Vancouver

Digital Natives  “Between ads for beer and pop music, an electronic billboard in Vancouver beams challenging messages by and about First Nations.  Digital Natives is also being previewed as part of the WE: Vancouver exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery.” The Tyee, April 5, 2011

A new look at Vancouver at 125.  “Vancouver marks its 125th anniversary Wednesday with a birthday bash headlined by local rockers 54-40. Beyond that, though, it’s more of a ponder than a party, with events and exhibitions examining the culture of Vancouver and aiming to create a meaningful dialogue, including We: Vancouver.”  Globe & Mail, April 5, 2011

Happy birthday Vancouver.  “April 6, 2011 marks Vancouver’s 125th birthday and the city is celebrating with music and parties.  Funding is coming from the city, federal government and corporate sponsors and will help sponsor projects throughout the year from small scale block parties to art exhibits like WE: Vancouver at the Vancouver Art Gallery.” Vancouver Courier, April 5, 2011

Arrested Chinese artist gets support in Vancouver.   “There's growing concern in Vancouver's art community and around the world about a highly popular and outspoken Chinese artist incarcerated in Beijing. Those who have spent time with the artist, like Vancouver Art Gallery curator Daina Augaitis, worry that officials have now stepped up their attempts to silence him.” CBC News, April 5, 2011

Toronto

Art Gallery of Ontario attendance falls 30 per cent.  Attendance at the Art Gallery of Ontario dropped by 30 per cent in 2010-11, although the Toronto museum said on Tuesday that its just-completed Maharaja exhibition was a success, luring more than 63,000 first-time visitors. Globe & Mail, April 5, 2011

Maharaja leaves AGO on high note.  The exhibit drew 162,719 visitors for a 19-week run, according to figures released Tuesday by the AGO. Toronto Star, April 6, 2011

Minden, ON

Saying 'meh' to the masters.  “Disney and Delacroix collide in the paintings of Adam Matak. Over the past few years, this young Toronto artist has made a name for himself by applying a cartoon style to classy gallery settings.” National Post, April 4, 2011

Ottawa

Filling in the blanks about artist Michael Harrington.  “I walk into Michael Harrington’s studio and see a pathetic figure standing there in black-and-white boxing shorts and white tube socks, posing for his own camera in front of an incongruously ornate, dusty sofa.” Ottawa Citizen, April 6, 2011

Montreal

Who needs bricks when you've got matzo?  “Melissa Shiff is engaged in a Passover-related operation that would cause most mortals to crack. With a team of builders, the Toronto artist is in the midst of assembling a house of matzo in the downtown library of Concordia University.”  Montreal Gazette, April 6, 2011

Larchmont, New York

Jasper F. Cropsey Paintings of the Hudson River School Turn Up Paintings that a family thought were cheap reproductions turned out to be the work of Jasper F. Cropsey of the Hudson River School. New York Times, April 6, 2011

New York

Arnold Lehman's Brooklyn Museum In his nearly 14-year tenure, he has endured repeated criticism for his initiatives--mostly for staging "populist" exhibitions focusing on "Star Wars," hip-hop, graffiti and similar topics. His response: "We have a very diverse audience and we do exhibitions that engage that diversity, not all the time, but as often as we can." The Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2011

The Trouble With Authenticating Andy Warhol  "In the 15 years since the authentication board was created, it has frequently come under fire for what some observers have considered secretive, arbitrary, or biased decision making. The lawsuit and the Brillo-box scandal, critics say, revealed detailed information about some of the board's practices that raises serious questions about its procedures and its responsibility to owners of Warhol works." ARTnews, April 2011

Washington, D.C.

Should The Smithsonian Crowdsource Its Curating? A policy of inviting the public into the "pre-decisional" process directly contradicts the panel's assertion that "curatorial freedom of expression, expertise, and authority" are vital. It would turn the Smithsonian into a sitting duck for all manner of groups that want to implement an agenda. Opening exhibition preparation to crowdsourcing is not a way to anticipate controversy--it's a way to assure it. ARTnews, April 2011

Woman Punches Out Gauguin Painting At Washington's National Gallery "Screaming 'This is evil,' a woman tried to pull Gauguin's Two Tahitian Women from a gallery wall Friday and banged on the picture's clear plastic covering" with her fists. (The painting itself is unharmed.) The Washington Post, April 4, 2011

Beijing

Ai Weiwei Takes Role of China’s Conscience  “Ai Weiwei, taken into custody on Sunday, is both a fully 21st-century figure and the embodiment of an ancient cultural type.”   New York Times, April 6, 2011

Why Artist Ai WeiWei Criticizes The Chinese Government "If I am in this kind of society and if I don't even speak up, I really feel meaningless." ARTnews, April 2011

Free Ai Weiwei, radical individualist and China’s great national artist  The Chinese government has detained the creator of such monumental works as the Tate Modern’s “Sunflower Seeds” and Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium. Globe and Mail, April 6, 2011

International outcry mounts for Ai Weiwei's release. “Artists, curators and international governments are calling for Ai Weiwei’s release, even though Chinese authorities have not yet acknowledged they have him in custody.”  Eyeteeth, April 5, 2011