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- The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is taking precautionary measures to protect its collection from vibrations caused by the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.
- A Cold War bunker beneath Italy’s Lake Garda is being transformed into a museum.
- British painter Sarah Cunningham, who died in 2024 at the age of 31, will receive her first institutional exhibition in the UK.
The Headlines
GOOD VIBRATIONS? The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is taking precautionary measures to protect its collection ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, a high-speed IndyCar race planned near the National Mall. The Independent reported that the museum has conducted a vibration study and implemented safeguards amid concerns that race activity could affect artworks and historic structures. While officials say the measures are purely precautionary and not prompted by structural concerns, preservation experts have questioned whether the potential impact on nearby cultural sites has been fully assessed. The race, part of the United States’ 250th anniversary celebrations, will pass close to several major museums and historic landmarks.
COLD CASE. A Cold War bunker beneath Italy’s Lake Garda is being transformed into a museum preserving the era’s nuclear tensions, The Art Newspaper reported. The former NATO command center, codenamed West Star and located just outside the town of Affi, was built between 1960 and 1966 to withstand nuclear, chemical, and biological attacks. The 13,000-square-meter complex housed 300 personnel and coordinated NATO operations across southern Europe until its closure in 2007. Backed by €7 million in funding, the site is expected to partially open next summer. Exhibits will include original equipment, Cold War archives, veterans’ oral histories, and a rare early ARPANET system—a precursor to today’s internet.
The Digest
White Cube has announced its representation of artist Tesfaye Urgessa, who divides his time between Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Nürtingen, Germany. [ARTnews]
British painter Sarah Cunningham, who died in 2024 at the age of 31, will receive her first institutional exhibition this autumn at Nottingham Contemporary. [Lisson Gallery]
A new museum at a UK country house is spotlighting a secret wartime operation in which Jewish refugee “listeners” covertly recorded conversations among Nazi officers, helping uncover valuable military intelligence. [Times of Israel]
The UK city of Hull has opened its new £20 million Hull Maritime Museum, which traces the city’s seafaring history through whaling, fishing, trade, and migration. [The Guardian]
The Kicker
GALLIANO GAMBIT? The New York Times has asked whether the Metropolitan Museum of Art is making a mistake by honoring John Galliano with a major retrospective, reigniting debate over the relationship between artistic achievement and personal conduct. Galliano reshaped fashion during his years at Dior, creating theatrical collections that pushed the boundaries of couture, but his career was derailed in 2011 after he made antisemitic remarks in Paris. John Galliano: Horizons will examine both his creative legacy and the controversy surrounding him, reflecting a broader cultural debate over how institutions should reckon with influential figures whose accomplishments are intertwined with serious ethical failings.
