Yorkshire Sculpture Park building makes shortlist for RIBA Stirling Prize 2019

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Yorkshire Sculpture Park gallery makes shortlist for RIBA Stirling Prize 2019 | The shortlist for the Royal Institute of British Architect’s Stirling Prize has been announced. The Weston, Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s recently opened £3.6m visitor centre, has made the list. Other nominees include Grimshaw’s redevelopment of London Bridge station and the new opera house at Nevill Holt.  The winner will be announced this October.

Notre-Dame reconstruction bill passes into law | On Tuesday, French lawmakers adopted a bill to coordinate the reconstruction of Notre-Dame, after it was seriously damaged in a fire this April. The law creates an oversight structure for some $954 million in donations pledged by individuals and corporations. The bill’s passage was opposed by some members of parliament who believe the process is being rushed. ‘We are not confusing speed with hurry,’ said French culture minister Franck Riester.

Tate declares climate emergency, promising broad reevaluation of practices | In a press release, Tate’s directors stated that the planet faces a climate emergency and pledged to respond by reducing the institution’s carbon footprint at least 10 per cent by 2023, switching to a green electricity tariff, sustainably sourcing food, and adopting a trains-first travel policy. The directors also promised a reassessment of ‘our systems, our values and our programmes’.

Recommended reading | In Artforum, critics Hannah Black, Ciáran Finlayson, and Tobi Haslett call for artists to withdraw their work from this year’s Whitney Biennial in protest against museum trustee Warren Kanders’ ownership of Safariland, the manufacturer of tear gas recently used against migrants at the US-Mexican border. ‘The movement against Kanders is not random or impulsive,’ they write. ‘The case against him has been building, and has now been delivered into the hands of artists, who have an extraordinary capacity to speak and be heard.’