The Headlines
SUDAN’S NATIONAL MUSEUM WAS LOOTED while Khartoum was under control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for two years, according to the Guardian and various other outlets. Videos show the museum in ruins, with piles of rubble and broken artifacts, confirming fears of looting raised in 2023, when satellite images showed trucks of objects leaving the building. At the time, UNESCO warned the public not to trade, import, or export artifacts smuggled from Sudan. The extent of the damage is still being assessed, but the museum held some 100,000 artifacts dating back to the Nubian kingdom and the Kushite empire, as well as mummies from 2500 BCE. A fortified room containing ancient gold object was also emptied. “The tragedy was immense,” said Elnzeer Tirab Abaker Haroun, a curator at the Ethnographic Museum in Khartoum. “Most of the museum’s rare artifacts, as well as its precious gold and precious stones, have been lost.”
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THE NEW OLD NORMAL? A new survey by the Art Newspaper shows that museums are back to a “natural level” of attendance following pandemic-related closures. That doesn’t necessarily mean there has been a steady increase since the lockdowns. Instead, visitor numbers are merely dependent on a wide array of factors, including museum programming. In London, however, a “new normal” is more concerning, as evidence suggests that some UK museums will not regain the level of attendance they had prior to the pandemic for some time.
The Digest
The monumental mosaics on the facade of a cathedral in Lourdes, France, were partially covered yesterday because the man who made them, an excommunicated priest named Marko Rupnik, has been accused of sexual assault, allegedly targeting some 20 women over a 30-year period. Religious leaders made the decision to do so in an effort to address sexual abuse in the Catholic church. [Le Figaro]
Lindsey Halligan, a Florida insurance lawyer, is currently co-piloting Donald Trump’s initiative to rid the Smithsonian Institution of “divisive, race-centered ideology.” Here’s a deep dive into how she rose to prominence. [Artnet News]
The Helsinki Biennial has revealed the 37 artists and collectives participating in its 2025 edition. Curated by Blanca de la Torre and Kati Kivinen, the biennial will include Olafur Eliasson, Maria Thereza Alves, Yayoi Kusama, and more. [Euronews]
Germany’s Federal Court of Justice upheld a regional court’s ruling in a bribery case involving the construction of the Barberini Museum, which opened in Potsdam, Germany, in 2017. [DPA]
The Kicker
COULD’VE FOOLED ME! What makes a painting by a master so much better than a really good fake? On April Fool’s Day, that’s the question that Britain’s most prolific art forger, John Myatt, will discuss, reports the Times of London . Myatt has already served time for his fooling art auction houses and others into buying his copies of others’ art, and got out of jail for doing just that in 1999. Now, he has a legitimate business, creating “genuine fakes” for clients. Myatt has just put the finishing touches on a faux Manet, and is now getting ready to do his take on Edward Hopper next.