Warren Kanders resigns as vice chair of Whitney board

Our daily round-up of news from the art world 

Warren Kanders resigns as vice chair of Whitney board | The vice chairman of the board of trustees of the Whitney Museum American Art in New York, Warren B. Kanders, has stepped down after a series of protests over the role of his company, Safariland, in the production and sale of tear gas. Last week, eight artists withdrew their works from the Whitney Biennial, following a call to boycott the exhibition by artists Hannah Black, Ciarán Finlayson, and Tobi Haslett on 17 July. In his resignation letter, Kanders stated that ‘the targeted campaign of attacks against me and my company that has been waged these past several months has threatened to undermine the important work of the Whitney’.

Nicky Morgan appointed UK Culture Secretary | Nicky Morgan has been appointed to the role of Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), in a cabinet reshuffle by new UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. She replaces Jeremy Wright, who has held the role since July 2018. It is understood that Rebecca Pow will keep her position as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for DCMS in the reshuffle, though at the time of writing it is not known who will become the next Minister for Digital and Creative Industries, after the previous incumbent Margot James resigned on 17 July.

Paolo Giulierini reconfirmed as director of Naples museum of archaeology | The Italian Director-General of Museums, Antonio Lampis, has confirmed that Paolo Giulierini will continue in his position as director of the National Museum of Archaeology, Naples. Like that of the other directors of 20 leading Italian museums appointed during the reforms of then-culture minister Dario Franceschini in 2015, Giulierini’s contracted term was due to end in October this year. Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Paestum archaeological park, is the only other director to have been reconfirmed so far.

Baltimore Museum of Art to establish centre for Matisse studies | The Baltimore Museum of Art has announced that it will create a centre within the museum dedicated to the study of Henri Matisse, spurred by a $5m gift from the Ruth Carol Fund. The new centre at the museum, which holds the largest public collection of works by the French painter worldwide, will support research, publication and digitisation, and exhibitions. It is scheduled to open in 2021.