New York museum launches citizenship initiative

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

New York museum launches citizenship initiative | The New-York Historical Society and Museum is to stage an initiative aimed at helping green card holders obtain US citizenship. The programme will include workshops that use the museum’s collection to help learn about subjects addressed in questions on the US Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalisation test. According to Reuters, the programme comes in the wake of the executive order banning citizens of seven Muslim majority countries entering the USA. Though green card holders have the right to live and work in the United States, they were nonetheless affected by the travel ban.

Court rules that Yves Bouvier cannot be sued in Singapore | A civil court of appeal in Singapore has ruled that a lawsuit filed against freeport magnate Yves Bouvier cannot be considered in the country, reports the Art Newspaper. In contradiction to an earlier ruling by a Singapore judge, the court decided that Switzerland was ‘clearly and distinctly a more appropriate forum’ for the dispute to be heard than the city state. Bouvier, who has been locked in long-running legal disputes with collector Dmitry Rybolovlev, is accused of making ‘undue profits’ from sums the latter provided to amass an art collection.

Marc Porter appointed chairman of Christie’s Americas | Marc Porter is to resume his title as chairman of Christie’s Americas, returning to the auction house after three months as chairman of Sotheby’s Fine Art Division. Though Porter will be returning to his former job title, the role will differ significantly: in addition to his previous responsibilities, he will sit on the executive committee, have responsibility for special projects and report directly to CEO Guillaume Cerutti.

Ancient ruins discovered in Iran | A team of Iranian archaeologists has identified a large group of ruins underneath the city of Samen, which they believe dates from the reign of Mithridates 1st. According to Le Figaro (French language article), the digging unearthed a structure partitioned into more than 60 rooms, as well as around a hundred human skeletons.

Alistair Burtenshaw appointed director of Watts Gallery Trust | Former London Book Fair director Alistair Burtenshaw has been appointed to head the Watts Gallery Artists’ Village. Burtenshaw is currently director of Charleston in East Sussex, where he has been tasked with a major expansion and renovation project to mark its centenary. He succeeds Perdita Hunt, who is to step down in July.