Art Basel owner acquires stake in new Düsseldorf art fair

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

MCH Group acquires stake in Art Düsseldorf | Art Basel owner MCH Group has acquired a 25.1 per cent stake in art.fair International GmbH, the organiser of Art Düsseldorf, a new art fair scheduled to launch in November. The deal leaves the current proprietors, Andreas Lohaus and Walter Gehlen, with 74.9 per cent of the company, though MCH will have the option of acquiring a majority stake in the coming years. The deal is MCH’s second recent investment in the field of regional art fairs: last year it secured a majority stake in the India Art Fair.

Public gallery planned for UK Government Art Collection | The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has announced plans to relocate the UK Government Art Collection (GAC) to new premises, which will include a gallery for public exhibitions. According to The Art Newspaper, around a third of the 14,000 works in the GAC are currently held in its storage facility off London’s Tottenham Court Road. Pressure to make the taxpayer-funded collection more easily accessible has been mounting for some years, with former shadow culture secretary Michael Dugher complaining that it was only visible to ‘a privileged few’ individuals. The location and date of the move have yet to be confirmed.

South Korea’s former culture minister charged with abuse of power | South Korea’s former culture minister Cho Yoon-sun has been formally charged with abuse of power and coercion this week, after allegedly compiling a ‘blacklist’ of nearly 10,000 artists hostile to the country’s government. The list included details of prominent cultural figures who had voiced criticism of President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached by parliament in December.

Africa Center announces departure of director Michelle D. Gavin | New York’s Africa Center has now publicly acknowledged that its director Michelle D. Gavin has left the institution, reports the New York Times. Gavin, a widely respected Africa expert and diplomat, was hired two years ago but left her post as long ago as October. The Africa Center has now issued a statement saying that she has ‘made the decision to step down from her role at the Center to explore other opportunities more closely aligned to her personal interests and background.’

Crossrail archaeological finds to go on display in London | More than 500 objects discovered during the tunnelling for London’s Crossrail are to go on display at the Museum of London Docklands. According to the FT (£), the archaeological finds resulting from the Crossrail project include a 15th-century moated manor house in Stepney Green, Mesolithic artefacts in North Woolwich and a Roman bronze medallion of Emperor Philip I from 245AD discovered near Liverpool Street Station.