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The Headlines
US VENICE PAVILION CRUNCH. The US State Department’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs has finally posted a grant inviting applicants to submit their proposals for the country’s Venice Biennale pavilion in 2026, less than 12 months away. But not before a journalist at Vanity Fair asked them why the unusual delay a few hours before the posting appeared. Typically the portal appears about 18 months before the event, but the delay this year prompted speculation that Trump’s administration may even skip the global event. Now that artists can apply for the coveted spot here, writer Nate Freeman also reveals a few “MAGA-fied criteria” added to the listing. Previous language about diversity and promoting “equity and underserved communities” is gone, while applicants are told they must comply with “Federal anti-discrimination laws,” and do “not operate any programs promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” Plus, the portal explains “monitoring site visits” will be included, to “gather additional information on the recipient’s ability to properly implement the project.” Given when the grant was posted, whoever is eventually selected will have to work fast to raise the remaining funding needed to prepare and set up an exhibit in Venice by next April. On your marks!
NEA CANCELS GRANTS, TRUMP PROPOSES ELIMINATING AGENCY. Speaking of President Donald Trump’s chaotic and damaging cultural policies, after he proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the federal agency withdrew or canceled grant offers to arts organizations around the country on Friday night, according to reports. “The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the president,” stated emails announcing the cancellations. “Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities.” As ARTnews’ Francesca Aton reported, the current administration issued a 2026 budget proposal earlier on Friday, that would eliminate the National Endowment for the Humanities, the NEA and other federal agencies supporting the arts. If passed by Congress, the proposal would have immediate re
The Digest
Related Articles
A trove of jewels that were found buried with what are believed to be the physical remains of Buddha are headed to auction at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, but their sale has sparked a heated ethical debate. The relics were excavated by British estate manager William Claxton Peppé from a burial chamber, or stupa, near the Buddha’s birthplace in Uttar Pradesh, northern India in 1898, where they were inscribed and consecrated nearly 2,000 years ago. They amount to about one fifth of the treasures he found there, including bone relics, which he was given permission to take. [BBC]
Michael Werner is opening a second New York gallery with a two-part Sanya Katarovsky show later this week, as ARTnews’ editor-in-chief, Sarah Douglas, reports. [ARTnews].
James Rondeau, the president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago, is taking time off amid an investigation into his behavior on a flight last month. The investigation reportedly stems from an alleged incident that took place on a flight from Chicago to Munich in April, when police were “called to the plane following reports of a passenger stripping off his clothes.” Rondeau was that passenger, according to sources speaking to CBS News. [ARTnews]
A feminist art show featuring photographs by Kamille Lévêque Jégo was vandalized in southern France. Artworks were smashed, and large phalluses were spray-painted onto art pieces and walls of the exhibit titled Cyprine Benzin, which celebrates female empowerment. [France Info]
A large, much-loved bronze sculpture by Scottish artist Eduardo Paolozzi, was stolen from Lehmbruck Museum’s outdoor park in Duisburg, Germany. It is feared that the thieves intended to melt down the 500-kg bronze artwork titled “Egypt,” and sell the material. The sculpture featured an open, inviting, large hand, and has been popular with children who play on it, said a museum spokesperson. [dpa]
Following the resignation of Berlin’s culture senator, Joe Chialo, the city’s governing mayor, Kai Wegner, will replace him, announced managing director of the German Cultural Council, Olaf Zimmermann. [dpa]
The Kicker
JEDI ART TRICKS. What’s up with George Lucas’s over 15-year quest to build a long-delayed museum of narrative art? Puck’s Marion Maneker looks into the director’s “Jedi mind trick” of managing to fire the museum’s director and CEO Sandra Jackson-Dumont, “without causing much of a ripple.” Not for long, as this story would suggest. Maneker takes aim at Lucas, exposing how, “what the museum seems to lack in cohesion and transparency, it makes up for in ego, with its founder’s ultimate mission being to put his movies on par with other art-historical masterpieces.” We never do get to hear about recent developments from the elusive Lucas, but here’s hoping this article, and follow-up reports by investigating journalists, might change that.