Art Industry News: SFMOMA Apologizes for Censoring a Black Ex-Employee Who Called Out the Museum on Instagram + Other Stories

by admin

Jun 3, 2020

artnet

Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most
consequential developments coming out of the art world and art
market. Here’s what you need to know on this Wednesday, June
3.

NEED-TO-READ

Arts Institutions Ponder the Unthinkable: Raiding the
Endowment – Among cultural
organizations, there has always been a common rule: don’t deplete
your endowment. But amid the unprecedented shutdowns of museums and
concert halls across the United States, that rule may be bent for
the first time ever. The Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Lyric
Opera of Chicago, among others, are dipping into their reserves
beyond the standard five percent. While museums have been slower to
make the move than performing arts organizations, the Association
of Art Museum Directors has relaxed its advice on endowment
spending and the New York state attorney general’s office, which
recommends against endowment draws that exceed 7 percent, is also
considering issuing new guidance. (New York Times)

London’s Tate Will Reopen in August – The
Tate, like many London museums, is now looking toward reopening
after months of lockdown. The institution’s director, Maria
Balshaw, says London museums are working together to plan their
reopening schedules, but each will make its own decision. Tate is
planning to welcome 30 percent of its normal visitor numbers and
will enforce two-meter social distancing in August. “Along with the
whole of the cultural sector we will be facing a really significant
financial challenge,” Balshaw said. “We won’t know the scale of
that until we reopen, and the situation is changing on a weekly
basis.” (The Art
Newspaper)

SFMOMA Under Fire For Censoring a Former Employee
– The debate over how
museums should respond to the ongoing protests against police
brutality—and whether they have done enough to translate their
words into action—is playing out on the Instagram account of
SFMOMA. A former employee, Taylor Brandon, has accused the museum
of silencing her criticism in a comment on its image of a Glenn
Ligon work SFMOMA posted over the weekend. The museum disabled
comments on the post after Brandon called it a “cop out,” arguing
the institution has not done enough to support black employees
internally and naming some of its upper management. The museum has
since reopened comments on the post and added its own statement
apologizing, but maintains that Brandon’s post violated Instagram’s
terms of service by naming individuals. Some artists were not
convinced by SFMOMA’s response; the museum itself followed up its
apology with a post from Heavy
Breathing, an artist-run series of free workshops, criticizing
its censorship of the original comments. (Hyperallergic)

Closed Museums Rethink Benefits – Arts organizations are thinking up creative
alternatives to reward their members for contributing donations
during lockdown. With the usual events such as benefits and exclusive
private views off the table, some institutions, such as the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art, are offering “virtual gatherings,”
live streaming lectures, and other digital content exclusively to
regular donors. Others, such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,
have been pairing musicians with supporters for one-off phone
calls. (Economist)

ART MARKET

Tunisia Mounts Opposition to Auction of Royal Artifacts –
The director of Tunisia’s National
Heritage Institute has called on officials to block the sale of
royal artifacts at the French auction
house Coutau-Bégarie on June 11. They say the more than 100 objects,
including an ancient Quran and ceremonial garments, are private
property that was illegally removed from Tunisia. (TRT)

Phillips Gets Its Highest Total for an Online Sale –
Phillips Asia’s first
cross-category online auction brought in $2.4 million, its highest
total for an online sale yet. Some 628 people registered for the
sale, 56 percent of whom were new to Phillips and 42 percent of
whom were under the age of 40. The top lot was a KAWS
companion, Four Foot
Dissected Companion (Grey), which sold for HKD812,500 ($105,000).
(Press
release)

COMINGS & GOINGS

San José Institute of
Contemporary Art Names Director – Alison Gass
will lead the San José Institute of Contemporary Art, which
celebrates its 40th anniversary this fall. Gass, an alumna of
the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University and the Eli and
Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, most recently
served as head of the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art
from 2017 to 2019. (Artforum)

A New Relief Fund for
Art Critics of
Color – Critical Minded, a
grant-making and educational initiative that supports cultural
critics of color in the United States, has set up a new relief fund
that provides onetime grants of $500 to critics who have lost
income due to the public health situation. Applications will be
accepted until the end of the day on June 8. To learn more about
applying, click here. (Artforum)

FOR ART’S SAKE

How Are Museums
Responding to Civil Unrest? Not Very Well – Several
American museums have come under fire for their lackluster or
tone-deaf response to the historic protests this past week across
the country. The Getty in LA and San Fransisco Museum
of Art came under fire for not mentioning Black Lives Matter in
their social media posts; both have apologized. More museums were
marred by controversy after posting the black square of solidarity
on social media, which inadvertently blocked information for
protesters as well as resources for activists. (ARTnews)

Portraits of Humanity
Shortlist Revealed – Some 36 countries participated
in the annual Portrait of Humanity award. There are 200 shortlisted
images that were taken before lockdown showing a united and
connected world. In September, 100 winners will be chosen and one
work will be projected 111,000 feet above Earth as part
of a collaboration with the company Sent Into Space. Images include
a portrait of Greta Thunberg speaking at a conference, a jockey in
Belgrade, and a barbershop in Havana. (BBC, Guardian)

Paul Mpagi Sepuya Offers
a Relief Print – The Los Angeles artist is offering
an unlimited edition print in exchange for a minimum $250 donation
to specific organizations, including Alliance of Californians for
Community Empowerment, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, and Fair
Fight, among others. With proof of donation, the Chicago-based
gallery Document Space will ship out an unmounted work to donors.
(Hyperallergic)