The French government has selected artist Claire Tabouret's design for six new stained glass windows at Notre-Dame Cathedral, which will commemorate its restoration after a devastating fire in 2019. The €846 million project is part of the cathedral's rebuilding efforts and features vibrant colors depicting people from diverse backgrounds praying together for Pentecost. Tabouret's winning submission beat over 100 other submissions in a national competition and was chosen to replace windows originally crafted by 19th-century architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc on the cathedral's south side. The new glass will be created with the help of historic glassmaker Simon-Marq, who has collaborated with renowned artists like Marc Chagall and Joan Miró.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/notre-dame-to-get-a-colorful-update-with-new-stained-glass-by-claire-tabouret-180985731/Turkish authorities have recovered a 1,500-year-old statue that was stolen from a museum garden in Isparta's Yalvaç district in 2017. The statue, which depicts a priest and stands at 70 centimeters tall, was discovered during an inspection by police officers who stopped a vehicle carrying three individuals in the Gölbaşı district of Ankara. The suspects, Mustafa Küçük, Nuh (Küçük's friend), and another unidentified individual, were arrested for violating Turkish law on the protection of cultural and natural assets. According to Küçük's statement, he was offered the statue as a gift by his friend Nuh, who had found it and wanted him to sell it or donate it to a museum if he couldn't find a buyer.
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/stolen-priest-statue-recovered-in-ankara-after-seven-years-204028State lawmakers convened at the William Way Center to discuss the closure of the University of the Arts (UArts). Former dean Erin Elman testified that school administrators were not informed about the decision until just before it was publicly announced, forcing them to search for an alternative solution. The closure had a personal impact on Elman, who temporarily abandoned her art practice and lost her job. She has since expressed optimism about the future of UArts' spirit, citing Councilwoman Landau's focus on keeping its energy alive.
https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-uarts-students-faculty-city-hall/The Abu Dhabi Festival has increased its number of workshops to 140 this year, offering a range of creative activities for attendees. The workshops cover various art forms, cultural themes, and skills development opportunities, including embroidery on tote bags by 'The Swing House', mirror engraving and felting embroidery in collaboration with 'MOFUN', and wood and mirror painting sessions led by Shaikha Obaid from 'NSSFMA'. Other workshops include glass painting, cake decoration, Islamic geometric engravings on metal, wax painting, fabric bag painting, cup painting, embroidery techniques, and the creative uses of beads.
https://www.emirates247.com/lifestyle/hatta-winter-festival-greets-visitors-with-an-array-of-exciting-activities-across-140-workshops-2024-12-25-1.735965A new art exhibition featuring traditional Japanese woodblock print art has opened in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward at Warehouse Terrada. The "Ukiyoe Immersive Art Exhibition" showcases over 300 works by renowned artists such as Katsushika Hokusai, including installations that use digital technologies like 3D computer graphics and projection mapping to bring the artwork to life on large screens and holographic displays.
Rita Blitt, a Midwestern artist in her 90s, continues to create work that blends color and flowing shapes on canvas. Her latest paintings revisit her lifelong love for trees. Despite being overshadowed by male artists such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, Blitt's contributions are now recognized through exhibitions like "Women of Abstract Expressionism" curated by Connie Gibbons at the Mulvane Art Museum. Blitt finds inspiration every day and emphasizes that her art is about the joy of creating and having the courage to listen to one's inner being.
https://hyperallergic.com/977078/rita-blitt-on-the-lifelong-art-of-creating/Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan has co-authored a bill that would provide P1 million cash grants to creative industry workers who win major awards in international competitions, including filmmakers and literary writers. The proposed legislation, House Bill 1934, aims to support artists who receive the highest award in film festivals, exhibitions, and other prestigious contests.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2024/12/26/news/national/cash-reward-for-creative-festival-winners-pushed/2027420Sandro Botticelli's "Mystic Nativity" painting, created around 1500, reflects his shift from decorative to devout art under the influence of Girolamo Savonarola. The work features subtle premonitions and symbolism, including a shroud-like sheet for Jesus and a cross on the donkey's back. The painting also includes three angels embracing mortal men in the foreground, an unusual motif typically reserved for the Last Judgment. In contrast to traditional depictions of the Magi, they arrive empty-handed, symbolizing their devotion. The lower half of the painting features seven devils fleeing into the underworld. After Botticelli's death, the work fell into obscurity until it was acquired by William Young Ottley in Rome and later sold to the National Gallery in London for £1,500 in 1878.
https://hyperallergic.com/978201/revisiting-botticelli-evocative-mystic-nativity/A lawsuit has been filed in Hong Kong by South Korean woman Choi Eun-ha against the Britain-based art adviser Lawrence Van Hagen and his company LVH Art, claiming that a US$920,000 painting she purchased from him is a forgery. The painting, "Dialogue", was created by renowned Korean artist Lee Ufan in 2014. Choi demanded compensation after being told by an auction house that the painting was fake.
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3292252/art-adviser-investigating-after-hong-kong-lawsuit-says-us1-million-painting-fake?module=top_story&pgtype=section