Week in Review is a weekly collection of news, developments, and stirrings in the art world. Subscribe to receive these posts as a weekly newsletter.
Repatriation of Stolen Human Remains
At the urging of activists and students, the Penn Museum vowed to repatriate the stolen skulls of enslaved people in its Morton Collection.
Mississippi returned the stolen remains of Chickasaw people as part of the largest return of stolen Native American antiquities in the state’s history.
Digital Databases
Enslaved.org, the first online slavery database which houses millions of records related to more than 600,000 enslaved people and their descendants, emancipation activists, and enslavers, received a $1.4 million grant from the Mellon Foundation.
The Louvre is digitizing the depths of its collection, uploading 482,000 artworks from different curatorial departments, with new uploads every day.
Museums
A survey by the American Alliance of Museums found that museum workers, especially BIPOC, have suffered “a grave toll on their mental health and wellbeing” due to the pandemic.
Activists convened near MoMA to stage the first in-person protest of their “10 Weeks of Art, Action, and Conversation.”
A leaked email from MoMA director Glenn Lowry reveals internal conversations about the “Strike MoMA” campaign, accusing the activists of attempting to “‘[disassemble]’ MoMA and all museums so they no longer exist.”
In Other News
A Google Doodle on April 13 celebrated the Metropolitan Museum’s 151st anniversary.
After facing backlash online and from the Cambodian Ministry of Culture, VICE removed edited photos of Cambodian genocide victims who were altered to appear smiling.
The first-ever exhibition of Israeli artists in the United Arab Emirates faces calls for boycott by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.
Transitions
Eunice Bélidor was named curator of contemporary art at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Jemma Desai was named Head of Programming of the 17th Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival.
Erika Dilday was named executive director of American Documentary Inc.
Denise Gardner was elected chair of the Art Institute of Chicago’s board of trustees.
Jaynie Miller Studenmund joined the Getty’s board of trustees.
Awards & Accolades
Binta Ayofemi, Alex J. Bledsoe, Leticia Hernández, My-Linh Le, Nikiko Masumoto, Ayodele Nzinga, Hasain Rasheed, Darryl Ratcliff, Dorothy Santos, and Deanna Van Buren were selected as Yerba Buena Center for the Arts fellows. | Hyperallergic
The winners of this year’s Sony World Photography Awards have been announced. | Hyperallergic
In Memoriam
Edwin E. Aguilar (1974–2021), animator for The Simpsons and Edge of Seventeen | Deadline
Martina Batan (1958–2021), New York art dealer | New York Times
Giancarlo DiTrapano (1974–2021), independent publisher and founder of Tyrant Books | New York Times
Donald P. Ryder (1926–2021), architect and co-founder of Bond Ryder & Associates, which designed the Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Studio Museum in Harlem | The Grio
Benita Raphan (1962–2021), experimental filmmaker | Antelope Valley Press
Earl Simmons, aka DMX (1962–2021), rapper and actor | Rolling Stone
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