Our weekly news roundup is an extension of Paint Drippings, which drops first in The Back Room, our lively recap funneling only the week’s must-know art industry intel into a nimble read you’ll actually enjoy. Artnet News Pro members get exclusive access—subscribe now to receive this in your inbox every Friday. 

Art Fairs

– A $4.75 million David Hammons, a $2.5 million George Condo, and a $3.5 million Yayoi Kusama are some of the seven-figure artworks that sold at Art Basel Miami Beach. Here’s a rundown of reported sales. (Artnet News)

– Volta Basel will take place from June 19 through 22 next year, and will move to a new venue, Basel’s Congress Center, a short walk from the Messeplatz. (Press release)

– Salon Art + Design will stage a new Dallas edition, March 26 to 30, with around 35 exhibitors at the Block House. The fair announced a new executive director, Nicky Dessources, in June. (Press release)

A work by Yinka Shonibare at the 1:54: Contemporary African Art Fair.

– The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair returns to Marrakech from January 30 through February 2. Held across two venues, La Mamounia Hotel and the multidisciplinary art space DaDa, the fair will feature over 30 exhibitors from 14 countries. (Press release)

– The India Art Fair will host a record 118 exhibitors for its 16th edition, at the NSIC Exhibition Grounds, New Delhi, February 6 to 9. Last month, the fair scrapped a planned Mumbai edition, which had been on the calendar for November 2025.  (Press release)

– The Winter Show, returning to New York‘s Park Avenue Armory January 24–February 2, will showcase rare art and antiques from over 70 exhibitors, spanning antiquity to today. (Press release)

Auction Houses

– A major wave of cost cutting has come to Sotheby’s, which has eliminated more than 100 jobs, including back-office workers and junior staffers, as well as top-level specialists in key departments. Listen to this week’s Art Market Minute for the latest update. (Artnet News)

The skull of the adult allosaurus. Photo: Christie’s Images Ltd.

– Christie’s “Jurassic Icons: Allosaurus and Stegosaurus” auction in London totaled £12.4 million ($15.7 million). It marked the first major dino auction in the U.K. capital. (Artnet News)

– Christie’s also announced the completion of its acquisition of Gooding and Company, the leading international auction house in the collector car market. Gooding will change its name to Gooding Christie’s in 2025. (Press release)

Galleries

– The Gallery of Contemporary Art (GOCA), a new institution dedicated to showcasing Japanese and Asian contemporary art, will open in New York’s Chelsea district in January. Led by creative director Akinori Okada and curator Kenta Ichinose, it’s the latest project from the Japanese creative enterprise GARDE. (The Back Room Exclusive)

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei attends the preview of his exhibition “Who Am I?” at Palazzo Fava on September 20, 2024 in Bologna, Italy. Photo: Roberto Serra – Iguana Press/Getty Images.

– Chinese artist-activist Ai Weiwei will return to Lisson Gallery in London for a solo show, “A New Chapter,” running from February 7 to March 15. His last solo exhibition with the gallery was canceled in 2023. (The Asia Pivot)

Museums and Institutions

–London‘s National Gallery will unveil a major rehang in 2025. ” The Wonder of Art” will feature over 1,000 works and is supported by the Hong Kong property investor CC Land Holdings. (Museums and Heritage)

– The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has consigned 17 works by Dutch and Flemish masters to be sold at two live auctions at Christie’s in New York in February. They are collectively estimated to sell for between $2.5 million and $3.8 million. (Artnet News)

– The U.K. struck a major new culture deal with Saudi Arabia, following a meeting between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in Riyadh on Monday. The partnership will aim to boost Saudi’s appeal as a tourist destination and help protect cultural landmarks in both countries. Meanwhile, the kingdom also agreed to give France €50 million ($52.5 million) to help renovate the Centre Pompidou in Paris. (Artnet News)

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud at the Royal Court on December 9, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth – WPA Pool/Getty Images.

– The Vancouver Art Gallery scrapped plans for a new home designed by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog and de Meuron, as anticipated costs rose from CA$400 million ($296 million) to CA$600 million ($445 million). (Artnet News)

– The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center received a $2.5 million Lilly Endowment grant to launch Flight and Faith, a five-year project exploring art, religion, and migration in Latinx communities in border and sanctuary cities. (Press release)

People

– Zoé Whitley will step down as director of London’s Chisenhale Gallery in March after five years in the role. (Press release)

– The Storm King Art Center’s board of trustees announced the appointment of Nora Lawrence as its executive director; she will be its first leader from outside its founding family. Lawrence most recently served as the Upstate New York art center’s artistic director and chief curator; she will assume the new role in January. (Press release)

Zoe Whitley. Photo: James Gifford-Mead.

– Rebecca Wei, a former partner in Lévy Gorvy Dayan and a former president and chairman of Christie’s Asia, has launched an art advisory firm specializing in high-value 20th- and 21st-century art in Hong Kong. (Artnet News)

– Lorraine O’Grady, who went from an early career as a research economist for the government to a second life as a conceptual artist and cultural critic in her mid-40s, has died, aged 90. (Artnet News)

Tech and Legal News

– Jerry Gorovoy, a longtime assistant to artist Louise Bourgeois and a veteran art-world figure in New York, has been accused in a lawsuit of repeatedly sexually assaulting a young artist between 2001 and 2002. He has denied the allegations. (Artnet News)

– Hong Kong’s culture minister, Kevin Yeung, was fired by Beijing on December 5, just days after the city rolled out a blueprint for the creative and cultural sectors. The announcement came from state news agency Xinhua, which named Rosanna Law, a former director of housing, to replace him. The department has tightened the criteria for the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund, which has provided backing for art fairs like Art Basel, Art Central, and Art021. (Hong Kong Free Press)