Sackler Trust suspends UK donations

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Sackler Trust suspends UK donations | The Sackler Trust announced today that it will temporarily pause ‘all new philanthropic giving’ in the UK. A statement made by Theresa Sackler acknowledges that the ‘current press attention’ surrounding the US lawsuits brought against Purdue Pharma (the manufacturer of the opioid Oxycontin, which is owned by several members of the Sackler family), has placed ‘immense pressure’ on UK institutions. And Hyperallergic reports that the Guggenheim Museum has joined London’s National Portrait and Tate galleries in stating that it ‘does not plan to accept any gifts’ from the Sacklers, having received $9m from the family between 1995 and 2015.  

EU will allow UK art shippers into Europe without permits until end of year | The EU agreed last week that in the case of a no-deal Brexit it would allow luxury good hauliers coming from the UK, including art shippers, to enter Europe without an ECMT permit until the end of the year. The European Conference of Ministers of Transport issues ECMT international road haulage permits for travel between ECMT member countries, tending to favour food and medicine services over luxury goods, however, hauliers who have not yet been able to acquire a permit can continue to use their EU Community License until 31 December 2019.

Decolonize This Place group leads second protest at Whitney Museum | The activist group Decolonize This Place led a protest at the Whitney Museum on Friday evening calling for the removal of Warren B. Kanders as vice chairman of the museum’s board. The group held a similar protest in December 2018 in response to a report that revealed that the Kander-owned Safariland had manufactured the tear gas deployed against asylum seekers at the U.S. border between Texas and Mexico. The activists occupied the fifth-floor gallery which houses the museum’s current Warhol retrospective as well as the ground-floor lobby. The protest was the first in a series called ‘Nine Weeks’, with action planned to take place every Friday until the Whitney Biennial starts on 17 May. The Whitney has declined to comment.