Entry to national museums in the UK will be free to all visitors ‘forever’, Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), announced on Tuesday. At an event at Tate Liverpool, Nandy confirmed the continuation of the 25-year-old policy brought in by a previous Labour government. There has been renewed debate surrounding free admission since December 2025, when Baroness Hodge’s review of Arts Council England recommended abolishing it for foreign tourists – conditional on the introduction of digital ID. DCMS’s published statement says that the government has rejected charging overseas visitors because it could deter domestic ones and because the effects of making them pay would not be felt ‘equally across the sector’. The announcement has been publicly welcomed by a string of national museum directors and the artists Bridget Riley and Rachel Whiteread.
Ann Temkin will step down as chief curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in January after nearly two decades. Temkin joined the museum as a curator in 2003, taking up her current role five years later. As head of paintings and sculpture, she has curated exhibitions on artists such as Jasper Johns, Barnett Newman and Marcel Duchamp. Temkin is often credited with revolutionising MoMA’s programming by breaking down the separation between mediums, showing works from her department alongside film, photography and design. Next year, she will begin advising on the museum’s centenary celebrations in 2029.
The National Gallery of Singapore (NGS) has changed its leadership structure. Chng Hak-Peng, a previous CEO of the Singapore Symphony Group, will perform the same function at NGS. He takes over from Eugene Tan, who will continue as director of the NGS and also Singapore Art Museum (SAM). Tan, who will continue in his dual role at SAM said ‘this is the ‘right time for each [museum] to benefit from dedicated leadership’.