Art Industry News: Some Cool Teens Are Organizing a Met Gala of Their Own Online, and Everyone Is Invited + Other Stories

by admin

May 1, 2020

artnet

Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most
consequential developments coming out of the art world and art
market. Here’s what you need to know on this Friday, May
1.

NEED-TO-READ

Pennsylvania Is Rescinding Grants to Help Arts Groups Stay
Afloat – Cultural
institutions in Pennsylvania are reeling from the news that grant
money they were awarded earlier in 2020 may not be available after
all. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts informed grantees that
due to the “unprecedented impact” of the pandemic, “the PCA can no
longer guarantee completion of processing for current year grant
awards,” leaving many wondering how they’ll manage to foot the
bills that they previously expected would be reimbursed. Christina
Vassallo, executive director of the Fabric Workshop and Museum in
Philadelphia, said “the news worsens an already precarious
situation.” (Philadelphia
Inquirer)

Dysfunction at the Akron Art Museum, Exposed –
Employees at the Ohio museum say
recent layoffs unfairly targeted workers who last year wrote a
letter to the museum’s board about alleged sexism, racism, and
bullying from top management. Of the 27 employees who wrote the
letter, one remains employed by the museum; the others have
resigned, been fired, or been laid off. The museum denies any
retaliation, and notes that an official outside investigation was
conducted by a law firm following the letter. But the new report
recounts troubling incidents, like the museum’s director allegedly
stating that black visitors would be unable to access the museum’s
mobile apps because they used “throwaway gangster phones.”
(ARTnews)

Teens Are Organizing a Met Gala of Their Own
– This year’s Met Gala may be cancelled, but a group
of enterprising teens active in a subculture known as “High Fashion
Twitter” are staging a virtual version of the event on Monday, May
4—and everyone is invited. The event will be hosted on Twitter
(where else?) and you can “attend” by posting a photo of your
“look” with the hashtag #HFMetGala2020. The dress code,
according to the invitation, is “temporal conflation,” tied to the
theme of the short-lived Costume Institute exhibition “About Time:
Fashion and Duration,” an exploration of how clothes conflate past,
present, and future. Guests are discouraged from buying anything
new for the event and any IRL social gatherings are strictly
prohibited. So far, around 900 people have registered on a Google
form to attend. (New York
Times)

Smithsonian Cuts Executive Pay to Avoid Layoffs –
To counteract what is expected to
be at least a $22 million shortfall as a result of the pandemic,
top staff members at the Smithsonian Institution are implementing
salary cuts and hiring freezes to avoid furloughing employees. The
salary cuts—which will impact almost 90 executives—range in size
from 10 to 15 percent, with the largest cut going to Lonnie Bunch,
the secretary of the Smithsonian’s 19 museums. The majority of the
institution’s 6,300-member staff will not be affected.
(Washington
Post)

ART MARKET

France Is Selling Antiques to Support
Hospitals – In an effort
to help fund hospitals in France, objects from the country’s
national furniture collection will hit the auction block in
September. The organization Mobilier National, which furnishes
official buildings, is said to be drawing up a list of some 100
objects that are not considered important to national patrimony to
sell. The money will go to the Foundation for Paris Hospitals and
French Hospitals, where first lady Brigitte Macron is president.
Mobilier National is also calling on craftspeople who find
themselves out of work to help restore other works in the national
collection. (Guardian)

Hong Kong Dealers Are Fleeing Central
– The financial hit many Hong Kong dealers have
absorbed from the health crisis, the pro-democracy protests, and
the cancellation of Art Basel Hong Kong may permanently reshape the
art landscape in the city. Many of the several dozen galleries
situated in or near the Pedder Building and the gallery tower H
Queen’s are considering relocating to less expensive parts of the
city such as the south side of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.
(TAN)

COMINGS & GOINGS

Christo’s Arc de Triomphe Project Delayed to 2021 –
Although some French museums are
preparing to reopen on May 11, Christo’s highly anticipated public
art project, which involves wrapping the Arc de Triomphe in
blue fabric, has been pushed back a full year from its planned fall
debut. The installation—which, like many Christo projects, is
likely to draw serious crowds—will now run from September 18
through October 3, 2021. (ARTnews)

China’s Giacometti and Picasso Museum Delayed
– A museum dedicated to
Giacometti and Picasso that had been scheduled to open in
Beijing’s 798 Art District in June is delayed due to the pandemic.
A new opening date for the institution, a partnership between
the Musée National Picasso-Paris and the Fondation
Giacometti, has not been confirmed, although administrators say
that construction on the building is almost complete. (The Art
Newspaper)

FOR ART’S SAKE

The Art Institute of Chicago’s Lions Get Masks –
Chicagoans will be required to wear
face masks in public beginning today. But first, the city’s famous
public artworks—the two lions outside the Art Institute of Chicago
and a Picasso sculpture outside the Paley Center—were given masks
of their own. The project, which aims to offer the public a
friendly reminder to cover up, was the handiwork of a design firm
that typically specializes in the trade-show industry. No word yet
on whether the Bean is getting a mask, too. (Chicago
Tribune)

What Happens When Benefit Dinners Are Cancelled? – Now
that the star-studded fundraising
benefits that shore up nonprofit arts organizations’ coffers are
all suddenly cancelled, directors are scrambling to make up the
loss. While many are looking to digital events, it’s a challenge to
court board members’ gifts when the inducement of live performances
and in-room auctions have vanished. The executive director of the
Authors Guild said she told every member of her staff, “Welcome to
the development team… it is now in every one of our job
descriptions.” (The
Cut)

Paris Hilton Gave a Tour of Her Off-the-Wall Art Room –
The socialite has become an active
YouTuber, giving fans a glimpse into her glitzy life in isolation.
In a recent video, the former Simple Life star showed off her… art room. Paris—a
multi-media artist, naturally—is partial to collages of herself cut
up from various glossy magazines. She’s also been experimenting
with a new series of feline portraits, emblazoned with the term
“SLIVING” (that’s slaying + living) in glitter. (Buzzfeed)