Following a string of controversial thefts, the British Museum has announced ambitious plans to digitize its collection. “Following the discovery that objects have been stolen from the collection, we have taken steps to improve security and are now confident that a theft of this kind can never happen again,” says interim director Mark Jones. “It is my belief that the single most important response to the thefts is to increase access, because the better a collection is known – and the more it is used – the sooner any absences are noticed.” Read More »

Ann Philbin, director of UCLA’s Hammer Museum, has announced plans to retire. She will step down from the post in fall of 2024. Read More »

Art sleuth Arthur Brand has recovered a bundle of six paintings, stolen from the Dutch town of Medemblik this month. The works were delivered to Brand’s home after a statement that the thieves would have a hard time selling the pieces. “I’m very thankful that they decided to do the right thing. Stealing is wrong, but if you return it, at least you do something right,” he said.  Read More »

Alicja Kwade has joined Pace, Art News reports. “Alicja is an artist who reveals the unknowable,” says CEO Marc Glimcher. “In her practice, Alicja transforms our sense of perception and draws attention to nature’s relationship to human existence. There is deep affinity with our program in the philosophical and spiritual nature of Kwade’s work, and I’m honored to welcome her to our program.” Read More »

Qatar Museums have postpooned the opening for an exhibition of work by Dan Flavin and Donald Judd this month, shortly after the beginning of Israel’s bombing of Gaza. “This turbulent and painful time is not a moment to celebrate,” a spokesperson for the Qatar Museums said in a statement. Read More »

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Moscow must pay more than $100,000 in damages to the collective Pussy Riot over a violent attack during the 2014 Olympics. “The attack has been established ‘beyond reasonable doubt,’ and that the situation in which the applicants found themselves during the attack was not compatible with respect for their human dignity,” the court ruled. Read More »

Hundreds of works from the collection of the Ace Gallery are to be auctioned off, Art News reports, and used to pay debts run up by its founder since closing. Read More »

A NYT article looks at the rise in popularity of Hilma af Klint and some surrounding controversies, including an IP battle and questions over the artist’s sole authorship of some works. “I have to shift my mind-set on how these are collaborative works and not Hilma works,” says Guggenheim curator Tracey Bashkoff. Read More »

A Chinese Media Outlet has demanded the British Museum return all artifacts held in its collection. “The huge loopholes in the management and security of cultural objects in the British Museum exposed by [a recent] scandal have led to the collapse of a long-standing and widely circulated claim that ‘foreign cultural objects are better protected in the British Museum’,” the piece reads.  Read More »

Gagosian has hired Jiyoung Lee to run operations in South Korea, as the gallery looks to expand its foothold there.  Read More »

UK Police are on the verge of a major breakthrough in the theft of Maurizio Cattelan’s Gold toilet from Blenheim Palace. Read More »

Three men have been convicted in London after the recovery of a £2m vase stolen from a Geneva museum. “The organized crime group involved in this offending believed they could commit significant offenses internationally and that there would be no comeback,” says Detective Chief Inspector Matt Webb. “They were mistaken – highlighting the strength of our relations with international law enforcement partners and our ability to work across international boundaries. Read More »

A data breach at Christie’s exposed the location data of thousands of artworks uploaded to the site, a cybersecurity firm has found. Thousands of clients uploading images of their works for sale had their data exposed through a vulnerability in the company software.  Read More »

A work stolen from the British Museum and valued at $63,800 was placed on eBay for £49, the Telegraph reports.  Read More »

A federal judge has ruled that AI-generated art is not copyrightable. “In the absence of any human involvement in the creation of the work, the clear and straightforward answer is the one given by the Register: No,” says U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell. Read More »