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On January 9, 2025, at the 25th Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, Defence Minister Bill Blair has unveiled a robust $440 million military aid package to Ukraine. This commitment underscores Canada’s unwavering support as Ukraine continues its fight. A key component of this assistance focuses on addressing Ukraine’s pressing need for ammunition. Minister Blair detailed a substantial $200 million allocation to support Czechia’s initiative aimed at procuring and delivering large-calibre ammunition to Ukraine. This new funding builds on a previous contribution of over $53 million, which had already facilitated the delivery of about 11,500 rounds of large-calibre ammunition. Additionally, another $50 million has been earmarked to procure various calibres of ammunition directly from Canadian suppliers. “The military assistance announced today provides Ukrainians with resources needed to resist Russian aggression. The UDCG, through the leadership of Secretary Austin, has been vi...

After several Sally Mann photographs were removed from a show at Texas’s Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth amid controversy, the institution has finally responded, issuing a brief statement that confirmed that an investigation was taking place. The Mann photographs were removed after some locals and politicians claimed that these images were “child porn.” The Dallas Examiner , which published several articles reporting on locals’ concerns, previously reported that there was a police investigation surrounding the works as evidence for alleged child abuse, but the museum had not responded to inquiries about it until now. Mann has regularly faced controversy over her depictions of children. She became known for photographing her home in the Virginian city of Lexington, Virginia; some of her shots have featured her own children in the nude. These photographs do not depict sexual activity. “An inquiry has been made concerning four artworks in the temporary exhibition Diaries of ...

Alastair Mackinven, an artist whose work presented viewers with confusing, hypnotic imagery that begged viewers to reconsider the world around them, has died at 53. He battled a long illness, his London-based gallery Maureen Paley said in its announcement on Wednesday. Within the British art scene, Mackinven built a modest but loyal fan base. He initially gained a name for his cryptic performances, some of which he captured on film. Then, over the course of the last decade, he amassed a critical following for paintings that tested the limits of figuration. Recent shows at New York’s Reena Spaulings Fine Art brought him acclaim across the pond as well. In his Artforum review , critic Barry Schwabsky wrote of the colorful canvases on view in a 2021 outing, “These chromatic polymorphous compounds are enormously satisfying, and one comes to wonder whether the paintings’ impenetrable encounters are meant simply to redirect viewers to the nonrepresentational—to send them the long way arou...

A watercolor painting by 19th-century Philadelphia artist William H. Dorsey is now on display at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania  after it was plucked from the depths of a Glenside, Pennsylvania thrift store—and potential obscurity. The untitled landscape, which dates to 1864, is thought to be Dorsey’s only surviving painting, according to Philadelphia’s  WHYY . Dorsey, who was part of a prominent Black family in Philadelphia, was known primarily for his extensive scrapbooking of Black community history. Dorsey’s artistic output was largely undocumented, with no other paintings found in museum collections or auction records. However a  1896 article  published in the  Philadelphia Times  refers to Dorsey as “a true artistic talent.” The watercolor was discovered last year by Andy Robbins, an HR professional and frequent thrift store visitor, at New Life Thrift. The small oval painting features a tranquil scene with a figure fishing near a churc...

To receive Morning Links in your inbox every weekday, sign up for our  Breakfast with ARTnews   newsletter. The Headlines FRIEZE FOR SALE . As the next edition of the  Frieze  art fair in Los Angeles approaches, from February 20 to 23, the big story is the brand’s potential sale by its parent company, Endeavor . While Endeavor and Frieze declined to comment to The Art Newspaper ,  readers have been brought up to speed on a few key developments in the story. For one, in case you missed it, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel has reportedly told the company’s board he is interested in tabling bid on Frieze, along with the Miami and Madrid Open tennis tournaments owned by Endeavor. To that end, he has evidently raised $100 million from investors. Yet Endeavor’s leadership made a point to tell reporters they “won’t show Emanuel any favoritism and will sell to the highest bidder,” adding that he is not the only potential buyer interested. What might Frieze cos...

At the end of last year, a farmer in eastern Turkey discovered a rare, largely intact late Roman mosaic while planting a cherry orchard. Spanning almost 1,000 square feet, the mosaic is thought by archaeologists to be the largest example of its kind unearthed in the country. Hidden for hundreds of years under 50 cm of loose topsoil in the village of Salkaya in Elazığ province, 300 miles east of Turkey’s capital Ankara, the mosaic is believed to have been laid in the late 3rd century. “It is the first of its kind to have survived to the present day as a whole and in its portrayal of animals, all of which were once found here,” said Emre Çayır, the lead archaeologist at the excavation. “There may be larger mosaics elsewhere in Turkey, but those consist of geometric patterns or mythological subjects.” The state Archaeology and Ethnography Museum of Elazığ is overseeing the dig. Featuring a rare Anatolian leopard, the mosaic has been coined the “Salkaya mosaic.” It chronicles a serie...

To receive Morning Links in your inbox every weekday, sign up for our  Breakfast with ARTnews   newsletter. The Headlines IN MEMORIAM. ANYTHING BUT AVERAGE . The Canadian artist and AIDS activist known as  Joe Average  has died aged 67 in his home in Vancouver, reports  The Art Newspaper . Despite the name he took on, there was little that was average about the artist born as  Brock David Tebbutt . Diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, he dedicated his life to art and to helping others also living with AIDS, as well as combatting homophobia. Over the years, he became widely known for his signature, brightly colorful and bold pop artworks. He was often compared to Keith Haring. Just a few weeks before his death, he was awarded the  Order of Canada , the country’s highest honor. Speaking about a 2021 Vancouver mural marking the 40th anniversary of the first reported case of AIDS in the US, titled  One World, One Hope — 40 Years Later , made ...