5 Art World Updates

Just the things you should know this week

1. Carnegie Mellon University Sending Art to the Moon

Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute is preparing to send a rover to the moon next year. However, they thought they should send a little art and culture along with it too. Hence, the rover will also carry a Moon Arts Ark: a small representation of cultural life on Earth.

The Ark, meant as a sort of micro-museum, will include information about the world’s dance, poetry, music and art. Artist Lowry Burgess who is co-directing the moon-art initiative explained that, “this is an opportunity to take the arts and humanities into a realm that is traditionally thought of as cold and lifeless.”

2. Art Basel Appoints New Miami Director

Noah Horowitz, currently the executive director of New York’s Armory Show, has been appointed Art Basel’s new director of the Americas. In this role, Horowitz will oversee Art Basel’s Miami fair and any other Basel activity within the USA.

Horowitz gained recognition after joining the Armory Show in 2011, as a managing director before being promoted to his current position. Under his watch, the show refined its long list of exhibitors, increased the quality of work shown and revived its failing reputation. Art Basel director Marc Spiegler told artnet News that he was “very impressed” with how Horowitz had reformed the NYC fair.

3. German Artists and Government Face Off

It was a tumultuous week for German art. Late last week the German Culture Minister, Monika Gütter, announced a plan that would aim to preserve the country’s artistic heritage through restricted circulation of German art — requiring that artifacts valued at €150,000 ($165,900) or more or that are more than 50 years old receive an export license before leaving the country.

The plan was met with intense backlash from two of the country’s most renown contemporary artists: Georg Baselitz and Gerhard Richter, who were both infuriated that the government would try to control the sales and movement of their works. Both artists threatened to retract all art on loan to German museums if the proposal passed but by the end of the week Grütter had amended the proposal to apply only to works valued at or above €300,000 ($327,000) or that are more than 70 years old. However the proposal still requires parliamentary approval and could see further changes in the coming weeks.

4. Plans Submitted for Harlem’s Studio Museum

As we have previously reported — West Harlem’s growing art scene may prove to be a welcome home for galleries and artists amid rising downtown rents. The latest addition to the uptown neighborhood’s artistic offerings? A revamped and relocated Studio Museum.

Opening in 2019, the $122 million design, from British architect David Adjaye, will require the museum to relocate to a new 125th street location. This new 5-story location will add 10,000 square feet to the museum’s floor plan and mark the first time that the museum occupies a space specifically designed for its collection and needs as an institution. The building also seeks to serve as a cultural hub for Harlem’s rapidly changing artistic scene, while preserving the neighborhood’s cultural heritage.

5. National Endowment for the Arts Selects Grant Winners

The National Endowment for the Arts has announced the recipients of its 2015 “Our Town” awards, which will pay a total of $5 million to 69 projects in 35 states and Puerto Rico.

The Our Town grant program is designed to support “creative placemaking,” or “when artists, arts organizations, and community development practitioners deliberately integrate arts and culture into community revitalization work…” Among the winning projects are a $200,000 grant for installations in some of Los Angeles’ most densely populated and underserved communities and a $100,000 donation for an artist residency at Boston City Hall.