Department for International Development clarifies UK’s UNESCO position

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Department for International Development clarifies UK’s UNESCO position | The Department for International Development has issued a clarification statement after reports that it plans to withdraw the UK’s £11.1m funding to UNESCO, says World Heritage UK. ‘There has been no change to our funding commitment to Unesco,’ the department stated last night. ‘The UK is working closely with Unesco and other member states to ensure it makes crucial reforms to deliver the best results and value for taxpayers’ money.’ There was widespread concern this week after International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt was reported to be pushing for the UK to follow the United States and Israel in quitting the UN body.

Pace Gallery announces new ‘partnership’ with Christo | The artist Christo, who has typically not been represented by any galleries, is now in what has been described as a ‘partnership’ with Pace Gallery. A 2020 exhibition of works by Christo and his late wife and collaborator Jeanne-Claude is planned for the new Pace headquarters in New York, while five of his works on paper will be shown at Art Basel Miami Beach next month.

Stephanie Cristello, Jeff Rhodes and Kathleen Rapp given new positions at Expo Chicago | The three new positions were appointed at Expo Chicago yesterday. Stephanie Cristello, who will be artistic director, has already worked at the fair for the past five years as director of programming, while at the same time being founder and editor-in-chief of The Seen, a senior editor at ArtSlant and a regular contributor to ArtReview. Jeff Rhodes will manage operations and exhibitor relations, bringing 20 years of experience handling logistics at fairs in Miami and Chicago. Finally, Kathleen Rapp has been appointed director of VIP relations, having worked with the fair since 2010.