Week in Review: Stephen Ross Leaves The Shed’s Board; Banksy Modifies a Nativity Set – Hyperallergic

Banksys Scar of Bethlehem at the Walled Off Hotel (photo courtesy Bisher Qassis)

Week in Reviewis a weekly collection of news, developments, and stirrings in the art world.Subscribeto receive these posts as a weekly newsletter.

Hyperallergic broke the news that Stephen M. Ross, the Hudson Yards developer who wasscolded for his ties with President Trump, has quietly stepped down from the Sheds board of directors. The Shed confirmed Rosss resignation and said that he decidedto focus on his other philanthropic activities.

More in Hudson Yards news: In a deal with US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the Vessel in Hudson Yards has agreed to install a specialplatform lift that willincrease accessibility for people with disabilities. The new elevator will provide access to the Hudson Yard structures upper floors, which are currently inaccessible for people with disabilities

New York City is paying more attention to small cultural nonprofits. The citys Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) has awarded $51.3 million in grants to 985 cultural organizations. The DCLA said that funding was set aside for nonprofits that directly support individual artists, collectives, and smaller cultural organizationsthroughout the city. A group of12 nonprofits including Harlem Stage, BRIC, and Bronx River Art Center will have their energy expenses paid for this year. The grants come from the citys record-breaking $212 million arts and culture budget for the 2020 fiscal year.

In Mexico City, workers of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL), the national organization responsible for Mexicos major museums, staged a protest against the long delays of theirwages.A group of around 40 employees quietly entered the Palace of Fine Arts during an event. They silently held up their placards as many in the audience cheered and yelled contrato digno a call for dignified contracts.

As the anti-corruption protests in Lebanon continue, authorities in Beirut removed a sculpture from a central square in the city after a viral photo showed that from a certain top-angle, the statue evokes the shape of the Star of David. The sculpture was removedfollowing claims that it had been placed at the square to propagate Zionism and normalization with Israel. The artist and gallery behind the sculpture denied the allegations.

In Bethlehem, in the Occupied West Bank, Jesuss city of birth, Christians celebrated the holiday behind walls and checkpoints. To underscore this grim reality, British street artistBanksy created a modified nativity set titled theScar of Bethlehem. The new artwork reinterprets the biblicalmanger scene as occurring against the backdrop of Israels concrete barrier, which appears punctured with a blast that created the shape of a star. This is one of many projects and artworks Banksy has created in the Occupied West Bank since 2005.

The German parliament voted that trade workers in 12 professions will once again need a Meisterpflicht, or master craftsperson certificate, to start a business. Tilers, organ builders, makers of wooden toys, coopers, signmakers, parquet flooring installers, interior designers, and glass refiners will have to obtain the certificate designation before they can branch out on their own.

Libertad Guerra, formerly thedirector and chief curator of the Loisaida Center, was named executive director ofthe Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center (The Clemente) in New York Citys Lower East Side. | via email announcement

Eric Shiner, who in the past served as director of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and a senior vice president of Sothebys, will lead theBrooklyn-based venue Pioneer Works after a year-long stint as an artistic advisor at White Cube gallery in London. | artnet

Kristen Windmuller-Luna, who wasappointed as aconsulting curator for African Arts at the Brooklyn Museum in 2018, which sparked protests and criticism, will move on to theCleveland Museum of Art to serve as curator of African arts.| Cleveland.com

Abigail Rapoport was appointedCurator of Judaica at the Jewish Museum in New York. | via email announcement

Doug Harrell has been named deputy director for finance and administration at the New Orleans Museum of Art. | Artnews

Almine Rech now represents painter Ewa Juszkiewicz | Artnews

Artists Theaster Gates and Lynette Wallworth were named 2020 Crystal Award Winners by the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland. | World Economic Forum

May Stevens (1924-2019), artist and activist | NYT

Kate Figes (1957-2019), Feminist writer | NYT

Allee Willis (1947-2019), songwriter | NPR

Emanuel Ungaro (1933-2019), fashion designer | NYT

Elizabeth Spencer (1921-2019), novelist | NYT

Johanna Lindsey (1952-2019), best-selling romance novelist | NYT

Mama Cax (1989-2019), amputee model and disability activist | NYT

Abbey Simon (1920-2019), pianist | NYT

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Week in Review: Stephen Ross Leaves The Shed's Board; Banksy Modifies a Nativity Set - Hyperallergic