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The Headlines
A GULF OF SOFT POWER. Politico reports that Qatar has “cemented its soft power” in the art world, with the country launching an edition of Art Basel in Doha next February. The move, Politico’sCarlo Martuscelli writes, “reflects the growing influence of the Gulf region in the high-end art world, long dominated by Euro-American hubs,” as evinced by its lavish spending “reportedly over $1 billion annually—on iconic artworks, including Cézanne’s The Card Players and Gauguin’s Nafea Faa Ipoipo.” With the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the rear view, the country is expanding its cultural endeavors through global partnerships. This ambition, though, has not come without criticism. Qatar has long faced ongoing scrutiny over labor rights, especially in light of World Cup infrastructure deaths, as well as a European Parliament corruption scandal that some have dubbed “Qatargate.” Critics like artist Gregory Sholette warn that art fairs risk becoming vehicles for political agendas, questioning how much the art world’s elite is complicit in laundering reputations. Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz deflected those criticisms to Politico, praising Qatar’s “visionary” cultural investments.
Related Articles
POWER TO THE PEOPLE. London’s National Gallery has announced that it’s going to engage with the public by way of a new initiative called NG Citizens, a representative panel, initially of 50 people, which will advise the museum on its future policy and direction. Or as the museum puts it, “NG Citizens represents a bold step toward public participation, cementing the gallery as a pioneer in audience inclusion and setting a new standard for how national cultural institutions engage with the people they serve.” In her latest column for the London Standard, Melanie McDonagh writes, “In general, if someone mentions the words Citizen’s Assembly, just assume the worst. Whatever it is, it will be a buck-passing, backside-covering, partisan and annoying exercise in an institution – usually a government – trying to get through whatever measures it had in mind to begin with, only with the supposed sanction of the public.” The National Gallery will choose its panelists via lottery by November, with 20 of them being embedded in the gallery’s decision making for the next five years.
The Digest
Ronald Perelman’s $410 million art damage lawsuit is nearing a verdict. Summary arguments have been filed in a contentious dispute stemming from a 2018 fire at Perelman’s East Hamptons estate. [Artnet News]
The Brooklyn Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and New York’s Museum of Modern Art are set to share 63 Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and modern artworks from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation. [The Art Newspaper / ARTnews ]
Read about how an exchange between psychoanalyst Jamieson Webster and performance artist P. Staff in the dimly lit Aspen Chapel “echoed through the rest of Aspen Art Week.” [Interview Magazine]
The Tate is coming under increasing fire, with critics slating its programming, management, and declining attendance. Now ArtReview has weighed in with an essay titled “Why No One Likes the Tate Anymore.” [ArtReview]
The Kicker
THE CASE OF THE MISSING EGGPLANTS. Eggplants from Still Life (1992/2025), an installation by artist Suzann Victor at the National Gallery Singapore (NGS), are going missing, the Straits Times reports. The artwork, featuring 200 real eggplants mounted on a wall, is part of the gallery’s revamped exhibition, “Singapore Stories: Pathways And Detours In Art.” While the vegetables are meant to decompose naturally and be replaced regularly, several have been stolen before they had a chance to go rotten. Clear signs have since been installed to discourage tampering with the artwork, and gallery staff now monitor the installation regularly to ensure its integrity. L ocated on the museum’s second floor, extending into a transitional walkway space, the NGS noted that the artwork has “aroused unusual curiosity,” with many visitors photographing and interacting with it closely. However, some people have comment online accusing the museum of wasting food.