Cleveland Museum of Art hits 80% of $600 million goal for its future

The Cleveland Museum of Art announced it has raised $480 million since 2023 toward a $600 million fundraising campaign, reaching 80% of its goal. The four-year campaign, the largest in the museum's history and one of the largest in the U.S. in recent decades, aims to permanently fund 21 curatorial and top administrative positions, support the museum's exhibition program, bolster art conservation, enhance the library and digital innovation, and establish a conservator of photography and a photography prize. Roughly $40 million is reserved for capital projects including refurbishment of the Fountain of the Waters and Zodiac Garden and an overhaul of Wade Lagoon. Of the total goal, $200 million will come from gifts of artworks.

A National Pass to Visit 500 Monuments

Un Pass national pour visiter 500 monuments

French Culture Minister Catherine Pégard announced on June 11 at the Orangerie of the Château de Versailles, during a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Fondation du patrimoine, the launch of a new Pass patrimoine (Heritage Pass) in September. The pass will grant access to nearly 500 monuments, museums, castles, and gardens across France, including iconic sites like Versailles, Chambord, Fontainebleau, and Chantilly, as well as lesser-known locations such as the Maison de Colette and La Devinière-Musée Rabelais. Priced around €100 per year, the pass will be operated by the Fondation du patrimoine as a new membership formula, aggregating a diverse network of public and private heritage sites without the foundation owning or managing them directly.

Cleveland Museum of Art Plans $600 M. Fundraising Campaign to Sustain Museum’s Long-Term Health

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) has announced a $600 million fundraising campaign, titled "For the Benefit of All the People," to support its long-term financial health. The campaign, the largest in the museum's history and the largest by a cultural organization in Ohio, is nearly 80% complete, with $351.5 million raised in cash and over $128.5 million in art gifts. It aims to endow staff positions, fund exhibitions, educational programs, conservation, digital innovation, and acquisitions, while helping sustain the museum's free admission policy.

The First Mega Strike of the Italian Cultural Sector. Unions, Workers and Associations United to Change Cultural Work: Here Are the Demands

Il primo mega sciopero del settore cultura italiano. Sindacati, lavoratori e associazioni uniti per cambiare il lavoro culturale: ecco le richieste

On June 12, Italy experienced its largest-ever national strike in the cultural sector, organized by major unions, collectives, and associations including Mi Riconosci?. Workers from museums, libraries, archives, theaters, and freelance artists walked out to demand dignified wages, enforcement of collective contracts, an end to false self-employment and volunteerism, a halt to funding cuts and military investments linked to artwashing, and new hiring at the Ministry of Culture. The strike closed numerous cultural institutions across Italy, including ten pavilions at the Venice Biennale, a floor of the Uffizi, and the National Museum of Italian Emigration in Genoa, marking the first such coordinated action in 50 years.

USA must temporarily reattach memories of slavery

USA müssen Erinnerungen an Sklaverei vorerst wieder anbringen

A federal judge in Boston has issued a temporary injunction ordering the U.S. government to reverse its removal of historical markers and monuments related to slavery, racism, and discrimination in national parks and public spaces. The ruling targets a directive by President Donald Trump, issued through the Department of the Interior in March 2024, which required all memorials and plaques to be reviewed for allegedly casting U.S. history in a negative light. Under the decree titled "Restoring Truth and Reason to American History," markers about slavery—including those at George Washington's former home in Philadelphia—were taken down, as were references to climate change. The judge, Angel Kelley, gave the administration 21 days to comply, just before the July 4 Independence Day celebrations.

Istituzioni culturali e tecnologie digitali. Qui il punto dell’osservatorio del Politecnico di Milano

L'Osservatorio Innovazione Digitale per la Cultura della School of Management del Politecnico di Milano has released its tenth-anniversary report on digital technology adoption in Italian cultural institutions. The study reveals that while museum attendance in Italy grew 4% in 2025 compared to 2024 (down from 9% growth the previous year) and revenues rose 2%, nearly half (47%) of institutions still invest nothing in digital tools. Among the 53% that do invest, funds go mainly to cataloguing (22%) and visitor support services (18%), with only marginal use of AI: 94% of museums allow generative AI informally, but just 14% actively promote it, and 58% lack specific AI skills. The report also highlights positive examples, such as the Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano di Torino, which published a manifesto for conscious AI use.