— Kiev Museum Ransacked as Situation in Ukraine Escalates: Storage and administrative facilities of the Kiev History Museum in Ukrainsky Dom have been ransacked as violence in the country’s capital mounts. One museum employee posted a photograph to her Facebook page of an upturned box containing fragments with the caption: “Our archaeology in storage.” Ukraine’s acting culture minister, Leonid Novohatko, said that with regard to cultural losses, “nothing tragic has yet happened,” but that it was too early to gauge the damage. [TAN]
— Denver Museum Returns Artifacts to Kenyan Government: On Wednesday, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science returned 30 artifacts to the Kenyan government in a ceremony attended by three Kenyan dignitaries. The return of the wooden spiritual carvings, known as vigango, was the culmination of five years of discussion and consideration within the museum on how to handle the artifacts. Stephen Nash, chairman of the Denver Museum’s Anthropology department, said, “It is the museum’s hope that their return will bring healing to the families and communities that have suffered from their absence.” [NYT]
— Presence of Israeli Artist Keren Cytter at Marrakech Biennial Stirs Protest: The planned inclusion of Israeli artist Keren Cytter at the fifth edition of the Marrakech Biennial in Morocco, “Where Are We Now?”, has ignited a controversy among “anti-normalisation” activists who are against having open relations with Israel in any arena, including culture. Involving the artist would be “a crime,” according to Azziz Hanawi, the secretary general of the Moroccan Observatory Against Normalisation. Citing the biennial’s mission to “build bridges” between cultures, Marrakech Biennale founder and president Vanessa Branson said, “Keren Cytter is participating in this biennale as an individual speaking from her own personal perspective.” [TAN]
— German Researchers Under Investigation for Vandalizing Great Pyramid of Giza: After being accused of theft and vandalism, Dominique Goerlitz and Stefan Erdmann, two German researchers, are now under investigation for having scraped pigment samples from the cartouche of King Khufu in the chambers of the Great Pyramid, which they claim they were doing in an attempt to prove the cartouche to be a forgery. [TAN]
— Here’s a report from the College Art Association Conference in Chicago last weekend where thousands of art educators, museum curators, and art historians descended on the Hilton hotel for a four-day shindig of panels, workshops, a book fair, and other events. [Hyperallergic]
— The NormanRockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, received a gift from the Famous Artists School, including several original works by Norman Rockwell. [Boston.com]
— “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee settled her lawsuit against an Alabama museum over sale of knickknacks that featured her name. [USA Today]
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