Emmanuel Macron formalises Shanghai Pompidou Centre project

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

France finalises deal with China over Shanghai Pompidou satellite | France and China have formalised a partnership to establish a new Pompidou outpost in Shanghai, President Macron announced on Tuesday. According to Le Figaro (French language article), the renewable agreement will initially last for five years, and will see the Pompidou stage exhibitions in a wing of the new West Bund Art Museum, designed by David Chipperfield and set to open its doors in spring 2019. The Paris museum has been in talks with Chinese authorities for over a decade; the project was initially announced in 2017.

MoMA receives major gift of Latin American art | New York’s Museum of Modern Art has received a gift of more than 90 objects created by Latin American artists from the collection of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros. Featuring works by artists including Mario García Torres, Jac Leirner and David Lamelas, the donation is the second instalment of a gift that was first announced in 2016. The museum says that the gift, which incorporates a wide range of styles, from video and performance art to photography, will ‘greatly enhance the Museum’s collection of contemporary work by Latin American artists’.

La Salle University’s president defends decision to deaccession | In an interview with Philadelphia magazine, La Salle University president Colleen M. Hanycz has defended the institution’s decision to sell off 46 works from its art collection in order to facilitate an ambitious new strategic plan. ‘No one likes to sell art,’ she told the publication. ‘But if there is a higher purpose to better serve the students that we serve, we will.’ Hanycz contends that even after the sale, ‘we still end up with a very, very solid teaching museum’.

Taft Museum of Art receives $5m gift | Cincinnati’s Taft Museum of Art has received a $5m gift from the late philanthropist Sallie Robinson Wadsworth. According to WCPO Cincinnati, the endowment will establish a new chief curator position, allowing Lynne D. Ambrosini, who currently occupies the role, to devote more time towards research, exhibitions and publications. An assistant curator position will also be created, bringing the curatorial staff to four.

Scottish museums receive £700,000 in development funding | Museums Galleries Scotland has granted more than £700,000 to 17 institutions, reports the Museums Association. The grants come courtesy of the MGS’s Museum Development Fund, which is distributed twice a year to help museums execute new projects. Recipients in this round include Paxton House, the Ness Historical Society and the National Mining Museum Scotland.

Stephen Reily appointed director of Louisville’s Speed Art Museum | Stephen Reily has been confirmed as director of the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. Reily has been interim director of the institution since last March, when Ghislaine d’Humières stepped down.