A nationwide general strike, called for Friday, January 30, 2026, in protest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minneapolis, has prompted numerous art galleries and organizations to close their doors. Major commercial galleries like Gagosian, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, and Pace Gallery, alongside institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles and the Drawing Center, are participating in the shutdown.
The American Museum of Natural History in New York City will remove human remains from its public displays over the next eight weeks and update its policies regarding the collection. The decision follows an investigation by Erin Thompson, a professor of art crime at John Jay College, whose report for Hyperallergic raised ethical and legal concerns about the acquisition of approximately 12,000 individuals' remains held by the museum. Museum president Sean Decatur announced the removal as the "right course of action," acknowledging that the remains were collected without consent and often used to advance racist scientific agendas.
A major controversy has erupted at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) following the revelation that trustee Judy Schulich led a successful effort to block the acquisition of a new work by photographer Nan Goldin. The museum's Modern and contemporary curatorial working committee voted 11-9 against jointly purchasing Goldin's video piece *Stendhal Syndrome* (2024) with two other institutions, after Goldin was reportedly labeled antisemitic and compared to Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl for her criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza. The decision prompted the resignation of the AGO's curator of modern and contemporary art and two volunteer committee members.
The Ontario provincial government has announced a C$50 million ($36 million) investment to expand and modernize the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario. This is the first capital investment from the province in 43 years, and it will fund repairs, upgrades, and expansion of the 70-year-old building, increasing capacity for programs and events. The museum, founded in 1966, is Canada's largest publicly funded art museum focused exclusively on Canadian and Indigenous art, housing over 7,000 works including pieces by Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven, and First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and contemporary artists.
The UK's Artist Resale Right (ARR), a law entitling visual artists to royalties from secondary market sales of their work, marks its 20th anniversary. Initially met with fierce opposition from auction houses and dealers who feared it would drive high-value sales offshore, the scheme is now largely accepted by the UK art trade, though concerns about administrative burdens compared to markets like New York and Hong Kong remain.
The Azrieli Foundation, a major Canadian philanthropic organization with ties to Israel's largest real-estate company, has ended its funding agreement with the Toronto Arts Foundation. The decision follows a sustained two-year protest campaign by the group Artists Against Artwashing, which included disruptions at a major Toronto arts event and an open letter signed by over 450 artists and cultural workers.
The Art Gallery of Hamilton (AGH) in Ontario, Canada, announced on January 20 that it has received nearly C$1 million ($684,000) in federal funding from the Canadian Heritage Cultural Spaces Fund for a major expansion. The project will add a 745-square-meter gallery, increasing exhibition space by 70%, and is expected to attract up to 300,000 visitors annually. AGH President and CEO Shelley Falconer stated the funding will launch the first phase, including hiring an architectural firm and creating schematic drawings for a new Main Street entrance and a gallery dedicated to Hamilton's industrial history. The gallery is also exploring adding affordable housing for creative workers in partnership with City Housing Hamilton.
The Ontario provincial government has announced a $35 million investment over two years to support the Art Gallery of Ontario's (AGO) expansion project, the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery. The funding will create at least 13 new galleries across five floors, adding 40,000 square feet of space and increasing display area by 30%. Construction is expected to be complete by fall 2027, enabling the AGO to welcome up to 120,000 additional visitors annually. This provincial contribution supplements a $35 million lead gift from Dani Reiss, $25 million from the Government of Canada, and other private donations.
Canada's monument to the victims of communism in Ottawa, officially opened a year ago, will no longer include individual names on its Wall of Remembrance after a federal government report revealed that many of the unvetted "victims" had ties to Nazi or fascist groups. Originally designed by architect Paul Raff to feature 553 entries, the Department of Canadian Heritage reversed its decision following alarms raised by Jewish groups and independent media outlets like Ricochet and The Maple, which found that more than half of the 550 names should be removed. The department stated that the wall will now feature only thematic content aligned with Canadian values of democracy and human rights.
Osservatori culturali. Dinosauri o soggetti in grado di interpretare il presente?
The Cultural Observatory of Canton Ticino has published a study on cultural observatories worldwide, including a map and list of surveyed organizations. The analysis reveals that cultural observatories are not a global phenomenon but are concentrated mainly in Europe and South America, with occasional presence in North America (especially Canada and Hispanic-oriented organizations in the US). Africa, Asia, and Oceania are almost entirely absent from the map. The study also highlights a high rate of inactive observatories: among the top 10 countries by active observatories, only Germany shows an effective activity ratio. Spain has 26 active observatories out of about 45 total, while Italy has 11 active out of over 20 inactive. The research defines observatories as non-profit organizations that combine cultural and statistical expertise to deepen and transfer knowledge about the cultural sector, and classifies as inactive those with no recent activity on web or social channels.
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg announced plans for an exhibition titled 'Palestine Uprooted: Nakba, Past and Present,' scheduled to open in June 2026. The show will document the lived experience of the Nakba—the mass displacement of Palestinians beginning with the 1948 Arab-Israeli war—through video testimonials, objects, art, text, and photography, focusing on personal stories of Palestinian Canadians. The announcement has drawn both strong support and criticism, with museum CEO Isha Khan emphasizing the exhibition is not a historical retrospective or commentary on current Israel-Palestine relations.