Bank Street Leadership in Museum Education

09/01/2026

Could the Bayeux Tapestry Loan Offer a New Path for the Parthenon Marbles? https://buff.ly/0q0CN0B

by Vittoria Benzine

The Bayeux Tapestry goes on view at the British Museum in just 10 days, and since the French government first announced its once-in-a-millennium loan, the 950-year-old relic has remained in the headlines. Last week, British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan said that the tapestry’s journey might spark an arguably even bigger move: resolving the long-running dispute over the Parthenon Marbles.

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The Bayeux Tapestry is still in the news, as Andy Burnham discusses the Parthenon Marbles, and Peter Thiel pays a visit.

09/01/2026

Melissa Chiu, new director of the Guggenheim Museum, talks about the role of culture in a time of turmoil | Fast Company https://buff.ly/ZjNnNho

by Sage Swaby

Melissa Chiu, longtime director of the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, announced in April that she would be leaving for a new role as director of New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

As Chiu concludes her successful tenure at the Hirshhorn, one of 19 Smithsonian museums, the Trump administration has continued to target the Smithsonian Institution in an effort to “remove improper ideology” from all aspects of the organization, accusing it of political bias.

The federal government recently proposed cutting the institution’s funding by 11% to its lowest prospective funding level since 2020, as Artforum reported.

However, this climate for cultural organizations did not deter Chiu from advocating for the Hirshhorn, which she’s done since her start in 2014.

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09/01/2026

What Is the Value of a Museum? | Artnet News https://buff.ly/G9kTA4t

Whitechapel Gallery director Gilane Tawadros has tapped an economist to help rethink the public value of art institutions.

by Sonia Manalili & Margaret Carrigan

In this bonus episode, host Margaret Carrigan looks at how art institutions are valued, and the funding threats facing museums across the U.K.—and, in many ways, around the world. She’s joined by a special guest: Gilane Tawadros, director of London’s Whitechapel Gallery.

Earlier this year, Tawadros made an unusual addition to her staff: an economist-in-residence. She tapped Mariana Mazzucato, the founder of University College London‘s Institute for Public Value for the role, and together they want to help make the case for culture as essential public infrastructure, not just charity.

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Whitechapel Gallery director Gilane Tawadros explains why she hired economist Mariana Mazzucato as economist-in-residence.

08/31/2026

What in the Devil Was Peter Thiel Doing at the British Museum? | Hyperallergic https://buff.ly/8RKoodW

For reasons that remain unclear, the London museum hosted the Palantir founder at a VIP preview of the Bayeux Tapestry.

by Rhea Nayyar

The British Museum hosted Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel for a VIP viewing of the Bayeux tapestry on August 18, drawing concerns among staff, per a report from the Guardian.

The museum declined to comment on the matter in an email to Hyperallergic, and it remains unclear if Thiel was part of a larger group privileged with viewing the 11th-century tapestry before its coveted public exhibition starting September 10.

Thiel’s VIP visit puzzled some, as the billionaire has never donated to the British Museum individually or through any of his businesses. Certain staff were concerned that Thiel’s private viewing potentially limited public access to the historic weaving, as the museum must limit both the amount and intensity of light exposure on the tapestry to prevent damage.

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For reasons that remain unclear, the London museum hosted the Palantir founder at a VIP preview of the Bayeux Tapestry.

08/31/2026

Met Museum Cancels John Galliano Exhibition Amid Controversy over Designer’s Antisemitic Comments | ARTnews https://buff.ly/5w2va0E

by Alex Greenberger

In a surprising turnabout, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art canceled a John Galliano exhibition that was due to open next spring, in what would have been the Costume Institute‘s big May 2027 show, held in tandem with the notorious Met Gala.

The show had faced controversy from the start, as many fixed on antisemitic and anti-Asian comments made by Galliano more than a decade ago. He was convicted of a hate crime in France in 2011.

The designer previously apologized for those comments and sought mental health counseling, and the Met said it had conferred with Jewish groups in the making of its Galliano exhibition. But neither was enough to assuage the concerns of politicians and public figures who had pushed the museum to cancel the show since its announcement at the end of July.

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art cancels its John Galliano show over the designer's previous antisemitic comments.

08/30/2026

As Right-Leaning Politicians Attack Cultural Institutions, a Basque Country Museum Director Believes in a Different ‘Vision of the Museum Worth Fighting For’ | ARTnews https://buff.ly/E1rA6nI

by Devorah Lauter

Nicknamed the “Little Louvre,” a hidden gem of European masterpieces in France’s Basque Country was given a new lease on life last fall.

Founded in 1891, the Musée Bonnat-Helleu in Bayonne is home to some 7,000 artworks spanning antiquity to the early 20th century, and it reopened after 14 years of renovations that doubled its exhibition space. About 10 months before the opening, the museum also got a new leader in Barthélémy Etchegoyen Glama, a 33-year-old native of the Basque Country.

Last month, the Musée Bonnat-Helleu also presented its first temporary exhibition since its reopening, complemented by rare loans from the Louvre, its partner, and the Quai Branly museum in Paris. On view through November 9, “Mythologies: To Tell the Story of the World,” Etchegoyen Glama said, serves as “a kind of manifesto for the museum we want,” mythology being chosen for its broad scope and relevance to both locals and visitors from farther afield, with varying knowledge of art history.

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'Little Louvre' Basque Country museum director has a different vision of the museum 'worth fighting for.'

08/30/2026

Critics Blast Metropolitan Museum’s Plan to Honor John Galliano | NYT Gift Article https://buff.ly/UMAQyOL

Galliano, a fashion industry giant championed by Anna Wintour, was found guilty of a hate crime for his antisemitic outbursts in 2011.

by Vanessa Friedman and Jacob Bernstein

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is facing a growing backlash because of its plan to honor John Galliano, the accomplished British fashion designer who was convicted of a hate crime by a French court in 2011 for his antisemitic outbursts.

Galliano, who transformed Dior into a global powerhouse before his disgrace, is scheduled to be the subject of a nine-month exhibition sponsored by the Met’s Costume Institute. The show is to kick off with the Met Gala, the annual springtime benefit and red carpet extravaganza overseen by Anna Wintour, Vogue’s global editorial director and a Met trustee.

Amid the public criticism, Met trustees and board members have been scrambling to do damage control.

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Galliano, a fashion industry giant championed by Anna Wintour, was found guilty of a hate crime for his antisemitic outbursts in 2011.

08/30/2026

Kennedy Center Board Says It Will Delay Adding Trump’s Name to the Center by One Month | ARTnews https://buff.ly/fuUkYee

by Tessa Solomon

The Kennedy Center board told a federal judge on Thursday that it will halt efforts to add President Trump’s name to the building until at least October 8, delaying its plans by a month.

The announcement followed an emergency court hearing prompted by a Justice Department filing this week warning that the Kennedy Center could be demolished and potentially replaced with an outdoor amphitheater if the board is not allowed to close the building for two years for repairs. At the same time, the board is pushing to inscribe President Trump’s name on the front of the building, with the line “Restored and renovated by President Donald J. Trump” beneath John F. Kennedy’s name.

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The Kennedy Center board told a federal judge Thursday that it will halt efforts to add Trump’s name to the building until at least October 8.

08/30/2026

Arizona Man Brought 10-Year-Old Son Along on $7k Jewelry, Cactus Heist of Mesa Arts Center: Police | PEOPLE https://buff.ly/swbJ5U8

by Janelle Griffith

A man is facing felony charges after authorities say he took his 10-year-old son to burglarize an Arizona arts center.

Jean Zintz, 31, broke into the Mesa Arts Center a week ago, according to a probable cause statement obtained by PEOPLE.
.. Once inside, per the statement, they went to a pair of galleries, where Zintz’s son allegedly took four pieces of jewelry: a sterling silver “Trouble” necklace valued at $2,100, a sterling silver self-portrait bolo valued at $3,000, a sterling silver “Rockstar” bracelet valued at $650 and a “Cheii Rockstar” bracelet valued at $1,600. The items were worth a combined $7,350.

The boy allegedly signed his name in a gallery sign-in book and later wrote his name on artwork he made inside a neighboring art studio, where Zintz allegedly left a stainless-steel cup behind. The next day, on Aug. 20, detectives identified the pair and traced them to Zintz’s parents’ home in Mesa. Zintz had been visiting from Washington state.

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Jean Zintz is facing two felony charges after authorities say he took his 10-year-old son to burglarize the Mesa Arts Center in Arizona.

08/29/2026

Thieves Sn**ch $4.6M Diamond Necklace From Viennese Museum | Hyperallergic https://buff.ly/cpkCMr8

The two thieves paid entry before stealing the 673- white diamond necklace that once belonged to Queen Nazli of Egypt.

by Rhea Nayyar

Two visitors smashed a display case and made off with a platinum and diamond necklace at the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna yesterday afternoon, August 27.

Per the Viennese daily newspaper Der Standard, the Van Cleef & Arpels necklace was last appraised at $4.6 million by Sotheby’s. It was displayed as part of Glanzstücke, an ongoing exhibition featuring over 500 works gathered from the museum’s design collection and the French luxury jewelry house.

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The two thieves paid entry before stealing the 673- white diamond necklace that once belonged to Queen Nazli of Egypt.