— New Head for Queens Museum: Laura Raicovich is set to take over as the Queens Museum’s new president and executive director. Raicovich, who is currently director of global initiatives at Creative Time, replaces Tom Finkelpearl, who was recruited by Mayor de Blasio to be New York City’s cultural affairs commissioner. She will start January 1. [NYT]
— “Racist” Banksy Removed: The local government of British town Clacton-on-Sea has ordered the removal of a recently installed Banksy mural it deemed to contain “offensive and racist remarks.” The work depicts five grey pigeons holding signs that say “go back to Africa,” “migrants not welcome,” and “keep off our worms,” while a colorful swallow stands alone. “We would obviously welcome an appropriate Banksy original on any of our seafronts and would be delighted if he returned in the future,” said Nigel Brown, communications manager for Tendring district council. [The Guardian]
— Palestine Biennial Still On: Despite ongoing turmoil, the second edition of the biennial-like Qalandiya International will take place across Palestine, with more than 100 artists in nine cultural institutions. “We aim to transcend the restrictions on movement, political stagnation, and the consequent impacts on our cultural life and practices,” said Tina Sherwell, director of academic programs at the International Academy of Art Palestine. Meanwhile, Gaza residents are turning war debris into art. [TAN, Times of Israel]
— French Museums Up the Ante: Several French cultural institutions — including the Louvre, Versailles, and the Musée d’Orsay — will be open seven days a week, starting sometime between 2015 and 2017. Meanwhile, the Musée Picasso will issue its largest-ever loan of sculptures to MoMA in September 2015. [NYT, TAN]
— SculptureCenter Gets Renovated: “There are plenty of white boxes in New York, and we don’t want to be another one,” said Mary Ceruti, executive director and chief curator at the institution. “People come here ready to see art because they’ve made the effort, and that’s a good thing. Would I like more people to make that effort? Yes, and that’s part of why we did this.” [NYT]
— MoMA’s Fresh Curatorial Take: A new generation of curators has been challenged by director Glenn D. Lowry to “try to tell a fuller story” than MoMA has in the past. [ARTnews]
— From Jeff Koons’s talk with Whitney director Adam D. Weinberg: “I like the feelings. I mean, I really like the feelings.” [ARTnews]
— Forger Mark Landis’s Mona Lisa is on view at Think Coffee in Greenwich Village. [DNAinfo]
— In case you weren’t really sure how to do it, this bizarre “How to View Art” piece has some very strict guidelines: “Rules for the gift shop: Never buy anything that isn’t a book; never ‘save time’ for the gift shop because this will make you think about time; never take children, because they will associate art with commerce.” [Washington Post]
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