'World's most depressing place to live' gets major new gallery
Plus: Bezos donates millions, and Damien Hirst's mindboggling NFTs
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Hello - to all 1000 of you!
Yes I’m delighted to be kicking-off this week’s edition by revealing I’ve now hit the major milestone of having 1000 subscribers to this newsletter. I’ve always planned for this newsletter to cover the exciting world of art, galleries and museums in an unstuffy and entertaining way, and so I’m truly thrilled that this little project has found such a wide and dedicated audience.
Thanks to each and every one of you - for reading, clicking, sharing and just generally being part of it. There’s much more to come.
Once more - thank you.
Maxwell
Love art, museums and galleries? Then my newsletter is for you, keeping you up-to-date on what to read - and what to see. Subscribe below (it’s free!)
This week’s top story
The big bucks are flowing to the Smithsonian as Jeff Bezos will donate a whopping $200 million to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. CNN
The donation is the largest gift to the Smithsonian since it’s founding in 1846. $130 million of it will be used to launch a new education center, unsurprisingly named the Bezos Learning Center. It’s a timely gift too, as Bezos is due to blast himself into space on Tuesday (what a world).
For almost any museum across the globe, this is a massive donation. But for Bezos, the world’s richest man, it’s a drop in the ocean. Earlier this month, he made $8.4 billion in ONE DAY alone. Interestingly, the Smithsonian said Bezos would have some input, and that they “want to reap the benefit of Jeff’s creativity.” Will this set a precedent for major donors to have a say in the projects they fund?
This week’s other stories
A Siberian city - often described as the 'most depressing place to live in the world' - is to receive a contemporary art museum alongside its polluted rivers and poisonous clouds of Sulphur. It’ll be the world’s northernmost. Fancy a trip? The Art Newspaper
The 'Mona Lisa of stamps' - the world’s rarest - returns to UK after 143 years and goes on display at the Stanley Gibbons central London store. People are also being invited to own a piece of it. Sky News
There’s turmoil and concern about the future of the the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York. Budget cuts and staff layoffs mean all special programming to mark the the 20th anniversary of the attack later this year have been dropped, and the pandemic has left it with an $18 million deficit. New York Times
Liverpool's International Museum of Slavery has been awarded £10m for major redevelopment and expansion. (A slightly bizarre time for the Museum’s Director to leave for two years then). ITV News
In you-can’t-believe-it’s-taken-this-long news (remember this horrifying crash) Italy is finally banning massive cruise ships sailing into Venice. It comes ahead of UNESCO’s plans to add the city to its world heritage at-risk list. The Independent
Construction work has begun on the huge £42 million transformation of Paisley Museum in Scotland. Daily Record
Damien Hirst has launched his own non-fungible token named 'The Currency.' 10,000 can be bought, and each includes a physical artwork too. Two months after issue, owners have a choice on whether to keep the NFT or the physical artwork. If the NFT is kept, or no choice is made, the corresponding piece of art will be destroyed. If it’s the physical work you choose, the NFT will be deleted from the blockchain. No I don’t understand it either. Financial Times (Hirst introduces the concept in the video below, which features the former Governor of the Bank of England for some reason)
A man has proposed in the Scottish National Gallery after the gallery agreed to change a painting’s wall text into the couple’s 'love story.' Nice, if you like that sort of thing. Daily Record
A museum in Tasmania dedicated to all things *checks notes* poo, has won a three-year battle with its local council to display a sign depicting a penguin projectile pooing. The museum’s name? The Pooseum. Bravo. The Guardian
Love art, museums and galleries? Then my newsletter is for you, keeping you up-to-date on what to read - and what to see. Subscribe below (it’s free!)