1) Step Into 2001: A Space Odyssey at LA's 14th Factory

If you’ve ever wished that you could step into the mysterious room that’s seen at the end of Stanley Kubrick’s iconic film 2001: A Space Odyssey, now’s your chance - if you’re in Los Angeles, that is. At the 14th Factory, a gallery located in a large, out-of-the-way warehouse space in the Californian city, artist Simon Birch and architectural firm KPlusK have painstakingly recreated the room. As it turns out, Birch’s uncle was the set-designer who built the original for the movie.

2) Will .ART Domains Really Help Organize the Art Industry?

We previously reported on the controversial sales of .ART domains, but how are the domains doing now that they’ve had time to cool off and get established? This article in Bloomberg offers a further exploration into the domains, namely, whether the art-specific domain names have any chance of actually lifting the veil of mystery that often surrounds art market dealings. Investor Ulvi Kasimov’s company UK Creative Ideas Ltd. is responsible for the distribution of the domains, many of which were sold to large institutions back in December 2016. Kasimov’s logic is that any website title with a .art domain with immediately align itself with the art industry.

3) Good News for the NEA

After a fraught few months, possible good news for the National Endowment for the Arts: a new bipartisan bill, expected to be passed through Congress, will retain and even increase funding for several different arts-related government agencies including the NEA and the NEH. If the bill is successfully passed, the NEA is set to receive $150 million in funding over the 2017 fiscal year, roughly $2 million more than in 2016.

4) Smithsonian to Expand Collection of African-American Art

The Henry Luce Foundation has gifted the Smithsonian Museum with a grant of $575,000 USD. The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art are reportedly planning to use the grant to fund a three-year collecting initiative that focuses on works by and around black artists. The initiative will also include paid internships and a three-year position for an as-yet-unannounced African American art collector who will work in conjunction with the Smithsonian archives.

5) Turner Prize Shortlist Announced

The shortlist for the Turner Prize has been announced. Thanks to recent rule changes, artists Lubaina Himid, 62, and Hurvin Anderson, 52, are both nominated. In previous years, these artists would have been ineligible due to the prize being barred from artists over 50. The other nominees are Andrea Bϋttner and Rosalind Nashashibi. The winner will be announced on December 5th.