Chanel gives Centre Pompidou financial boost with new five-year partnership

Chanel has announced a new five-year partnership with the Centre Pompidou in Paris, providing a confidential financial boost to the institution during its closure for major renovations until 2030. The partnership builds on previous collaborations, including the 2023 Assemble program and a 2025 initiative to expand the museum's collection of Chinese contemporary artists by over 30% by 2028, with works already acquired from artists like Chen Wei and Cui Jie.

Chanel Renews Financial Support of Centre Pompidou During Long-Term Renovation

Chanel has renewed its financial partnership with Paris's Centre Pompidou, extending their collaboration through another five-year agreement. The luxury fashion house will continue supporting the museum's operations, acquisitions, and exhibitions, despite the Pompidou being closed until 2030 for a major renovation costing over $500 million. Chanel previously sponsored the museum's acquisition of 21 artworks by 15 contemporary Chinese artists in 2024 and supported the related exhibition “目 China: A New Generation of Artists.” The renewed investment aims to bolster access, scholarship, and preservation of public knowledge.

Citing Epstein Ties, Wexner Union Demands Leslie Wexner’s Name be Dropped from Art Center

Members of the Wexner Center for the Arts union, Wexner Workers United, have formally demanded that Ohio State University remove Leslie Wexner's name from the art center. In a letter posted on Instagram, the union cites Wexner's documented ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, noting his name appears over 1,300 times in Department of Justice files. The union argues that the connection meets the university's criteria for renaming, and that staff face daily harassment while artists refuse to collaborate due to the Epstein association.

Paris Judge Rejects Bid to Suspend the Replacement of Notre-Dame’s Windows

A Paris judge has rejected a bid to suspend the removal of six 19th-century stained-glass windows by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc from Notre-Dame Cathedral, clearing the way for their replacement with contemporary works commissioned by the French government. The Paris Administrative Court ruled that the project does not constitute an irreversible alteration because the new windows, designed by artist Claire Tabouret and produced by glassmakers Simon-Marq, could be removed in the future, and the original windows will be preserved. The judge did not rule on the legality of the project, which had previously been vetoed by the National Commission of Patrimony and Architecture, leaving the door open for further legal challenges.

Van Gogh Museum in funding mediation with Dutch government following threats of closure

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has entered mediation with the Dutch government after initiating legal proceedings to secure additional public funding for a major renovation. The museum, which plans a three-year, €104m renovation starting in 2028, claims it could be forced to close unless its annual subsidy increases by €2.5m. The Dutch government, facing a budget deficit, considers the current €8.5m subsidy sufficient and argues the museum should contribute more itself. Mediation talks are making progress, and legal proceedings have been postponed indefinitely, with both sides aiming to conclude before summer.

Spanish Government Threatens to Fire Director of Museo Reina Sofía

Manuel Segade, director of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Spain, has been threatened with removal by lawmakers if he does not complete a full inventory of the museum’s over 25,000 artworks by December 31, 2025. The pressure comes from Spain’s Court of Auditors, which has criticized the museum’s cataloguing methods for years, and is backed by the far-right and the conservative Popular Party. Segade, appointed in 2023, has been overseeing a multi-year renovation and has increased the representation of women artists to 35%, though only 15% of the collection’s 26,000 pieces are by women. The museum recently refused to lend Picasso’s *Guernica* to the Guggenheim Bilbao, and a pro-Israel group filed a complaint over a Palestinian flag display and a seminar series.

What will the future Louvre museum look like? The architects of the century's construction site have been chosen

À quoi ressemblera le futur musée du Louvre ? Les architectes du chantier du siècle désignés

On May 18, the French Ministry of Culture announced the winner of the international competition for the 'Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance' plan, championed by President Emmanuel Macron in January 2025. The winning consortium, led by Studios Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects with landscape firm Base, will design a major renovation of the Louvre. The project includes a new entrance on the east side near Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois to relieve congestion at the pyramid, a belvedere overlooking vegetated moats, and a new 3,000-square-meter gallery dedicated to the Mona Lisa. Construction is not expected to begin before 2028.

A favorable court decision for contemporary stained glass at Notre-Dame

Une décision de justice favorable aux vitraux contemporains à Notre-Dame

A French court has ruled in favor of keeping contemporary stained-glass windows installed at Notre-Dame Cathedral, rejecting a legal challenge from traditionalists who sought their removal. The decision upholds the controversial replacement of 19th-century grisaille windows designed by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc with modern works by artist Pierre Soulages and others, as part of the cathedral's post-fire restoration.

La Tour Eiffel aux enchères

The French Senate has definitively adopted a law on the restitution of cultural property looted during the colonial period, marking a major legislative step in France's approach to colonial-era artifacts. The law establishes a legal framework for returning objects held in French public collections to their countries of origin, potentially affecting thousands of items in museums across the country.

Chanel Will Launch New Culture Fund Fellowship With the Guggenheim

Chanel will launch an annual, one-year fellowship in fall 2026 in collaboration with the Guggenheim. The Chanel Culture Fund Fellowship will host a fellow in New York and at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, targeting MA and PhD-level scholars dedicated to collection studies and curatorial research. The program complements existing Guggenheim fellowship and internship programs, aiming to nurture emerging talent in modern and contemporary art curation.

A New Landmark Survey Aims to Bring Transparency to Museum Collecting Practices

The Penn Cultural Heritage Center (PennCHC) at the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Museum will launch the National Survey of Museum Collecting Practices on May 20, running through August 20. This first-of-its-kind survey, part of the Museums: Missions and Acquisitions Project (M2A Project), will collect data on acquisitions, deaccessions, loans, provenance research, and policies from U.S. nonprofit museums and libraries. Results will be published in 2027, with only generalized insights to maintain anonymity.

San Francisco announces its first-ever executive director of arts and culture.

Matthew Goudeau has been appointed as San Francisco's first-ever executive director of arts and culture, tasked with safeguarding the arts as a key part of the city's creative economy and identity. The appointment comes amid uncertain federal arts funding, but local arts funding in San Francisco is projected to increase this year under Mayor Daniel Lurie's leadership.

A new wing to solve the problems of the Galleria Borghese in Rome. Beautiful challenge, tedious controversy

Una nuova ala per risolvere i problemi della Galleria Borghese a Roma. Bella sfida, stucchevoli polemiche

The Galleria Borghese in Rome, one of Italy's most extraordinary museums, faces significant accessibility and capacity issues due to its historic 17th-century structure. The museum is difficult for visitors with disabilities, overcrowded, and forces visitors to book far in advance—often waiting over a month for a time slot—while many masterpieces remain in storage. In 2025, the engineering firm Proger offered to sponsor a feasibility study for a new wing, contributing nearly 900,000 euros to fund an international architecture competition and a technical-economic feasibility plan. The study, currently underway, aims to explore whether a new annex can be built within the protected Villa Borghese park to create new entrances, exhibition spaces, and services.

French Parliament Accuses Louvre of Prioritizing ‘Prestige And Influence’ Over Security Prior to Jewel Heist

French MPs Alexis Corbière and Alexandre Portier have released a parliamentary report accusing the Louvre of prioritizing "prestige and influence" over security, leading to a brazen jewel heist on October 19, 2025. Thieves entered the museum in broad daylight and stole nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million in under eight minutes. The report, based on over 20 hearings with 100 insiders, reveals that security had been "relegated to the background" despite audits in 2017 and 2019, and that a Security Equipment Master Plan from 2019 was not implemented in time by former director Jean-Luc Martinez. The report also casts doubt on President Emmanuel Macron's nearly $1 billion renovation plan for the Louvre, announced nine months before the heist.

UK’s Palestinian Ambassador Calls on Government to Have British Museum Reinstate the Word ‘Palestinian’

The Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, has called on the British government to intervene in a dispute with the British Museum over the removal of the word “Palestinian” from wall texts in its Middle East galleries. Zomlot raised the complaint with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office after reports that the museum had stripped the term from maps and didactics, following lobbying by UK Lawyers for Israel. The museum denies removing the word entirely, stating it still appears elsewhere, but photographic evidence suggests otherwise. Zomlot declined a tour with director Nicholas Cullinan, calling the issue “existential.”

Federal Bill Creating Smithsonian Women’s Museum Scuttled Over Demand That It Honor Only “Biological” Females

Legislation to advance the construction of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum in Washington, DC, failed in the House on May 21 after Democrats rejected amendments added by Republicans. The bill, introduced by Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis, was defeated 216-204, with six Republicans joining Democrats in opposition. Key changes included language specifying the museum would honor only “biological women” and explicitly barring the depiction of any “biological male as a female,” which critics said would exclude transgender women. Other provisions would have given President Donald Trump unilateral authority to choose an alternative site for the museum, originally planned for the National Mall, and granted approval power over design and construction to commissions controlled by Trump appointees.

Sylvie Retailleau : « Pendant cinq ans, tout a été remis en jeu »

Sylvie Retailleau, former French Minister of Higher Education and current president of Universcience since January 2026, details the tense negotiations between the Grand Palais and the Palais de la découverte. She reveals that the Palais de la découverte nearly disappeared during the Grand Palais renovation, but will reopen in March 2027. Universcience ceded a 1,200 m² gallery to the Grand Palais as a financial contribution (worth about €30 million over ten years) and is lending another 350 m² gallery until June 2030 for Centre Pompidou exhibitions during its renovation. In exchange, Universcience gains full control over the programming of the Palais des enfants.

Memorial Art Gallery admission will become free starting in 2027

The Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) in Rochester, New York, announced on May 13 that admission will become free for all visitors starting in 2027, eliminating its current $20 entry fee permanently. The museum, part of the University of Rochester, raised over $9 million through its "Free for All, Forever" campaign, surpassing its original target faster than expected. Key donations included a $1 million gift from Dr. Alexander A. Levitan and his wife Lucy K. Levitan, a $3 million donation from UR trustee Doug Bennett, his wife Abby, and the Sands Family Foundation, and $2 million from Mary Ellen Burris. Additional support came from anonymous donors, Kitty and Nick Jospé, and Sandy Hawks Lloyd and Justin Hawks Lloyd.

Workers Push to Rename Wexner Center for the Arts Over Epstein Ties

Unionized staff at Ohio State University's Wexner Center for the Arts, organized as Wex Workers United, have officially called for the renaming of the arts center and other campus buildings named after billionaire benefactor Les Wexner. The union argues that Wexner's name, due to his decades-long association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—who had power of attorney over Wexner's fortune—harms artists and community members. The call follows similar demands from the Ohio Nurses Association regarding the Wexner Medical Center and ongoing student protests, including an April 10 action where students covered Wexner's name on the art center's façade with a black tarp. OSU spokesperson Chris Booker noted that over 500 renaming requests have been filed under the university's official review procedure, while OSU President Ted Carter has emphasized that name changes require fact-finding and cannot be based on supposition.

Giuli Buys Everything! The Ministry of Culture Also Wants to Take Over Rome's Teatro delle Vittorie and Venice's Palazzo Labia?

Giuli compra tutto! Il Ministero della Cultura vuole prendersi anche Il Teatro delle Vittorie di Roma e Palazzo Labia a Venezia?

Italian Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli is pursuing an aggressive acquisition campaign for cultural properties. After high-profile purchases including Antonello da Messina's *Ecce Homo* and Caravaggio's *Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini* (€30 million), the Ministry has now expressed interest in acquiring Rome's Teatro delle Vittorie and Venice's Palazzo Labia—both part of a real estate portfolio being sold by state broadcaster Rai. The Ministry also recently bought Verona's historic Cinema Astra (with a €7.5 million restoration plan) and Naples' Teatro Sannazzaro after a fire.

Gulag Museum rebrand marks latest phase in Kremlin’s assault on free speech

The Kremlin is systematically erasing the memory of Soviet repression under Joseph Stalin from Russian museums. The Gulag Museum in Moscow, which documented Stalin-era crimes, has been rebranded as a "Museum of Memory" focused on Nazi war crimes, with its entire website replaced and exhibitions packed up. Simultaneously, Russia's supreme court banned Memorial, a human rights organization founded to document Stalin-era atrocities, labeling it an "anti-Russian" extremist group. The Yeltsin Presidential Center in Yekaterinburg has also removed references to Memorial from its walls, and the Sakharov Center in Moscow was disbanded and evicted from its facilities.

DOGE Cuts to National Endowment for the Humanities Were Unconstitutional, Court Rules

A federal judge ruled that the cancellation of over 1,400 grants by the National Endowment for the Humanities, carried out by Elon Musk's Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), was unconstitutional. Judge Colleen McMahon of the Federal District Court in Manhattan ordered DOGE to rescind the cancellations, finding that the cuts violated the First Amendment and the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment. The lawsuits were filed after the NEH chairman was dismissed and the agency was redirected under President Donald Trump's "America First" cultural campaign, with acting chair Michael McDonald cutting most grants awarded by the previous administration. The cuts, totaling more than $100 million, disrupted research, publications, and humanities programming, and were reportedly flagged using ChatGPT to target grants related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The AfD Rehearses the Seizure of Power

Die AfD probt die Machtergreifung

The article reports that in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the far-right party AfD could achieve an absolute majority in the upcoming September election—a first in postwar German history. The state government has preemptively introduced a cultural funding law to protect the arts. The AfD's platform includes a "new patriotic cultural policy" under the slogan "#deutschdenken," which explicitly targets the Bauhaus and modernist art as symbols of an "identity disorder" they promise to "heal."

"Geschichtspolitisch fatal und realitätsblind"

A German media roundup reports on a planned restructuring of the Stiftung Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung (Foundation Flight, Expulsion, Reconciliation), which would shift its focus toward German expellees and reduce the influence of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. The reform, criticized by FAZ commentator Andreas Kilb as a fundamental cultural-political intervention, would detach the foundation from the German Historical Museum and give greater weight to the Federation of Expellees in its board. Separately, the roundup covers a review of a legal study on artistic freedom sparked by the antisemitism debate around Documenta Fifteen, and a speech by Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer warning of democratic backsliding and rising antisemitism.

In Washington, the Women's Museum will not see the light of day

À Washington, le Musée des femmes ne verra pas le jour

The U.S. House of Representatives has rejected a bill to establish the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., after a bipartisan consensus collapsed. The original bill, introduced by Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis in February 2025, had over 230 co-sponsors and aimed to allocate a site opposite the National Museum of African American History and Culture. However, an amendment by Representative Mary Miller redefined the museum's mission as dedicated to "biological women," explicitly excluding transgender women, and removed references to diversity. The committee approved the amendment along party lines (7-4), leading to the bill's failure to secure the necessary votes.

Sylvie Retailleau explains how she saved the Palais de la Découverte

Sylvie Retailleau explique comment elle a sauvé le Palais de la Découverte

Sylvie Retailleau, a physicist, former president of Paris-Saclay University, and former Minister of Higher Education, has been president of Universcience since January 2026. In an interview, she explains how the Palais de la Découverte, housed within the Grand Palais, nearly disappeared during the Grand Palais renovation. Intense debates over whether to dedicate the renovated space entirely to classical culture threatened the science museum. Retailleau negotiated a compromise: the Palais de la Découverte ceded one gallery (1,200 m²) to the Grand Palais for about €30 million in revenue over ten years and is lending another gallery (350 m²) until June 2030 for Centre Pompidou exhibitions. In return, Universcience gains full control of the programming for the Palais des Enfants. The Palais de la Découverte is set to reopen in March 2027.

Meloni takes control of Italian museums

Meloni reprend en main les musées italiens

Italy’s culture ministry under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has appointed 14 new directors for so-called “second-tier” museums, reinforcing a shift away from the international “super-director” model introduced by the 2014 Franceschini reform. All appointees are Italian except for French director Axel Hémery, who was reappointed at the Pinacoteca di Siena due to his strong performance. The move follows the earlier ousting of foreign directors at top-tier museums, with only two foreign-born directors—Eike Schmidt and Gabriel Zuchtriegel—remaining, both of whom hold Italian citizenship.

Victorien Bornéat : « De l’échec de la démocratisation culturelle est né un sentiment d’exclusion »

Victorien Bornéat has published a manifesto arguing that French cultural democratization policy, rooted in André Malraux's vision of making masterworks accessible to all, has failed. He cites budget cuts by regional presidents Laurent Wauquiez and Christelle Morançais, police raids on bookshops like Violette and Co, and statistical studies showing that working-class audiences still do not spontaneously attend theaters, museums, or opera. Bornéat contends that the policy's emphasis on direct confrontation with canonical works ignored the need for cultural codes and institutional literacy, creating an exclusion that politicians now exploit for electoral gain.

Notre-Dame : pas de suspension pour les vitraux !

On May 19, 2026, the Paris administrative court rejected requests from heritage associations Sites & Monuments and SOS Paris to suspend the removal and replacement of the stained-glass windows at Notre-Dame Cathedral. The associations had sought to block the prefect's authorization to remove the 19th-century windows by Alfred Gérente and install six new contemporary windows designed by Claire Tabouret, arguing legal doubts about the project. The judge ruled that the operation was reversible—since the new panels are the same size as the originals and the removed windows will be restored and displayed—thus no urgent suspension was warranted.

Parliamentary report calls for major changes at French museums in the wake of Louvre heist

A French parliamentary report published on 13 May, following the October 19 heist of the crown jewels at the Louvre, issues a damning assessment of the country's museum security and management. The commission heard around 100 testimonies and examined some 2,000 museums, dedicating a special chapter to the Louvre. It blames former director Laurence des Cars's leadership for a "dysfunctional drift" that prioritized contemporary art interventions and fashion shows over basic infrastructure and collection protection, allowing the heist to occur. The report lists rising threats including riots, burglaries, cyberattacks (which forced the National Museum of Natural History in Paris to cancel an exhibition after a ransomware attack in July 2025), and terrorist plots. It proposes 40 recommendations, including raising budgets by an estimated €20–25 billion over a decade, enhancing staff training, and overhauling museum leadership.