Lionel Barber appointed chair of Tate trustees

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Lionel Barber appointed as chair of Tate trustees | After reports circulated yesterday, the Tate has confirmed that Financial Times editor Lionel Barber has been appointed as chairman of the museum’s board of trustees. Barber has served as interim chair since last year, when Lord Browne of Madingley stepped down. The Prime Minister has now agreed to extend Barber’s term in the role until 2021. According to the FT, Barber has countered suggestions of a possible conflict of interest between his two roles, saying that any direct or personal involvement with fundraising for the museum will be disclosed, and that he will ‘recuse himself from any associated editorial decisions or coverage’ at the newspaper.

Budi Tek is to form a foundation for his collection with LACMA | Indonesian-Chinese collector Budi Tek has come to an agreement with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to preserve the integrity of his collection after his death. Tek, who owns one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of contemporary Chinese art, as well as work by other contemporary artists, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2016. ‘I am concerned about the collection; part of my legacy involves preserving the holdings I’ve built up over the past 15 years,’ he told the Art Newspaper. Tek’s Yuz Museum in Shanghai and LACMA will establish a joint foundation, meaning that the collection will be equally owned by both partners, who will also create a joint programme of exhibitions and events.

Stephanie Wiles named director of Yale University Art Gallery | Stephanie Wiles, the director of Cornell University Museum of Art, has been confirmed as the next head of Yale University Art Gallery. Wiles has worked in university and college art museums for more than 20 years, having previously held posts at the Morgan Library and Museum, Wesleyan University, and Oberlin College. She joined Cornell in 2011, where she was instrumental in creating interdisciplinary courses and expanding the visual arts to other areas of university life. She will succeed Jock Reynolds and takes up the position on 1 July.

Laura Sillars appointed director of Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art | Teesside University has announced that Laura Sillars is to be the next director of Middlesbrough’s Institute of Modern Art (MIMA). Sillars, who is currently artistic director at Sheffield’s Site Gallery, will replace Alistair Hudson, who took over as head of Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth Art Gallery earlier this year. Sillars will take up the post in Summer 2018.

Regeneration fund grants £4m towards new museum in Blackpool | A project to launch a new museum in Blackpool has been allocated £4m by the UK government’s Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund, reports the Museums Association. Provisionally known as ‘Amuseum’, the putative museum builds on previous plans for a cultural venue in Blackpool, which were abandoned by the council last year due to fears of financial risk. The £4m brings the project significantly closer to its target of £13m. Other recipients of NCRF grants include a former Odeon cinema in Bradford and a number of cultural and heritage venues across the Lake District.

Donald Trump signs bill forbidding federal funding of oil portraits of politicians | President Trump has given his signature to a piece of legislation known as ‘the Eliminating Government-funded Oil-painting act’, which will prohibit government employees and representatives from using federal funds towards the cost of oil portraits. According to ArtNet, the initiative was taken by Republican senator Bill Cassidy, who had previously introduced similar bans in the 2014 and 2016 federal budgets. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the act will save around $500,000 per year.

Em’kal Eyongakpa wins inaugural Henrike Grohs Art Award | Em’kal Eyongakpa has been awarded the first biennial Henrike Grohs Art Award, a new prize backed by the Goethe Institute that is dedicated to artists living and working in Africa. Eyongakpa, who co-founded the Cameroon-based arts space KHaL!LAND in 2007, is a multimedia artist who has exhibited at a number of international exhibitions. The prize is named for Henrike Grohs, the former director of the Goethe Institute in Abidjan, who was killed in a terrorist attack in Cote d’Ivoire in 2016.

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