in News | 06 SEP 16

Briefing

The Çanakkale Biennial in Turkey is cancelled; the director of London's V&A steps down following Brexit

in News | 06 SEP 16

Anti-coup protesters in Bağcılar, Istanbul, Turkey, 15 July 2016. Photograph: Maurice Flesier

  • The 5th edition of the Çanakkale Biennial in western Turkey has been cancelled less than three weeks before the opening, as a result of the continued ‘atmosphere of war and conflict’. At the close of an official statement, the Çanakkale Biennial Initiative wrote: ‘Exactly one year after Aylan Kurdi’s lifeless body was washed up on our shores, we would like to dedicate the unrealized 5th Çanakkale Biennial and the efforts of everyone involved to all the people who have been expelled from their homelands.’
     
  • Martin Roth, the director of London’s V&A Museum, is set to step down from his position after 5 years in charge. In part, the decision has been made as a result of Britain’s recent decision to leave the EU. Roth has previously spoken out against the referendum, stating: ‘Dropping out always means creating cultural barriers and that worries me’.
     
  • The reopening of the Bass Museum in Miami has been pushed back to spring of 2017 due to previously unforeseen delays in construction. Following its USD$12 million renovation, the museum was initially scheduled to reopen on 1 December with shows from Ugo Rondinone, Mika Rottenberg and Pascale Marthine Tayou.
     
  • Frances Morris, who in January became the first female director of London’s Tate Modern, has spoken out about the difficulties that women continue to face in the art world. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Morris said: ‘Institutional bias, unconscious bias. It is still a boys’ club, no question in my mind.’
     
  • Berlin’s Wentrup gallery has announced that it is working towards opening a second space in the city’s Tiertgarten gallery district. The new space, which will be christened WNTRP, will open on 16 September with a solo exhibition from Moroccan artist Hicham Berrada.
SHARE THIS