Shockingly weak Louvre passwords
Laughable online security at heist-hit museum
— In partnership with M+H Awards 2026
Friday 07 November 2025 | news from the world of museums, galleries, art and heritage
Happy Friday.
I’ll start this week by talking about a new TV show. Stick with me…
All’s Fair has landed on Disney+ this week. The legal drama stars some of the world’s top acting talent of our day, as well as Kim Kardashian. It’s been savaged by the critics — to put it mildly.
The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan gave it zero stars, saying “I did not know it was still possible to make television this bad.” Zero stars too from the Times: it “is so bad, it’s not even enjoyably so.”
USA Today said it was “an embarrassingly terrible show” that was essentially insulting to the wider industry. All’s Fair currently holds a rare 0% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Now, I’m not fussed about this show particularly — I would be very unlikely to watch even it was a critical darling — but I have enjoyed reading the reviews, because who doesn’t like to read a total drubbing?!
I’ve written before in this newsletter my surprise at just how much weight is placed on newspaper reviews in the museum world (see, I told you I’d bring it back to museums). And I’m often taken aback at how strongly some in the sector hit back when there’s a bad one. Surely by producing work for public consumption this is a hazard of the job?
But here’s the truth about savage reviews — they’re good for business! Whenever I have cause to post about poor reviews in this newsletter, clicks rocket.
The Guardian even enjoyed such a huge spike in traffic after their trashing was published that they proceeded to run a plethora of articles revisiting the surprisingly few times its critics have given anything, in any medium, a zero-star rating. One example, this piece on the just 18 times it’s happened.
(Interestingly no exhibition has been given this (dis)honour — although one of the 18 was a gig by Turner Prize-winning artist Martin Creed at the ICA in London which they said was “an experiment to see how charmless and pleased with himself a man can appear.”)
And despite my snarky dig at Kim K at the start of this intro (which hands-up is stolen from this hilarious Dionne Warwick interview), I will say this about her. She definitely gets that it’s better to be talked about than not at all. In response to the critics this week, she posted a meme that said: “Critics realizing their reviews of All’s Fair ended up making people watch and love the show.” Everyone suspects when numbers are announced, it will have a very healthy viewership.
So moral of the story is this. Sometimes — to quote Miranda Hobbes — they’re just not that into you. And sometimes, this might just make far more people pay attention.
Perhaps above all, just remember: it’s SO un-chic to look bitter. Ask Kim K.
Now onto the news!
maxwell
ps. to prove my point, I bet the most clicked articles in this edition will be the links to the terrible reviews for All’s Fair. I’ll let you know next week 😉
— In partnership with M+H Awards 2026
It’s time for you and your museum to shine!
“It was completely unprecedented…it was like a peak career moment” says Marianne.
Winning a Museums + Heritage Award — the sector’s most prestigious accolade — is transformative.
Marianne Scahill-Pape is the learning manager at Leicester’s Attenborough Arts Centre. She lifted the trophy for Learning Programme of the Year 2025. She says that smaller institutions like hers don’t usually have capacity for advocacy, so winning “was phenomenal.”
Now it’s time for you to step into the spotlight. Entries for 2026 have OPENED.
There’s 18 categories — from Best Use of Digital, to Volunteer(s) of the Year. There’s three categories for non-UK institutions too.
Enter before 30 November and save £40 with the Early Bird discount. It’s a no-brainer, as you can continue to edit your entry until the final deadline in January. So save the cash now!
Even being shortlisted has a big impact, giving you and your team a moment to shine. Just ask Marianne.
“I took [the award] with me to Hyde Park. I sat in the sun with it…thinking ‘I can’t believe I’ve got this.’”
Enter the 2026 M+H Awards, sponsored by Altair Media, here.
Top stories 🚨
April opening for V&A East Museum
V&A East Museum finally has an opening date: 18 April 2026
First announced in 2018 with an initial proposed opening of 2023, the museum in the Stratford’s Olympic Park is squarely aimed at young people and the local communities of East London. It opens less than year after its sister-site — V&A East Storehouse, which has been a huge hit — opened.
The museum has revealed it will display over 500 objects spanning art, architecture, design, performance, and fashion from the V&A’s national collections, in two, free permanent Why We Make galleries.
The V&A will also unveil eight new artworks — by artists including Tania Bruguera and Es Devlin — across both East London sites, as part of a new six-monthly rotating creative commissions programme. A monumental new permanent work by Thomas J Price will welcome visitors too.
Gus Casely-Hayford, in an interview with the Guardian, said the project is funded by a “very generous” contribution from the government. He calls the new museum the greatest project of his career. (Read more)
🔗 INTERVIEW: ‘Young people can come in and have life-changing moments’: Gus Casely-Hayford on V&A East, a new museum for Gen Z | The Guardian
Password failures at the Louvre
French prosecutors said it’s thought the Louvre heist was carried out by petty criminals, and not international organised crime.
Four suspects remain in custody. Three are understood to be members of the four-man gang which carried out the raid. One suspect — whose DNA was found on the furniture lift used in the heist — has 10 previous theft-related offenses. French media have also identified one suspect as a minor social media star who had worked previously as a security guard at the Pompidou Centre. (Read more)
Meanwhile, it’s been revealed that the museum used the password “Louvre” to access its CCTV network, and that its cybersecurity software — provided by Thales — had “Thales” as its password. (Read more)
And a new report from France’s state auditor, that was actually completed before the heist, slammed the museum for prioritising “visible and attractive” projects over security upgrades. It said a security review completed a decade ago that identified extensive security shortfalls, only resulted in a tender for improvement work last year. It also blamed favouring excessive spending on artworks over building upgrades. (Read more)
Museum head ousted after rebrand mocked
The head of the Philadelphia Art Museum has been sensationally sacked.
Sasha Suda was dismissed after three years of her five-year contract. The only explanation given so far is that she was terminated for ‘cause.’
Suda had recently overseen a deeply-unpopular rebrand, including a rename of the institution to the Philadelphia Art Museum, from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Some locals had mocked the new name, dubbing the museum “PhArt,” instead of its suggested nickname, “PhAM.”
The unveiling of the rebrand even shocked some of the museum’s trustees. Trustee Yoram (Jerry) Wind told The Philadelphia Inquirer they had expected to give final approval: “It was launched, so we were as surprised as everyone else.” (Read more)
Meanwhile, the Art Newspaper has revealed that PhArt [sorry!] *PhAM* will display the National Gallery’s famous Van Gogh sunflowers painting next year. The rare overseas trip is in exchange for the Philadelphia museum’s landmark loan of its own Sunflowers for the recent Poet and Lovers exhibition in London. (Read more)
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UK news 🇬🇧
Countdown begins to Quentin Blake’s illustration museum ✏️
92-year-old Sir Quentin Blake has hailed the news that a museum of illustration that he’s founded and will bear his name will finally open to the public in May 2026. “I have long dreamt of a permanent place with ‘ILLUSTRATION’ above the door — and now the amazing reality is that we have it” he said. The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration in London will be the world’s largest dedicated space for the medium. (Read more)
British Library chief QUITS during strikes 📚
A shock resignation at the British Library, as its chief executive Rebecca Lawrence quits after less than a year. Her exit comes midway through a two-week strike over pay by more than 300 workers which has caused significant disruption, including early closures of its new maps exhibition. Lawrence succeeded Sir Roly Keating who has led the Library for 12 years. The striking union has now urged the new interim chief to re-start pay negotiations. (Read more)
New nature additions coming to Horniman Museum 🌱
A new large children’s play area and a “family-friendly cafe” will be constructed in the Horniman Museum’s gardens. Kusuma Nature Play — named after its chief funder, the philanthropic Kusuma Trust — will open next year. Museum Chair Michael Salter-Church said “Opening in the Horniman’s 125th year, these new features in the Gardens will help visitors learn about the natural world.” Next year’s anniversary will also be marked with a three-day summer celebration. (Read more)
More sites added to at-risk list 🚨
138 new sites have been identified by Historic England in the past year as being at risk of destruction. In its annual heritage at risk register, it says the birthplace of vaccination — known as Dr Jenner’s Hut in Gloucestershire — is facing being lost, as is the medieval St Wendreda’s church in Cambridgeshire, the only UK church dedicated to the 7th-century Anglo-Saxon princess. There are now 4,891 entries on the register. (Read more)
Global news 🌎
USA 🇺🇸
America is one of the few countries left to announce their representative for the Venice Biennale, which opens in April. It’s now been revealed the chosen artist has had the commission collapse without ever being made public. Artist Robert Lazzarini was chosen in September — he’d even been approved by Trump’s State Department. But the failure to find a partner art institution for the project has seen the commission withdrawn. America’s involvement is now uncertain. (Read more)
Italy 🇮🇹
A man who was working on renovations to Rome’s medieval Torre dei Conti tower has died after part of the historic building collapsed. He was trapped in rubble for 11 hours and died later in hospital. Italy later summoned Russia’s deputy ambassador and blasted “vulgar” remarks, after Moscow‘s foreign ministry spokeswoman linked the collapse of the 13th century tower to Italy’s continued military support for Ukraine. (Read more)
Canada 🇨🇦
The Florentine Diamond — a legendary 137-carat gem that adorned European royalty for centuries and was once owned by Florence’s Medici family — has been missing for a century, after the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s collapse. It’s sensationally been rediscovered in a secret bank vault in Canada. The descendants of Emperor Charles I— who were told to keep its location secret for 100 years — have now revealed the truth. They want it displayed in a Canadian museum as a thank you to the country. (Read more)
USA 🇺🇸
A man’s been sentenced to 18 months in prison for smearing paint on the case of Degas’ iconic 19th-century Little Dancer sculpture at Washington’s National Gallery of Art. Climate activist Tim Martin was found guilty in April. Court papers showed the defence said Martin is now “committed to finding other, lawful ways to express his well-founded concern” about climate change. Climate Rights International called the sentencing a “severe punishment” that showed a “growing threat to free expression.”(Read more)
News in brief 🗞️
Flood-protection for Derby’s leading museum
New flood barriers have been installed inside Derby’s Museum of Making, to prevent damage and future closures. In 2023 it was closed for three months after flooding from Storm Babet. It cost them ‘six-figures’ in lost income. (More)
Government won’t stop National Trust’s plans
The National Trust’s plans to keep fire-ravaged Clandon Park House as a preserved ruin are likely to go ahead, after the UK government decided not to interfere. Opponents — who want it rebuilt — asked the Housing Secretary to call in the plans. He refused. (More)
🚨 BREAKING NEWS — Update on Imperial Crown
The Louvre Director has today vowed to restore the imperial crown which was dropped by the heist thieves. “All of the most important pieces, the diamonds and emeralds, are actually still there” she’s said. Restoration will be financed from patrons who have already offered their support. (More)
Olympics returns to ancient roots
For the first time in history, an Olympic ceremony will be held at a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Verona’s ancient Roman amphitheatre will stage the Closing Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in February. (More)
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👀 Last edition’s most clicked news story
— Surprise as King Charles III reclaims Kew sculpture after 60 years
📊 Last week’s poll results | Are you hoping to visit the Grand Egyptian Museum now it’s finally complete?
— Yes, cannot wait! 48% 🏆
— Maybe, I’ll find out more first 26%
— Ancient Egypt not my bag 26%
🗳️ This week’s poll |