Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most consequential developments coming out of the art world and art market. Here’s what you need to know on this Monday, February 20.

NEED-TO-READ

Banksy’s Valentine’s Mural To Be Relocated – After being dismantled multiple times, a new work by Banksy that appeared on the wall of a private building in Margate, England on Valentine’s Day will be relocated to the town’s theme park Dreamland, in order to ensure that the complete work remains accessible to the public. The move comes after problems relating to the real abandoned freezer that the work was created around—first, it was temporarily removed by the council for public safety reasons, and when it was put back the owner of the building removed it for security reasons. (Evening Standard)

Artists Demonstrate Against Greek Museum Laws –  Protests have broken out in Athens over the Greek government’s decision to change the status of five major archaeological museums so that they now operate semi-autonomously, a change that some fear will make them more vulnerable to privatization. The demonstration has centered around the proposed expansion of the city’s main Archeological Museum by David Chipperfield Architects. (The Art Newspaper)

Activists Protest Archaeological Dig in Miami  – The city of Miami has been urged to end an archaeological dig that has so far unearthed human remains among other artifacts connected to the Tequesta people as Native American activists say that the action is disrespectful of their ancestors. The Related Group, which is redeveloping the site to build housing, claimed it was working with various parties including official tribal representatives to recover, document, and eventually rebury the remains. (ARTnews)

Hogarth Canvases Found in Hospital Stairwell – Unbeknownst to many of his fans, huge canvases by William Hogarth fill the a stairwell of St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. Luckily, “Sharing Historic Barts,” a major renovation of the historic building, will include a half million dollar repair of these stairs, making them regularly accessible to the public alongside a new program of cultural events. (TAN)

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Major Museums Join Web 3.0 Fellowship – Despite the crypto winter, institutional interest in NFTs has remained strong. Now, twelve museums have been selected to join the new Web3 for the Arts and Culture (WAC) fellowship launched by the Tezos Foundation and TZ Connect, which aims to support them in making use of blockchain technologies. Among those institutions named are the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, and the House of Electronic Arts in Basel. (TAN)

Minneapolis Institute of Art Workers Picket – Staff seeking to renegotiate their wages picketed outside the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) on Thursday evening after failing to reach a new agreement. Although MIA is offering a nine percent salary increase over the next two-and-a-half years, the workers say that with inflation this amounts to a pay cut and have requested 16 percent, prompting the museum to offer 15 percent—but only if nine of the institution’s most senior curators leave the union. (Minnesota Reformer)

Stolen Cambodian Jewels Returned From London – More treasures  associated with the disgraced late British smuggler of Cambodian antiquities Douglas Latchford were recovered in London last summer. These Angkorian crown jewels, which date as far back as the 7th century, were quietly repatriated and will eventually go on public display at Cambodia’s national museum. (BBC)

FOR ARTS SAKE

Robert Colescott Work Fetches Over $4 Million at Bonham’s – An exemplary canvas by the American artist Robert Colescott was acquired by Art Bridges Foundation for $4.5 million at Bonham’s Los Angeles on Friday. Typical of the painter’s satirical approach, Miss Liberty (1980) is a colorful exploration of American identity, racial equality and freedom that had largely been kept in private hands over the 40 years since its creation. (Press release)

Robert Colescott, Miss Liberty (1980) sold for $4.5 million. Photo courtesy of Bonham’s.