The Guardian reviews the ongoing rebuilding efforts at the Glasgow School of Art, after the school’s Mackintosh library was destroyed in last year’s massive blaze.  A fundraising campaign has already launched to help finance a new building, but a debate over rebuilding the space or starting over is currently drawing considerable attention.  “[Mackintosh] was driven by a lifelong search for new forms in architecture and technology and was never a copyist,” architecture professor Alan Dunlop says. “I have no doubt that he would reject the approach of building a replica.” (more…)

The Battersea Arts Center has received a £1 million grant from the United Kingdom following a massive fire at the South London institution that destroyed its Grand Hall.  “The arts center is having to divert all its available resources into dealing with the aftermath and so I am pleased to be able to confirm that the government will provide £1 million towards the ongoing redevelopment work to help get this south London venue back on track,” says Culture secretary Sajid Javid. (more…)

A number of works which were damaged during a massive fire in Berlin’s Friedrichshain bunker, including pieces by Caravaggio, Rubens and Donatello, are on view at the Bode Museum in Berlin, showcasing the immense restorations done on some works while exploring the ethical and historical implications of their damage.  “We will be showing a number of horrendous-looking pieces—works that are so badly damaged that they haven’t been displayed in generations,” says Julien Chapuis, the museum’s deputy director and show curator. “We want to be brutally honest about the condition of these works so that we can start a dialogue as to how they can be presented in the future.” (more…)

More than 100 conservators have volunteered to aid in the restoration of the Glasgow School of Art building destroyed by fire late last week, coming from across the UK and abroad to answer a call for help from the school.  “We have people offering to source freezers, drying facilities and secure storage for collections,” Alison Richmond of Conservation Organization Icon adding that some volunteers are familiar with the building and its collection. “We have this small army of expert helpers and are standing by.” (more…)

A major fire broke out yesterday at the Glasgow School of Art, reportedly caused by the explosion of a projector in the basement of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh building.  The school has reported that all occupants were evacuated safely with no casualties, but damage has been sustained to the building and the works of art inside, including works made in preparation for the school’s degree show.  “We didn’t think it was anything but we had to go out and then we saw smoke coming out and realised that it was really bad. It got to the point where flames were coming out of the top floor,” says student Hugh Thornhill.  “All that effort is gone, everyone’s work on that side of the building is ruined. Even if it didn’t catch fire it will be damaged extensively.” (more…)

New research has shown that a set of watercolors by J.M.W. Turner, previously thought to depict the burning of Parliament, are in fact paintings of a fire at the Tower of London.  The note was discovered by Matthew Imms, a cataloguer at the Tate.  “We could tell that the works were fairly late in Turner’s career so I cast around for other events at that time, and came across various images, popular prints and so on of the Tower of London fire in 1841,” Imms says. “It immediately clicked, because the various uncertain features of the architecture and so on matched quite well.” (more…)

As violent protests continue to rock the city of Kiev in the Ukraine, the country’s National Art Museum has issued a statement asking both police and protestors to spare the museum’s cultural heritage.  The statement comes after city police lit a bonfire on the steps of the Museum to stay warm during violent clashes with protestors, and asks protestors and police to “remember their responsibility in preserving the cultural heritage of the state [and] refrain from deliberate or accidental actions that may damage the museum and the surrounding territory”. (more…)

In the wake of the Pratt Institute fire that destroyed several floors of the school’s historic Main Building, along with the work and materials of 35 art students, dealer Larry Gagosian has stepped in to arrange a show of work by affected students.  Hosted at the Seagram’s Building, the selections for the show will be made by Brooklyn Museum curator Eugene Tsai, and will be on view from May 9th to the 14th.  “The students wanted a show in Manhattan, and this is like a dream come true,” said Pratt president Thomas F. Schutte. (more…)

The Cuming Museum, located in South London, faced a major fire inside the building yesterday, threatening its collection of Roman London, Chinese and African artworks and artifacts.  120 firefighters and 20 engines were needed to stop the blaze inside the centuries-old building. (more…)

Fire at Pratt Institute, via Brooklyn News 12

A brutal, four-alarm fire broke out in the main building of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn on of the major arts schools in New York City, late last night, causing a partial collapse of the building’s roof, and massive damage to its structure and facade. (more…)