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Good Morning!
- Staffers at London’s V&A Museum are voting on possible “heatwave” strike action.
- A Vancouver real-estate collapse has exposed an alleged art-fraud dispute involving artworks worth almost $5 million.
- A new Art in Embassies exhibition is set to open in Washington, D.C.
The Headlines
GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN. Staffers at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum are voting on possible “heatwave” strike action over concerns about workplace temperatures, access to drinking water, and low pay. The Guardian reported that more than 300 staff across the V&A’s four London sites are taking part in the ballot, organized by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS). The union wants galleries closed when the mercury rises above 86 degrees Fahrenheit, better heat protections, water access for staff, a 4 percent pay rise, and for the museum to become an accredited London Living Wage employer. The V&A says it has offered pay increases, provided safety measures during heatwaves, and remains committed to staff wellbeing.
GONE MISSING. A Vancouver real-estate collapse has exposed an alleged art-fraud dispute involving artworks worth almost $5 million. A lawsuit claims Coromandel Properties CEO Jerry Zhong used company funds to buy 12 paintings and two sculptures, including works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Javier Calleja, then used them as loan collateral while the company faced $500 million in debt. Zhong denies wrongdoing. The works, which are now missing, were reportedly acquired from the Centre of International Contemporary Art Vancouver (CICA) and Talisman Gallery. The Art Newspaper tried—and failed—to determine the whereabouts of the artworks allegedly purchased by Zhong and Coromandel Properties, but lawyers for both sides declined to comment while the litigation remains ongoing.
The Digest
UNESCO has placed the ancient Greek city of Tauric Chersonese in Crimea on its World Heritage in Danger list after Ukraine raised concerns over the site’s protection under Russian-appointed management. [The Art Newspaper]
Thieves stole a 2,500-year-old Celtic gold collar in broad daylight from a French museum. [ARTnews]
Animal welfare group PETA is pitching a former KFC in Fleetwood, UK, as the world’s first “Chicken Empathy Museum,” asking to borrow or acquire the empty site for an animal-rights education project. [BBC]
Meet the conceptual artist and filmmaker helping Trump remake Washington, D.C. [New York Times]
The Kicker
MATTER OF PRIDE. As Trump continues to attack the Smithsonian Institution, his administration is busy readying its own vision of American art, Axios reported. A new exhibition at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C., spotlights the State Department’s Art in Embassies program, which has promoted US culture abroad for more than six decades. With a focus on national pride, the exhibition will feature more than 30 contemporary artists whose work explores American identity, symbols, and history. It is set to open on July 30 as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
