— Detroit Judge Denies Creditors’ Request: Judge Steven Rhodes denied creditors the ability to remove art from the Detroit Institute of Arts so that it could be inspected and appraised for the city’s bankruptcy case. Though the judge also ruled against a request for access to over a million pages of historic documentation about the art, he will allow creditors to access art in storage through DIA officials. In the end, it was determined that removal would pose too much of a threat to the artwork’s safety. [Detroit Free Press]
— Corcoran Merger Deal Closes: On Thursday George Washington University and the National Gallery of Art agreed to merge with the Corcoran Gallery of Art, which will close indefinitely on October 1 for renovations. The takeover means that when the Corcoran reopens it will offer free admission, 17,000 artworks from its collection will be absorbed by the National Gallery, and galleries will become halved with more space dedicated to the art school. The Corcoran’s interim director, Peggy Loar, said, “I think there’s a euphoria that we have a wonderful solution here.” She added, “The one thing we need to work at is to maintain that synergy between the collections and curators along with the faculty and the students.” [CBS DC]
— Thief Pillages Danh Vo Sculpture: A section of Danh Vo’s $6,000 City Hall Park public art project “We The People” was stolen yesterday. The sculpture, which was meant to be unveiled Saturday, was on loan from Galerie Chantal Crousel in Paris. The thief managed to make off with a 40-pound piece of the copper statue while workers were installing. [NYPost]
— Feminist Intervention to Hit Whitney: Brooklyn-based Artist Sophia Wallace, known for her “CLITERACY” project, will take part in a “rogue feminist public intervention” with 25 artists today at The Whitney to protest the museum’s lack of diversity, evidenced by this year’s Biennial. [Guardian]
— Laurie Simmons to Direct Feature Film: Photographer Laurie Simmons, who was recently nominated for the Prix Pictet photography award, will direct a feature film this summer titled “My Art,” which will feature a role for her daughter, “Girls” creator Lena Dunham. [Independent]
— Website Lets Museumgoers Pose for Masterpieces: A new social media initiative in the UK and Europe encourages museumgoers to imagine themselves in iconic paintings by recreating their famous scenes and sharing them on the VanGoYourself website. [Telegraph]
— Melva Bucksbaum, vice chairman of The Whitney, talked to Kelly Crow about what artists feature in her collection. [WSJ]
— The New Orleans Prospect 3 Biennial has announced its participant list. [Artforum]
— Swann Galleries will hold an auction of African-American art called “The Hape of Things to Come,” focusing on social and political art from the 1960s and 1970s. [Art Daily]
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