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MFA’s Netherlandish art center raises difficult questions. And it hasn’t even opened yet.

By Alice G. Collins 1 month ago

But the past year, with its amplified calls for racial reckoning, demands some very public acknowledgments about the roots of all historical collections, this one included. Four hundred years ago, in a moneyed capital of European colonialism, is the place to start.

The symposium — its full name is “Art Museums and the Legacies of the Dutch Slave Trade: Curating Histories, Envisioning Futures” — was convened by the MFA in partnership with Harvard Art Museums, as well as Harvard’s History of Art and Architecture department. They didn’t start this conversation — Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum just opened an exhibition called “Slavery,” a first in its more than 200-year history, to examine the human trade that helped underpin the country’s status as a colonial superpower, while across town the Rembrandthuis Museum ran “Here: Black in Rembrandt’s Time” through last summer — but you can be sure our local institutions are eager

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Fearing Climate Change, the Louvre’s New Conservation Center Will Hold One-Third of the Museum’s Entire Art Collection

By Alice G. Collins 3 months ago

In 1910, there was the Great Flood of Paris: Excess rainwater raised water levels eightfold. Photos from that time show locals riding down streets in makeshift boats. With global warming, there is a 40% increase in the chance of a similar flood happening nowadays. So if that does happen, in a city chock-full with culture, what will happen to the art?

The Musée du Louvre in Paris is home to one of the most valuable art collections in the world, including famed artworks like the Mona Lisa and The Winged Victory of Samothrace. With it comes a great risk of water damage. The museum has created a new venue to store its valuable art—the Louvre Conservation Center in Liévin, in the north of France.

This $120 million project, which opened in October, was designed by British architectural firm Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. Over the past few months,

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Editors’ Picks: 16 Events for Your Art Calendar This Week, From David Hammons at the Drawing Center to Duke Riley on the Great Molasses Flood

By Alice G. Collins 3 months ago

Each week, we search for the most exciting and thought-provoking shows, screenings, and events. In light of the global health crisis, we are currently highlighting events and digitally, as well as in-person exhibitions open in the New York area. See our picks from around the world below. (Times are all EST unless otherwise noted.)

 

Launching Monday, February 1

Courtesy of Paradice Palase and Jen Shepard

1. Launch of apparel editions + art under $800 at Paradice Palase, Brooklyn

Paradice Palase is doubling down on it’s efforts to highlight affordable art by launching a new platform, apparel editions, where they are pairing limited-edition artist-designed t-shirts with artworks by Paul Anagnostopoulos, Emily Oliveira, Mitchell Reece, and Jen Shepard. All works are available for under $800 and are an excellent way to collect and support fabulous young artists.

Price: Free
Time: Ongoing

—Neha Jambhekar

 

Tuesday, February 2

Nina Katchadourian, composite of stills from <em>Orientation Video</em> (2020). Photo courtesy of Catharine Clark Gallery.

Nina Katchadourian, composite of stills from

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Low-key Kennedy Center arts awards to honor Joan Baez, Dick Van Dyke

By Jaime E. Love 4 months ago

Hollywood legend Dick Van Dyke and folk icon Joan Baez are among those receiving this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, one of America’s most prestigious arts awards, which will be distributed at a scaled-back event reimagined due to the pandemic.

Choreographer and actress Debbie Allen, country singer-songwriter Garth Brooks and violinist Midori round out the 43rd class of honorees.

The Kennedy Center — Washington’s performing arts complex that serves as a living monument to slain president John F. Kennedy — was forced to twice postpone its night of red-carpet glitz traditionally held in December due to the coronavirus.

Instead of a single gala, a series of small in-person events with socially distant audiences and virtual tributes is now slated for May 17-22. The honorees will receive their medals during that week.

“This past year has taught us many things including the need to be flexible and adaptable,” Kennedy Center president Deborah

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