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The Headlines
UK ART INJECTION. London-based national museums must do more to serve audiences across the UK, culture secretary Lisa Nandy said on Wednesday as she announced a £1.5 billion funding package for the arts, described as the biggest reset for the sector in a generation. The Guardian reported that while institutions such as the British Museum and National Portrait Gallery will receive £600 million, Nandy urged them to extend their reach beyond the capital and ensure opportunities for young people nationwide. She cited the Royal Shakespeare Company’s outreach as a model and said the investment was intended to “throw the doors wide open” to all communities. The package prioritizes repairing cultural infrastructure after years of reduced funding, including a 30 percent cut to Arts Council England (ACE) in 2010. It includes £425 million for a Creative Foundations Fund, £160 million for local and regional museums, £230 million for heritage, and smaller allocations for libraries and national organizations. While widely welcomed, unions warned that investment in buildings must be matched by support for cultural workers.
LACK OF COMPOSER. Vienna will temporarily close several composer museums this year as the city cuts its culture budget to meet public spending targets, The Local wrote. Sites affected include the apartment where Franz Schubert died, the former residence of Johann Strauss, and the house once occupied by Joseph Haydn. The closures were announced by the director of Vienna’s museums as part of wider austerity measures that also include sharp increases in public transport fares. Matti Bunzl, head of the Wien Museum, said the cuts reflected the city’s financial realities. Despite their modest operating costs, the affected museums are expected to remain closed for up to two years, as the city’s museum budget falls from €29.7 million in 2025 to €28.4 million this year, with further reductions planned in 2027.
The Digest
Cecilia Alemani, curator of New York’s High Line, has been named curator for the first nomadic edition of the Max Mara Art Prize for Women, running through 2027. [Artsy]
San Diego Comic-Con has revised its AI art policy after an artist-led backlash, marking a rare win for creators in an industry where generative AI is increasingly being used by movie and video game studios to cut costs and speed up production. [404 Media]
A hand stencil discovered in a cave on Sulawesi, Indonesia, has been dated to at least 67,800 years ago, making it the world’s oldest known rock art. [The Art Newspaper]
Jean Cooney, a former deputy director of New York City’s public-art institution, has been announced as the next leader of Creative Time. [New York Times]
The Kicker
A WOMAN’S TOUCH. While much attention is paid to how Gen Z might reshape the future art market, a significant shift is already taking place among today’s collectors. According to Melanie Gerlis, writing for Art Basel, women are becoming a larger and more influential segment, and although their tastes are diverse, emerging patterns suggest a different approach to collecting, including a growing interest in works by female artists. This change reflects broader wealth trends. UBS Global Wealth Management notes that women now account for about 45 percent of its clients, driven by workforce participation and intergenerational wealth transfer. According to the Art Basel & UBS Global Survey of Collecting, women control over a third of global wealth and, in 2024, spent significantly more on art and antiques than men.
