The week in art news: sponsors shun Turner Prize, Louvre move for Mona Lisa, Frieze New York opens and more…

No art please, we’re British. The Times reports that only two sponsors have been found for the 2024 Turner Prize: £15,000 has been donated by a former Tate chairman and £15,000 by a current Tate board member, nowhere near enough to cover the total prize pot of £55,000. In 1990, the prize actually had to be cancelled when nobody coughed up. That embarrassment led to Nicholas Serota’s rebranding of the award, which ushered in a decade of popular engagement – is history repeating itself?

Ey, woah, I’m exhibitin’ here. The 12th edition of Frieze New York opens this week at The Shed, Hudson Yards. The art fair opens to VIPs on Wednesday and to the public on Thursday, and continues until Sunday 5th May. Plaster’s party correspondant is already on the ground, expect a scene report soon.

Dakar Biennale delayed. The 15th edition of the Senegalise art fair has delayed its opening from the 16th May to the 7th November. The ministry of culture said the delay is due to the “constraints and hazards of the national and international context” and to allow the fair to operate “under optimal conditions,” which is one way of smoothing over the serious political instability and widespread street protests caused earlier this month by the outgoing president.

Russian security forces raid Moscow’s Garage Museum. Last Friday, officers of one of the repressive nation’s internal security forces searched the offices and archives of the contemporary arts organisation. The museum believes it was targeted because of its connections to Pyotr Verzilov, an artist and member of Pussy Riot, who joined the Ukranian armed forces in 2023.

Paris has a problem, the Mona Lisa is too popular: every day, up to 250,000 people queue to see Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece. The solution: Louvre director Laurence des Cars recently suggested moving the painting to a special exhibition space at the gallery’s underground entrance. The idea is this will reduce “public disappointment” with the tortuous queues and terrible views.

Serpentine gains sculpture by Gerhard Richter. The stripey, abstract sculpture, called STRIP TOWER, looks like his famous Strip Paintings but stands in Kensington Gardens. According to the gallery, the sculpture “builds on Richter’s ongoing interest in the idea of reflections, systems, and repetitions.” It’s on display until the 27th October, 2024.

Pope Francis visits Venice Biennale. Historically, Venice hasn’t welcomed the papacy, but last week the city made an exception. As previously reported, Papa Frank’s trip took him to the Vatican City’s pavilion inside the Giudecca women’s prison, where he spoke to each of the artist inmates.