More than 40 UK Museums Closed Due to Cuts

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

More than 40 UK Museums Closed since 2010 | Cuts to council budgets have resulted in the closure of more than 40 museums in the past five years, reports The Times. According to Alistair Brown of the Museums Association, most of the exhibits once housed in the defunct institutions are now languishing in storage. In order to survive, many museums have introduced entry charges. Will it be enough to save them? Read more Apollo coverage here.

Italian Culture Budget Raised by 8% | In a move that will surprise many across Europe’s austerity stricken arts sectors, Italy’s government has approved a rare rise to its culture budget in 2016, reports Le Journal des Arts. The budget will increase by 8% in 2016, followed by a further of 10% the following year. The news follows moves by the ministry to outsource the management of several heritage sites to non-profit organisations.

Burri’s Grande Cretto Completed in Sicily | After 30 years in the making, Alberto Burri’s gigantic land sculpture Grande Cretto has finally opened to the public, reports The Art Newspaper. The sculpture commemorates the Sicilian town of Gibellina, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1968. More on the Alberto Burri centenary here.

Anne Tronche (1938–2015) | The art critic Anne Tronche has died in Toulouse, where she was preparing to take part in a conference at the Toulouse Institute of Art. Tronche, who specialised in the avant-garde scene of the 1960s, served as an art inspector for France’s Culture Ministry from 1982 to 1999. The cause of her death has yet to be revealed.

Bard Curatorial Award Goes to Thelma Golden | The Harlem Studio Museum’s Thelma Golden has won Bard College’s Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence, reports the New York Times. Previous winners include Kynaston McShine, Lucy Lippard and Marcia Tucker.