Arts Council England boosts funding to regional organisations

Our daily round up of news from the art world

Arts Council England announces National Portfolio funding for 2018–22 | Arts Council England has announced its National Portfolio Organisations for the next four years, with new chairman Sir Nicholas Serota explaining the decision to ‘take money out of London’, and redistribute grants to regional organisations. An expanded portfolio of 831 organisations will receive a combined total of £1.6bn between 2018 and 2022, 60 per cent of which will be invested outside the capital. The National Theatre, Southbank Centre, Royal Opera House and Royal Shakespeare Company will each see their funding cut by 3–4 per cent, while funding to the regions will be increased by £170m. Among the winners is the New Art Gallery Walsall, which has received a £3.5m grant, allaying fears of its imminent closure. According to the Art Newspaper, the gallery will look to reduce its dependence on Walsall council (which last year proposed cutting its funding of the institution completely by 2020) by forging a partnership with the University of Wolverhampton.

Rome metro construction unearths 3rd-century ruins | Tunnelling for an extension to Rome’s metro system has unearthed ruins described by Italy’s culture ministry as a ‘Pompeii-like scene’. According to Associated Press in Rome, archaeologists have announced the discovery of an early 3rd-century building seemingly burnt in a fire. Experts have suggested that the ruins may have formed part of an aristocratic home, or a nearby military barracks.

Julia Joern to leave David Zwirner gallery | Julia Joern is to part company with David Zwirner gallery after a decade at the forefront of its communications, marketing and publishing operations. Joern has worked for the gallery in various capacities since 2004, and was made a partner in 2014. Zwirner himself describes her as ‘a colleague and a friend, but also, to a large extent, the gallery’s moral compass.’

Stolen Belfast painting recovered in Chicago | Art Recovery International has announced the recovery of a painting by William Conor that was stolen from a private residence in Belfast in 2008. In 2013, the work in question was sold to an American collector through a Dublin auction house, but has now been recovered through an international effort.

Merryn Schriever appointed director of Bonhams Australia | Merryn Schriever is to succeed Mark Fraser as director of Bonhams Australia. Schriever joined the auction house as a specialist in 2013, and has curated major sales there. Global CEO Matthew Girling describes her as ‘the perfect fit’ for the job, singling out her work on Bonhams’ June sales for particular praise.