In Brief: Deutsche Börse Photography Prize shortlist; artist launches 1m² private members’ club

Shortlist announced for Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2018  The four artists shortlisted for the 2018 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2018 are: Mathieu Asselin, Rafal Milach, Batia Suter and Luke Willis Thompson.

The prize organisers said that while the nominees were “wide-ranging in [their] style and approach” all of the projects they were shortlisted for “reflect a shared concern with the production and manipulation of knowledge and systems of representation through visual formats”.

The £30,000 prize rewards a living photographer, of any nationality, for a specific body of work in an exhibition or publication in Europe. The only UK-based project for the 2018 award is from Kiwi artist Luke Willis Thompson who has been nominated for his Chisenhale Gallery exhibition, ‘Autoportrait’, which featured a silent, 35mm film portrait of Diamond Reynolds, whose partner Philando Castile was shot dead by a police officer during a traffic-stop in Minnesota, United States.

Works by the shortlisted photographers will be exhibited at The Photographers’ Gallery from 23 February 2018. The winner will be announced on 17 May 2018 in London.

Business as usual for museums funded by Sackler opioid money? Museums funded by the Sackler family are apparently unmoved by an investigation published recently in the New Yorker which revealed the family’s wealth largely derives from the sale of OxyContin, a controversial and highly addictive opioid. Museums in the US and UK have benefited from the family’s philanthrophy, including the V&A and Serpentine Galleries. A statement from the V&A said: “The Sackler family continue to be an important and valuable donor to the V&A and we are grateful for their ongoing support.”

Industrial Strategy criticised for ignoring threats to creative industries The UK government’s Industrial Strategy has been criticised for being ‘short-sighted’ and ignoring challenges facing the creative industries. John Kampfner, chief executive of the Creative Industries Federation, said: “There are a number of positive measures, such as funding for place-based cultural development and growing audiences, but the strategy needs to be much more ambitious and far-sighted… more concrete action is needed around education and skills development and to mitigate the impact of Brexit, which could result in the haemorrhaging of talent that is vital to the wider economy.”

Artist Tom Pope launches ‘the most exclusive private members’ club in the world’ Launching 2 December at artist-led space ArtLacuna in London, Tom Pope’s One Square Club is a new project developed through funding from The Artists Fund, a pilot programme set up in 2016 by a-n, Artquest and DACS to distribute small awards to UK-based visual artists. The Club is a one square metre premises offering ‘premium facilities’, including a bar and events such as live music and live comedy, all available to one member at a time, with membership lasting just one day. Built in a bespoke wooden shipping crate, the club is designed to travel to different cities and countries, with a membership fee influenced by the average market value of purchasing one square metre of property at the prospective members’ requested location.

Controversy as German exhibition about Jewish art dealer forced to sell works by Nazis is cancelled The surprise cancellation by the mayor of Dusseldorf of the museum exhibition ‘Max Stern: From Dusseldorf to Montreal’ has attracted international criticism. The show, about the Jewish art dealer Max Stern and the restitution of paintings that the Nazis forced him to sell in 1937, was due to open in February 2018. The director of the Max Stern Art Restitution Project, Clarence Epstein, said: “Düsseldorf already once expunged Max Stern from history. It is now happening again, with little resistance from those within Germany who are able to stop it.”

Images:
1. Rafał Milach, Anaklia, Georgia (c)  2013. Courtesy: the artist
2. Luke Willis Thompson, Autoportrait, 2017Installation view, Chisenhale Gallery 2017. Commissioned by Chisenhale Gallery and produced in partnership with Create.Courtesy of the artist.Photo: Andy Keate

More on a-n.co.uk: