Front Page of the Art World: What’s Hot & What’s Not — 25 March 2022
The Oscars are on Sunday! Mana enhancing films, a Time magazine cover, a biennale, a triennial and €1 million for Ukrainian artists. Plus - spot me in Stuff this weekend!
Oh my, it has been a busy and wonderful week here in Auckland - some fabulous arts events launched as Omicron subsides. We have been hungry to be in real spaces with each other for a long while, and doing so has been a joyful celebration of the arts in Aotearoa.
On Thursday I attended the pre-opening of Auckland Art Gallery Toi ō Tāmaki’s new exhibition, Declaration: A Pacific Feminist Agenda - curated by Ane Tonga - which looks at feminism through a Pacific lens. The exhibition opens to the public today!
A favourite highlight was viewing art together - whether it’s in NZ or NY - with Derek McCormack, the outgoing Vice Chancellor of Auckland University of Technology - a sponsor of the exhibition. Derek, you will be missed!
On Wednesday I was at Alvarium, sponsor of Art in the Park Auckland at Eden Park. Great philanthropists in the space of education through The Princes Trust New Zealand - who are now supporting the arts! I was joined by my dear friend Professor Pare Keiha, member of the Princes Trust Board.
Art advisor feature in Stuff - featuring yours truly!
A new piece unpacking ‘What is an art advisor?’ is in today’s edition of Your Weekend by Stuff - featuring yours truly! Nadine Rubin Nathan has profiled a few art advisors and asked their top tips and insights. Read the story from Stuff.
On the front page of art world news this week…
1. Madeleine Albright, First Woman to Serve as Secretary of State, Dies at 84
She rose to power and fame as a brilliant analyst of world affairs before serving as an aggressive advocate of President Bill Clinton’s policies.
The former Secretary of State was known for using her jewellery to send a message. In light of the news of her passing, take a look back on her best brooches over the decades. (View Albright’s self-described “devious” pins in Town and Country)
Read the story from the New York Times.
2. JR creates giant photo installation of five-year-old Ukrainian refugee Valeriia in city of Lviv
JR’s work and ethos is close to my heart. During April, 2018, I produced a series of roundtables and conversations there as co-founder of #UNLOAD. The following year, I brought JR to Connecticut and exhibited JR & TIME Magazine collaborative "Guns in America" projection to Fairfield University's Quick Center in Fairfield, CT.
Today Saturday 26 March - JR’s NFT project is NOW LIVE.
CAN ART CHANGE THE WAR? A SOLIDARITY NFT PROJECT FOR UKRAINE. Learn more about the project.
I have exciting news to share: You can now read The ArtCafé Blog with Helen Klisser During in the new Substack app for iPhone.
With the app, you’ll have a dedicated Inbox for my Substack and any others you subscribe to. New posts will never get lost in your email filters, or stuck in spam. Longer posts will never cut-off by your email app. Comments and rich media will all work seamlessly. Overall, it’s a big upgrade to the reading experience.
The Substack app is currently available for iOS. If you don’t have an Apple device, you can join the Android waitlist here.
3. Winners Announced For The 2021 Apra Silver Scroll Awards | Kaitito Kaiaka
Congratulations to ALL those involved - and a special congratulations to our dear Arli Liberman who won Best Original Music in a Film Award | Tohu Pūmanawa for his incredible soundtrack of Savage.
4. Chelsea Winstanley on producing mana enhancing films and redefining success
Chelsea Winstanley won the NZ Film and Television Mana Wāhine Award in 2015. Seven years on, every project this wahine Māori film-maker touches is mana enhancing, Angela Barnett discovers. Read the story from Stuff.
5. The 2022 Oscars are the Sunday! Everything you need to know.
6. The Hall Art Foundation announces its new season at Reading, Vermont
Open seasonally, May through November, on weekends. 21 May - 27 November 2022. See what’s coming up for the upcoming season!
7. In Pictures: See Highlights From the Wildly Ambitious Sydney Biennale, Where Artists Are Reconsidering Our Relationship to Water
The city-sprawling art event is on view through June 13. Read the story from Artnet.
9. Hawai‘i Triennial 2022 Emphasizes Local Culture in a Global Exhibition
The title of the exhibition is “Pacific Century – E Ho‘omau no Moananuiākea” - the first time the exhibition’s title is in Hawaiian. Read the story from Artsy.
10. She Discovered What Happened to 400 Dutch Jews Who Disappeared
In a new exhibition, Wally de Lang, a Dutch historian, has tracked what happened to each of the men rounded up in the first Nazi raids on Dutch Jews, whose fates have largely been a mystery for decades. Read the story from the New York Times.
11. The private life of Andy Warhol from T to V - Judith Benhamou Reports
Read the report from Judith Benhamou.
12. Certificates of Authenticity, Explained
“While certificates of authenticity are often debatable and of little actual worth on their own—having no financial backing or warranty—they can become much more valuable when coupled with provenance and technical investigation: scientific analysis put into context with technical art history.” Read the guide from Artsy.
13. NFTs promised to revolutionise the art world—but are galleries on board?
14. The Artist Is Present—Again: Marina Abramović Is Restaging Her Best-Known Performance to Benefit Ukraine
All proceeds will go to Direct Relief’s Ukraine aid efforts. Read the story from Artnet.
15. France has earmarked €1 million for Ukrainian artists
The French culture ministry is offering refugee artists (and their families) three-month residencies as well as grants for research and performances. The new €1 million fund will also support Russian dissident artists who have been “forced into exile.” (The Art Newspaper)
16. 15 ways museums could be better - according to Isabella Segalovich!
The vast majority of museums have a long way to go before we can truly say that they are welcoming for anyone and everyone to visit. “If I love museums so much, why do I often leave feeling … well, kinda pissed off?” Read the opinion piece by Isabella Segalovich on Hyperallergic.