Good Morning!
- The Metropolitan Opera says Saudi Arabia has backed out of a deal that would have provided the cash-strapped institution with millions over eight years.
- Berlin culture senator Sarah Wedl-Wilson has resigned amid a scandal related to funding projects supposed to combat antisemitism.
- President Trump now wants to renovate the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.
The Headlines
DIRE STRAITS OF HORMUZ. The Saudi Arabian government has formally backed out of a deal with the Metropolitan Opera that would have provided as much as $200 million over the next eight years to the cash-strapped New York company,reports the New York Times . On Thursday, Met general manager Peter Gelb said the Saudis blamed the war in Iran and the blocked Strait of Hormuz for reneging on a noncommittal “memorandum of understanding” that was first announced in September with much fanfare. However, even before the war in Iran, the Saudi government had failed to send funding as agreed, prompting the Met to launch a series of cost-cutting measures, including preemptive layoffs in January. “They are only doing the projects that are essential,” Gelb told reporters, and that apparently doesn’t include the Met deal. The New York institution is now facing a $30 million shortfall for this fiscal year alone but, ironically, has had some of its “greatest artistic successes,” said Gelb.
REVOLVING DOOR. Berlin culture senator Sarah Wedl-Wilson announced Friday she is resigning after having replaced Joe Chialo l ess than a year ago, when he stepped down amid controversy related to budget cuts, reports dpa. This time, Wedl-Wilson is leaving following a scandal related to conclusions by a state audit that determined she illegally authorized funding for 13 projects apparently focused on the prevention of antisemitism and “of particular political significance.” The Berlin Court of Auditors said Wedl-Wilson committed serious omissions and violated state budget regulations and other rules. The 13 projects in question were granted about €2.6 million ($3 million) in total. Wedl-Wilson said she was resigning to preserve the government’s stated intention of combating antisemitism. The Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion “will now ensure a legally sound funding framework for projects against antisemitism,” insisted Berlin governing mayor Kai Wegner. “Because one thing is certain: We will not relent in the fight against antisemitism in Berlin.”
The Digest
President Trump has announced plans to renovate the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington, D.C., which he called “filthy” and “dirty” and in need of an upgrade. [The New York Times]
Ontario is investing an additional $21 million CAD in annual support of the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum. [press release]
Rome’s newest museum, dedicated to photography and located in the Mattatoio complex, a former slaughterhouse, is part of an ambitious plan to create a new cultural district. [Apollo Magazine]
Brazilian-born Thiago de Paula Souza will curate the eighth Athens Biennale in the spring of 2027. [Artforum]
Collector Justin Sun is suing World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s memecoin company, claiming that it illegally froze his holdings of tokens. [ARTnews]
The Kicker
FLOP ERA. For some designs, timing is everything. That couldn’t be truer for one German entrepreneur named Jan Vinzenz Krause, whom the New Yorker tells us invented a “spray-on condom” that was supposed to fit its wearer like a … glove? We don’t need to spell out all the problems this posed, but one involved the lengthy amount of time it took for the latex product to dry. By then, it no longer fit. All this is told best in a new exhibition at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris called “Flops?!” The show displays terrible inventions, or the “failure, bust, bomb, fiasco, debacle,” and “all the stuff that gets shoved under the carpet,” explains co-curator Marjolaine Schuch. The spray-on condom (a literal flop, if you will) is joined by a roller-skating Barbie doll that set rugs on fire, and a forehead-slapping email from Paul Graham to Fred Wilsonoutlining why investing in a then-new company called Airbnb was a stupid idea. “I am not sure they can take on the hotel market,” Wilson reasons. From the hilarious to the distasteful and even sexist, the show “was an opportunity to demystify and de-dramatize failure,” added Schuch. As visitors flock to the museum exhibit, open until May 17, the gamble is paying off. “Flops?!” is a fabulous success.
