Ascendant Philanthropists Make $23 Million Donation to Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has received a $23 million donation from newly elected trustee Jennifer Rubio and her husband Stewart Butterfield, made through the Rubio Butterfield Foundation. The principal gift will endow the museum's undergraduate and graduate internship program in perpetuity, which will be renamed after the couple starting September 2026. An additional donation supports the Met's new Tang Wing for modern and contemporary art, set to open in 2030.

Au Louvre, des directeurs de département entre responsabilités internes et rôle national

Maximilien Durand has been reappointed as head of the Department of Byzantine and Eastern Christian Arts at the Louvre Museum, a role that carries both internal museum responsibilities and national duties on behalf of the French state. Two decrees signed by Culture Minister Catherine Pégard formalize his renewal: one as head of the museum department, and another as head of the corresponding major heritage department, a status held by only nine of the Louvre's departments.

Notre-Dame Stained Glass: The Fight Continues!

Vitraux de Notre-Dame : le combat continue !

The French government has authorized the removal and replacement of the 19th-century stained-glass windows designed by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in Notre-Dame Cathedral with new windows by contemporary artist Claire Tabouret. This decision, posted as a work permit on the cathedral, is being challenged in court by the heritage association Sites & Monuments, which argues the replacement is not a legitimate act of conservation or restoration.

Europe: China’s censorship of cultural institutions must be challenged - ARTICLE 19

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London has reportedly removed maps and images from exhibition catalogues on multiple occasions following pressure from its Chinese publisher, C&C Offset Printing. The publisher cited directives from China's General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), which enforces the Chinese Communist Party's official narratives on sensitive topics like territorial borders.

State Secretary Dismissed in Dispute Over Funding

Staatssekretär im Streit um Fördermittel entlassen

Berlin's culture administration has dismissed State Secretary Oliver Friederici, who was responsible for distributing funds for projects combating antisemitism. The move follows a prolonged controversy over the allocation of millions of euros in grants, with allegations of unclear criteria and potential political influence from the CDU party.

NEW PROJECT ON PUERTO RICAN ART AND HISTORY: $200K grant will support the initiative at NBMAA

The New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA) has received a $200,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to support a new project titled "Puerto Rico in Focus: Historical Interventions." The initiative is part of a multi-year museum effort to explore Puerto Rico’s complex relationship with the United States through exhibitions, research, and community programs.

Berliner Kulturverwaltung arbeitet an Reformen

Berlin's cultural administration is pressing ahead with reforms to make funding for projects against antisemitism legally secure, following the resignation of Culture Senator Sarah Wedl-Wilson. Cultural State Secretary Cerstin Richter-Kotowski told the culture committee that a working group established under Wedl-Wilson is now implementing recommendations from the state audit office report, which had found serious legal violations and omissions in the allocation of funds for antisemitism prevention projects. Richter-Kotowski emphasized that the administration continues its normal operations despite the leadership change, and she publicly thanked both Wedl-Wilson and the recently dismissed State Secretary Oliver Friederici for their service.

Berlin's Next Crash Landing

Berlins nächste Bruchlandung

Berlin's culture senator, Sarah Wedl-Wilson, resigned on Friday after being pressured by Mayor Kai Wegner amid a funding scandal. She approved 13 project applications totaling €2.6 million intended for combating antisemitism, bypassing mandatory co-payment rules and ignoring objections from her state secretary. Leaked chat logs revealed that CDU parliamentarians Christian Goiny and faction leader Dirk Stettner pushed her to fast-track approvals, leading to violations of budget law. The state audit office had flagged irregularities, and Wegner withdrew his support, prompting her resignation.

Berlins Kultursenatorin tritt ab

Berlin's Senator for Culture, Sarah Wedl-Wilson, has resigned after less than a year in office, following a damning report from the Berlin Court of Audit. The report found that the allocation of €2.6 million in funding for 13 projects aimed at combating antisemitism was 'evidently unlawful,' citing a lack of proper criteria, arbitrary project selection, and violations of budget regulations. Wedl-Wilson stated she stepped down to prevent damage to the fight against antisemitism, and Governing Mayor Kai Wegner accepted her resignation, vowing to reform the funding system. The opposition has accused CDU politicians of exerting improper influence to push through the projects.

Culture Senator under pressure due to Court of Audit report

Kultursenatorin wegen Rechnungshofberichts unter Druck

Berlin's Court of Audit has issued a scathing report accusing Culture Senator Sarah Wedl-Wilson (independent) of serious legal violations in the allocation of €2.6 million in anti-Semitism prevention grants for 2025. The audit found that the selection process was arbitrary, lacked transparent criteria, and violated state budget regulations. Six of the 13 funded projects—receiving €2 million—were deemed ineligible for the specific budget line, and some recipients were newly founded entities that were not properly vetted. The report warns that the grants may need to be repaid.

The church, the village, the park. FAI's 'Places of the Heart' returns to save ruins

La chiesa, il borgo, il parco. Tornano i Luoghi del Cuore del FAI per salvare i beni in rovina

The Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano (FAI) has launched the 13th edition of its "Luoghi del Cuore" (Places of the Heart) initiative, a biennial census that invites Italians to vote for cultural heritage sites most in need of restoration. Since 2003, the campaign has collected over 13.5 million votes, with the 2024 edition alone receiving more than 2.3 million votes for over 41,000 sites across 6,508 municipalities. The initiative has funded 180 recovery projects, 40% of which involve churches, followed by environmental, architectural, and archaeological assets. Notable successes include the Church of San Pietro dei Samari in Gallipoli, the Oratorio del Sasso in Orasso, and the Complesso di Sant’Angelo Magno in Ascoli Piceno.

Cultural Observatories: Dinosaurs or Subjects Capable of Interpreting the Present?

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.

Fellowship Open Call – Shaping Africa’s Curatorial Futures

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) have launched an open call for their fully funded 2027 Museum Fellowship Programme. The year-long initiative offers emerging African art professionals a combination of practical museum training and postgraduate academic study, aiming to develop the next generation of curators, researchers, and arts professionals on the continent.