France: The French culture minister Aurélie Filippetti has scrapped plans for a French history museum. Filippetti said on France Inter radio that the project, which was championed by former president Nicolas Sarkozy, would be too expensive. He added that the idea was “dated”. The initiative will be replaced by an online project involving nine national museums.
Germany: Art historians and conservators have protested against plans to transfer more than 3,000 pre-20th-century paintings from the Gemäldegalerie to the Bode Museum on Berlin’s Museum Island. But Thomas Campbell, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, said that turning the Gemäldegalerie into a home for the state collection of 20th-century art “makes perfect sense”.
The Netherlands: After a decade-long refurbishment, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is scheduled to reopen next April. The renovation was originally due to be completed in 2008, but planning problems and disputes with contractors delayed the overhaul. More than 8,000 works from the Middle Ages to today will go on display. Meanwhile, Stedelijk, Amsterdam’s leading museum of modern and contemporary art, was due to open its extension last month.
Saudi Arabia: A modern art gallery opened in Riyadh last month that will host non-commercial exhibitions and offer non-profit educational arts programming. Director Neama Alsudairy said Alaan Artspace was “Riyadh’s first curated contemporary art platform”. The opening exhibition, Soft Power, which runs until 10 December, features three Saudi female artists.
US: The American Association of Museums has been rebranded, with a new logo and name, as well as a website revamp. The American Alliance of Museums has also introduced a streamlined membership process that allows museums to pay what they can, or full membership fees of $5,000. Online Accreditation has also been speeded up.
US: Construction of the September 11 museum at Ground Zero in Manhattan is due to resume following an agreement between mayor Michael Bloomberg and governor Andrew Cuomo. A dispute over management issues and costs had stalled the project. The museum, which will feature profiles of the victims, is scheduled to open late next year.
Seen in the Art Newspaper, France-Inter, the New York Times and artinfo.com
Germany: Art historians and conservators have protested against plans to transfer more than 3,000 pre-20th-century paintings from the Gemäldegalerie to the Bode Museum on Berlin’s Museum Island. But Thomas Campbell, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, said that turning the Gemäldegalerie into a home for the state collection of 20th-century art “makes perfect sense”.
The Netherlands: After a decade-long refurbishment, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is scheduled to reopen next April. The renovation was originally due to be completed in 2008, but planning problems and disputes with contractors delayed the overhaul. More than 8,000 works from the Middle Ages to today will go on display. Meanwhile, Stedelijk, Amsterdam’s leading museum of modern and contemporary art, was due to open its extension last month.
Saudi Arabia: A modern art gallery opened in Riyadh last month that will host non-commercial exhibitions and offer non-profit educational arts programming. Director Neama Alsudairy said Alaan Artspace was “Riyadh’s first curated contemporary art platform”. The opening exhibition, Soft Power, which runs until 10 December, features three Saudi female artists.
US: The American Association of Museums has been rebranded, with a new logo and name, as well as a website revamp. The American Alliance of Museums has also introduced a streamlined membership process that allows museums to pay what they can, or full membership fees of $5,000. Online Accreditation has also been speeded up.
US: Construction of the September 11 museum at Ground Zero in Manhattan is due to resume following an agreement between mayor Michael Bloomberg and governor Andrew Cuomo. A dispute over management issues and costs had stalled the project. The museum, which will feature profiles of the victims, is scheduled to open late next year.
Seen in the Art Newspaper, France-Inter, the New York Times and artinfo.com
