— Yoko Ono Sings for Chicks on Speed: The German band Chicks on Speed has invited Fluxus artist and activist Yoko Ono to contribute to their latest album, “Artstravaganza,” along with Austrian theorist Peter Weibel and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Ono will be featured on their first single, “Utopia,” saying the phrase “unite and focus on what we want and we will get it, one of the things is peace, because we don’t want a violent world.” The group plans to perform selections from the album at White Cube, Witte de With, and MoMA PS1. [TAN]
— Frank Gehry’s Philly Museum Plans Unveiled: After eight years, Frank Gehry’s designs for the Philadelphia Museum of Art have been unveiled in a new exhibition at the museum. The designs don’t alter the exterior of the famous neoclassical building much, instead revamping the interior and subterranean sections, most notably the iconic “Rocky” steps. Gehry’s plans eliminate an auditorium under the grand staircase, restore the museum’s northern entrance, and put a window through the “Rocky” steps to gallery spaces beneath. “My mission was to preserve the appearance of the exterior. Anything I’d do to put my signature on the building would be trivial,” Gehry told the Philadelphia Inquirer. [LAT]
— El Salvador’s Presidential Mansion Becomes a Museum: El Salvador’s new president and former rebel leader, Sanchez Ceren, has turned the presidential mansion into a museum and arts center for the city’s poor. Ceren has elected to live in his own house, which is reportedly in a more middle class area of San Salvador. Forty-five works by Salvadoran artists are on view and the president described the revamped residence as a “place to gather and reflect on El Salvador’s identity and everyday life.” [Aljazeera]
— Artists Paint Warships: As part of the Liverpool Biennial, contemporary artists Tobias Rehberger and Carlos Cruz-Diez have been asked to “dazzle” warships on the occasion of World War I’s 100th anniversary. [TAN]
— Domino Sugar Docent: Here’s a profile of Robert Shelton, the only docent at Kara Walker’s Domino Sugar Factory installation to have actually worked at the factory. [The Atlantic]
— The Art Newspaper Has Two Pieces On Art World Sexism: First, Jori Finkel checks in with Micol Hebron’s gallery gender tally project. Second, Royal Academician Eileen Cooper has asked for “positive discrimination” to bring more women into the Academy. [TAN, TAN]
— The Pérez Art Museum is seeking $2.5 million in government support, which would leave taxpayers to cover a third of next year’s budget. [Miami Herald]
— Art dealer Yvon Lambert has announced he will close his Parisian art gallery to focus on his foundation, the Collection Lambert en Avignon. [Artforum]
— The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi will celebrate the opening of its first Frank Gehry-designed pod this week. [Sun Herald]
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