Visual arts

Tate Liverpool is seeking architects to lead a £25m renovation project.

A tender notice says the three-and-a-half year redevelopment of the Albert Docks site will "reimagine the gallery spaces to meet the scale and ambition of today's most exciting artists".

The Tate wants its gallery to "better connect with the city and its communities, creating an environment that is flexible and inviting and able to host people, art and ideas in equal part".

£10m has already been contributed via the Government's Levelling Up Fund for the works, expected to complete in December 2025.

A non-fungible token (NFT) by an artist collective has sold for a record-breaking US$91.8m (£69.3m).

The Merge was bought by more than 28,000 people on Saturday (December 11), potentially making it the most expensive ever work by a living artist.

A Jeff Koons sculpture titled Rabbit sold for $91m in 2019; however, it was only one object.

The Merge, created by collective Pak, could become a single digital work. Buyers receive a single (NFT) with the accumulated mass of units purchased and anyone who sells their units will see them destroyed, consolidating the artwork's value over time.

Swansea’s Glynn Vivian Art Gallery has become the UK’s first Art Gallery of Sanctuary.

The distinction is awarded by City of Sanctuary UK to community groups, private organisations and public sector services that demonstrate a special commitment to inclusivity.

The council-owned gallery offers weekly art sessions led by and for refugees and people seeking asylum in the local community.

Thanuja Hettiarachchi, Coordinator of Swansea City of Sanctuary’s 10th anniversary programme, said the Glynn Vivian does everything it can to include sanctuary seekers in all its activities.

City of Sanctuary UK Chief Officer Siân Summers-Rees added: “The Glynn Vivian reflects our concept of sanctuary in arts so well."

Stand and Be Counted was the UK's first Theatre Company of Sanctuary, with others including the Young Vic, Belgrade Theatre, and Leeds Playhouse following suit.

London's Courtauld Gallery has reopened to the public following a three year, £57m refurbishment.

Closed in 2018 for renovations, the Somerset House site has retained its original 18th Century staircases and added improved exhibition spaces for its impressionist and post-impressionist collections.

"We feel we’ve earned a bit of good luck in three years of closure that had its challenges, including Covid," head of the gallery Ernst Vegelin van Claerbergen said.

"We hope London and England and the UK will feel that this is a place they absolutely want to come to see and it’s the right time and in the right spirit of the moment."

Sixty-seven individuals associated with the National Gallery's history had connections to slavery and abolition, research has found.

Launched in 2018, the gallery's project is reviewing whether its historical collectors, trustees, donors, painters and founders benefited from the slave trade, or had links to slavery and the abolitionist movement.

It has covered years 1824 to 1880 thus far, finding a further 79 individuals with no relation to slavery or abolition.

The work is a collaboration with University College London’s Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery, who are creating an online archive to present the data.

Work has begun on the project’s third phase, covering years 1880 to 1920, before a final phase investigating picture owners from 1640 is launched. 

British robot artist Ai-Da has opened an exhibition and sculpture trail at Egypt’s pyramids after being held up at the country's border for 10 days.

The world’s first artificially intelligent humanoid robot was detained by Egyptian authorities on suspicion of espionage, with officials concerned about the robot’s modem and eye cameras.

“The whole situation is ironic, because the goal of Ai-Da was to highlight and warn of the abuse of technological development, and she’s being held because she is technology,” creator Aidan Meller commented.
 
The Forever Is Now exhibition features Ai-Da’s Immortal Riddle, a two-metre-tall self portrait sculpture of a mummified robot in a sarcophagus.

Running until November 7, the exhibition is the first art show to take place at the Pyramids of Egypt.

Manchester’s Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA) is recruiting a new director following the resignation of Zoe Dunbar, its director of seven years.

Recruitment for a new Community Development and Engagement Manager and new trustees is also under way.

In September, the art gallery said it would set targets for staff and board members of Chinese heritage after facing accusations of “organisational yellowface”.

The announcement came after a working group contracted to address the allegations disbanded before final recommendations were submitted, citing racist attitudes at board level.

The organisation's interim director, Thanh Sinden, is of East Asian descent.

Current Chair of the Board of Trustees Nick Buckley Wood said the centre has been through a “difficult” time.

“But we have learned vital lessons that will prepare us for a much stronger future. I am looking forward to bringing new trustees on board as we prepare to open to the public next year.”

Art Fund has announced the first wave of winners for its £2m Reimagine grants programme.

Twenty-two museums, galleries, historic houses and trusts have been awarded a share of £658,331.

Nine organisations have been awarded grants between £5,000 and £15,000, with a further 13 receiving funding up to £50,000.

The programme, which helps projects and networks "navigate their way to recovery" from the pandemic, prioritised applications focused on collections, digital work, audience engagement and the workforce.

Winning bids included a transatlantic slavery project led by National Museums Liverpool, a captioning project by Nottingham Contemporary, and 'Minecraft Museum', a project marrying gaming and curation at The Story Museum.

Visual arts nework CVAN will received funding to strengthen its advocacy and professional development work.

"Museums often produce what seem like miracles on a shoestring, but they need enhanced resources – such as in digital, specialist support and staffing – to truly build for the future," Art Fund Director Jenny Waldman said.

Grant winners for the second wave of funding will be announced in November, with the final round scheduled for December.