’s to mark his huge new show in Venice, and he reveals why he doesn’t trust activists. Well worth a read.
If you enjoy this newsletter, please take time to support it. Buy me a digital coffee here