Briefing

Creative Time – the New York public art non-profit – launched its ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ project on Wednesday: a year-long series of protest banners. On 14 June (which marked both Flag Day in the US as well as the birthday of President Donald Trump), Marilyn Minter’s flag, emblazoned with the word ‘RESIST’, was raised above the rooftop of Creative Time’s headquarters on 59 East 4th Street. Other artists who will contribute custom flags over the coming year include Tania Bruguera, Yoko Ono, Trevor Paglen, Pedro Reyes and Jeremy Deller (whose flag reads ‘Don’t worry, be angry’). 'It’s our fervent hope that Pledges inspires others to join us in solidarity, flying these symbols of unity and shared identity on their own grounds and so establishing more such spaces nationwide,' said Creative Time’s Artistic Director Nato Thompson in a press statement.

An animal rights group has vandalized the studio of documenta 14 artist Aboubakar Fofana. The campaigners broke windows and splashed blue paint in the Malian artist's Athens workspace, where his piece Ka touba Farafina yé (Africa Blessing) (2017) – which features 54 live sheep with their wool dyed indigo – is part of the Greek chapter of this year’s documenta. The attack reportedly took place in May, days before a LGBTQI refugee rights group seized Spanish artist Roger Bernat’s ‘Replica of Oath Stone’ from documenta 14 in protest against what they saw as the exhibition’s instrumentalization of asylum seekers.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) will unveil a new national architecture centre, RIBA North, on the Liverpool Waterfront this weekend. The centre is designed by Broadway Malyan, and contains the City Gallery which will launch a series of exhibitions, including a chance to view the historic RIBA Collections and the inaugural show ‘Liverpool(e): Mover, Shaker, Architectural Risk-Taker' devoted to Liverpool’s architectural history. In a press statement, RIBA President Jane Duncan said, ‘We are particularly proud to strengthen our cultural and creative offering in the north of England, and to enable many more people to explore and understand the enormous impact that architecture and design has on all our lives’.

British artist Khadija Saye has been reported as a victim of the devastating fire that broke out in the early hours of Wednesday morning and engulfed London’s Grenfell Tower – a 24-storey residential block in west London. The 24-year-old was last heard from at 3am on Wednesday, when she messaged friends on Facebook. Member of Parliament David Lammy tweeted: ‘If you have any information about Khadija Saye please contact me. She is our dear friend, a beautiful soul and emerging artist’. Saye was born in London, and graduated from the University for the Creative Arts in 2013. Her work focused on photography, navigating issues of religion and multiculturalism. Saye’s series of wet plate collodion tintypes ‘Dwelling: in this space we breathe' is currently on show at the Venice Biennale’s Diaspora Pavilion. 

Noguchi Museum director Jenny Dixon has announced her retirement at the end of this year. Dixon has been in the role since 2003. The museum in Queens, New York, was founded in 1985 by Japanese sculptor Isamu Noguchi and holds a permanent collection of his works. Dixon has overseen the museum’s shift from private foundation to public institution, joining the Alliance of American Museums last year. The Noguchi’s board of trustees is forming a search committee to secure a replacement.

London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts has appointed artist Wolfgang Tillmans, collector Delya Allakhverdova and patron Maria Sukkar to its council. Read our interview with ICA director Stefán Kalmar who joined the ICA at the beginning of this year, who told us in February: ‘Can the ICA be an organization that revitalizes the belief of civic responsibility in cultural institutions, but also of progress within society? I think that we have the right conditions to make a strong case for that.’