IN STASIS. The New York Times reports that a surprising trend has taken hold in the city: artists’ studios are being carefully maintained long after these creators have died. One such example is the Cooper Square studio of Tom Wesselmann, the Pop artist who died in 2004. Since his death, his studio has been preserved almost exactly as he left it, thanks to his widow, Claire Wesselmann, and a dedicated staff that continues to work regular hours. Jeffrey Sturges, a former assistant and now director of exhibitions for Wesselmann’s estate, says the space still feels lived in: shelves hold his maquettes, blue gloves labeled “TW right” and “TW left” sit ready, and the scent of turpentine lingers in the air. Wesselmann’s name remains on the intercom. Studios like this can be found across Europe—the ones Auguste Rodin and Francis Bacon in Paris and London, respectively, remain tourist destinations, with the latter now reconstructed in Dublin—and now America is finally getting its own equivalents.
POINT BREAK? As government support declines, American museums, already operating with reduced funding from institutions like the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, are increasingly turning to corporations, private donors, foundations, and earned income to fill the gap. While museums in countries like Germany and the UK have historically relied more on public funding, they too are now facing political pressure to justify cultural spending amid tighter national budgets. Artnet News reports that in response, institutions are rethinking everything from programming and governance to their broader civic role. “There’s a general tone of concern and uncertainty,” Stephen Reily, former director of the Speed Art Museum and founding director of the think tank Remuseum, said. “I’m not sure anyone feels like they have a clear road map to sustainability.”
The Digest
The new director of Frieze Masters, Emanuela Tarizzo, discussed taking over London’s biggest art and antiquity fair. [The Times]
With its high-tech presentations, the Alameda Art Laboratory, an institution set in a former convent, has become a point of pilgrimage in Mexico City. [The New York Times]
Despite Turkey’s increased censorship, and against a background of war in the Middle East, the curator of the Istanbul Biennial reportedly “favors futurity over futility.” [The Art Newspaper]
The National Endowment for the Arts grants are not required to comply with PresidentTrump’s executive order on “gender ideology,” a Rhode Island federal court ruled on Friday. [ARTnews]
The Kicker
POKÉMON POPS UP IN LONDON. London’s Natural History Museum will launch a special pop-up shop in collaboration with Pokémon to coincide with the brand’s 30th anniversary in January. It will a range of limited-edition products, including clothing, stationery, accessories, art prints, and a brand-new toy, and it marks the first time Pokémon has opened a pop-up shop inside a UK museum. Due to expected high demand from fans and collectors, entry to the shop will be ticketed. Adam Farrar, the museum’s director of commercial and visitor experience, told Museums and Heritage: “We hope this collaboration will spark joy and curiosity in the creatures around us, both in the world of Pokémon and on Earth.”
