Nov 20, 2020 • View in browser

Good morning. 🌞 Today, museums across the US are starting to close again as COVID-19 cases continue to climb, reparation activists in France were acquitted for removing a spear from a museum, and Forensic Architecture has released their extensive research about the Beirut explosion, one of the world’s largest non-nuclear blasts. It’s a fascinating read, and be sure to check out the video.

– Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief

Museums Across US Announce Closures

The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC (via Wikimedia Commons)

This week, the COVID-19 death toll in the United States surpassed 250,000, and museums across the United States are starting to shut down again due to the nationwide surge in cases.

The Smithsonian announced that it will temporarily close all of its museums in DC, including the National Zoo, starting November 23. In Minneapolis, several museums, including the Minneapolis Institute of Art and Walker Art Center, will close their doors this weekend.

In Other News

The London-based research team Forensic Architecture has released the results of an investigation into the Beirut port explosion that details the events and failures that led to one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.
Four activists who removed an ivory ceremonial spear from a Marseille museum this summer in a symbolic act of cultural repatriation have been acquitted of theft charges.
The San Antonio Museum of Art announced eight new contemporary art acquisitions, including the first two works of contemporary Native American art to join the museum’s holdings.

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