ArtPourri

NEA News – The National Endowment for the Arts has announced its first round of funding for fiscal year 2009.  The Endowment will distribute $23,215,500 to support 1,051 projects by nonprofit national, regional, state and local organizations nationwide.

Winner Announced – Tate Britain has announced the Turner Prize 2008 has been awarded to Mark Leckey, a multimedia artist. The Turner Prize is awarded to a British artist under 50 for an outstanding recent exhibition or other presentation of their work.

Paintings Reinstalled – For the first time in nearly a decade, the San Diego Museum of Art’s European paintings have been reinstalled in a fresh and scholarly manner that highlights familiar names in the collection and presents works not often on view, e.g., the much-loved Sanchez Cotan master work Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber.  This painting is now surrounded by works that are some of the finest examples of Spanish paintings in North America.

Book Award Presented – The International Fine Print Dealers Association has presented the 2008 IFPDA Book Award to Dr. Achim Gnann for Parmigianino and His Circle:  Prints from the Baselitz Collection.  This is the catalogue from the exhibition on view in Munich in the fall/winter of 2007/8.

Drawing Acquired – The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, has acquired a drawing of the Archangel Gabriel announcing the birth of Christ by the Netherlandish master Lucas van Leyden (ca. 1494-1533).  Dating to the 1520’s, it is now the only drawing by the artist in America and will be included in the exhibition The Philippe de Montebello Years:  Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions through Feb. 1.

Biennial to Close – The New Orleans Museum of Art has free admission to all through Jan. 18, which marks the closing date of both Prospect.1 New Orleans, the international contemporary art biennial which is free at all of its 25 venues throughout the city, and Objects of Desire:  Faberge from the Hodges Family Collection, an exhibition of 108 precious objects by famed master jeweler Peter Carl Faberge at the museum. NOMA is showcasing works by nine artists as part of the biennial that features 81 artists from 38 countries.

Waterfalls Bring Windfall – NYC Mayor Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Harris have announced that The New York City Waterfalls, a major work of public art by Olafur Eliasson, had an estimated economic impact of $69 million on the city, which exceeded the initial estimate.  Nearly 1.4 million people visited the waterfalls from a special vantage point or from a ferry or tour boat.

Groundbreaking Celebration Held – Museum personnel and community leaders/members recently held a “surreal earth shattering” celebration to break ground in St. Petersburg, FL, for the new $35 million Salvador Dali Museum.  The 66,450 square foot building—designed by renowned architect Yann Weymouth—will provide space for the education of school groups, visitor orientation and classrooms, temporary exhibitions to complement the Dali collection, a café and a rentable community room.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 19 No. 3 — January 2009