Art Basel's parent company MCH Group faces potential Murdoch investment amid pandemic cancellations
Rupert Murdoch is in talks to secure a major stake in MCH Group, the organization behind Art Basel fairs, with negotiations spearheaded by his son, James Murdoch. Financial difficulties stemming from COVID-19 have led MCH to cancel several Art Basel events. The largest shareholder, Basel-Stadt canton, possesses 33.5 percent. In other news, the Liste fair is set to take place in Basel from September 17-20, featuring 49 galleries. Additionally, the German government intends to acquire Berlin's Hamburger Bahnhof museum from CA Immo. SFMOMA's deputy director, Nan Keeton, has stepped down following criticism over censorship. The Art Institute of Chicago has laid off 51 staff members, while UK museums have revealed their reopening strategies. The Bienal de São Paulo has been rescheduled to run from September 4 to December 5, 2021, and Jennifer Tee has been awarded the Amsterdamprijs voor de Kunst.
Key facts
- Rupert Murdoch negotiates stake in MCH Group, Art Basel's parent company, via son James Murdoch
- MCH Group cancels Art Basel Hong Kong and Basel editions plus Baselworld due to COVID-19 financial strain
- Liste fair proceeds September 17-20 in Basel with 49 galleries from 32 countries at Dreispitzhalle
- German government seeks to buy Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin from CA Immo to prevent demolition for offices
- SFMOMA deputy director Nan Keeton resigns after censorship of racism allegations by former employee Taylor Brandon
- Art Institute of Chicago lays off 51 full-time staff (8%) following COVID-19 closure, after April layoffs of 25
- UK museums reopen with staggered dates: National Gallery July 8, Tate galleries July 27, smaller venues in September
- Seoul Mediacity Biennale postpones 11th edition to September 2021, Seoul museums closed until July 15
Entities
Artists
- Yung Ma
- Michelle Williams Gamaker
- Hannah Quinlan
- Rosie Hastings
- Jenn Nkiru
- Larissa Sansour
- Andrea Luka Zimmerman
- André Prous
- Nan Keeton
- Taylor Brandon
- Jacopo Crivelli Visconti
- Ximena Garrido-Lecca
- Deana Lawson
- Clara Ianni
- Chen I-Hsuen
- Wang Shih-Wei
- Irene Aristizábal
- Hammad Nasar
- Hurvin Anderson
- Michael Armitage
- Simeon Barclay
- Oliver Beer
- Zach Blas
- Kathrin Böhm
- Maeve Brennan
- James Bridle
- Helen Cammock
- Than Hussein Clark
- Alon Schwabe
- Daniel Fernández Pascual
- Jamie Crewe
- Oona Doherty
- Sean Edwards
- Mandy El-Sayegh
- Mark Essen
- Gaika
- Beatrice Gibson
- Patrick Goddard
- Anne Hardy
- Celia Hempton
- Andy Holden
- Joey Holder
- Marguerite Humeau
- Lawrence Lek
- Ghislaine Leung
- Paul Maheke
- Elaine Mitchener
- Oscar Murillo
- Grace Ndiritu
- Uriel Orlow
- Hardeep Pandhal
- Hetain Patel
- Florence Peake
- Heather Phillipson
- Joanna Piotrowska
- Abigail Reynolds
- Margaret Salmon
- Hrair Sarkissian
- Katie Schwab
- Tai Shani
- Marianna Simnett
- Victoria Sin
- Hanna Tuulikki
- Caroline Walker
- Alberta Whittle
- Rehana Zaman
- Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel
- Dāvis Sīmanis
- Milton Glaser
- Andrew Cuomo
- Bob Dylan
- Jennifer Tee
- Andy Warhol
- Kara Walker
- Aubrey Beardsley
- Steve McQueen
- Mikhail Karikis
- Naum Gabo
- Titian
- Rupert Murdoch
- James Murdoch
- Gabriele Finaldi
Institutions
- Seoul Mediacity Biennale
- Film London
- Nature
- Brazil's Museum of Natural History
- National Museum in Rio de Janeiro
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
- Bienal de São Paulo
- Taishin Arts Award
- Hamburger Bahnhof
- CA Immo
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Art Basel
- Liste
- Dreispitzhalle
- Schaulager
- Volta
- MCH Group
- News Corporation
- Twentieth Century Fox
- HarperCollins
- Basel-Stadt
- National Gallery London
- Tate
- Tate Modern
- Tate Britain
- Tate Liverpool
- Tate St Ives
- Royal Academy
- Barbican Centre
- Whitechapel Gallery
- Photographers' Gallery
- Serpentine Galleries
- Nottingham Contemporary
- Baltic Gateshead
- Drawing Room
- MK Gallery
- Goldsmiths CCA
- Chisenhale
- Gasworks
- DCMS
- British Art Show
- Wolverhampton Art Gallery
- University of Wolverhampton School of Art
- Riga Biennial (RIBOCA2)
- Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
- Bonner Kunstverein
- Camden Arts Centre
- Kunstraum
- Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
- Istanbul Biennial
- Manifesta
- Gerrit Rietveld Academy
- Sandberg Institute
- Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten
- Project Art Works
- Against Again Troupe
- Cooking Sections
- Finanz und Wirtschaft
- CBS Records
- New York magazine
Locations
- Seoul
- South Korea
- Minas Gerais
- Brazil
- Rio de Janeiro
- San Francisco
- United States
- São Paulo
- Ibirapuera Park
- Taiwan
- Berlin
- Germany
- Austria
- Chicago
- Basel
- Switzerland
- Hong Kong
- China
- London
- United Kingdom
- Wolverhampton
- Aberdeen
- Plymouth
- Manchester
- Riga
- Latvia
- New York
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Holland
- Bonn
- Camden
- Istanbul
- Turkey
- Australia
- Gateshead
- Nottingham