Tristram Hunt to quit as MP to become V&A director The Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central has been appointed by the V&A trustees as the museum’s new director, replacing Martin Roth who resigned in September. The former shadow education secretary and historian’s departure from politics will trigger a byelection.
Lawrence Weiner and Laurie Anderson awarded Wolf Prize Musician, film director and artist Anderson shares $100,000 in prize money with conceptual artist Weiner. Known as the ‘Israeli Nobel Prize’, the award aims to celebrate achievements across the arts and sciences.
Cindy Sherman, Richard Serra and Joan Jonas back J20 Art Strike on Inauguration Day More than 130 artists and critics have signed a petition calling for an ‘art strike’ on Friday 20 January, the day of president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. However, a number of cultural institutions around the country, including the Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1, have pledged to maintain their regular hours on the day.
Maria Lassnig Foundation awards inaugural art prize to Glasgow-based artist Cathy Wilkes The Belfast-born artist, known for her haunting sculptural installations utilising found objects, is the first to receive the new biennial prize which will see her create a solo show for MoMA PS1, New York.
Paris’s Grand Palais to temporarily close for renovations Venue which houses a trio of major art fairs – La Biennale Paris, Paris Photo, and FIAC – will close in 2020 for two years for major renovations. Alternative locations for these fairs and other events will be announced later in 2017.
Bangor University faces calls to continue fine arts course More than 700 people have signed an online petition calling on Bangor University to reconsider plans to discontinue its fine arts courses. Currently 35 part-time students are on six degree courses taught by 18 part-time tutors, all practicing artists.
Three artists selected to live and work in Alexander Calder’s Loire Valley studio The three-month Atelier Calder residencies, organised by the US-based Calder Foundation, provide artists who produce three-dimensional works with a stipend for living expenses, funding and technical support to create new work. The artists selected are: Abbas Akhavan, Rochelle Goldberg and Eva Kot’átková.
Poland clamps down on overseas cultural institutes The country’s right-wing government, which came to power in 2015, is said to be imposing its political views on the arts, dismissing the directors of cultural institutes in Berlin, New York, Stockholm, New Delhi and Vienna.
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