The New York-based gallerists Paul Kasmin has died, more details here. Saudi Arabia has announced plans to turn the Al-Ula region in the northwestern of the country into a permanent cultural destination. Recently the site of the Desert X festival which saw a series of large-scale works by Manal AlDowayan, Nasser AlSalem, Gisela Colon, Nadim Karam, eL Seed and Superflex installed, the the Royal Commission for Al-Ula say it aims to create a series of new open-air museums, galleries, and exhibition spaces.
Students from a number of art schools in the US are demanding refunds after their studies were disrupted by the onset of COVID-19. Online petitions from students at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts and the School of Visual Arts in New York emphasise that the remote classes will inhibit them from getting the comprehensive education they paid for, which includes ‘facilities, equipment, technology, services, and hands-on experience.’ MFA students at the Yale School of Art addressed a letter asking for financial reimbursement to the school’s Peter Salovey and the dean Marta Kuzma following news that the studios would be closed from 23 March.
The KW Institute for Contemporary Art is adding four new curators to its team. Kathrin Bentele and Léon Kruijswijk will join as assistant curators, Dr. Clémentine Deliss as associate curator, and Nadim Samman in the newly instated role as digital curator.
MOCA lets go of staff following COVID-19-related closure. Full story.
Art Basel and Liste postpone June art fairs. Full story.
Lorenzo Fusi has been appointed artistic director and chief curator of the inaugural Yerevan Biennial. Fusi has extensive experience within contemporary art, previously serving as the artistic director of Prix International d’Art Contemporain from 2014 to 2020 and directing the Illingworth Kerr Gallery between 2016 and 2018. Speaking on his appointment, which comes at a time of uncertainty due to the global health pandemic the curator said: ‘This appointment fills me with honour, but now also with a greater sense of responsibility. Armenia this week declared a state of emergency due to the global COVID-19 crisis. As a consequence, we have decided to postpone the inaugural exhibition.’ According to the press statement the new dates for the first edition are 15 April – 13 June 2021.
Manifesta 13 will be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The contemporary art biennial, which takes place in a different European city for each edition was scheduled to take place in Marseille this year but the board members made a decision to postpone after France ordered the borders closed for 30 days from 16 March. The new dates will be announced in April.
