The Turner Prize Turns Toward Art Collectives, and Other News

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This year’s Turner Prize’s shortlist consists entirely of socially engaged art collectives.

Following a year marked by extreme hardship, it seems fitting that the Turner Prize’s shortlist would consist entirely of socially engaged art collectives as opposed to its standard fare of painters and photographers. The five finalists include Array Collective, Black Obsidian Sound System, Cooking Sections, Gentle/Radical, and Project Art Works. “One of the great joys of the Turner Prize is the way it captures and reflects the mood of the moment,” Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain and chair of the Turner Prize, said in a statement. “After a year of lockdowns, when very few artists have been able to exhibit publicly, the jury has selected five outstanding collectives whose work has not only continued through the pandemic but become even more relevant as a result.” The winner, which will be announced in December, will be awarded £25,000 (roughly $35,000).

Minotti is wrapping up construction on a new logistics hub near its headquarters in Meda, Italy. 

Despite the past year of disruption, Minotti has experienced a year of propitious growth. The Italian purveyor of fine furniture will wrap up construction on a new logistics hub not too far from the company’s headquarters in Meda, Italy, at the end of May. The new facility aims to streamline the logistics and management processes for shipments of Minotti’s entire product range, including its fast-developing outdoor collection. Sustainability is woven through the project—the building itself is equipped with photovoltaic panels that collect solar energy, and a public green space also sits on the 1.4-acre plot of land. Next up for Minotti is a renovation and extension of its current Meda showroom, slated for completion by 2022, led by Minotti Studio with Rodolfo Dordoni. 

The British painter Nathan Murdoch destroys his brand-new mural to create an NFT.

Right after Nathan Murdoch finished spray-painting a mural of two hands wearing rainbow-colored gloves joined in prayer, he destroyed it by hurling an entire tin of white paint at the wall. It’s part of the British street artist’s scheme to mint an exclusive digital print of the artwork as a non-fungible token. “We’re going to do a singular print, which will go to an eBay auction, and then after that we’ll do a singular NFT print, which will also go to auction, which is essentially crypto-art,” says Murdoch. The destruction of physical art to optimize its NFT value seems to be catching on. Recently, the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat foiled a plan to sell an NFT of a drawing by the late artist that granted the buyer permission to destroy it.  

Interpol launches an app that allows users to identify and report stolen art instantly.

Interpol has launched a mobile app that lets users search and identify stolen artworks using image recognition software. Users can take a photo of an artwork in the ID-Art app or enter key descriptive terms into a search engine that runs against the organization’s 52,000-strong database of stolen artworks. If the work appears to match a registered stolen artwork, the app shows more information about the piece and then prompts the user to report the item to Interpol. According to the organization, the app has already been used to successfully recover four pieces of stolen art. 

Nicole McLaughlin has been named the first-ever design ambassador for Arc’teryx.

Arc’teryx has named its first-ever design ambassador: the upcycling advocate Nicole McLaughlin. The Canadian outerwear brand aims for the partnership to strengthen its commitment to sustainable design and circular manufacturing. In her new role, McLaughlin will lead a series of workshops and events, including upcycling classes in New York City scheduled for the fall. She’ll also create two climbing-inspired pieces using waste fabrics. “I’m looking forward to shared learnings and connecting our communities so that together we can amplify the value of circularity, including repurposing garments to keep waste out of landfills,” McLaughlin says. 

The high-speed rail project between Las Vegas and Southern California is back on track. 

Brightline West is planning a 170-mile high-speed rail line that connects Las Vegas to San Bernardino County in Southern California. Set to travel at a maximum speed of 200 miles per hour, the trains would depart every 45 minutes and hold between 600 and 1,200 passengers. Brightline West was originally slated to begin construction by the end of 2020, but pandemic-induced delays threw the project off track. According to a recent announcement, however, the project is now scheduled to break ground in the second quarter of 2021. 

Today’s attractive distractions:

Billboard launches a new daily music chart for the most-Tweeted-about tracks.

According to experts, the art of poster advertising is experiencing a renaissance.

These biodegradable face masks by Marie Bee Bloom can become wildflowers.

Sticker brand Apply drops a new collab with the prankster-artist Olaf Breuning.