new zealand 51

Artworks and pictures have been removed from the offices of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) across the globe,  according to an X post  from NBC’s Washington reporter Vaughn Hillyard. Vaughn, quoting a source, said that employees have been told that artworks have been removed as part of the Trump administration’s “America First” positioning.  The post featured a picture of dozens of works of art, including a map what appeared to be southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa, and an image of a concert in Kenya. These pictures appeared to have been haphazardly stacked on a utility cart.  According to the  Congressional Research Service , USAID is the main international humanitarian aid and development arm of the federal government. Last year, it managed more than $40 billion in appropriations in 2023. The agency has missions in more than 60 countries and in 2023 delivered aid and funds to more than 130.  Exactly how much art...

The Spring Break Art Show has canceled its 2025 Los Angeles edition, originally scheduled for February 18–23, citing ecological concerns surrounding the wildfires that have devastated swaths of Pacific Palisades and Altadena. The fair also said that market saturation had contributed to its decision.  According to  Hyperallergic ,  Spring Break cofounders Ambre Kelly and Andrew Gori said they were concerned over the impact on air and water quality, as well as the moral implications of hosting an event so soon after the disaster. Collector hesitation, they said, was also a factor in the decision, along with logistical complications stemming from how many of LA’s private schools were taking a “ winter break .” Instead, Spring Break will host a virtual exhibition, with participants guaranteed a spot in the fair’s New York edition in May. A portion of online sales will be directed to wildfire relief efforts. Kelly and Gori said that their unconventional financial structure...

The  15s rugby season starts this weekend. The Hurricanes men’s and women’s squads are in action for the first time in 2025 in New Plymouth and Palmerston North respectively. The Hurricanes men’s team meets the Chiefs at former Hurricanes home venue Yarrow Stadium, kick-off is at 2.00pm on Saturday. It is understood that this match...

Billionaire Steve Schwarzman has caused a quite the stir in the London art market. The co-founder of private equity firm Blackstone has been buying up works by 18th-century society portraitists Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough for record prices, the  Financial Times   reported last week. Schwarzman received an honorary knighthood from the UK government in 2023 and is currently restoring Conholt Park, a 17th-century estate in Wiltshire, which he has discreetly been decorating with his recently purchased rare paintings, including Reynolds’  Portrait of Lady Worsley,  which he reportedly bought for approximately £25 million ($31 million) and Gainsborough’s  Lady Bate-Dudley . Both pictures were acquired through private sales. Reynolds’  Portrait of Lady Worsley  has been a fixture at Harewood House in West Yorkshire since the 18th century. The painting depicts Seymour Fleming, a prominent heiress entangled in a notorious adultery case that ...

The British Museum was partially closed over the weekend after an ex-employee allegedly shut down its security and IT systems. According to a public statement from a museum spokesperson, the trespasser was an IT contractor fired earlier this month. He returned on Thursday to breach the museum’s systems, the institution said, and was arrested by Metropolitan police that same day. He has since been released on bail “pending further enquiries,” per authorities. The security breached caused the museum to temporarily close three special of its exhibitions, including a show of Picasso prints. As a result, the museum was forced to issue refunds to ticket holders. The British Museum was the most popular tourist attraction in the United Kingdom in 2023, with 5.8 million visitors, nearly a 50 percent increase from the prior year. Its collection includes some of the world’s most prized antiquities, including the Rosetta Stone and the contested Parthenon Marbles. However, the Central London ins...

To receive  Morning Links  in your inbox every weekday, sign up for our  Breakfast with ARTnews   newsletter. The Headlines THIEVES WITH A SHORT FUSE . Early on Saturday morning, thieves blew open the door of the Drents Museum in the Netherlands and stole priceless gold artifacts, including an ancient, crown-like helmet on loan from a Bucharest museum for a traveling exhibit, reports NL Times . “This is a dark day for the Drents Museum in Assen and the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest,” said the director of the Drents Museum, Harry Tupan . The prized golden helmet of Cotofenesti from the fifth century BC dates to the ancient Dacians, who lived in modern-day Romania, and is a cherished part of the country’s cultural heritage. The helmet became better-known when it appeared on the cover of posters promoting the traveling exhibit titled “Dacia – Empire of Gold and Silver,” which was targeted at 3:45am on Saturday by robbers. Security c...

Above: The sixth and latest Club Rugby jigsaw puzzle has just dropped – the Heartland Championship one.  Our first news in briefs, happenings and titbits column of the year. As has been the case previously, the intention is that this column will come out on Mondays every week throughout the rugby year, as we set...

Demonstrating its drive for innovation and growth, FELLFAB®, a prominent name in engineered textile solutions, has finalized the acquisition of Miltex Solutions Canada Inc.’s assets and brand. This move also brings the respected Warrior Gear brand under the FELLFAB® umbrella. Known for its expertise in creating and repairing textile-based military and tactical products, Miltex Solutions Canada Inc. has long been a trusted name in its industry. “This acquisition is a natural alignment of capabilities. Miltex Solutions Canada Inc.’s commitment to quality and performance complements our vision of providing advanced engineered textile solutions to our customers across the diverse industries we serve,” commented Glen Fell, CEO of FELLFAB®. Miltex Solutions has earned a solid reputation for its cutting-edge textile products, which include personnel and cargo parachutes, custom drone parachutes, shelters, and tactical gear. These products have served both government agencies and private en...

The International Test Pilots School (ITPS Canada) has unveiled a significant shift in its leadership, signaling the start of an exciting new era in flight test training and education. With a history of excellence, the organization is poised to further strengthen its global reputation under the guidance of seasoned leaders. Giorgio Clementi, who has served as ITPS Canada’s President and CEO for decades, will transition into the role of Executive Chairman and Head of Engineering as of January 24. In this new capacity, Clementi will concentrate on steering the long-term vision of the organization and overseeing governance. His dedication to maintaining ITPS Canada’s standing as a global leader in flight test education remains unwavering. Taking over the reins as Chief Executive Officer is Dave ‘Loshy’ Lohse, previously the Vice President of Flight Test at ITPS Canada. With extensive expertise spanning both flight test operations and tactical training, Lohse brings a forward-thinking a...

Two Winslow Homer paintings that were recently appraised on Antiques Roadshow have been auctioned by Christie’s during its 19th century American Art and Western Painting sales on January 23. The watercolor paintings Boy and Girl at a Well (1879) and Boy and Girl on a Swing (1879) were consigned to the auction house and sold after being appraised on the popular PBS program. They were also added to the official catalogue raisonné for the artist after they were reviewed by expert Abigail Booth Gerdts, who wrote the entries for the catalogue. Boy and Girl at a Well (1879) sold for $113,400, including fees, on an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. Boy and Girl on a Swing (1879) sold for $75,600, also including fees, above an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. “This is such an exciting consignment because the works had never before been published,” Paige Kestenman, Christie’s Vice President and Senior Specialist of American Art, told ARTnews . “The owners didn’t really even know what they...

A portrait of tech billionaire Elon Musk was removed from a space and technology exhibition at a German museum following backlash over a controversial gesture Musk made Monday at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. Many interpreted Musk’s gesture at the inauguration as a Nazi salute, though Musk called the controversy “dirty tricks” from critics. As the founder and CEO of SpaceX, Musk was prominently featured in a portrait among “visionaries from the past and future” in the astronautics gallery at the Deutsches Museum of Science and Technology. However, the artwork was temporarily covered in November, amid Musk’s increasing political involvement, and has now been removed. “It can always be problematic to honor people who are still alive in such a prominent place in an exhibition because it can be understood as an uncritical tribute,” a museum spokesperson told Fortune Wednesday. “A person’s lifetime achievements can often only be correctly assessed in retrospect.” The found...

Last Friday, a couple of days before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, he launched his own cryptocurrency, a meme coin named, appropriately, $TRUMP. Amid the ceremonial pomp, the coin’s value skyrocketed by over 300 percent over the weekend. As of Thursday, the market capitalization of $TRUMP is hovering around $7 billion with only 200 million of the 1 billion tokens yet released. The remaining 800 million tokens are owned by Fight Fight Fight and CIC Digital, an affiliate of the Trump Organization. At the coin’s current value, Trump has a total stake exceeding $30 billion, or over three times his suspected net worth of $7.5 to $10 billion, though of course that’s all on paper. Meme coins often disappear as quckly as they rise in value, often leaving hoodwinked investors—rather than, say, Trump—holding the bag. Perhaps that’s why $TRUMP’s website has a clear disclaimer declaring the coin an artwork. “TrumpMemes are intended to function as an expression of support for, an...

On Monday, a court in India’s capital city, Delhi, ordered the seizure of two paintings by the late Maqbool Fida Husain – aka MF Husain – after they were deemed “offensive” by authorities. He is one of India’s best-known artists. The judge gave the police permission to confiscate the artworks after a lawye, Amita Sachdeva, complained that the artworks which feature two Hindu deities, “hurt religious sentiments.” She posted on X on December 4 that she photographed the “offensive paintings” displayed at the Delhi Art Gallery (DAG) after looking into previous complaints against Husain. Sachdeva filed a police complaint on December 9. Husain died in 2011 at the age of 95. He was often criticized for painting naked Hindu gods. In response to the court order, DAG – which describes itself as “India’s leading art company” – said in a statement that it is “not a party to the legal proceedings and is seeking legal advice.” It added that it is “reviewing the situation” and “trying to follow...

Brady Corbet  has responded to online chatter regarding the use of  artificial intelligence  technology on his  awards contender  The Brutalist , which is coming under fire after the film’s editor Dávid Jancsó commented in an interview on the use of  AI  to enhance the performance of the film’s leads,  Adrien Brody  and Felicity Jones. In an interview with video tech publication  Red Shark News , Jancsó said the filmmakers used AI tools from Ukrainian specialist Respeecher to tweak Brody’s and Jones’ Hungarian dialogue in the film to make it sound more authentic. That AI was used in the film in any form has sparked online outrage, with many suggesting it should disqualify it for awards consideration. “Adrien and Felicity’s performances are completely their own,” said Corbet, in a statement to  The Hollywood Reporter  on Monday, countering the suggestion that technology was used to improve or change the actors’ performances. “...

Following his inauguration yesterday, President Donald Trump has reinstated a policy from his first term that favors “classical” styles for government buildings over modernist ones. The newly issued policy , officially titled the Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture executive order, is aimed at promoting a kind of civic architecture that “commands public admiration.” When it was first introduced in 2020, many US architects critiqued the move as regressive , viewing it as an attempt by the Trump administration to impose a uniform style on public buildings and to promote nationalist ideals. That year, Robert Ivy, the former head of the American Institute of Architects, said the group opposed the order, which he said would impose rigid aesthetic preferences and stifle creativity. Detractors also said that Trump was attempting to ban future buildings done in styles recalling Brutalism and Deconstrucivism, two modernist movements that were mentioned by name in the original order. The ex...

Interview with France Hébert, Vice-President & General Manager, Defence & Security Canada at CAE In the latest episode of Vanguard Radio, host J. Richard Jones sits down with France Hébert, Vice-President and General Manager of Defence & Security Canada at CAE . She leads operations across 16 sites with 800 employees. She also serves as President of SkyAlyne and CAE Military Aviation Training, and sits on the boards of CADSI, True Patriot Love, and Invest Ottawa. With 35 years in defence and aerospace, France has held senior roles in strategy, business development, and operations, achieving success in complex billion-dollar programs. Her career includes service as a Canadian Armed Forces officer and roles at Bombardier, Nortel, and GDMS-C. France holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Physics) from the Royal Military College of Canada, a Business Administration certificate from McGill University, and a PMP designation. CAE provides critical expertise and solutions t...

On January 15, 2025, Millbrook Strategic Sciences Inc ., a rising star in the field of additive manufacturing and disruptive suppressor technologies, was awarded a pivotal contract to supply advanced suppressors to the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM). This contract, which includes multiple options, highlights the company’s cutting-edge innovations and promises to significantly boost operational effectiveness while prioritizing the safety and health of military personnel. The contract’s competitive nature underscores Millbrook’s exceptional capabilities in delivering scalable suppressor solutions. It represents the culmination of extensive research and development, beginning with the initial concept and evolving through various innovation phases. This award not only demonstrates the company’s technological prowess but also emphasizes the strategic importance of fostering homegrown manufacturing. By securing this contract, Millbrook reaffirms its position as a le...

A female-centric order has been found for the first time in European prehistory by scientists who analyzed DNA from burial grounds in southwest England. Archaeologists from Bournemouth University, together with geneticists from Ireland’s Trinity College Dublin, made the discovery by analyzing 50 genomes from remains found in burial grounds in the county of Dorset. The site dates to the Roman conquest of BCE 43. The results, which were published in the science journal Nature , suggest the community who once lived there was the first in Europe centered around a female line of descent. “This was the cemetery of a large kin group,” Dr Lara Cassidy, assistant professor at Trinity’s genetics department, said. “We reconstructed a family tree with many different branches and found most members traced their maternal lineage back to a single woman, who would have lived centuries before. In contrast, relationships through the father’s line were almost absent.” “This tells us that husbands...

In a new development for Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Kingston, a new facility for the 21 Electronic Warfare Regiment (21 EW Regt) has been announced. Mark Gerretsen, Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands, representing the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, made the announcement January 13, 2025. The occasion was marked with a groundbreaking ceremony that officially kicked off the construction of the state-of-the-art building. “This new facility will enhance the Canadian Armed Forces’ electronic warfare capability, at home and abroad. The project not only modernizes our infrastructure and enhances our capabilities, it also supports 150 local jobs – an investment in both our Armed Forces and Canadian workers,” explained the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence. The design contract for the project has been awarded to Colbourne & Kembel Architects Inc ., a Kingston-based firm. The construction phase of the project is expected to generate ap...

David Lynch, the visionary filmmaker and artist who mined the strange and restless depths of the soul, has died. He was 78. His death was announced on social media on Thursday by his family, who did not provide a cause. Last year Lynch announced that he had developed emphysema, a chronic lung condition, due to years of smoking. “There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us,” the Lynch family wrote on Facebook. “But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’ It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.” An artist of epochal scale, Lynch necessitated a genre of his own: “Lynchian,” used to describe his opulent, mysterious, and monstrous yet recognizably human creations. Eraserhead  (1977), Blue Velvet (1986), and Mulholland Drive (2001) are among his greatest achievements in film, characterizing his signature synthesis of horror, sensuality, and gallows humor. His foray into television, Twin Peaks (1990–91, an...

It is the same tournament, but with a new venue, as the fourth annual Bula 7s Invitational tournament returns this Saturday to usher in the new year in rugby. For the first time, the tournament moves to the Hutt Valley, with William Jones Park taking over hosting duties from Porirua Park where the tournament has...

As the Eaton and Palisades fires consume California, social media users have reignited controversy over Lynda and Stewart Resnick, two married Los Angeles collectors who have a significant stake in the state’s water. The Resnicks own the Wonderful Company, an agribusiness conglomerate that includes Fiji Water, pistachios, pomegranate juice (the distinctly shaped Pom Wonderful), Halo-brand mandarins, and Telefora, America’s largest flower delivery service. Their $13 billion fortune is owed in no small part to their 185,000 acres of land and majority stake in Kern Water Bank, located in the southern swath of California’s Central Valley. They’ve grown a vast art collection alongside that wealth, as well as a reputation for generous art and culture patronage. Their Beverly Hills home displays works by European and Old Masters, as well as pieces by Fragonard, Boucher, and Picasso. Following a gift of $30 million, the Hammer Museum unveiled the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Cultural Center, w...

The Des Moines Art Center, a contemporary art museum in Iowa, has reached a settlement with artist Mary Miss after a dispute over the destruction of a decaying installation titled Greenwood Pond: Double Site that it commissioned from her in 1996. The settlement, which resulted in the museum paying Miss a sum of $900,000 to move forward with the demolition, comes after a year-long effort by the artist and The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), a cultural advocacy group in Washington D.C., to pressure the Art Center to raise enough funds to preserve the work. In fall 2024, the museum cited several physical and financial limitations to Miss as the reasons hindering the institution from being able to save it. Miss filed a lawsuit in April 2024, a few months after the Art Center had explored options internally with its board of trustees to finance the restoration. According to the center’s director, Kelly Baum, ultimately, they found that the cost of $8 million to restore and maintai...

US museum directors are facing pushback over exhibiting work by Palestinian artists, just one form of censorship among many cited in a survey put out this week by PEN America, the Association of Art Museum Directors, and the Artists at Risk Connection. It is still safer, perhaps, for museums to show work by Palestinian artists than it is exhibit art critical of other subjects. Eighteen percent of the directors who responded for the survey said they were likely to receive complaints over exhibiting work by Palestinian artists; 13 percent said something similar about showing art by Israelis. By contrast, 30 percent said they feared an outcry over showing art critical of Christianity, and 28 percent worried about the prospect of exhibiting art critical of Donald Trump—a figure that is particularly striking, given that the survey was conducted in the summer of 2024, prior to the election. But it is art by Palestinians that is given considerable attention in the survey, which situates th...

Doug Chrismas, a prominent dealer in the Los Angeles art scene since the 1970s and 1980s, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison. Convicted last May on three counts of embezzling funds from his gallery’s bankruptcy estate, Chrismas will report to prison on February 17, according to  the New York Times .  Federal prosecutors argued for a harsher sentence, citing a pattern of financial misconduct resulting in millions of dollars in losses. Chrismas, now 80, was pivotal in shaping contemporary art in Los Angeles, showcasing artists such as Robert Irwin and Donald Judd. However, his legacy has been sullied by decades of financial disputes and a barrage lawsuits from artists and creditors. A diary entry by Andy Warhol in 1979 alluded to nonpayment for sold artworks, foreshadowing later controversies. The sentencing process was delayed as Chrismas’s defense sought probation, citing his advanced age. Prosecutors, however, highlighted the gravity of his actions. U.S. ba...

The grave of British naturalist Charles Darwin was defaced by climate activists from the Just Stop Oil group at London’s Westminster Abbey. Earlier this morning, two activists entered Westminster Abbey and wrote “1.5 is dead” in orange spray chalk across Darwin’s white marble gravestone. The phrase alludes to recent reports about rising global temperatures. According to those reports , in 2024, for the first time ever, temperatures surpassed ones recorded in the pre-industrial era by 1.5 degrees Celsius. This increase in global temperature was the agreed-upon “safe” limit designated by world leaders in Paris in 2015. “We have passed the 1.5-degree threshold that was supposed to keep us safe,” one of the Just Stop Oil activists said. “Darwin would be turning in his grave to know we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction.” In a statement, Westminster Abbey said that its conservators were “taking immediate action to clean the memorial and do not anticipate that there will be an...

To receive  Morning Links  in your inbox every weekday, sign up for our  Breakfast with ARTnews   newsletter. The Headlines GALERIE THOMAS UNDER INVESTIGATION . The Munich public prosecutor’s office is investigating suspicions of delaying insolvency proceedings, fraud, and breach of trust by the local blue-chip Galerie Thomas , which filed for bankruptcy in July last year, reports Handelsblatt . In addition, consignors have reportedly been requesting artworks be returned as well as the proceeds from multiple sold pieces. Owner and director of the 1964-founded gallery, Raimund Thomas and his daughter and co-director Silke Thomas , were not available for comment to German reporters. What’s more, Raimund’s whereabouts are apparently unknown. The historic gallery specializing in German expressionism, the Bauhaus, European modernism, and contemporary art regularly presented in prestigious fairs like TEFAF and Art Basel.  DARWIN ‘TURNING IN HIS (VA...