The week in art news: Trump art ‘censored’, Pussy Riot Sex Dolls attacked, deal possible on Parthenon marbles and more…

Very sad! Many such cases! Gallerist claims art fair censored Trump art. Lindsay Kotler of L. Kotler Fine Art was told to remove the artwork, Huge (2019) by Shyglo, from her booth at Scope Art Show in Miami. Footage of Kotler removing the work was shared across social media. In their defence, the art fair said that the work wasn’t included in her booth proposal (yeah, you don’t have full control over the artworks in your booth, that’s normal!). Whether it was banned or the gallerist just wanted to go viral, that ‘art’ should go in the trash.

Gallery hosting Pussy Riot Sex Dolls attacked. The street-facing window of the OK Center for Contemporary Art in Linz, Austria was smashed on Saturday. The gallery occupies a former chapel and was attacked one day before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It’s currently hosting an exhibition by Pussy Riot which features used sex dolls dressed as members of the Russian punk group, in a nod to their famous 2012 performance, Punk Prayer – Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!, when five members of the group gave an illegal protest gig in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

US TikTok ban back on the table. An appeals court turned down arguments by TikTok’s owner Bytedance that laws passed to ban the app breached its right to free speech. If the ban goes ahead, Bytedance will be forced to sell or shut down the addictive and supposedly adversarial social media app by 19th January 2025. Bytedance says it’ll take its case to the Supreme Court. It sounds daft, but with a lot of artists and galleries building their businesses on the back of the app, any kind of a ban would have a serious impact on the arts.

Deal possible on Parthenon Marbles: the Financial Times reports that talks between the British government and Greek officials over the ownership of the sculptures of the Parthenon Frieze, AKA the Elgin Marbles, are going well. The Greeks reckon they might make a deal by 2025. The gov says that it won’t stop any deal, but the British Museum says it will take some time. It’s likely that the stones would be temporarily loaned to Greece while other ancient objects would be lent to Britain.

Sun sex and suspicious sheikhs: UK gov announces culture partnership with Saudi Arabia. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said that Historic England will work with the Saudi Heritage Commission on heritage protection and conservation and the UK will promote the city of Al-‘Ula as a tourist destination. The partnership reflects growing ties between the UK and Saudi Arabia. In July, former BM director Hartwig Fischer landed himself a cushy job as head of the planned World Cultures Museum in Riyadh. Last month, an ITV documentary reported that 21,000 workers have died while working on construction projects Saudi Vision 2030 and NEOM.

The first AI-authenticated artworks sold at auction: the works, by Louise Bourgeois, Marianne von Werefkin and Mimmo Paladino were sold at Germann Auction House in Zurich. It’s the first time that AI has “directly influenced a real market transaction”, said Carina Popovici, founder of Swiss company Art Recognition. Optimists say this could be the beginning of a new era in which computers do most of the hard work of authenticators. But will it take hold in the big name houses?

Some good news: Milwaukee Art Museum to make kids’ entry free after $3.54M gift from anonymous donor. The gift allows under 12-year-olds to visit the museum for free, forever. At the moment the museum sees around 20,000 young visitors every year. Now, they hope they’ll be able to open their doors to many more. A spokesperson for the museum said the donor was inspired by their own visits as a child, and is a regular supporter of the museum.