Jeremy Shaw wins Canada’s top art prize

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Jeremy Shaw wins Sobey Art Award | Berlin-based artist Jeremy Shaw has been announced as the winner of this year’s Sobey Art Award, Canada’s most prestigious prize for contemporary art. Representing the West Coast and Yukon region, Shaw has been recognised for his multimedia work. ‘Jeremy Shaw’s work speaks to a fundamental longing for transcendence. He creates and reflects extraordinary experiences and shows us how art can translate what is challenging to articulate’, read a statement from the jury. The award grants its winner CA $100,000; the other four finalists – in this case, Brenda Draney, Charles Stankievech, Hajra Waheed and William Robinson – receive $10,000 each.

Pergamon Museum renovation costs soar as project is delayed | The estimated costs of renovating Berlin’s Pergamon have almost doubled, with full reopening delayed until 2023, reports The Art Newspaper. According to a spokesman from the construction ministry, the delay has chiefly been caused by the discovery of a subterranean pumping station beneath the museum that should have been removed when construction of the building was completed in the 1930s. This must now be removed in order to consolidate the structure’s foundations. Hermann Parzinger, the president of the Prussian Cultural Foundation, has admitted to being ‘shocked’ at rising costs and delays.

Louvre announces plan to safely store artefacts from conflict zones | French president François Hollande has said that objects and artefacts secured from conflict zones could be temporarily stored in the Louvre’s planned storage facility at Liévin, reports The Art Newspaper. Speaking at the opening of the Louvre-Lens’s Mesopotamia exhibition on Tuesday night (French language article), the president affirmed France’s mission to safeguard artefacts endangered by conflict and looting. The storage facility, he said, will be ‘a conservation centre, a museum hub like no other in Europe’.

Theaster Gates launches apprenticeship programme for underemployed Chicago residents | Artist and activist Theaster Gates’s Rebuild Foundation has announced the creation of an artisanal and craft training apprenticeship programme for underemployed residents of Chicago’s South Side neighbourhood, reports Artforum. The programme will connect artists, craftsmen and tradespeople with South Side residents looking to develop skills in these disciplines. A benefit sale of objects crafted by the programme’s first participants will take place on 5 November.

Dia receives grant from Sackler Foundation to back new projects | New York’s Dia Art Foundation has received a grant of an undisclosed sum from the Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation to back new projects and programming. The endowment will consolidate much of the museum’s existing programme under an umbrella organisation named in honour of the Sackler Foundation. ‘The intellectual vigour of Dia’s programmes is unique’, said Dia trustee Maria Sackler. ‘I am thrilled that my family and I can help Dia continue to strengthen an already strong programme as well as encourage innovation and new scholarship in contemporary art.’