Category: visual

“Ran Ortner of Brooklyn, N.Y., has won the $250,000 first prize in the inaugural edition of ArtPrize, the contemporary art competition in Grand Rapids that dispensed with a traditional jury of experts in favor of choosing the winner by public vote.”

“It was a moment that went a long way to putting Afghanistan and its cultural heritage back on the map. … Afghan dignitaries and western diplomats squeezed past each other to see into the display cases: bronze age digging implements, pieces of carved marble and elaborate metal goods spanning Afghanistan’s rich history.”

“Exhibitions by the Gao brothers, whose work the authorities find politically challenging, have been shut down in the past, and their studio has been raided.” So they turn to tactics such as underground shows (disguised as parties) and disguisable sculptures (like a satirical sculpture of Mao with a removable head).

St. Petersburg “officials say the 77-story building will be an architectural masterpiece. An architectural preservation society say it will be ‘monstrous.’ U.N. cultural authorities say the skyscraper could threaten the city’s U.N. World Heritage Site status.”

“The designation covers the original mural-bedecked 1963 tower, the square annex, and the plaza — emblazoned with Bacardi’s trademark bat — between them.” The Biscayne Boulevard buildings are “widely regarded as architectural and engineering masterworks, and among the most distinctive of Miami’s modern structures.”

The nonprofit Aga Khan Trust for Culture “is working to preserve Afghanistan’s heritage for those who live among it.” While it’s “best known for its restoration of Baghe-Babur, or Babur’s Gardens, now once again a popular Kabuli park,” it “has been working quietly … on projects that few besides the residents of the neighborhood see.”

“One of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s biggest wishes for its expansion and renovation project has been granted: It will receive up to $75 million in income over 10 years from four funds designated for the purchase of art.” A probate court granted permission to deviate from the purpose of the funds on Wednesday.

“Egypt said Wednesday that its antiquities department had severed ties with the Louvre Museum, because it had refused to return what the Egyptians say are stolen artifacts.” The decision “means that no archaeological expeditions connected to the Louvre will be allowed to work in Egypt.”

“At a packed hearing, the Philadelphia Art Commission gave unanimous approval this morning to the overall design concept for a new Barnes Foundation building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, virtually clearing the way for construction to begin as early as November.”