The Week in Art...After Nyne's Hot 9

1. 2016 John Moores Painting Prize awarded to Michael Simpson (via The Guardian)

The Wiltshire based artist Michael Simpson wins £25,000 prize for his depiction of a ladder underneath a ‘leper squint’, a medieval church window that allowed sufferers of leprosy to watch the sermons below. The painting, entitled Leper Squint, was described as having ‘an elegance that is timeless’ by judges winning Simpson one of the UK’s most prestigious art prizes. The prize is part of a biennial event staged at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery and is the fifth time 75-year-old Simpson has been selected for the prize exhibition, with his winning piece being displayed alongside 54 other selected entries.

2. Director of Warhol Museum joins Sotheby’s as a Senior Vice President (via Art News)

Eric Shiner the Director of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh has announced he will be heading to Sotheby’s as a senior vice president in the fine arts division. Shiner has been at the Warhol Museum since becoming curator of art in 2008 and later being named the museum’s director on 8th July 2011, marking his five-year anniversary by a move to the commercial side of the art world. ‘There’s much more porosity in the art world now between the market, the collector base, galleries, and the non-profit world of museums, so it seemed like a natural transition,’ Shiner told the New York Times.

3. London’s V&A wins Art Fund Museum of the Year Award (via Artlyst)

The Victoria and Albert Museum tops off a record-breaking year by receiving 2016’s Museum of the Year award, with judges stating the V&A had “indisputably” become one of the best museums in the world. The Duchess of Cambridge made the announcement at a ceremony at the National History Museum, with the V&A awarded £100,000 the single largest arts prize in the UK. Art Fund Director Stephen Deuchar and chairman of the judges stated, ‘The V&A experience is an unforgettable one. Its recent exhibitions from Alexander McQueen to The Fabric of India, and the opening of its new Europe 1600-1815 galleries, were all exceptional accomplishments.’ The museum reportedly pulled in 3.9 million visitors and 14.5 million visitors online, figures that were a result notable exhibitions such as the innovative Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty retrospective.

4. German parliament cracks down on looted antiquities to protect German culture (via The Art Newspaper)

On 8th July the German parliament passed a new law aimed at helping tackle illegal trafficking in looted antiquities, introducing what have been described as the most rigid import and export restrictions on culture objects to date. The Cultural Property Law, introduced as part of protecting German National Heritage was met with opposition from art dealers and collectors, with dealers claiming private collectors were already moving valuable works aboard before the law’s passage to avoid the new regulations. Germany’s minister for culture Monika Grütters stated the law is part of the country’s commitment to ‘live up to its responsibilities for mankind’s cultural heritage – nationally and internationally.’ Under the new law any cultural goods above a certain value and age can only be exported with permission from authorities in the 16 German states.

5. New public art installation at St Pancras International promises to bring calm to commuters (via Evening Standard)

The new installation by artist Ron Arad, part of a partnership between the Royal Academy of Arts and High Speed 1, aims to give visitors a new perspective on a London landmark. The piece, entitled Thought of Train of Thought, is an 18-metre-long twisted blade suspended on wires from the station’s roof, slowly rotating to create the appearance of a wave. Arad hopes the work will provide a moment of calm for commuters passing through the station and it part of Terrace Wires, a commissioning programme run by the station to exhibit the work of leading international artists.

6. Vice buys Dasha Zhukova’s Garage Magazine (via Financial Times)

Vice Media continues to grow after acquiring a controlling stake in Garage Magazine, the art and culture publication founded by Dasha Zhukova, as Vice pushes into the contemporary art world. Vice plans to strengthen Garage’s online presence, building a digital video channel, expanding its editorial team and launching new international editions. Tom Punch, Vice’s global executive creative director, stated the acquisition of the magazine would generate ‘an arsenal of creative ideas’ for the company.

7. New York’s New Museum to host residency for emerging Chinese artists (via Artnet)

The residency was formed through a partnership between entrepreneur Adrian Cheng’s K11 Art Foundation (KAF), a non-profit organisation dedicated to contemporary Chinese arts and the New Museum. The annual residency will run from August to October exhibiting the work of a selected promising Chinese artist in the Museum’s adjacent, newly acquired space. The foundation’s collaboration with the New Museum adds to Cheng’s growing influence in the New York City art world. “Adrian Cheng, has grown this organization, in less than six years, into one of the most transformative arts institutions in China with profound global significance. The impact KAF has on individual artists—and on an entire generation of art lovers—is remarkable,” New Museum artistic director Massimiliano Gioni stated.

8. Portsmouth’s historic Hot Walls reopens after £1.75m art studio revamp (via BBC)

The Hot Walls is part of a historic monument alongside Portsmouth harbour has been reopened as a centre for arts after receiving a £1.75m revamp. The arches of the Hot Walls, previously used as artillery barracks, have been converted into 13 working studios for artists, designers and creative companies in an attempt to help the city’s arts sector flourish. Linda Symes, the authority’s cabinet member for culture stated, ‘The project has given a new lease of life to this incredible heritage site, while helping the city's creative industries and providing new jobs and business opportunities to strengthen the city's economy.’

9. Portraits of Refugees to be exhibited at London’s The Proud Archivist (via Artlyst)

A new photography exhibition opens this July in London, which highlights the positive impact of refugees on society featuring the work of critically acclaimed photographer and journalist Caroline Irby and Pulitzer nominee Veronique Mistiaen. The portraits of refugees from Syria, Iran and Iraq will be on display showing when they first felt free in the UK. The exhibition being held at The Proud Archivist in London depicts stories of people taking refuge after fleeing their homelands through persecution or war, who have now found freedom in the UK.