- Magnus, the app Magnus Resch named after himself and described as “Shazam for Art”, has been pulled from the Apple Store after claims that it operates using data stolen from other art databases. I’m sick of hearing about art apps that are “the ____ for art,” but this story merits attention because Resch sent a photo of himself with a donkey to Hyperallergic with his press release. At least that’s one JPEG we can likely assume he didn’t swipe from Artsy’s servers. [Hyperallergic]
- Professor Robert Ekelund has been studying what causes art museums to experience declines in visitors and revenue at a time when overall museum attendance is up. He finds that it comes down to three factors: audiences want more contemporary art, billionaires are buying up all of the contemporary art, and demographic/social shifts mean that more people are attending while museums are increasingly under pressure to provide free admission. [The Conversation]
- Two recent studies have found that people of color “make up only 9% of museum boards and 16% of the administrators, curators, conservators and educators who make decisions about what is exhibited and preserved as culturally important.” After a review of more than a 1,000 cultural institutions, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs is dedicating $1m to diversity efforts including an increase in paid internships. [The Art Newspaper]
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning pregnant women to stay away from Miami’s Wynwood Art District due to an outbreak of the Zika virus. Basel’s just four months away. [Jezebel]
- Those afraid of Zika in South Florida will soon have more indoor room to see art, though. Miami Beach’s Bass Museum has added 50% more exhibition space without an addition. They accomplished this by reconfiguring interior spaces (remember that huge ramp? It’s gone) and enclosing the terraces, so no more great outdoor parties for Basel week. [artnet News]
- Lisa Ruyter has begun the process of transitioning into a man. Ruyter started hormone therapy two weeks ago but he isn’t sure about future plans to undergo gender-reassignment surgery. [Page Six]
- The Rio Olympics don’t seem to be going very well and now funding has been pulled for a series of public art projects that were planned to coincide with the games. Giancarlo Neri, an artist who was to be included in the project says that the cancellation has more to do with politics than budget concerns. He says that the upcoming impeachment trial of President Dilma Rousseff has caused many projects to be stalled or cancelled completely. [artnet News]
- Yuri Pattison has transformed the Chisenhale Gallery in London into an eerie, abandoned co-working space for some hypothetical tech startup that may or may not have gone out of business. The installation sounds uncanny and brilliantly evocative considering how little intervention there seems to be beyond creating a simulacrum of an office. [The Guardian]
![some palm trees [via dumpfm/deephunk]](http://artfcity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/1342265056440-dumpfm-deephunk-miami_palm_tree.jpg)
