Smithsonian partners with US Army to protect cultural heritage

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Smithsonian partners with US Army to protect cultural heritage | In partnership with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Pentagon has announced an initiative that will see the creation of a reserve group of volunteers, named Cultural Heritage Preservation Officers, to protect global cultural heritage threatened by war. The Smithsonian will hold its first training sessions in March 2020, with the aim of creating a team of 25 volunteers who can be deployed in war zones worldwide.

Huntington Library appoints chief curator of American Art | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Garden in San Marino, California, has named Dennis Carr as its chief curator of American Art, to begin in the role from January 2020. Carr is currently curator of American decorative arts and sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Artcurial opens premises in Morocco | The Parisian auction house Artcurial has opened a subsidiary in Marrakech. It is the first international auction house to establish permanent premises in Morocco.  

Francis Alÿs wins Whitechapel Gallery’s Art Icon award | The Whitechapel Gallery has announced that the Belgian artist Francis Alÿs has won this year’s Art Icon award, which will be presented at the gallery in January 2020. Previous recipients of the award, which was established in 2014 and is sponsored by Swarovski, include Peter Doig, Joan Jonas and Richard Long. This year’s winner was chosen by a committee that included Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo and David Zwirner.

Foundation dedicated to light art to launch in Berlin | LAS Light Art Space, a new foundation dedicated to light art, is set to launch in Berlin next month, with an inaugural exhibition by Istanbul-born artist Refik Anadol to take place at Kraftwerk Berlin from 23 November. The foundation, which will look to work ‘at the intersection of art, new technologies and science’ to explore the subject of light, hopes to establish a permanent home in the city at a later date.

Inaugural Helsinki Biennial announces artist list | The organisers of the Helsinki Biennial have announced the first 14 of the 35 artists participating in its inaugural show next year, along with the title of the event. ‘The Same Sea’ will take place on the city’s Vallisaari Island from 12 June–27 September 2020, and will include international artists Alicja Kwade, Katharina Grosse and Mario Rizzi, alongside a number of Finnish artists such as Jaakko Niemelä and Marja Kanervo, with around 80 per cent of the works comprised of new commissions.