April 28, 2023

Good morning. ☁️ Just when you thought they were gone, climate activists strike again. This time they targeted an Edgar Degas sculpture at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The museum is still assessing the damage.

And after years of financial pains, the San Francisco Art Institute has filed for bankruptcy and will have to liquidate its assists to pay its debts. The question remains: What will happen to the school's historic Diego Rivera mural? Our staff writer Rhea Nayyar has some details to share.

Also, Italians are incensed by a new tourism campaign that transforms Sandro Botticelli's Venus into a modern-day influencer. You see her taking selfies, riding a bike, and eating pizza in front of landmarks, all Instagram-style. The whole thing is just hilarious.

There's more, including Bill Rice’s paintings of the old gritty days of Manhattan’s East Village, Required Reading, and a new film you're asked to watch with your eyes closed.

— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor

Climate Protesters Target Degas Sculpture at National Gallery of Art

Two activists smeared the sculpture’s case and pedestal with red and black paint. | Hakim Bishara

LATEST NEWS

(courtesy Italy’s Ministry of Tourism)

• Some think Italy’s new tourism campaign, which reinvents Botticelli’s Venus as a “virtual influencer,” trivializes the nation’s cultural heritage.

• After multiple attempts to pay off its debt, the San Francisco Art Institute has filed for bankruptcy.

• The artist- and activist-led “Don’t Delete Art” project targets social media platforms using suppressive content moderation algorithms.

• Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate artist Erin Genia is raising funds to create a public artwork for the reservation where she grew up.

• The discovery of a stone statue of Buddha in the temple ruins of Berenike provides evidence of Indian trade relations with the Ancient Roman Empire by way of Egypt.

REVIEWS & MORE

Memories of a Long-Gone, Gritty New York

Bill Rice’s paintings are glimpses of Manhattan’s old East Village of crime, abandonment, cruising, and hanging out. | Joe Fyfe

A Film to Watch With Closed Eyes

Director Sam Green wants viewers to fully engage their ears in a sonic journey of 32 soundscapes. | Dan Schindel

Required Reading

This week, looking back at New York City’s first community garden, honoring Harry Belafonte’s life in photos, medication abortions across history, and how did a LACMA statue end up on Craigslist? | Hrag Vartanian and Lakshmi Rivera Amin

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TRANSITIONS

José Luis Blondet was appointed senior curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles.

Ryan N. Dennis was named senior curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.

Gamynne Guillotte was appointed Leanne and George Roberts Chief Education and Community Engagement Officer at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Laura L. Lott, president and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums, was named administrator of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

Patsy Phillips, director of the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, was appointed to the American Alliance of Museums’s board of directors.

Jesse Schlesinger is now represented by Anthony Meier Gallery.

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

Jesse Darling, Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim, and Barbara Walker are on the shortlist for the Tate Britain’s Turner Prize.

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