Tate galleries announce record visitor numbers

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Tate galleries announce record visitor numbers | The four galleries of the Tate group attracted more visitors in the past year than at any point in the institution’s history. More than 8.4m visits were made to the Tate’s outposts in 2016–17, a year in which Tate Modern unveiled its new extension and a refurbished St Ives branch reopened. ‘I’m delighted that Tate has had such a great year and that we are reaching such a wide audience’, said Tate director Maria Balshaw.

Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in need of renovations | The Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC, requires structural renovation work that may take up to six years to complete. According to NBC, ‘construction shortcuts’ taken in the 1970s are causing ‘huge problems’ to the structure, and the marble slabs in which the building is encased all need to be replaced. The museum requires $100m to begin renovations, and says that it will remain open for the duration of the works.

Skeletal remains halt construction work at Western Australia Museum | Works on a major redevelopment for the Western Australia Museum’s campus in Northbridge, Perth, have been interrupted after skeletal remains were discovered on the site. According to ABC, police have confirmed that the bones are human, and are currently testing them to assess their age.

Recommended reading | Frieze asks ‘Who is Françoise Nyssen?’, regarding the distinguished publisher who is now the French culture minister. In the Art Newspaper, Anny Shaw investigates the ways in which small to mid-size London galleries are adapting to stay afloat in the age of the mega-dealership. In the LRB (£), Anne Stillman reviews Claude Arnaud’s Jean Cocteau: A Life, providing a glimpse into the life of the zelig of 20th-century French culture.