Zehra Doğan, artist and journalist, released from Turkish prison

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Zehra Doğan, artist and journalist, released from Turkish prison | Hyperallergic reports that Kurdish journalist and artist Zehra Doğan has been released from prison in Turkey. In March 2017, Doğan was sentenced to two years, nine months and 22 days in prison for creating ‘terrorist propaganda’. The basis of this charge was a watercolour painting created by Doğan in 2016, based on a photograph of destroyed buildings covered with Turkish flags in the Kurdish city of Nusaybin. During her incarceration, artists including Ai Weiwei and Banksy were among the numerous figures who spoke out in support of Doğan. 

Participants announced for Whitney Biennial 2019 | The artist list for this year’s Whitney Biennial has been announced, with Wangechi Mutu, Nicole Eisenman and Simone Leigh among the 75 confirmed participants. The New York Times reports, meanwhile, that one figure originally included on the list – the Chicago-based artist Michael Rakowitz – withdrew his participation in protest against the vice chair of the museum board, Warren B. Kanders, who owns a company that manufactures and sells tear gas, armour and other forms of military equipment. This year’s biennial is curated by Rujeko Hockley and Jane Panetta and runs from 17 May until 22 September.

Jamie Crewe wins Margaret Tait Award | LUX Scotland has announced artist Jamie Crewe as the winner of the Margaret Tait Award 2019/2020. Established in 2010, the annual prize was inspired by Scottish filmmaker and poet Margaret Tait (1918–99) and goes to a Scottish or Scotland-based moving image artist. Crewe will receive £15,000 with which to create a new work to be presented at next year’s Glasgow Film Festival.

Jack Burnham (1931–2019) | The American art critic Jack Burnham has died at the age of 87, reports Artforum. Burnham was a key theorist of the conceptual art movement known as ‘systems art’ in the 1960s and ’70s; in 1970 he organised the exhibition ‘Software – Information Technology: Its New Meaning for Art’ at the Jewish Museum in New York, displaying computers alongside works by artists including Nam Jun Paik, Agnes Denes and Joseph Kosuth.