The New York Times reports on the state of the auction market in mainland China, where rampant forgeries and a rapidly expanding marketplace have made the bidding experience a fraught procedure.  With a market that has grown to annual revenues of $8.9 billion over the past years, regulators are struggling to keep up.  “The market is in a very dubious stage,” said Alexander Zacke, an expert in Asian art who and head of online house Auctionata. “No one will take results in mainland China very seriously.” (more…)

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation has announced its 2013 SEED Grant recipients, a selection of 16 developing non-profit arts organizations in Boise, Idaho; Buffalo, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Kansas City, Missouri; and Phoenix, Arizona, among others.  Each will receive $10,000 in support each year for three years.  “Young institutions have a whole host of hurdles to clear simply to begin the process of raising money,” says executive director Christy MacLear. “We hope to reach promising start-ups earlier than that, both to acknowledge their initial accomplishments and to ensure their longevity.”   (more…)