Zurich Art Weekend will precede Art Basel in Basel as usual, but with the art fair having previously been postponed to September, working on the assumption that the restrictions in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic would be lifted by that point, the Art Weekend has followed suit. The three day event will take place across the Swiss city’s museums, galleries and artist-run spaces. With museums and galleries closing their doors globally, the inevitable job losses have begun, with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York cutting 85 percent of its freelance education workers and furloughing nearly a third of the rest of its staff. Seventy-six members of staff at the Whitney Museum of American Art have also been made redundant.
A temporary mortuary will be set up at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, which forms part of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA). As the death toll from COVID-19 continues to rise in Ireland, the government has identified sites on which temporary mortuaries can be constructed to help deal with the ongoing health crisis. Liz Canavan, who chairs the official COVID-19 emergency response group, said in a daily briefing statement: ‘We are still largely in the preparation phase; getting the facilities of the country ready and putting the necessary infrastructure in place – in particular the medical infrastructure – to deal with the surge when it comes.’
Stay tuned for the daily rundown on the latest news from the artworld. Last updated on 06 April 2020
