COURTESY PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART
Admissions
In a move that makes the NFL holding its televised draft spectacular at the Philadelphia Museum of Art somehow even less sensible than before, event producers have built a fake facade of the museum to stand in front of the building itself. No word yet on similar plans for an ersatz Étant donnés. [CSN Philly]
The Met is considering charging a mandatory admission fee for visitors from outside New York in an effort to make up for a $15 million budget deficit. Talks are happening as part of a forthcoming New York City Cultural Plan that could change funding measures for other arts organizations too. [The New York Times]
The New-York Historical Society is starting a new program to help green-card holders become U.S. citizens, with free workshops and classes as well as museum displays for aiding in education. [Reuters]
Writing
David Byrne wrote a tribute to Jonathan Demme, the director of Talking Heads’ amazing concert documentary Stop Making Sense, after the filmmaker’s death was announced yesterday. [David Byrne]
Adrian Searle reviews a “strange and exhilarating” new tapestry by Chris Ofili on show at the National Gallery in London. [The Guardian]
Ed Halter of the cool cinema enterprise Light Industry writes about Ian Cheng’s new show at MoMA PS1. [4 Columns]
Anelise Chen pens an impressionistic survey of seashells throughout art history from the perspective of a clam. [The Paris Review]
Funds
There’s going to be a fundraiser for the development of the MAMMOTH, a 90,000-square-foot space for artist studios and other sundries in a former Civil War building in Louisville, Kentucky. [Leo Weekly]
A rather fawning profile of David Kratz, a former financial PR man who has raised lots of money in recent years as the “industrious and socially adept” president of the New York Academy of Art. [The New York Times]
Iranian-born collector Mohammed Afkhami is the subject of a new book (by Phaidon) and an exhibition in Toronto that might make its way to Houston. [The Art Newspaper]
Eden
Two new public art installations are slated for San Antonio, including a 24-foot sculpture with cactuses on it by Mel Chin. [My San Antonio]
A new bill would allow galleries to serve wine and beer without a license in Los Angeles. [Los Angeles Times]
Artist Amy Hood directed a steamy, creepy video with witches for the dependably lecherous, lascivious rock band Afghan Whigs. [The Fader]
Dale Chihuly has filled the New York Botanical Garden with glass sculptures situated in and among the plants. [The New York Times]