Tate's Yayoi Kusama installation has new dates!
Plus: Welsh museums closed, and Humboldt Forum delayed AGAIN
maxwell museums friday briefing - 4 Dec 2020
Hello again!
The Museum hokey cokey in the UK continues. England’s museums in Tiers 1 and 2 reopened this week (hurrah!) but those in Wales close today (😢). It’s hard to keep up. But, I am happy that here in London I can return to see some art and I’ll be making a beeline for the new Tracey Emin / Edvard Munch show at the RA (more on that below).
I’ll also be going to Tate Modern. Did you know that the iconic chimney was deliberately built to be shorter than the dome of St Paul’s so that it wouldn’t impose on its famous neighbour? No? Then you must watch my new series of videos on TikTok (and gimme a follow of course).
Till next time!
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“This is about survival.” More job cuts are coming to Tate. After hundreds of jobs were axed in their commercial arm earlier this year, now the gallery workforce will be reduced by 12%. The Guardian
Shuttered again. Museums in Wales have been forced to close again from tonight. They’d been allowed to open just 3 weeks since the last lockdown. Museums Association
Delayed again. The Humboldt Forum - the largest cultural development in Europe - has had its opening pushed back AGAIN. It’s giving Berlin’s new airport a run for its money in the tardy stakes. Art Net News
Poor Tracey. While promoting her new exhibition at the Royal Academy, Tracey Emin has revealed she feared being “dead by Christmas” after a cancer diagnosis earlier this year. The Independent
Want some cheer? Yayoi Kusama’s covid-postponed Infinity Rooms installation has new dates at Tate Modern - and they’re sticking around for a WHOLE YEAR. Imagine the Reels we’ll get from this! metro.co.uk
New dates for Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Rooms at Tate Modern! Chandelier of Grief 2016/2018. Tate, presented by a private collector, New York 2019 © YAYOI KUSAMA
Royal date night. HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall celebrated the end of England’s lockdown like any right minded person: with a trip to the National Gallery. MailOnline
So bad it’s good. The annual Turnip Prize (yes that’s right) for the best crap art has been won by a padlock on a bed of feathers called Lockdown (geddit?). metro.co.uk
Bronze beauties. In a bid to allow more historical discoveries to be saved for the nation, the definition of ‘treasure’ is to be amended to include finds made from bronze. The Guardian
and a bonus read
Marina Abramović is taking over Sky Arts tomorrow night - billed as the first time an artist has ever taken over a whole TV channel. The Evening Standard interviewed her this week, chatting about the project, but also ageing, hugging trees and her younger lover. It’s a gem, and whets the appetite for her major show next year at the Royal Academy.
Love museums? Then you’ll love this newsletter. I send a round up of museum news every Friday, and every two weeks a jam-packed edition of original features including interviews. Subscribe to get the next edition.