Art Industry News: Austria’s Culture Minister Resigns Following Criticism of Her Vague, Tight-Fisted Response to the Pandemic + Other Stories

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 Friday, May
15.

NEED-TO-READ

Chemical Factory Explosion Sends Smoke Over Venice
– An explosion at a chemicals factory on the edge of
the Venice lagoon on Friday morning sent a cloud of toxic smoke
into the air. According to local news reports, there were two
casualties. The fire is now under control, but the Venice town
council has told people to stay indoors, keep windows closed, and
not eat food grown in kitchen gardens to avoid the pollution.
(The Art
Newspaper)

Could Curators Become
Obsolete? – Art in America wonders: at a
time when museums are under unprecedented strain and artificial
intelligence is becoming ever more sophisticated, could AI
create “a curatomaton”? It could be that, rather
than spending two years visiting artist studios, a robo-curator
could scan art periodicals, galleries, and art-fair websites to
build shows based on particular themes in a fraction of the time.
(If you think that sounds dystopian, just see what AI is already
doing in the art market.) “Only by trusting in their eyes and
hearts will today’s curators have a slim chance to outsmart
machines,” the authors write. (Art in
America)

Austria’s Culture Minister Steps Down
– Austria’s culture minister, Ulrike Lunacek, stepped
down from her post after less than four months on the job amid
criticism of the government’s pandemic response toward the arts
sector. Lunacek, who previously focused on foreign and
European policy and had little experience in culture, said in a
televised address that she is “making way for someone else who can
hopefully achieve more than I have in this crisis situation.” Her
administration has been criticized for failing to come up with a
clear procedure for the easing of lockdown measures and failing to
offer significant financial relief to artists. (TAN)

Are We in a New Era of Gallery Collaboration? –
Beloved New York dealer Mitchell
Algus writes that the gallery system is at “an evolutionary
bottleneck and its genetic structure is about to change in
unforeseen ways.” The Lower East Side dealer is not all that
impressed by David Zwirner’s online
platform for smaller dealers, which Algus calls a form of
selective breeding. He hopes to see more projects like Jeffrey Deitch’s
GalleryPlatform.LA, especially in New York, where there has
been little collaboration. “A merger of the NADA and ADAA art
fairs, just in the virtual realm—could be helpful,” he
muses. (ARTnews)

ART MARKET

Photo London Will Open
in October – As the fate of many autumn fairs remains up
in the air, Photo London—which normally takes place in May—is
forging ahead with plans to reschedule for October, coinciding with Frieze on
October 7 to 11. It will temporarily relocate to Gray’s Inn Gardens
while its usual venue, Somerset House, is occupied by the 1-54
African art fair. Organizers are planning timed entry, a
mask-on policy, and one-directional visitor flow to keep things
safe and socially distanced. (The Art
Newspaper)

Vortic Announces Participating Galleries
– The son of Victoria Miro, Oliver Miro, has announced a
top-notch lineup of participating dealers for his new virtual
platform Vortic, which allows galleries to create
virtual-reality exhibitions using 3D-scanning technology.
Participating dealers include: Galleria Continua, Pilar Corrias,
Goodman Gallery, Lehmann Maupin, and David Zwirner, among
others. (Press
release)

JD Malat Launches a Competition for an Exhibition –
Auctioneer Simon de Pury and artist Gavin Turk are on the
selection committee for a summer group show organized by the London
contemporary art gallery JD Malat. Some 20 UK-based artists will be
chosen for “Isolation Mastered.” (Press release)

COMINGS & GOINGS

Cécile Debray Renamed Head of the Musée de l’Orangerie –
Cécile Debray’s contract as head of
the Musée de l’Orangerie, the temple of Impressionism in the
Tuileries Gardens in Paris, has been renewed. The 54-year-old
curator was first appointed in 2017, and will now continue in the
prestigious role for a further three years. (Journal des Arts)

Yerba Buena Center Announces Artist Power Center –
San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center
for the Arts has launched a new hotline and digital platform called
the Artist Power Center to help struggling artists and culture
workers. It aims to connect them to funding opportunities through a
constantly updated database and full-time phone support in both
English and Spanish. (Artforum)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Artangel Supports Early-Career Artists During Lockdown –
The UK arts body Artangel has
partnered with the Freelands Foundation on a new initiative to
support early-career artists called “Thinking Time.” Twenty artists
between the ages of 20 and 50 will be given £5,000, along with
mentoring from Artangel—all with the goal of providing them the
opportunity to research and reflect. Selected artists include
Cécile B. Evans, Maeve Brennan, and Rosalie Schweiker.
(Press
release)

Here’s How Canada’s $500 Million Emergency Relief Fund Breaks
Down – Canada’s government has
announced how its $500 million
emergency relief for culture, heritage, and sports
will be distributed. A total of
$198.3 million will go directly to arts and culture organizations
that already receive funding from Canadian Heritage; $53 million
will be administered to the heritage sector; and $55 million will
be given out by Canada Council for the Arts. The remaining funds
will go towards the digital and audiovisual sector as well as
need-based funding. (Press release)

Hans-Ulrich Obrist Partners With Google – The omnipresent
curator has partnered with
Google Arts & Culture to share his “do it” initiative globally. The
27-year-old project, now called “do it (around the world)” asks
artists to come up with a set of instructions, known as “word
scores,” that can be completed by anyone. (ARTnews)

The post Art Industry News: Austria’s Culture Minister
Resigns Following Criticism of Her Vague, Tight-Fisted Response to
the Pandemic + Other Stories appeared first on artnet
News.