Art News. Vasari Codex

museum exhibitions schedule Jan 22, 2026 visibility 14 link 3 artists

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Artist Ai Weiwei will unveil a new exhibition titled “Button Up!” at Factory International in Manchester, England, opening July 2. The show features monumental installations made from 30 tons of buttons he rescued from a shuttered British factory in 2019, along with over 3.5 million Lego pieces. Highlights include eight flags sewn with 9,000 buttons each, referencing the Eight-Nation Alliance that invaded China during the Boxer Rebellion, and a new version of his Lego work *History of Bombs*. The buttons were secretly shipped to China, where artisans assembled the works over 281 days.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Apr 16, 2026 visibility 22 link 4 artists

V&A faces calls to become living wage employer on eve of Stratford opening

The Victoria and Albert Museum is facing intense pressure to become an accredited living wage employer just as it prepares to open its high-profile V&A East site in Stratford. A petition coordinated by Organise and Citizens UK has garnered over 21,000 signatures, calling on Director Tristram Hunt to ensure all staff and contractors receive the London living wage of £14.80 per hour. While the museum meets legal minimum wage requirements, campaigners argue that as a publicly funded institution, it must provide a wage that reflects the actual cost of living in the capital.

newspaper The Guardian open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Apr 16, 2026 visibility 24 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

‘Vandalised, disembowelled and dismembered’: Artist Jack Milroy gives books a brutal treatment with beautiful results

The artist Jack Milroy has launched a new solo exhibition titled 'Bibliophilia' at Shapero Modern in London, featuring his signature 3D cut-out artworks. The 87-year-old artist transforms books and everyday objects, such as sardine tins, into intricate sculptures where illustrated figures like birds and fish appear to escape their physical confines. The show marks Milroy's first collaboration with the gallery, which is uniquely situated beneath an antiquarian bookshop, providing a thematic contrast between preserved rare volumes and Milroy’s "vandalised" artistic interpretations.

newspaper Country Life open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Dec 29, 2025 visibility 12 link 2 artists

imperial war museum criticized for lgbtq tour 1234768211

The Imperial War Museum (IWM) in London has permanently closed its long-running Victoria Cross gallery, which housed over 200 medals loaned by Lord Ashcroft since 2010. The closure, which occurred in June 2025, coincided with the launch of a new virtual tour titled "Refracted Histories: Exploring LGBTQ+ Stories in Times of Conflict." Lord Ashcroft, a Conservative peer and donor who contributed £5 million to establish the original gallery, criticized the museum for sidelining military gallantry in favor of contemporary themes, claiming he was not informed in advance of the decision.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule May 22, 2025 visibility 11 link 4 artists

‘Art is an important way of depicting these atrocities’: London show shines a light on sexual violence in conflict

The Imperial War Museum (IWM) in London has opened "Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict," the first major UK museum exhibition to address the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Featuring video testimony from journalist Christina Lamb, the show draws on the IWM's collections and new testimonies from survivors, including propaganda posters, photographs by Lee Miller, and a newly acquired miniature Sonyeosang statue. Curators Maeve Underwood and Helen Upcraft re-examined the museum's holdings to uncover hidden narratives of sexual slavery and humiliation from World War II to the Russia-Ukraine war.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Apr 27, 2025 visibility 10 link 4 artists

Newcastle gallery to open new exhibition exploring 'craft' in art

The Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle is opening a new exhibition titled 'With These Hands' from May 17 to September 27, exploring the representation of craft in paintings, drawings, and prints. The show features works produced in Britain and Europe from the 1750s onward, depicting hand-making and mending as domestic pastime, rural labor, semi-industrial work, and war effort. It includes paintings by artists such as Mary Cassatt, G.F. Watts, and Evelyn Dunbar, alongside objects like quilts, embroidery, metalwork, and ceramics from makers including Bernard Leach and Michael Cardew. Loans come from Tate, V&A, Royal Academy of Arts, Imperial War Museums, and regional collections.

newspaper Hexham Courant open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 12

courtauld gallery and institute in london receives record breaking 30 m donation from reuben foundation 1234757172

London's Courtauld Gallery and Institute has received a £30 million ($40.06 million) donation from the Reuben Foundation, the largest gift in its 93-year history. The foundation, established by billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben, will also share their extensive art collection to support future exhibitions as part of a long-term partnership. The donation will help fund the refurbishment of the Courtauld's academic wing, which still requires an additional £65 million to complete.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Jan 2, 2026 visibility 8 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

How UK museums are embracing citizens’ assemblies to help frame their futures

UK museums are increasingly turning to citizens' assemblies to involve the public in shaping institutional policy and direction. The National Gallery in London launched its NG Citizens panel in 2024, following Birmingham Museums Trust's 2024 citizens' jury of 26 local residents. The Imperial War Museum and London's Migration Museum have also announced plans for similar assemblies. The National Gallery's panel, formed through a civic lottery of 15,000 invited households, will meet from November 2025 to March 2026 to develop recommendations on the gallery's purpose, priorities, and public value—though it will not directly select exhibitions or acquisitions.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original