Officials in Washington, D.C. are looking to incorporate more diverse historical monuments into the city’s fabric, Art News reports, with legislation proposing new monuments to historically resonant women and people of color.  “This legislation aims to properly recognize and honor remarkable persons who left indelible marks on society: men, women, and migrants,” says Kenyan McDuffie, the councilmember. “These bills aim to channel an important dialogue carrying around our country to reconcile symbols and monuments that have often complicated, and in some cases blatantly racist, history behind them.”
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The Shed will recognize its employees’ union voluntarily, Artforum reports.  “The Shed fully supports our talented and hard-working visitor experience staff in their decision to organize,” says Maryann Jordan, the institution’s chief operating officer. “We welcome UAW Local 2110 and anticipate forging a constructive relationship with their representatives as we have done with the several other unions already in place at The Shed.”
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A Florida court has put a temporary block on a Yayoi Kusama Infinity Room at the center of the controversy around dealer Inigo Philbrick, preventing the work from leaving Miami-Dade County.  “Without an injunction, FAP [Fine Art Partners] will lose the ability to be made whole because it will lose a unique, one-of-a-kind work,” says Valerie R. Manno, a judge in Miami-Dade County’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court, wrote in the temporary injunction issued on Wednesday. “An injunction will allow FAP to litigate its case without fear that the Kusama will disappear into the night.”
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New York ’s Department of Cultural Affairs is overseeing partnerships between ten nonprofit arts organizations and city agencies to create programming on a range of civic and social issues including homelessness, workers’ rights, and climate change. “We are thrilled that DREAMing Out Loud has been renewed for a second year and will continue to help young writers find their voices, readers and careers in publishing,” says NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment commissioner Anne del Castillo. “New York is the ultimate city of immigrants, and we’re fighting every day to make the creative economy accessible to all.”
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Pace Gallery has announced the calendar for the first full year of its performance series, Pace Live, including a fundraiser to benefit restoration of Nina Simone’s North Carolina home.  “The proviso is that whoever we invite has a connection to the legacy and work of Nina Simone, which pretty much includes everyone,” says Mark Beasley, who organized the series.
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The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s CEO, Timothy Rub, apologized to gathered attendees at a “town hall” style meeting this week, leaving some unsatisfied. “I hoped for strong policy statements that empower staff, like, ‘This is how we will respond consistently to reports of harassment,’ ” says Sarah Shaw, a museum educator.
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The New York Times has a piece on the Benin Bronzes, and the attempts to have the works repatriated from the UK.  “I want people to be able to understand their past and see who we were,” says Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo State in Benin.
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The Swiss-born, New York-based artist Tobias Madison has pled guilty to charges of domestic assault, Art Newspaper reports.“The People believe that each of the charged crimes in this case, and their underlying facts as articulated in the criminal complaint, can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Assistant District Attorney Kirstie Raffan.
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Brooklyn gallery Koenig & Clinton is closing Art New reports. Dealers Leo Koenig and Margaret Liu Clinton said in a statement that they “remain grateful to the many: artists, collaborators, colleagues, critics, and patrons that enriched the gallery’s mission of organizing museum-quality exhibitions that were made accessible to so many publics.”
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German art dealer, collector and socialite Angela Gulbenkian is facing a lawsuit over the sale of a Warhol print on behalf of its owner and allegedly keeping the profits. “The dispute lies in whether [the adviser] and Gulbenkian had the authority to sell the picture,” says Chris Marinello, the chief executive of Art Recovery Group.
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