MoMA employees stage protest ahead of union negotiations

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

MoMA employees stage protest ahead of union negotiations | Artnews reports that up to 100 members of MoMA’s union – including front of house staff, librarians, invigilators, accountants and curators – joined together yesterday afternoon to stage a demonstration ahead of contract negotiations with the museum. Members of ‘MoMA Local 2110’ protested the lack of job security for junior staff, high health care costs and no salary increases. According to union leader Maida Rosenstein, who was interviewed by Hyperallergic, MoMA is ‘keeping pace’ with the low salaries offered by other museums. In 2000, employees of MoMA went on strike for over four months, which eventually resulted in wage increases.

Sotheby’s sales increase but net profit falls | Sotheby’s half-year sales of $3.45 billion (£2.6 billion) are 22 per cent higher than last year’s figures, a result boosted by private and online sales, reports the Wall Street Journal. However, The Art Newspaper claims that although Sotheby’s 2018 sales have climbed, its second-quarter profit is comparatively lower than last year’s, as ‘high value does not equal big profit’.

Bangladeshi police arrest renowned photographer Shahidul Alam | Award-winning photographer Shahidul Alam has been arrested by Bangladeshi police after allegedly making ‘provocative comments’ about the student protests in Dhaka in a live interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday. Al Jazeera has since reported that Alam is still in police custody and has been charged with ‘spreading propaganda against the government.’

Gagosian Hong Kong appoints Han-I Wang as Senior Director | Artnews reports that Han-I Wang has been appointed the senior director of Gagosian, Hong Kong. Wang was previously Vice President for Christie’s, Hong Kong.

Recommended reading | Zachary Small on ‘Searching for Humor in America’s Machismo Freefall’ in Hyperallergic | and Kimberly Drew talks to Tina Knowles Lawson about her Black Art Collection in Vanity Fair.