Jonas Mekas in 1964, via NYT

Film-maker Jonas Mekas, a figure who loomed large in the New York cinematic landscape, and an artist widely considered the godfather of underground cinema, has died at the age of 96.  A founder of both the famed Film Culture magazine and the still operating Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan, his energetic engagement with all aspects of filmmaking helped to nurture the careers of filmmakers like John Waters and Jim Jarmusch, among others.  “Jonas passed away quietly and peacefully early this morning,” the Film Archives wrote online. “He was at home with family. He will be greatly missed but his light shines on.” (more…)

Following the continued protests against the Sackler Family, a number of politicians and activists are pressuring Harvard to remove the Sackler name from a number of its buildings, including its arts museum. The news comes a day after The Met announced it was reviewing its gift acceptance policies over similar criticism and legal threats. (more…)

Lehmann Maupin Gallery filed suit against former director Bona Yoo, accusing the dealer of “stealing trade secrets” and altering the gallery’s files before moving on to Lévy Gorvy Gallery in New York as sales director.  “Lehmann Maupin brought this lawsuit purely out of spite towards a former employee who, in Lehmann Maupin’s own words, was ‘a valuable leader at the gallery.’ Ms. Yoo intends to vigorously defend herself against her former employer’s baseless and vengeful claims,” Yoo’s lawyer, Tibor Nagy says. (more…)

The Foundation for Contemporary Arts in New York has named 18 artists who will receive unrestricted grants of $40,000, including Tania Bruguera and Mika Tajima. “It’s always an overwhelming but fantastic experience seeing how much amazing stuff is out there that you might not otherwise know about,” says board member Cecily Brown. “One big thing is that [receiving a grant] is a sign of respect from your peers, and hopefully it can really help someone to not do their day job for a while and buy the time to really put into one’s own work. Even just being able to focus on one’s work full-time is a huge difference.“ (more…)

Another arts project suffering from the US government shutdown is artist Trevor Paglen’s sculpture Orbital Reflector, which remains undeployed more than a month after it was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.  “A division of the United States Air Force known as CSpOC is faced with the task of properly identifying each of those satellites so that they can be tracked as they orbit the earth,” says commissioning institution the Nevada Museum of Art. “Six weeks post-launch, that task is still not complete; only half of the satellites from the launch have been properly identified. Many of the satellites that launched together remain in a cluster and until they separate it is difficult to correctly identify each one.” (more…)

Hauser & Wirth has donated $1 million to California State, Los Angeles for the school’s department of television, film, and media studies. “Cal State L.A.’s commitment to civic engagement and public service aligns perfectly with our gallery’s desire to contribute to the communities where we work,” says Marc Payot, vice president and partner of Hauser & Wirth. “We want to support scholarship in all forms, from art historical research and the preservation of artists’ archives, to the efforts of young students seeking to become community activists themselves through the art and films they are learning to make.” (more…)

Chicago nonprofit United States Artists has released its list of 2019 fellows, each receiving an unrestricted $50,000 cash prize, including filmmaker Nuotama Frances Bodomo (who was featured in ARTnews’s “Africa Now” issue), Juliana Huxtable, Wu Tsang and Simone Leigh.  (more…)

Following the ongoing controversy involving the Sackler family’s gifts to many American institutions and their ties to the drug OxyContinn, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is re-assessing its gift acceptance policy, the Art Newspaper reports. “The Sackler family has been connected with The Met for more than a half century,” says museum president Daniel Weiss. “The Met is currently engaging in a further review of our detailed gift acceptance policies, and we will have more to report in due course.” (more…)

Munich’s Haus der Kunst has appointed an expert commission to oversee programming and strategy following turbulent months after the departure of Okwui Enwezor. The commission will “support the curatorial team and play an advisory and monitoring role concerning both content and feasibility of planned projects,” according to a statement.  (more…)

A group of artists, intellectuals and professionals have published an open letter asking the New Museum to allow its employees to unionize, leading the New Museum to step back and allow the process.  “We respect our employees’ right to self-organize and will respect whatever decision they make,” the museum said in a statement. “We will continue to work together to advance the museum’s special mission.” (more…)

Art News has a piece this week on  San Francisco’s Saint Joseph’s Arts Society, a newly opened exhibition space in the city that features a range of exhibitions including one curated by Venus Over Manhattan. “Hopefully, collectively, it will be a gift to the city of San Francisco,” says building owner Ken Fulk.  (more…)

Mika Rottenberg is now represented by Hauser & Wirth, Art News reports. The artist was previously represented by Andrea Rosen before the gallery closed in 2017. (more…)

A new museum dedicated to the work of Fernand Léger and André Mare is expected to open in Argentan, Normandy this June, Artforum reports. Housed in the childhood home of Léger, at 6 rue de l’Hotel de Ville will undergo a $1.5 million renovation. “[Léger and Mare’s] shared love for painting and drawing was to strengthen a sincere friendship that would nourish their respective creativity,” a statement reads. Musée Fernand Léger–André Mare “traces and tracks their lives from their beginnings in Argentan to international recognition, emphasizing their mutual emulation, the love they shared for their native land, and how their works were influenced by the experiences of their youth.” (more…)

Dread Scott, Imagine a World Without America (2007), via James Cohan

Taking over the gallery’s two exhibition spaces in New York, James Cohan Gallery is currently presenting a group exhibition to kick off a year charged by harsh political rhetoric and an ongoing government shutdown over the future of the United States’s Southern Border.  The show, fittingly titled ‘Borders,’ offers a meditation on the political, ideological and formal concepts of border lines, walls, national identities and its attendant concepts of state power, sovereignty and national identity.
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The UK Government is investing £20 million into cultural projects in the areas of Grimsby, Wakefield, Plymouth, Worcester and the Thames Estuary area of Kent. “This is an incredible opportunity that will not only help people build careers in the arts and culture locally but also boost wider investment and diversify the creative economy,” says Jeremy Wright, the culture secretary. (more…)

Artist Ed Fornieles is embarking on a new project, selling a series of works that ensure collectors a stake in future profits from the artist’s work. “It’s another way of sourcing capital for production and then rewarding that upfront cash with a percentage of the profits,” the artist says. “If you look at the current models which exist, they rely on very small groups of collectors and it’s prone to risk. As soon as the chain of sales is broken, it leaves both the artist and the gallery exposed. So this is a way of using larger networks of support to diffuse that risk for both parties.” (more…)

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The Hayward Gallery has tapped Zoé Whitley as its new senior curator. “The mix of world-class and risk-taking programming consistently draws me to the Southbank Centre as a member of the public,” Whitley said in a statement. “I am so excited to now join the team when the organization is innovating interdisciplinary leadership and collaboration.” (more…)

The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis has launched an open call for a new Indigenous public art commission to be installed in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden or on the Walker campus in the fall of 2020. “This project builds on the commitments the Walker has made to the Native community and I am excited to see the proposals and further the conversation,” new director Mary Ceruti said in a statement. (more…)

Antony Gormley has unveiled a series of new sculptures atop the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “This exhibition is incomplete without the subjective witness of the citizen: Each work in its different way calls on him/her to simultaneously project and recognize internal affinities,” he says. (more…)

Victoria Miro Gallery now represents artist Howardena Pindell, the gallery has announced.  ‘It is a pleasure to be working with Howardena Pindell,’ Miro said in a statment. “Deeply principled, daringly innovative and boldly incisive, Pindell truly embodies the dictum ‘the personal is political.'” (more…)

Lena Henke, Germanic Artifacts (Installation View), via Art Observed

Currently on view at Bortolami Gallery this winter, artist Lena Henke has opened her first solo exhibition with the space, delving back into her ongoing exploration of diverse historical convergences, cultural forms and the history of sculpture as both aesthetic field and technical necessity. (more…)

Sebastian Cwilich, the co-founder of Artsy, will leave his position as president and chief operating officer after nine years, and will take on an advisory role, Art Newspaper reports. “Sebastian really guided us on this fundamental strategy of partnership versus disruption. The reason why such an obvious idea like ours hasn’t succeeded in the past is because previous companies tried to challenge or replace the industry,” says Artsy co-founder Carter Cleveland. (more…)

Los Angeles dealer Sarah Watson has left Sprüth Magers, where she has been senior director since 2015, to become president of Kayne Griffin Corcoran gallery, Art News reports. “I saw that the gallery has come so far in such a short period of time,” Watson says. “I have been friends with Maggie, Bill, and James for years, and I thought it would be an interesting time to join the program.” (more…)