Christians protest against McJesus sculpture in Haifa

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Christians protest against McJesus sculpture in Haifa | A protest group of several hundred Christians demonstrated against a sculpture of a crucified Ronald McDonald, titled McJesus, at the Haifa Museum of Art in Israel at the end of last week. The Art Newspaper reports that protestors attempted to storm the museum and clashed violently with the police. The work, by the Finnish artist Jani Leinonen, has been in display since August as part of the exhibition ‘Sacred Goods’; Leinonen states that he requested that it be taken down because he had joined the BDS movement against Israel. The country’s culture minister last week sent a letter to the museum director demanding its removal as an act of ‘disrespect’ towards religious symbols unsuitable for ‘a cultural institution supported by state funds’. The museum has placed a sign at the exhibition’s entrance warning visitors about potentially offensive content but have refused to take down the sculpture.

Prix Marcel Duchamp 2019 shortlist announced | The shortlist for this year’s Prix Marcel Duchamp, which is awarded annually to an artist based in France, has been announced. Those in the running to receive the €35,000 prize are Ida Tursic & Wilfried Mille, Eric Baudelaire, Katinka Bock and Marguerite Humeau. The winner will be revealed in October at an event at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Sean O’Harrow to direct Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art | Sean O’Harrow has been announced as the new executive director of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri. O’Harrow joins the Kemper Museum from the Honolulu Museum of Art, which he has led for the past two years.  He begins the new role in February.