Further Controversy for French Culture Ministry as Museum Director Resigns

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Beaux-Arts de Nantes Director Resigns | Blandine Chavanne, director of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes since 2006, has resigned from her position citing municipal ‘interference’ as the reason for her departure. After local authorities cancelled a planned exhibition dedicated to Georgia O’Keeffe, Chavanne announced that she was ‘slamming the door’ on her position. Chavanne’s resignation is only the latest in a string of events that have rocked the French culture ministry.

John Perreault Dies Aged 78 | The American artist and critic John Perreault has died of complications following gastrointestinal surgery, reports the New York Times. Perreault, who founded the Artopia blog and was for many years chief art critic of the Village Voice, also held many senior curatorial and teaching positions across America.

Extension of Paris’s Islamic Cultural Institute Abandoned | The City of Paris has announced that construction of an extension to the Institut des cultures d’Islam (ICI) has been suspended. Work on the building, which was to open this year, has reportedly been stopped due to reasons of cost and disagreement with residents of a neighbouring building.

Coke Bottle Exhibition Provokes Boycott Threat | The Sinebrychoff Art Museum in Helsinki (one of Finland’s National Galleries) has become the target for an online petition to bring its current exhibition, ‘Coca-Cola Bottle – 100 Years’ to a premature close. The petition has already attracted around 200 signatories, some of whom are threatening to boycott the museum for promoting a global brand.

Royal Vauxhall Tavern Awarded Grade-II Listed Status | The Royal Vauxhall Tavern, an iconic gay pub in South London, has been designated a Grade-II listed building after an immensely popular campaign to save it from redevelopment.

Sotheby’s Announces Auction App | Sotheby’s and the tech start-up Artsy have announced they are to collaborate on an online-only sale of contemporary art. Gimmick it may be, but the auction house is not the first art-world venerable to enter the fray of smartphone technology this week.