Tate Modern's new chief
Karin Hindsbo to be new Director
Also in this edition: Turner Prize shortlist, Norman Foster retrospective, Glasgow museum jobs cut, National Trust giveaway
Happy Friday.
The poll in last week’s edition provided a very interesting result – thank you to all the voters.
I asked you if you thought museums and galleries should continue to remain on Twitter while it’s under Elon Musk’s reign. A very solid 61% majority said they should not. Was that what you were expecting?
I think the result shows that Twitter is only really heading in one direction. And it’s not up. The more people lose faith in a platform, the more irrelevant it becomes. And while I haven’t seen any specific examples of museums or galleries leaving Twitter, it’s surely only a matter of time. Big media brands like NPR and PBS have already gone, and New York’s subway authority threw in the towel yesterday, citing that the platform is no longer reliable. Museums and galleries are hugely trusted organisations. Will they continue to be present on a site that is losing trust fast?
But let’s not kick off on too dispiriting a note. This week’s news is led by two big stories from the Tate. So now is the perfect time to ask you: which is best? Vote below!
Maxwell
Need To Know
Tate Modern’s new leader
Tate Modern — the world’s most visited contemporary art museum — has a new Director. Karin Hindsbo, currently the Director of the National Museum, Oslo, has been appointed to the role. She’ll take up the post in September.
Hindsbo led the creation of the new National Museum in Oslo which opened last year, and merged four of Norway’s major art and design institutions, creating the largest museum in the Nordic countries. She replaces Frances Morris who left this month, after leading the gallery since 2016.
According to the Art Newspaper, Hindsbo’s in-tray will be full, with immediate issues ranging from maintaining visitor numbers in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic to nurturing relationships with artists following the closure of Tate Modern’s community programme Tate Exchange. Sunday Times art critic Waldemar Januszczak said he hopes she “brings some excitement back” to the gallery. (Read more)
Turner Prize 2023
A busy week for Tate, as Tate Britain announced the four shortlisted artists for this year’s Turner Prize. Jesse Darling, Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim and Barbara Walker will now exhibit their work at Towner Eastbourne from September before the winner is announced in December.
The Windrush scandal and the effects of the Covid pandemic are among the issues covered by the four artists. Their work ranges from installations of manipulated household goods to a seven-song oratorio. “These artists each explore the contrasts and contradictions of life" said Alex Farquharson, Director of Tate Britain and Chair of the Turner Prize jury.
The critics had mixed feelings about the shortlist. “The intriguing Turner prize shortlist is a sign of the times” headlined Adrian Searle’s Guardian op-ed. “Colour me indifferent” was Alastair Sooke’s Telegraph response to what he believes is a “technocratic and tight-lipped” set of nominees. The i’s Hettie Judah think’s it’s “a strong list.” (Read more)
Oba owns the Bronzes
The Nigerian government has officially recognised the Oba of Benin (Oba Ewuare II) as the owner and custodian of the Benin Bronzes. This complicates ongoing repatriation negotiations with Western museums who have thus far been working with Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM).
The NCMM is responsible for coordinating efforts with European museums and governments. The German government last year transferred ownership of 1,117 Benin bronzes from five German museum collections to Nigeria and the care of the NCMM.
The announcement came in the form of a Presidential Declaration, and applies to Bronzes already returned, and those still in Europe and America. Writer Barnaby Phillips, told The Art Newspaper the move has “caused confusion amongst many European museums” who are now asking “who is our partner?” He also said it “blindsided the NCMM.” (Read more)
News from the UK
Job cuts | Nearly a third of jobs are under threat at Glasgow’s museums due to local authority cuts. According to the union Unison, some 37 posts including curators, conservators, outreach assistants, digital photographers and technicians, are to be lost in an attempt to save £1.5 million. It could effect staff at venues such as the Burrell Collection and Kelvingrove Art Gallery. (Read more)
Hirst No6 | A sixth — SIXTH! — Damien Hirst sculpture has been unveiled on the banks of the River Thames in London. This one is 60ft tall and called Demon with Bowl. It’s one of the works from Hirst’s 2017 Venice exhibition Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable and can be seen on the Greenwich Peninsula. (Read more)
Heading South | The Stone of Destiny (no not this one unfortunately), the ancient coronation stone upon which monarchs in Britain have been crowned for centuries, has left Scotland for London under tight security ahead of next week's coronation of King Charles III. It’s the first time it’s left its permanent home at Edinburgh Castle in 25 years. (Read more)
Medieval Upgrade | Caernarfon Castle — the site of King Charles’ investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969, and a Unesco World Heritage Site — has unveiled a £5m upgrade. The revamp opens up parts of the castle not seen for hundreds of years, as well as making the 13th century site more accessible. (Read more)
To Let | One of Manchester’s oldest surviving Georgian houses is to be restored and turned into a holiday let. The Science and Industry Museum is transforming its Grade I-listed Station Agent’s House with the help of the Landmark Trust. It will sleep up to 8 guests, and will welcome its first bookings in 2024. (Read more)
News from around the world
Belgium | Ongoing toxic workplace allegations at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium have now resulted in Director Michel Draguet resigning. He’s led the museum for 18 years, and was seeking a fifth term in office. The decision to go followed a meeting of trade unions and the museum’s management. Earlier this year an open letter by staff alleged misconduct at the institution. (Read more)
USA | Questions have been raised about Nancy Yao — the recently announced founding director of the Smithsonian’s new American Women’s History Museum — over the firing of three sex-harassment whistleblowers at the Museum of Chinese in America, where she is currently President. Yao has vigorously denied retaliating against accusers, but the Smithsonian has commissioned a new review and “will reevaluate the situation” based in its findings. (Read more)
France | The largest ever retrospective of British architect Norman Foster is to open at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in May. The exhibition will examine the entirety of Foster’s six-decade-long career. There’ll be seven themes and 130 major projects examined (fingers crossed the British Museum’s Great Court is one) (Read more)
USA | Edgar Degas’s sculpture Little Dancer Aged Fourteen at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC is the latest artwork to be targeted by climate protesters. A man and a woman smeared paint across the work’s pedestal and case. The museum’s director condemned the move, saying “We unequivocally denounce this physical attack on one of our works.” (Read more)
Greece | Pets will soon be allowed into more than 120 archaeological sites across Greece, for some reason. The move will be a relaxation of current rules which only allow guide dogs for disabled visitors. Many popular sites — such as the Acropolis — will retain the ban, and so will have cages at the entrance for pets to be put in. How lovely. (Read more)
Best of the rest
Top Job | The V&A is looking for a new Chair. The successor to magazine supremo Nicholas Coleridge needs to help the organisation “transition into a group of museums.”
Top Look | The National Museum in Kraków — known as MNK — has had a very cool-looking rebrand for its 12 branches.
Top Deal | Fancy a free family day out? The National Trust are giving away 200,000 family day passes to their properties. Grab them while you can.
No Tops | Marina Abramović’ is looking for nude models to perform at her major Royal Academy of Arts retrospective. Don’t all rush at once.
Thanks as always Maxwell.
Amanda