2007.12.26

British Council Disbands Specialist Arts Departments; Updates on Russia's Refusal to Loan Works and Fake "Brillo Boxes"

In Controversial Decision, British Council Disbands Several Specialist Arts Departments; Le Monde's Marc Roche Weighs In on Russia's Recent Decision to Halt Loan of Paintings to Royal Academy Exhibition; Many Experts Decline to Speak on Case of Fake "Brillo Boxes"

BRITISH COUNCIL DISBANDS SPECIALIST ARTS DEPARTMENTS

As part of a controversial restructuring scheme, the British Council, which is in charge of promoting UK arts abroad, plans to disband several specialist arts departments. As The Telegraph's Richard Dorment and Rupert Christiansen report, the council's executive board decided to dissolve the departments for film, drama, dance, literature, design, and the visual arts. The decision, apparently taken without consulting experts from the various fields, appears to be an internal one, which Dorment and Christiansen claim was taken by "crass

2007.12.18

Kittelmann to Head Berlin's National Galleries; Rauch and Lüpertz Design Church Windows; Block Beuys Talks; Thyssen and Madrid Reach Agreement; Berbers Protest Christie's Sale

Udo Kittelmann Appointed Head of Berlin's National Galleries; Neo Rauch Designs a Window for the Naumburg Cathedral While Markus Lüpertz Designs One for Cologne's Sankt Andreas Parish Church; Krefeld Museum in Talks to Hold On to Block Beuys; Baroness Thyssen and Madrid Mayor Reach Agreement About Urban Reconstruction in Front of Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum; Berber Associations Take Legal Action to Stop Christie's Sale

KITTELMANN TO HEAD BERLIN'S NATIONAL GALLERIES

Udo Kittelmann—currently director of Frankfurt's Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK)—has been named the next director of Berlin's Nationalgalerie. As Der Tagesspiegel's Bernhard Schulz reports, Kittelmann's charges will include the gallery's three houses: the Alte Nationalgalerie (for nineteenth-century art), the Neue Nationalgalerie (for twentieth-century art), and the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum (for contemporary art).

Along with Kittelmann's appointment, Michael Eissenhauer—head of Kassel's state museums since 2001 and president of Germany's national

2007.12.12

Folie to Head Generali; Metzel's Turkish Delight Sculpture Vandalized; Geneva Art Space in Trouble; Hoffmann Foundation in Arles

Sabine Folie Selected to Head Vienna's Generali Foundation; Olaf Metzel's Turkish Delight Sculpture Vandalized; Troubles for Geneva's BAC +3 Project; Maja Hoffmann May Set Up Foundation in Arles, France

FOLIE TO HEAD GENERALI

Der Standard reports that Sabine Folie has been selected to head Vienna's Generali Foundation. The head curator at the Kunsthalle Wien since 1998, Folie will take up her new position as artistic and managing director at the Generali in February 2008. Her responsibilities will include not only the Generali's artistic direction but also supervising board membership.

The hiring commission—whose members included MUMOK director Edelbert Köb, Albertina photography curator Monika Faber, and Roland Wäspe, the director of the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen—chose Folie from an international

2007.12.04

Abu Dhabi Brings in Sales; Facing Copyright Infringement, Beecroft Renounces Work; Lille Beat Other Cities to Show Pinault Collection; Truffle Tempts Hirst; Le Laboratoire Opens, Merging Art and Science

Abu Dhabi Brings in Sales; Facing Copyright Infringement, Beecroft Renounces Work; Lille Beat Other Cities to Show Pinault Collection; Truffle Tempts Hirst; Le Laboratoire Opens, Merging Art and Science

With news from Agence France-Presse, Le Monde, and the South China Morning Post

Abu Dhabi Brings in Sales; Facing Copyright Infringement, Beecroft Renounces Work; Lille Beat Other Cities to Show Pinault Collection; Truffle Tempts Hirst; Le Laboratoire Opens, Merging Art and Science

ABU DHABI BRINGS IN SALES

The first edition of the art fair at Abu Dhabi has garnered over fifteen million dollars in transactions. As Agence France-Presse reports, the fair brought together forty-seven international galleries to the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi during the last week of November. The works sold included both modern and contemporary art.

FACING COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT, BEECROFT

2007.11.27

Schlingensief on Bayreuth; Lucian Freud Photo; Hunt for Richter Portraits; Asatiani wins Camera Austria Prize; Dumas Takes Düsseldorf Prize

Christoph Schlingensief Discusses the Leadership of Bayreuth Wagner Festival; Photo Publishes Rare Portrait of Lucian Freud; Daniel Richter Street Portrait Session Prompts Treasure Hunt; Marika Asatiani Wins Camera Austria Prize; Marlene Dumas Takes Home Düsseldorf Art Prize

SCHLINGENSIEF TAKES ON BAYREUTH

In a recent interview in the German edition of Vanity Fair, the director-cum-artist Christoph Schlingensief has expressed an interest in heading the prestigious Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth. But as the Frankfurter Rundschau reports, the controversial Schlingensief does not want to take the position alone. "Why shouldn't Bayreuth be taken over by a team of artists?" Schlingensief asked. "Why shouldn't I apply [for the position as festival director] with Matthew Barney or Paul McCarthy or Doug Aitken?"

For Schlingensief, Barney, McCarthy, and Aitken are

Jennifer Allen