Canadian museum steps up efforts for return of First Nations objects

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Royal British Columbia Museum to create cultural heritage repatriation department | The Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, Canada, has announced that it plans to create a department to help First Nations people recover their cultural heritage, reports The Art Newspaper. The museum has dedicated C$2 million in funding towards the project, which is aimed at aiding the repatriation of objects in Canadian museums and abroad. British Colombian premier Christy Clark described the initiative as ‘an opportunity to reflect on our shared history and right past wrongs’.

Peter Zumthor selected for Fondation Beyeler extension | Pritzker Prize-winning architecture firm Atelier Peter Zumthor and Partners has been selected to design a new extension to the Fondation Beyeler outside Basel. ‘Peter Zumthor possesses the sensitivity and experience that are needed to create a building of outstanding quality in this very special location’, said director Sam Keller. The CHF80 million extension will complement the original Renzo Piano-designed building.

Rijksmuseum attributes six works to Hercules Segers | New research has led the Rijksmuseum to attribute six previously disputed or unidentified paintings as the work of 17th-century Dutch painter Hercules Segers. The museum has spent two years assessing more than 100 works associated with Segers, only some of which are authenticated. The six newly attributed paintings, all of which are held in private collections, will be exhibited in a large scale retrospective opening next month.

Swiss Institute to reopen on St Mark’s Place | Manhattan’s Swiss Institute of Contemporary Art has found a long-term home at St Mark’s Place and Second Avenue, reports The Art Newspaper. After losing its previous premises elsewhere in the city earlier this year, the institution has selected a 7,500 sq ft former Chase Bank building for its new space.

Recommended reading | After years of planning, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture is finally set to open on 24 September. For an idea of what to expect, we recommend this comprehensive overview in the New York Times. Meanwhile in London, Tacita Dean is back on show at the Frith Street Gallery, displaying the creative results of her move to LA several years ago. Adrian Searle investigates for the Guardian and likes what he sees. Several hundred miles north, The Art Newspaper reports on the development of the V&A’s Dundee satellite, which is slated to open in 2018. Despite significant budget difficulties, it seems that great hope is being placed in the museum as an engine of regeneration. Will we be talking about the ‘Dundee Effect’ in years to come?