Vancouver

Equinox Gallery: Massive New Exhibition Space to Open. “Equinox Gallery is about to open a brand new massive exhibition space in one of the former industrial buildings on the former Finning Lands in east Vancouver. Equinox Project Space is being inaugurated with Fred Herzog: A Retrospective. The exhibition will contain all the photographs [Herzog has] editioned since 1953 – upwards of 180 works.”  Vancouver Sun, January 18, 2012

Artist Annika Rixen's Sciences of Observation explores colour and light. “Sciences of Observation, an exhibition of mixed-media work by Berlin-based Annika Rixen, demonstrates the ways in which she marries historical approaches to physics to her own experiments in light and colour.” Georgia Straight, January 18, 2012

Beat Nation Live melds hip-hop and art at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.  Half-Cree cellist Cris Derksen, will join vocalist Kinnie Starr, video collagist Jackson 2Bears, visual artist Corey Bulpitt, muralist Gurl 23, and others as part of the festival’s cabaret series, Club PuSh. “Although we have really strong roots in hip-hop, in concert we also delve a lot more into art music and electronics—and I think that’s a good thing.” Georgia Straight, January 19, 2012

Vancouver City Council approves live-work-studio awards.  “Vancouver City Council has named the artists who have won space in its live-work-studio program for 2012-2015. It’s also approved $2 million in advance operating grants to cultural organizations and major exhibiting institutions.” Georgia Straight, January 19, 2012

Douglas Coupland and Graham Roumieu’s ‘Highly Inappropriate’ collaboration. The entire book “project was completed in a matter of months, and the pair, who have christened their creative partnership Box of Pain (“We have tattoos and everything,” Roumieu deadpans) are planning a sequel.” National Post, January 19, 2012

Edmonton

Vast public collection tells Alberta’s artistic story. At 8,250 items and growing, the provincial foundation’s archive is one of the biggest in Canada.  Edmonton Journal, January 19, 2012

Toronto

The Pick: Mercer Union’s Diane Arbus retrospective, a glimpse at the birth of the modern magazine. “A new exhibit opening on Friday at Mercer Union, curated by French artist Pierre Leguillon, showcases a number of Arbus’s most iconic works in their original contexts—as fashion spreads, photo essays and, most notably, visual complements to long-form journalism.” Toronto Life, January 18, 2012

Ottawa

Big Beat: Moving images of memory. Carl Stewart’s exhibition includes approximately 20 weavings and needlepoints that are all based on one photograph of his brother Owen, taken a year or so before he died in September 1970.  Ottawa Citizen, January 19, 2012

Los Angeles

Museum of Contemporary Art to Create Original Programming for ... Joining its hometown industry and betting on the success of YouTube’s new initiative to promote original content, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles announced that it would start an online video channel in July featuring news and talk-show programming, among other art-focused shows. New York Times, January 19, 2012

Houston

Re-setting The Place Of Latin American Art In Art History Mari Carmen Ramírez "wants to shake up the politics of art history, to prove that Latin American art, far from being derivative, has had its own identity, its own breakthroughs." The Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2012

Salem, Massachusetts

Artifacts to Artworks  The paradigm-shifting "Shapeshifting: Transformations in Native American Art," at the Peabody Essex Museum, begins with a rude surprise: The first wall text that visitors encounter is a parental warning—breaking the mold of customarily child-friendly displays of totem poles and headdresses.  The exhibition includes works by Brian Jungen and Kent Monkman.  Wall Street Journal, January 20, 2012

New York

Alanna Heiss - Up Close Alanna Heiss, the founder of the gallery that became MoMA PS1, wants to recreate the collaborative art spirit of ’70s New York. New York Times, January 19, 2012

Sydney, Australia

Former Top Sydney Art Dealer Charged With 87 Counts Of Fraud "One of Australia's former leading art dealers, Ronald Coles, faces up to 10 years in jail after being charged today with 87 offences relating to an alleged multimillion-dollar investment art fraud scheme." Sydney Morning Herald, January 16, 2012

Dubai

Contemporary Artists Rock the Boat Gently in Saudi Arabia The challenge for Saudi artists has been at home, starting with a restricted and limited exposure to art.  New York Times, January 19, 2012