Bulletproof glass barrier to be erected around Eiffel Tower

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Bulletproof glass wall to be erected around Eiffel Tower | The city of Paris has announced that it will install a 2.5 metre-high bulletproof glass barrier around the Eiffel Tower. The €20 million barrier will be erected on the north and south sides of the site, primarily as a safety measure, but also as a more attractive replacement for the ungainly temporary barriers that have been in place on the east–west axis since Euro 2016. Tourists will still be able to reach the base of the site, but will have to pass through security checks first.

UK museums fear post-Brexit brain drain | Museums in the United Kingdom are concerned about the status of EU staff following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, reports the Museums Association. At the Natural History Museum, for example, EU nationals make up some 20 per cent of the workforce, while at the British Museum this figure is as 15 per cent. At a roundtable event at DCMS earlier this month, museum management figures expressed concern over the fate of their EU staff. ‘Museum workers from other EU countries make a very valuable contribution to this country’s museums, and we strongly believe that the government should confirm their permanent right to live and work in the UK’, said MA policy officer Alistair Brown.

Kiev exhibition about Maidan protests vandalised | An exhibition at Kiev’s Visual Culture Research Center celebrating the achievements of the 2014 Maidan revolution was vandalised by up to a dozen masked assailants yesterday, reports The Art Newspaper. Security footage shows a security guard being assaulted and works being destroyed by the attackers. The motivation of the attackers is not yet known.

Art in General appoints Laurel Ptak as executive director | Art in General, a non-profit that helps artists produce and show their work, has appointed Laurel Ptak as its new director. Ptak, who was previously director and curator of New York’s Triangle Space, will take up the post on 13 February.