Grand Palais to get a makeover from 2020

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Grand Palais confirms renovations from 2020 | France’s Réunion des musées nationaux has confirmed that the Grand Palais in Paris is to close for renovations from late 2020, with a reopening date set for 2023. As The Art Newspaper reports, the closure will mean that the FIAC and Paris Photo fairs, both of which are held in the space, will be forced to find alternative venues in the intervening years, although the Grand Palais will continue to host them until the works begin. According to Le Figaro (French language article) the Grand Palais has also confirmed that the fairs will return to the venue when work is complete, and will ‘benefit from considerably enlarged exhibition space’. Additionally, the neighbouring Petit Palais will continue to host editions of FIAC’s ‘On Site’ section between 2020 and 2023.

Eran Neuman appointed director of Israel Museum | Jerusalem’s Israel Museum has announced that Eran Neuman, current head of the David Azrieli School of Architecture, is to take over as director in mid February. Neuman, a co-founder of the Open Source Architecture research programme, will succeed James S. Snyder, who has led the museum for 20 years and presided over a significant increase in the museum’s profile in recent years.

Damien Hirst pulls out of Devon ‘eco-town’ project | Damien Hirst has withdrawn from a scheme to build a housing development near to Ilfracombe, Devon. The plan to build 750 environmentally friendly homes was approved by the local council in 2014, but Hirst’s Resign company will no longer be involved in the project, which is now being led by Inox Property Group.

Alison Gass to become director of Smart Museum of Art | Curator Alison Gass has been appointed director of the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art, and will take up the position on 1 May. Gass, who has been chief curator at Stanford University’s Cantor Arts Center since 2014, began her curatorial career at New York’s Jewish Museum and has since held positions at institutions including SFMOMA, and served as acting director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University.