.jpg)
Weekly News Roundup: November 8, 2024
By The Editors
Portrait of KITTY SCOTT. Courtesy Power Station of Art, Shanghai.
Kitty Scott Named Chief Curator of 15th Shanghai Biennale
The Shanghai Biennale has appointed Canadian curator and writer Kitty Scott as chief curator of the 15th edition slated for late 2025, making her the first woman to helm the international event since its launch in 1996. A seasoned art veteran, Scott has served as deputy director and chief curator at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, chief curator at London’s Serpentine Gallery, and the curator for the Canadian Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017. She is currently the strategic director at the Canadian nonprofit Shorefast and its contemporary art residency program Fogo Island Arts. According to a press release, the 15th Shanghai Biennale, titled “Does the flower hear the bee?,” will focus on the complex relationship between humans, nature, and culture, inspired by the “network of communication” among bees and flowers. Organized and hosted by Shanghai’s Power Station of Art, the first state-run contemporary art museum in China, the Biennale is set to take place from November 8, 2025, to March 31, 2026.
Portraits of KELLY MA (left) and INNEY PRAKASH (right). Photos by Leise Hook and Nikhil Shah. Courtesy Asia Society Museum, New York.
Asia Society Museum Welcomes New Curators
New York’s Asia Society Museum has announced the addition of two art professionals, Kelly Ma and Inney Prakash, to its curatorial team. Ma joins as curator of learning and outreach, bringing a wealth of international experience, including three years in Hong Kong where she served as deputy director of Para Site and guest programmer at M+. Prakash, a New York-based film critic and founder of the city’s Prismatic Ground film festival, joins as curator of film. Welcoming the new members, Asia Society Museum director Yasufumi Nakamori stated: “Their expertise and fresh perspectives will be instrumental in advancing our film, community outreach, and learning initiatives. With their contributions, we look forward to strengthening our role as a dynamic platform for cultural exchange, fostering connections across communities and disciplines.”
Exterior view of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery’s new wing. Courtesy Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui.
New Zealand Art Museum Reopens with Anti-Earthquake Reinforcement
After five years of renovations, following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the heritage-protected Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui, Aotearoa New Zealand, will reopen on November 9. The art museum was shuttered in 2014 after a heritage assessment found that the building would not be able to withstand another earthquake in its current condition. Following a NZD 70 million (USD 43 million) earthquake-proofing renovation, the institution has doubled its exhibition space to 4,500 square meters. Renamed Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery by local iwi tribes, which translates to “house of inspiration,” the museum features a new wing honoring Māori heritage with symbolic design elements and improved climate control to protect its 9,000-piece collection. The museum will celebrate its reopening with a major exhibition, titled “Nō Konei | From Here,” spotlighting regional artists alongside European works. According to the museum’s director Andrew Clifford, the opening program pays tribute to the institution’s “rich history and bright future” and “highlights the significance of our region to the wider creative sector” in New Zealand and abroad.
Portrait of RANJANA STEINRUECKE, co-founder of Mirchandani + Steinruecke. Photo by Lokesh Dang. Courtesy Suryan and Dang, New Delhi.
Mirchandani + Steinruecke to Open New Delhi Venue
Mumbai’s Mirchandani + Steinruecke gallery is set to open a new 186-square-meter space in New Delhi this month, adding to a recent wave of gallery expansions in the country. Located in New Delhi’s central Defence Colony neighborhood, the new venue will debut on November 20 with a solo show of drawings and paintings by Kerala-based artist Aji VN. Cofounder Ranjana Steinruecke cited a need for greater exhibition space and the opportunity to engage New Delhi’s broader collector base. She noted that the latter city “requires sustained engagement, as collectors often prefer visiting a physical gallery.” Mirchandani + Steinruecke has increasingly steered clear of art fairs, focusing instead on curated exhibitions, such as Hyderabad-based artist CK Rajan’s ambitious 2023 retrospective. Despite recent sales challenges, Steinruecke remains optimistic, saying, “[a]rt always prevails. You just have to keep pushing forward.”
Portrait of WAEL SHAWKY. Courtesy Qatar Museums, Doha.
Egyptian Artist Named Artistic Director of Qatar Museums’ Artist Residency Program
Alexandria-born artist Wael Shawky has been appointed the first artistic director of Qatar Museums’ artist residency program at the Fire Station in Doha. Recognized for his work in film, performance, and storytelling, Shawky recently represented Egypt at this year’s 60th Venice Biennale. In this new role, he will oversee the institution’s program which has supported nearly 100 emerging artists from Qatar and its surrounding region since 2015. The nine-month residencies are hosted in a repurposed fire station, which offers studio spaces, mentorship, and opportunities for global collaboration, while also presenting large-scale exhibitions to attract local and international communities. In a statement, Shawky said, “There is no separation in my mind between pursuing my artistic practice and fostering the next generation of Arab artists,” adding that he “look[s] forward to collaborating with the extraordinary team at Qatar Museums, which is doing so much to transform the possibilities of art throughout the Middle East.”
AHMED MATER’s Illumination Diptych I, 2008, diptych, gold leaf tea, pomegranate, Dupont Chinese ink, offset X-Ray print, and mixed media on archival Arches paper, 165 × 110 cm each. Courtesy the artist.
Sotheby’s to Host Historic Auction in Saudi Arabia
After securing a USD 1 billion cash injection from the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund ADQ, Sotheby’s has announced that it will host the first-ever international auction in Saudi Arabia on February 8, 2025. Although the exact location is yet to be revealed, the two-part evening sale is set to take place in Diriyah, a historic town on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The sale, titled “Origins,” will present artworks by international and domestic artists, such as a diptych from the influential Saudi artist Ahmed Mater’s X-Ray Illumination series (2006–17), as well as a range of Islamic objects, jewelry, cars, and memorabilia. In a statement, Sotheby’s head of sale and contemporary art specialist Ashkan Baghestani said that the auction will “serve as an introduction to our offering and to embody the cross-category spirit we pride ourselves on curating.” Ahead of the evening sale, the lots in “Origin” will be showcased in a public exhibition from February 1–8, 2025, in Diriyah.
