Bias Warnings, Billion-Dollar Openings, and Museum Heists

Washington’s Smithsonian Institution is at the center of a new political flashpoint. The Art Newspaper reports that President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday, 24 July, mandating temporary signage be installed along National Park Service–maintained sidewalks and walkways used by the public to access the National Museum of American History on the National Mall. The order says the signage should inform visitors that exhibits “should be renovated consistent with the findings” of a 162-page Domestic Policy Council report released 4 July, and it also urges temporary exhibits or signage to “correct” what the order calls inaccurate information. Smithsonian and museum spokespeople declined to comment. The order landed days after director Anthea Hartig testified in House subcommittee hearings on 21 and 22 July.

Staying with headline-making institutions, a one dollars billion Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has finally locked in an opening day: December 11, according to reporting that notes the project was first announced in 2006. The Frank Gehry-designed museum began construction in 2011, was suspended, restarted in 2019, and still aims for a 2026 opening timeline announced in 2021. Gehry’s design includes a layered exterior with nine metallic cones, with natural ventilation described as an ecologically conscious approach to desert climate control, and outdoor exhibition areas totaling around two hundred fifty thousand square feet. Inside, the museum will have 30 galleries totaling about one hundred twenty five thousand square feet arranged around a central atrium. A 2014 preview exhibition cited works by Yayoi Kusama, Dan Flavin, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, and Bharti Kher.

Across the Atlantic, France is responding to a spate of violent burglaries targeting silverware and jewellery with a new national approach. The Art Newspaper reports that culture minister Catherine Pégard unveiled a “national security plan” at a press briefing on Monday, 27 July, warning that “no place is being spared, from the smallest church to the biggest museum.” Since the Louvre heist on 19 October 2025, Pégard said more than three thousand one hundred museums, monuments, and churches have been mapped as sensitive places. Her ministry has budgeted €30m over three years to improve security at local museums, while acknowledging “there is no risk zero.” The plan includes 33 security measures, spanning infrastructure improvements and better training, putting collection safety first.

That urgency spiked after a theft in Burgundy that happened in front of visitors. The Art Newspaper reports that last Thursday, 23 July, two men smashed a glass case at the Musée du Pays Châtillonnais and stole the collar of the “Lady of Vix,” dated to around 500BC. The 1lb solid gold collar is described as the most significant piece from the grave of a Celtic princess discovered in 1953. Pégard said one suspect has been arrested, without providing further investigative details. The museum had spent €one hundred fifty thousand over the past two years reinforcing gates and installing cameras, and after two failed nighttime attempts, the perpetrators struck in broad daylight. The shock prompted calls for storing valuables in safes and showing copies, though Pégard cautioned against replacing masterworks wholesale.

From remembrance now: ARTnews reports that Betye Saar died on July 26, four days before her 100th birthday. Born in Los Angeles in 1926, Saar spent six decades using found objects—furniture, feathers, birdcages, and more—to probe race and politics. The article highlights her 1972 work The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, depicting the “Mammy” figure with a toy rifle and broom and a Black Power fist rising before her; ARTnews quotes Saar’s line about making “a woman who was a victim” into “a warrior.” Tributes came from institutions including MOCA, the Getty, the Hammer Museum, LACMA, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, which extended condolences to her daughters Lezley Saar, Alison Saar, and Tracye Saar-Cavanaugh. Theaster Gates wrote, “Thank you for the dance.”

Still in the realm of big programming, ARTnews reports that the Biennale of Sydney has appointed Low Kee Hong as artistic director of its 26th edition, on view in and around the city in 2028. This year’s Biennale, directed by Hoor Al Qasimi and titled “Rememory,” closed last month. In his statement, Hong said the 2028 Biennale will “embrace participation and discovery,” and he looks forward to spending time with artists, communities, and cultural leaders across Australia and the wider region. Hong is founding creative director of Factory International, which opened in Manchester in 2023, and he curated Ai Weiwei’s site-specific exhibition “Ai Weiwei: Button Up!” there. He previously worked in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and led major initiatives in Singapore; ABC calls him the first Southeast Asian to oversee the Biennale.

Back in the United States, ARTnews reports on financial strain at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, via the Philadelphia Inquirer. For fiscal year 2025–2026, ending June 30, the museum posted a ten dollars million deficit on a seventy six dollars million budget—nearly double the prior year’s five dollars million deficit. Leadership reportedly expects the deficit could remain flat or grow to as much as fifteen dollars million this year. The news follows the museum’s October 2025 ouster of director Sasha Suda, who was replaced by Daniel Weiss; the museum reverted to its original name in February. Weiss told the Inquirer the situation is “substantial, but solvable,” with a goal to balance the budget in three years, noting deficits have been covered by spending cash and reserves.

Now to an idea-heavy piece: a Hyperallergic article argues Walter Benjamin’s writing on photography helps explain what feels perilous about AI-generated imagery. It points to Benjamin’s 1931 essay “A Little History of Photography,” where he worried photography could “endow any soup can with cosmic significance but cannot grasp a single one of the human connections in which it exists.” The piece describes Benjamin’s view that photographs that aestheticize things while erasing their meaning are dangerous—especially because the camera produces an “undeniable impression of reality.” This reading is anchored by a small presentation at the Jewish Museum focused on Benjamin’s essay, timed to coincide with the museum’s Paul Klee exhibition. The takeaway is a warning about images that glaze over context while inviting easy consumption.

Across the Pacific, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake damaged Japan’s historic Kumamoto Castle on July 28, according to reporting that notes the site houses priceless artworks from the Edo period. Video footage shared on X reportedly shows a section of the moat wall collapsing—tumbling down onto a lawn and into the water near the entrance from the castle’s Ninomaru Plaza in Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyushu. Even when damage looks localized, an incident like this can trigger wider concerns for stability, visitor access, and the safeguarding of objects housed on site. With landmarks like Kumamoto Castle, the immediate focus becomes documenting structural impacts, securing affected areas, and beginning the careful process that leads to repair and preservation.

Finally, Hyperallergic reports that German photobook publisher Steidl Verlag is facing an uncertain future after coming close to bankruptcy. The publisher, founded by Gerhard Steidl in 1968 and known for books by artists including Nan Goldin, Gordon Parks, Walker Evans, and Joseph Beuys, recently resolved insolvency proceedings opened after claims it withheld employee salaries and failed to make social security contributions. Der Spiegel reported some employees alleged they hadn’t been paid for up to six months, and that as of a July 10 insolvency filing, a five-figure sum in wages was outstanding with lawsuits pending. Steidl attributed financial trouble to U.S. tariffs and a 50% drop in international sales. Proceedings were closed Thursday, July 23, after claims were settled, according to NDR.

That’s today’s download—links to every story are in the show notes. Come back tomorrow for more art world news you can actually use.

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