The Headlines
DRUMMED UP. France has finally repatriated a long-promised looted artifact to the Ivory Coast, known as the “talking drum,” or Djidji Ayokwe, reports Le Monde. In 1916, when French colonial officers learned that the Ivory Coast’s Ebrie tribe used the 10-foot-long wood-sculpted drum to warn of oncoming French soldiers, the latter stole it from them. Eventually, the French brought the drum to Paris, where it made its rounds through several museums, ultimately landing in the Musée du Quai Branly. A special law had to be passed in order to restitute the drum, because it was part of France’s nationally owned, public collection. However, a new bill headed for a vote in France’s lower house aims to avoid having to pass a separate law for every restituted object pertaining to the colonial period.
SPANISH SIT-IN. On Friday evening, more than 100 Spanish art professionals held sit-ins in Madrid museums in protest against the country’s unusually high sales tax of 21 percent on artwork, reports El Pais. Gallery owners, artists, and other arts workers sat on the floor at the Reina Sofia Museum and recited the comparatively lower VAT rates on artworks in neighboring countries, which they say puts them at a serious disadvantage. “Portugal, six percent, France, 5.5 percent, Italy, five percent,” they chanted. The group, led by the local Consortium of Gallery Owners, called for simultaneous protests around the city. “The sector cannot survive with a 21 percent VAT rate when in all the surrounding countries, tax transactions between 5 and 8 percent are welcome,” said Idoia Fernández, president of the Consortium of Contemporary Art Galleries of Spain. The protest comes just a few weeks ahead of the ARCOmadrid art fair, held March 4 to 8.
The Digest
Jasmine Little, a Los Angeles-based artist who made lush still lifes and etched ceramic vessels, has died at 41. La Loma, her gallery, announced her death on Friday. [ARTnews]
The Swiss Pop Art painter Peter Stämpfli has died at 88. His Paris gallery, Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois, announced the news. [Le Quotidien de l’Art]
A skillfully illustrated, carefully handwritten letter by the late Queen Elizabeth II to Beatrice, her head housemaid at Royal Lodge in Windsor, written when she was between 10 and 12 years old, will be sold at Hansons Auctioneers on February 27. [BBC]
An ice-skating performance by the Montreal-based Le Patin Libre was canceled at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after someone poured an unknown, dark liquid onto a temporary ice rink late Thursday night. It is unclear at this stage if the attack was motivated by President Donald Trump’s takeover of the arts center. [The Washington Post]
The Loewe Foundation Craft Prize has revealed its 30 finalists battling it out for a 50,000 euro prize. [WWD]
A storm uncovered 2,000-year-old footprints on a Scottish beach, and almost as quickly destroyed the newly discovered archaeological site – but not before researchers rushed in to document the remnants of life in a former estuary during the Iron Age. [The Times]
The Kicker
NO FREE LUNCH? Could the UK be nearing the end of its era of free museums? The Guardian’s Nadia Khomami asks the question following unexpected news of the National Gallery’s looming £8.2 million ($11 million) deficit and impending cuts. UK national museums have held out against the global norm for major museums, which not only charge for entry but have also been raising ticket prices. Now, amid fears that the National Gallery’s free access is becoming too hard to sustain, a debate about charging visitors in some form or another is picking up new steam, including among a growing cohort of leading figures who have switched over to advocating for paid entry. Meanwhile, museum workers say they are “bearing the brunt” of the financial strain.
