Art News. Vasari Codex

article policy schedule Jan 6, 2026 visibility 28 link 11 artists

m hka flemish government plan legal review

The Flemish government's plan to dissolve M HKA, a contemporary art institution in Antwerp, has been met with legal opposition after the museum initiated a legal review that claims the move would be illegal. The review, presented to the press on Tuesday with artists Luc Tuymans and Otobong Nkanga in attendance, argues that the government's proposal—which would close M HKA, transfer its collection to Ghent, and rebrand S.M.A.K. as the Flemish Museum of Contemporary and Current Art by 2028—contains "flagrant illegalities." The plan has drawn widespread condemnation from museum directors and artists, including Anish Kapoor, who demanded the removal of his work from M HKA's website.

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article policy schedule Aug 20, 2025 visibility 16 link 3 artists

Trump accuses Smithsonian of being too focused on ‘how bad slavery was’

US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social accusing the Smithsonian Institution of focusing excessively on negative aspects of American history, specifically citing exhibits about slavery and the struggles of marginalized groups. He claimed the organization is "out of control" and instructed his attorneys to review its museums, mirroring recent actions against universities. The White House has initiated a four-month review of eight Smithsonian museums, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Portrait Gallery, with a directive to replace "divisive or ideologically driven language" with "unifying, historically accurate" descriptions.

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article policy schedule Jan 13, 2026 visibility 13 link 1 artist

us withdrawal un cultural organizations alarm

President Donald Trump has withdrawn the United States from 66 international organizations, including several that safeguard creative rights and freedoms, via a January 7 memo. The New York-based Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) expressed deep concern, particularly over the impact on its partner, the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA). ARC listed affected organizations such as the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, the Freedom Online Coalition, the UN Democracy Fund, UN Women, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, and the International Development Law Organization, all of which support artistic freedom, cultural heritage, and protections for artists under threat.

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article policy schedule Jan 9, 2026 visibility 15

trump administration withdraws cultural organizations

The Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from 66 international organizations, conventions, and treaties, including 31 UN-affiliated bodies, as announced in a presidential memorandum. Among the cultural organizations dropped are the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), the Freedom Online Coalition, and the UN Alliance of Civilizations. The withdrawal follows a review ordered by President Trump in February 2025, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserting that many of these groups are "dominated by progressive ideology."

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