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- A Greek abbot of the Mega Spilaio monastery was arrested on charges of trafficking Byzantine icons and other antiquities.
- The Almaty Museum of Arts (ALMA) opened this month, making it Kazakhstan’s first private museum of its kind.
- A major Yoshitomo Nara painting heads to Christie’s in London.
THE HEADLINES
OH, BROTHER. Following a months-long undercover sting operation, Greek authorities have arrested an abbot from the historic Mega Spilaio monastery in Peloponnese, on charges of trafficking religious relics and antiquities, per reports in Le Monde and I Kathimerini. Six defendants in all were arrested on Monday and are being held by police for their involvement in the alleged attempt to sell 14 looted Byzantine icons and two gospels for €200,000 ($235,000). All six maintain their innocence. The arrests came following an anonymous tip, which allowed investigators to infiltrate the network, and come into contact with the 63-year-old abbot of the Megalos Spilaios monastery. The group allegedly had connections to auction houses in Germany and Cyprus.
A NEW MUSEUM RISES. The Almaty Museum of Arts (ALMA) opened to the public on September 12 in a highly anticipated moment for the Kazakhstan cultural scene, reports ARTnews. It is the country’s first private museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art, and it will showcase the collection of its founder, auto and real estate tycoon Nurlan Smagulov . This includes over 700 artworks by Kazakh and Central Asian artists, as well as international artists. However, as previously reported, regional museums have also had to contend with concerns over artistic censorship from Beijing, and it remains to be seen how ALMA plans to navigate those challenges. “We aim to foster curiosity, dialogue, and global engagement with the cultural wealth of Central Asia,” said artistic director Meruyert Kaliyeva.
THE DIGEST
A major work by Yoshitomo Nara will be offered at Christie’s upcoming 20th- and 21st-century evening sale on October 15 in London, ARTnews has learned. The large-scale work, titled Haze Days (1998), is one of the earliest examples of Nara’s more mature style creating during his time in Germany, and it is estimated to sell between £6,500,000 to £8,500,000 ($8,700,000 to $11,430,000). [press release]
The Museum of Women’s Art (MOWA) is the first art institution dedicated to women artists to open in China. Located by the Lugu Lake in southwestern China, the museum has launched with an exhibition titled “La Barca Leggera” (The Light Boat) comprising works by Chinese-Swiss artist Luo Mingjun, alongside poetry by Alberto Nessi. [ArtAsiaPacific]
The Picasso Museum in Paris has announced plans to expand its building with a new wing for temporary exhibitions and a sculpture garden, expected to cost €50 million (about $59 million). The museum said it will stay open during construction, which will take place from 2028 to 2030, and that it is “auto-financing” the project, through its own funds, support from the Picasso family, and by raising money via a foundation within the Académie des beaux-arts. [Le Monde]
At the upcoming editions of Frieze London and Frieze Masters, a group of galleries will donate 10 percent of the sale price of certain artworks to benefit the London-based nonprofit Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC). Several blue-chip galleries are participating in the project called 10% Of, amounting to about 8 percent of the over 280 exhibitors at both Frieze fairs. [ARTnews]
Artsy has teamed up with the BBC’s brand-new series The Art Game (airing in 2026 and produced by Stellify Media) to launch an exclusive online auction spotlighting Berlin-based rising stars Celeste Najt and artist duo 44flavours. Running from September 27 to September 29, the BBC’s Art Game x Artsy Auction bridges television and digital culture, for an opportunity to acquire works by emerging artists. [Artsty]
THE KICKER
RESILIENCE IN ISTANBUL. International art fair Contemporary Istanbul, which held its latest edition last week, marked 20 years since its launch, with an impressive demonstration of continued resilience from the local Turkish art scene and market, despite political and economic turmoil, as well as heightened censorship, reports Ocula. Museum consultant and CI director Emin Mahin Balcioğlu spoke of intense, current government oversight and threats of arrest for museum directors, but hopes to “move forward,” in an expression of hope. “There has always been turbulence here in Istanbul, so it gives us a sense of resilience,” said Levent Özmen, a director at Istanbul-based gallery Dirimart.
