— DIA Art Back in Danger: Yesterday, one of Detroit’s creditors presented four possible offers for monetizing the Detroit Institute of Art’s collection. These new proposals throw a wrench in the “Grand Bargain” plan backed by Governor Rick Snyder to keep the art out of the city’s bankruptcy dealings by transferring it to a nonprofit owner. “Blindly proceeding with the obviously below-market ‘Grand Bargain,’ in the face of the proposals, is a fundamentally flawed approach,” said Stephen Spencer, a financial adviser to the Financial Guaranty Insurance Company, referring to the city’s favored deal. “The result will be less money in the pockets of retirees and the perception that municipal investment in Detroit is a fool’s bet.” [NYT]
— Chicago Courts George Lucas Museum: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel declared his interest in bringing George Lucas’s museum to his city a few months ago, but now Emanuel is getting serious and creating a taskforce to identify potential sites for the museum. Emanuel’s senior adviser David Spielfogel said the city plans to give a proposal to Lucas in the next few months. “The city of Chicago has enthusiastically welcomed me and I consider Chicago to be my second home,” Lucas said. “I look forward to working with community leaders to see if Chicago can become home to the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum.” [Chicago Tribune]
— Frieze Will Use Union Labor: After prolonged labor disputes, Frieze New York, the Teamsters Joint Council 16, and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) have come to an agreement wherein fair organizers will employ union laborers to set up the fair’s Randall’s Island tent. Union members publicly protested the fair last year and negotiations for the subsequent deal have taken two and half months. George Miranda, president of Teamsters Joint Council 16, said, “It was a great win.” He added, “We’re satisfied with it. Our goal all along was to make sure it was 100 percent union labor, and that’s what we accomplished.” [GalleristNY, Crain’s]
— Richard Serra’s Qatar Desert Sculpture: Sculptor Richard Serra has erected four 50-foot steel pillars in the Zekreet Peninsula of the Qatar desert for his latest project, “East-West/West-East.” [Independent]
— Ukranian Protest Art Gets a Show: The exhibition “I Am a Drop in the Ocean: Art of the Ukranian Revolution” at Vienna’s Künstlerhaus features 35 artists and collectives, including art objects used during protests in Kiev’s Independence Square. [WSJ]
— Senegal’s Controversial Gay Art Show: An exhibition in Senegal meant to highlight gay persecution and the African media’s slanderous coverage of same-sex couples will go forward, despite warnings from a leading academic who feels the show will cause unwanted controversy. [TAN]
— 30-year-old archaeologist Monica Hanna is using social media to save Egyptian artifacts from looting. [NYT]
— As part of his current board fight with Sotheby’s, Daniel Loeb has created a website called Value Sotheby’s, which has some ridiculous art-themed infographics. [Value Sotheby’s]
— Brandon Ruud will be the Milwaukee Art Museum’s new curator of American and decorative arts. [Art Daily]
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