Weekly News Roundup: February 21, 2025

Taiwanese Public Art Museum Announces Two New Collaborations 

For its upcoming exhibitions, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (NTMoFA) has announced collaborations with Paris’s Centre Pompidou and Santa Fe’s IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA). Co-organized with the Centre Pompidou and set to open in April, the exhibition “Of Anarchy in Music: More Journeys in Sound” will feature nearly 30 international and Taiwanese contemporary artists—including Lawrence Abu-Hamdan, Liu Chuang, Christian Marclay, and Susan Philipsz—exploring various forms of sound and its interplay with sensory experience, social memory, and political systems. The second exhibition, in partnership with the MoCNA, is scheduled to open at MoCNA in August. Co-curated by NTMoFA curator Jay Chun-Chieh Lai, Taiwanese Indigenous curator Nakaw Putun, and MoCNA’s chief curator Manuela Well-Off-Man, the show will highlight contemporary Taiwanese Indigenous art and its relationship to political activism, examining issues of identity, gender, survival, and ecology.

TarraWarra Museum of Art to Unveil New Building 

On March 4, the TarraWarra Museum of Art in Healesville, east of Melbourne, will open the Eva and Marc Besen Centre. The new building will house the museum’s permanent collection while acting as a multipurpose cultural hub, capable of accommodating up to 200 visitors. Designed by Kerstin Thompson Architects, OCULUS studio, and Wurundjeri artist Craig Murphy-Wandin, the 2205-square-meter building connects the adjacent museum with a dramatic sculpture walk, featuring works by renowned artists such as Australian American sculptors Clement Meadmore and Lenton Parr, among others. A 46-meter-long  glass wall will allow perennial viewing access to over 300 artworks created by some of the country’s most influential contemporary artists. During the opening weekend, the museum will host a variety of festivities, including behind-the-scenes tours, children’s activities, and a performance by the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Hong Kong’s M+ and New York’s MoMA Announce New Partnership

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and Hong Kong’s M+ museum signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during a ceremony held on February 18. The agreement pledges the sharing of resources and knowledge across curatorial and conservation research, exhibition planning, staff training, and donor development. M+ museum's director, Suhanya Raffel, highlighted both institutions’ shared commitment to cultural exchange and international collaboration, stating that M+ is looking forward to an “open and ongoing dialogue . . . [and] many joint efforts with MoMA to come.” The partnership is the most extensive in a series of recent collaborations between M+ and various institutions worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Tokyo's National Art Center, and London's Tate.

Fareed Armaly Declines Käthe Kollwitz Prize Over Censorship Concerns in Germany

American artist Fareed Armaly has declined Germany’s Käthe Kollwitz Prize, citing concerns over Germany’s cultural policies. Established by the Berlin Academy of Arts in 1992, the EUR 12,000 (USD 12,560) annual award recognizes established artists for a singular work or their overall achievement. Armaly, who is of Lebanese and Palestinian descent, is known for large-scale projects engaging with Palestinian themes. He rejected the annual prize over what he described as a “highly politicized, reactionary shift” in Germany’s cultural policies. In a statement to The Art Newspaper, he expressed inability to align with “any institution operating under the cultural policy framework of the German government.” The decision comes amid intensifying debate over restrictions across Germany’s cultural sector, where institutions have canceled exhibitions, terminated contracts, and withdrawn awards over perceived antisemitic or anti-Israel views. Also, it follows Documenta’s recent announcement of a new code of conduct that includes a contentious definition of antisemitism.

South Korea’s Gallery KIWA Unveils New Space in London 

On February 20, South Korea-based gallery KIWA launched a second space in Mayfair, London. The new space is set to host four public exhibitions a year, with the first featuring South Korean artist Hong Sooyeon. In a press release, the gallery’s director, C.J. Chun stated: “KIWA has a deep commitment to London and its thriving creative community, and we feel so honored to bring our artists’ work to Mayfair, in this very special building area in the city…. We look forward to strengthening our connection to London, its culture, and its artists with our programming at this historic site.” The space will be located in a restored building on Albermarle Street, surrounded by blue-chip galleries such as  Thaddaeus Ropac, David Zwirner, Gagosian, and fellow newcomers such as Dirimart.