Weekly News Roundup: November 1, 2024

Change of Hands for New Zealand Sculpture

After five years of ruling over New Zealand’s capital with an iron fist, Melbourne-based artist Ronnie van Hout’s giant hand-face sculpture, Quasi (2016), will be removed from the roof of City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi. Since its installation in 2019, the five-meter-tall depiction of a disembodied hand, with the artist’s stoic face embedded beneath the knuckles, has drawn mixed reactions from residents. Many are unsure whether to mourn or celebrate the departure of the sculpture, which some call “hideous” and others say they have “warmed to.” Inspired by the eponymous protagonist from the 1831 French novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Quasi was originally commissioned by Christchurch Art Gallery in 2016 and relocated to Wellington. City councilor Ben McNulty told the local Midday Report: “I love Quasi, I love that he’s polarizing . . . he’s such an interesting piece of modern art that brings life to that part of our city,” adding that “[h]e will be missed and leaves a Quasi-shaped hole on our civic skyline.” The sculpture will be taken down on Saturday and handed off to an undisclosed venue in Australia. 

India’s Largest Art Fair Reveals 2025 Edition

The India Art Fair Delhi (IAF Delhi) has announced details of its 16th edition, to be held at the NSIC Exhibition Grounds in New Delhi from February 6 to 9, 2025. The fair will invite 116 domestic and international exhibitors, featuring 77 galleries and 25 major art institutions, including new participants such as the London-based artist and gallery space Unit7 / Prahlad Bubbar and Lagos-based art space kó. Returning for its sophomore year, the Design section will feature an expanded group of 11 design studios from India and abroad and host a curated showcase of young Indian designers. The Focus section includes solo presentations of mixed media works by emerging and midcareer artists, while the Outdoor Art Projects will display large-scale installations; one such work is conceptual artist duo Claire Fontaine’s LED installation, which builds on their long-running project Foreigners Everywhere / Stranieri Ovunque (2004–24). IAF Delhi director Jaya Asokan has stated that the fair will also hold a sibling event in Mumbai in November 2025, marking its first expansion.

Opulent Palace of Bangladesh’s Toppled Leader to Become a Museum 

Three months after the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian regime in Bangladesh, the country’s caretaker government has announced it will turn the ex-leader’s residence, the Ganabhaban palace, into a museum honoring the revolution that ousted her. Hasina fled Bangladesh on August 5, following mass student-led uprisings against the civil service job quota system. The initially peaceful rallies were met with a violent government crackdown, after which tens of thousands of protestors stormed the ostentatious residence, which locals have called a “symbol of repression.” Bangladesh’s interim leader, economist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, declared that the palace will be converted into the July Uprising Memorial Museum to “preserve memories of [Hasina’s] misrule and the people’s anger when they removed her from power.” He added that the institution will house a replica of Bangladesh’s covert military detention centers, known as the Aynaghar (“House of Mirrors”), to “remind visitors of the torture endured by secret prisoners.” According to a spokesperson for Yunus’s office, construction for the museum will begin in December. 

Jejehaap Architects to Design Museum for Samsung Collection 

On October 25, South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism announced the studio Jejehaap Architects as the winner of its international design competition, which invited architects to submit proposals for the prospective Lee Kun-hee Museum in central Seoul. A jury comprising eight architectural experts unanimously selected Jejehaap’s proposal, Recovery of Time (2024), out of 67 teams, for its use of pine trees, which symbolize strength and resilience in Korea. Along with a vast courtyard, the design features three buildings with a total of six exhibition spaces. Plans for the Lee Kun-hee Museum, named after the late Samsung chairman whose collection it will house, were launched in 2021 by the Korean government to exhibit over 23,000 artworks and national treasures acquired by the business magnate and donated to the public. The works are currently being held by other art institutions in Seoul, including the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern Art, and will be relocated to the forthcoming museum in 2028, when it is scheduled to open. 

New Cultural Center Coming to Okinawa

The tentatively named PAN Okinawa arts complex is set to debut in Bise, Okinawa, in late 2027. The facility will serve as a cultural hub in the northwestern seaside village, within a new development project led by the Japanese construction company Obayashi Corporation. Spanning approximately 3,800 square meters, the space will include an art center with eight distinct exhibition rooms designed by the Tokyo-based Kentaro Ishida Architects Studio, as well as a cafe. The planning, curation, and management of the complex will be handled by the multidisciplinary arts company PAN Co, Ltd., with the support of Tokyo’s Ota Fine Arts gallery. The exhibition space will present contemporary art from East Asia to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, as well as Okinawan art and crafts. Also expanded to the outdoors, the Japanese architecture firm Domino Architects will collaborate with the ecosystem construction unit Veig to design the surrounding garden landscape, where future art installations will be displayed. The construction of PAN Okinawa aims to respect the local terrain and nature, along with creating economic benefits through tourism by promoting the culture of Okinawa and the wider Asian region.

United Arab Emirates Launches First Public Art Festival

The inaugural edition of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennale, themed “Public Matter,” is set to open on November 15 in the Emrati cities of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. More than 70 regional and international artists have been invited to exhibit site-specific installations and performances, including Puerto Rico-based performance artist duo Allora & Calzadilla; Dubai-based multidisciplinary artist Christopher Joshua Benton; New York-based photographer and filmmaker Farah Al Qasimi; Colombian artist Oscar Murillo; and Swedish Palestinian artist Tarik Kiswansan, among many others. The works, dozens of which will be new commissions, will be displayed in accessible locations within the cities’ central and downtown neighborhoods to emphasize the Biennale theme of shared, public art. Organized by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, the first Public Art Biennale is slated to run until April 30, 2025. 

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