In Brief: Hatton gallery to reopen after £3.8m refurbishment; Platform Graduate Award 2017 shortlist

Newcastle’s Hatton gallery to reopen after £3.8m refurbishment The gallery containing influential post-war British modernist art will reopen on Friday 8 October after being closed for refurbishment for two years – it returns with an exhibition exploring the role Newcastle played in the rise of pop art. Also on show will be Kurt Schwitters’s restored Merz Barn wall, a modernist masterpiece that was rescued and installed at the Hatton in 1965.

Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi appointed head of International Biennial Association The director of the Sharjah Art Foundation takes over from Yongoo Lee as head of the International Biennial Association, which will move its headquarters from Gwangju, Korea to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

Guggenheim Museum pulls three artworks featuring animals after threats of violence Works in an exhibition of Chinese art that included reptiles eating insects and dogs on a treadmill have been removed from a show in New York following an outcry. The Guggenheim has been embroiled in controversy since the show was publicised, with animal rights groups calling for the works to be pulled. However, a number of artists, including Ai Weiwei, have criticised the museum for removing the works.

CVAN South East announce shortlist for Platform Graduate Award 2017 Five artists are up for the award which includes a £2,500 bursary towards the development of the artist’s practice and bespoke mentoring from artist Jonathan Parsons. The artists are: Sophie Barber (University of Brighton at Sussex Coast College Hastings), nominated by De La Warr Pavilion; Elizabeth Cahill (University of Hertfordshire), nominated by MK Gallery; Nathan Caldecott (Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford), nominated by Modern Art Oxford; Stephen Foy-Philp (Canterbury Christ Church University), nominated by Turner Contemporary; Svetlana Ochkovskaya (Southampton Solent University), nominated by Aspex.

Dissident West African cartoonist arrested Ramón Esono Ebalé – better known by his pen name, Jamón y Queso – has frequently taken on the nation’s ruler, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, in his work. In 2011, Esono left for Paraguay to continue making his provocative, politically-charged cartoons. He had reportedly returned to Equatorial Guinea to renew his passport when he was arrested.

Berlin’s Volksbühne Theater occupied by activists The group Dust to Glitter occupied the theatre to protest against gentrification of the city. Sarah Waterfield, one of Dust to Glitter’s organisers, said: “We are doing this action because rising rents are making it increasingly difficult for artists to live and work in Berlin.” Police eventually raided the theatre, ending the six-day occupation. The Volksbühne has been the focus of artists’ protests since the appointment of former Tate Modern director Chris Dercon as its new head in 2015, with fears that his tenure would threaten the theatre’s radical, uncompromising approach.

After earthquake, Mexico City’s art community takes stock of the damage Some galleries suffered severe damage, whilst others turned their spaces into relief centres. Meanwhile, the city’s biggest art fair came under fire for going ahead with its scheduled VIP opening on the night of the quake.

Nicole Eisenman’s work at Skulptur Projekte Munster vandalised for the second time The work, which consists of a group of five androgynous bronze-and-plaster figures placed around a basin, was spray-painted with a swastika, a phallus and other signs. The attack happened on the eve of the German federal election on Sunday 24 September, which saw the far-right AfD party getting 13% of the vote, entering the parliament for the first time in its history.

Artist, writer and educator Edward Allington dies The artist and Slade School of Fine Art lecturer died on 21 September. Born 1951 in Cumbria, Allington’s work is represented in major collections, including Arts Council England, Tate, Henry Moore Institute, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the British Museum. He was also commissioned to create various public sculptures in the UK, Germany and France.

Images:
1. Kurt Schwitters, Mz. 299 für V.J. Kuron [Mz. 299 for V.J. Kuron], 1921. Drawing, collage on paper, 18 x 14.5 cm. Collection: National Galleries of Scotland, bequeathed by Gabrielle Keiller 1995. © DACS 2016. Photo: Antonia Reeve
2. Installation view, Sophie Barber, 2017 © De La Warr Pavilion. Photo: Rob Harris; Installation view, Elizabeth Cahill, 2017. Image courtesy the Artist; Render Stations, Nathan Caldecott, 2017 © Modern Art Oxford. Photo: Stu Allsopp; Installation view, Stephen Foy-Philp, 2017. Image courtesy the Artist; G Planet installation view, Svetlana Ochkovskaya, 2017. Image courtesy the Artist

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