The Headlines
DRUMMED UP. France has lastly repatriated a long-promised looted artifact to the Ivory Coast, often called the “speaking drum,” or Djidji Ayokwe, stories Le Monde. In 1916, when French colonial officers realized that the Ivory Coast’s Ebrie tribe used the 10-foot-long wood-sculpted drum to warn of oncoming French troopers, the latter stole it from them. Ultimately, the French introduced the drum to Paris, the place it made its rounds by means of a number of museums, in the end touchdown within the Musée du Quai Branly. A particular regulation needed to be handed in an effort to restitute the drum, as a result of it was a part of France’s nationally owned, public assortment. Nonetheless, a brand new invoice headed for a vote in France’s decrease home goals to keep away from having to cross a separate regulation for each restituted object pertaining to the colonial interval.
SPANISH SIT-IN. On Friday night, greater than 100 Spanish artwork professionals held sit-ins in Madrid museums in protest in opposition to the nation’s unusually excessive gross sales tax of 21 % on paintings, stories El Pais. Gallery homeowners, artists, and different arts employees sat on the ground on the Reina Sofia Museum and recited the comparatively decrease VAT charges on artworks in neighboring international locations, which they are saying places them at a critical drawback. “Portugal, six %, France, 5.5 %, Italy, 5 %,” they chanted. The group, led by the native Consortium of Gallery Homeowners, referred to as for simultaneous protests across the metropolis. “The sector can not survive with a 21 % VAT price when in all the encompassing international locations, tax transactions between 5 and eight % are welcome,” stated Idoia Fernández, president of the Consortium of Modern Artwork Galleries of Spain. The protest comes just some weeks forward of the ARCOmadrid artwork honest, held March 4 to eight.
The Digest
Jasmine Little, a Los Angeles-based artist who made lush nonetheless lifes and etched ceramic vessels, has died at 41. La Loma, her gallery, introduced her demise on Friday. [ARTnews]
Associated Articles
The Swiss Pop Artwork painter Peter Stämpfli has died at 88. His Paris gallery, Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois, introduced the information. [Le Quotidien de l’Art]
A skillfully illustrated, rigorously handwritten letter by the late Queen Elizabeth II to Beatrice, her head housemaid at Royal Lodge in Windsor, written when she was between 10 and 12 years outdated, shall be offered at Hansons Auctioneers on February 27. [BBC]
An ice-skating efficiency by the Montreal-based Le Patin Libre was canceled on the John F. Kennedy Heart for the Performing Arts after somebody poured an unknown, darkish liquid onto a brief ice rink late Thursday night time. It’s unclear at this stage if the assault was motivated by President Donald Trump’s takeover of the humanities heart. [The Washington Post]
The Loewe Basis Craft Prize has revealed its 30 finalists battling it out for a 50,000 euro prize. [WWD]
A storm uncovered 2,000-year-old footprints on a Scottish seaside, and virtually as rapidly destroyed the newly found archaeological web site – however not earlier than researchers rushed in to doc the remnants of life in a former estuary in the course of the Iron Age. [The Times]
The Kicker
NO FREE LUNCH? May the UK be nearing the tip of its period of free museums? The Guardian’s Nadia Khomami asks the query following surprising news of the Nationwide Gallery’s looming £8.2 million ($11 million) deficit and impending cuts. UK nationwide museums have held out in opposition to the worldwide norm for main museums, which not solely cost for entry however have additionally been elevating ticket costs. Now, amid fears that the Nationwide Gallery’s free entry is changing into too exhausting to maintain, a debate about charging guests in some kind or one other is choosing up new steam, together with amongst a rising cohort of main figures who’ve converted to advocating for paid entry. In the meantime, museum employees say they’re “bearing the brunt” of the monetary pressure.
