Vancouver Native art with a hip hop beat  Urban youth culture merges with aboriginal identity in the Vancouver Art Gallery's new exhibit Beat Nation: Art, Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture.  CBC, March 3, 2012

Spring Arts Preview: Modern masters move into the Vancouver Art Gallery  The exhibition features nearly 50 paintings, sculptures and drawings from one of the world’s finest collections of early European modernism. Over the course of five decades, Claribel and Etta Cone amassed late 19th and early 20th century works by artists such as Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.  Vancouver Sun, March 3, 2012

VAG should consider moving into Sears site, advocates say  The Vancouver Art Gallery should adjust its planning for a new home to consider moving into the downtown Sears site, which is to be vacated this year, says the city councillor who has been handling the VAG-expansion file. Globe and Mail, March 3, 2012  

Unloved site could get a facelift The decision by Cadillac Fairview to buy out the Sears lease at Pacific Centre opens up one of the city’s most valuable downtown blocks to new retail development, possibly ridding the city of one of its least- loved buildings, Grout said the Sears block could be redeveloped to reflect the emerging retail character of Granville Street on one side, and the public uses around the ice rink and Vancouver Art Gallery on the Howe Street side.  The Vancouver Sun, March 3, 2012

In Vancouver: When David Mayrs' painting was put on trial for obscenity  This is the first in a series of blog posts I’ll be doing during the next several weeks on some of the artists and art events that have shaped the city’s art scene over the years. I’ll be going into the extensive photo and print archives of The Vancouver Sun and The Province to find interesting, overlooked and forgotten art stories from the recent past. Kevin Griffin.  Vancouver Sun, February 2, 2012

Reward for missing ashes A Vancouver woman is making a desperate plea for the return of her deceased boyfriend’s ashes after they vanished last weekend. The ashes of Clifford Snell, who passed away Dec. 21, disappeared after they were taken to an event last Friday at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Subsequently, they were left unattended at a friend’s house.  His son, Christopher Snell, 24, is now offering a $1,000 reward for the return of his father’s remains.  Toronto Sun, March 2, 2012

Kamloops  Picasso’s dangerous barbs The very first original artwork to be exhibited in a public exhibition in Kamloops by the renowned Pablo Picasso — part of the exhibition Bearing Witness — has arrived in Kamloops.  Kamloops Daily News, March 2, 2012

Winnipeg  Norman Rockwell's complex message  He’s been derided and dismissed, but the contradictory works of America’s most storied illustrator resonate in an age of anxiety.  Globe and Mail, March 3, 2012

Ottawa Sculptor Joe Fafard happy to see fame spread Canada Post is printing four million stamps, depicting Fafard's famed cows.  CBC, March 3, 2012

Montreal  Montreal builds its cultural brand – one building at a time  Montreal is creating a complex downtown ‘village’ of linked arts enterprises, often through repurposing heritage buildings.  Globe and Mail, March 3, 2012

Berkeley California’s 1970s Conceptual Art Comes Home to Berkeley Museum of Art In the exhibition “State of Mind” at the Berkeley Museum of Art, California’s 1970s conceptual art scene, in which ideas were emphasized more than objects, makes a return visit.   New York Times, February 2, 2012

Denver Adam Lerner Enlivens the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver Adam Lerner, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, likes to mix things up, which has led to more donations, increased membership and sold-out programs.  New York Times, March 4, 2012

New York ‘The Steins Collect,’ Matisse and Picasso, at the Met  “The Steins Collect,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, explores the collections of the siblings Leo, Gertrude and Michael Stein and casts them as ahead-of-the-curve art patrons. New York Times, February 2, 2012  

2012 Whitney Biennial The 2012 Biennial manages to reinvent the Whitney’s signature show and to offer some redemption for the out-of-control, money-saturated art world. New York Times, February 2, 2012

London  Tate gallery buys Ai Weiwei sunflower seeds artwork
Britain's Tate gallery has bought a work by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei made up of 8 million porcelain sunflower seeds — a portion of the 100 million he brought to London in 2010.  CBC, March 5, 2012

Edinburgh Refurbished National Museum Of Scotland Had A Sensational Year In 2011 "The museum has had a 141% increase in visitor numbers since it reopened last summer following a £47m refurbishment. The Edinburgh museum's original target of a million visitors a year was passed within four months." BBC, March 5, 2012

Berlin Convicted Art Forger Says His Fakes Were On Much Bigger Scale "In one of the most spectacular art forgery cases in German history, fraudster Wolfgang Beltracchi was sentenced to six years in prison last autumn. Set to begin doing time this month, he tells SPIEGEL the scope of his counterfeiting was far greater than previously known, including works by some 50 artists." Der Spiegel, March 5, 2012

Moscow  Artists Gone Wild - That Is, Entering The Political Fray - In Russia Embarrassed by their earlier passivity (and maybe fear) during the reign of Vladimir Putin, Russia's artists are joining the protests on the streets - and adding their creativity to the mix. Denver Post (AP) March 4, 2012  

Beijng Wang Shu: A Chinese champion of the small wins big  Wang Shu is the first architect living and working in China to win the world-renowned Pritzker Prize. Globe and Mail, March 3, 2012

International How to Avoid Forgeries When Buying Fine Art The art world can be a minefield when it comes to authenticating a piece of art. A collector needs to follow a checklist before spending large sums.  New York Times, March 3, 2012