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The Headlines
VENICE ROLL CALL. The Venice Biennale has officially named the artists participating in its 2026 edition opening to the public May 9 through November 22. Considered the world’s most important art exhibition, the biennale is gearing up for its 61st edition, titled “In Minor Keys.” It’s already faced one major challenge after its curator, Koyo Kouoh, died suddenly last year. However, her vision is being realised through advisers she appointed.
PARIS MUSEUM SHUFFLE. Laurence des Cars has stepped downfrom the top job at the Louvre, and Christophe Leribault is poised to replace her, reports Le Parisien. He will be making the short trip into town from the Chateau de Versailles, which he currently runs. Meanwhile, the Musée d’Orsay has a new president, Annick Lemoine, who will be making the leap from the Petit Palais museum, which she directs, according to a government press release. Lemoine will lead both the Orsay and the Orangerie museums, and her nomination comes following the sudden death of her predecessor, Sylvain Amic, last August. Leribault, who also formerly led the Musée d’Orsay, is a safe choice for the Louvre, which is still reeling after the brazen theft of the French crown jewels revealed the museum’s inadequate security. “The largest museum in the world needs calm and a strong new impetus to successfully complete major security and modernization projects, as well as the Louvre – New Renaissance project,” said a statement. In an interview with Le Figaro, Laurence des Cars defended her record.
The Digest
35 rare Rembrandt prints have been rediscovered after they were forgotten for decades. The historically significant etchings will go on view at the Stedelijk Museum Zutphen after having spent nearly a century in a family safe in the Netherlands. [Artnet News]
The Ukrainian government has adopted a resolution to facilitate the evacuation of cultural heritage from dangerous frontline zones. “The resolution creates a more predictable, systematic, and secure model for protecting museum objects during war, combining clear rules, government accountability, and flexibility in crisis situations,” the culture ministry stated. [The Art Newspaper]
Jay Levenson, the director of the International Program at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, died on February 12, while traveling in India. [ArtAsiaPacific]
Publicly run museums in Bavaria, southeast of Germany, are celebrating a record year for 2025. The region’s institutions welcomed some 6.3 million visitors, well over attendance for 2024, according to the Arts Minister Markus Blume. [dpa]
The Kicker
GUERRILLA HISTORIANS. After historian James Millward heard the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery had censored any mention of Donald Trump’s two impeachments and the January 6 insurrection, he took a page from similar Chinese propaganda campaigns, known as “tell China’s story well.” He trekked to the museum gallery where Trump’s new portrait hangs alongside its newly abbreviated label and made it his “guerrilla teaching” classroom. He then handed out the original wall text to interested visitors, where it plainly oultines the impeachments. In a profile on Millward by the Washington Post, we learn he is not alone. He is the co-founder of Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian, a group that has joined a growing number of grassroots initiatives to conserve and document any changes made by the Trump administration to cultural institutions, as it tries alter how history is told and by whom.
