St. Thomas Source: V.I. Curator and Arts Advocate Launches Online Archive. “Virgin Islands curator and arts advocate Priscilla Hintz Rivera Knight has launched the USVICOVID19ARTS online archive portal. This online archive seeks to support artists in archiving, preserving and making accessible – virtually and to the public – U.S. Virgin Islands visual and literary artistic responses to the COVID-19 global pandemic.”
New York Times: Facing Deficit, Met Considers Selling Art to Help Pay the Bills. “Facing a potential shortfall of $150 million because of the pandemic, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has begun conversations with auction houses and its curators about selling some artworks to help pay for care of the collection.”
National Gallery of Art: National Gallery of Art Announces New Original Podcast Series. “The National Gallery of Art announced today a new podcast series that explores the relationship between visual art and music: Sound Thoughts on Art. Journalist, author, and musician Celeste Headlee hosts the podcast. Each episode features Headlee in conversation with a musician who has chosen a work of art from the National Gallery’s collection and responded to it using sound. Headlee also talks with a museum expert, who describes the work and provides art historical context.”
University of New Mexico: UNM Art Museum offers new virtual exhibit. “‘Hindsight/Insight: Reflecting on the Collection’ highlights over 30 artworks acquired since the museum was founded in 1962. This is the first in an ongoing series of exhibitions and programs celebrating The University of New Mexico Art Museum’s dedication to developing a teaching collection.”
National Gallery of Art: National Gallery of Art Announces Launch of Kress Collection Digital Archive. “The National Gallery of Art today announces the launch of the Kress Collection Digital Archive, an online resource documenting the history and development of an important collection of nearly 3,500 works of art. The Kress Collection was divided and donated years ago to almost 100 institutions throughout the United States, including the National Gallery of Art.”
Artnet: Want to Learn More About Black Artists During Black History Month? Here’s a List of Resources to Get You Started. “In honor of Black History Month, we put together a list of what social media accounts to follow, videos and films to watch, and books to read to catch yourself up on Black art history. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, and of course there are many other ways to learn. But for those looking for a way in, here are some suggestions on where you can begin.”
The A&T Register: 4 Virtual Black art exhibits to see for Black History Month. “It is important to not only take the time to honor the African Americans who made a tremendous impact in our country’s social, civil and political history, but to also honor the African American artists who have created remarkable, awe-inspiring visuals of the Black experience in America. Listed below are a few virtual Black art exhibits to see for Black History Month and beyond.”
Associated Press: Famed medieval Bayeux Tapestry goes online – every thread. “The world-famous medieval Bayeux Tapestry may be off-limits to visitors because of the coronavirus pandemic, but its keepers have put a digital version online so the public can enjoy its fabled cloth from the safety of home. At nearly 70 meters (77 yards) long, users may have to be skilled at using the scroll function of their computers.”
New York Times: Cheech Marin’s Chicano Art Museum Is to Open This Fall. “In the mid-1980s, Marin, buoyed by a burgeoning film career, made the leap from merely admiring Rembrandts and Vermeers in museums to acquiring work. A third-generation Mexican-American, he focuses on Chicano artists, and has amassed one of the largest such collections in the world. Now, his more than 700 paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures will have a permanent home in the former Riverside, Calif., public library.”
Denver Post: Who owns Denver Art Museum’s art? City audit says it’s unclear on some works.. “Who owns Denver Art Museum’s artwork? A recent audit from the city and county of Denver raised questions about the ownership of certain works, even as the city and museum officials deny the need to act on the audit’s conclusions.”
Classic FM: Want to know what colour sounds like? New Google tool lets you experience synaesthesia. “An almost psychedelic new Google tool lets you ‘hear colours and shapes’, as many great artists do. Most of us think of yellow as the colour of the sun. Red, perhaps the colour of a tomato, and blue, that of a clear sky. But what if you could actually hear colour?”
Nerdist: Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night Is the Newest LEGO Set. “LEGO Ideas has announced its newest batch of fan submissions that will be produced and sold. The small group includes a set designed by Truman Cheng. It pays tribute to both Vincent van Gogh and one of his most famous pieces by turning ‘The Starry Night’ painting into a three-dimensional work unto itself.”
New York Times: Mona Lisa Is Alone, but Still Smiling. “From her bulletproof case in the Louvre Museum, Mona Lisa’s smile met an unfamiliar sight the other morning: Emptiness. The gallery where throngs of visitors swarmed to ogle her day after day was a void, deserted under France’s latest coronavirus confinement. Around the corner, the Winged Victory of Samothrace floated quietly above a marble staircase, majestic in the absence of selfie-sticks and tour groups. In the Louvre’s medieval basement, the Great Sphinx of Tanis loomed in the dark like a granite ghost from behind bars. Yet out of the rare and monumental stillness, sounds of life were stirring in the Louvre’s great halls.”
Vanity Fair: The Best Online Art Exhibitions to Explore During Lockdown. “Relentless rain, January blues and a mysterious lack of novelty bakes on our Instagram feeds—the U.K.’s third lockdown is proving undeniably dreary. But as we reach for our favourite sweatshirt-and-leggings ensemble and prepare for more laptop-fuelled weekends, we can thank museums and galleries around the world for keeping our cultural appetites satiated. We’ve delved into the art scene to find more online offerings, so settle in for another round of well-deserved virtual escapism.”
