1) Man Falls into Anish Kapoor Artwork

An Italian man has been making headlines around the world since falling into an Anish Kapoor artwork on August 13th. The work, the aptly named Descent Into Limbo, which takes the form of a dark, circular hole, was installed on the floor of Serralves art museum in Portugal. The work was originally created in 1992, and whether or not the pit is real or merely an illusion has been the subject of public speculation -- apparently, though, the world now has its answer. The man sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to hospital after the incident, but is reportedly “recovering well.”

2) Art Institutes in Several U.S. Cities to Close

Art students in Indianapolis and Phoenix are facing an uncertain future for their studies following news that the Art Institute campuses in both cities will be closing their doors for good at the end of 2018. Reports from a few weeks ago stated that students and family members were concerned by the news that the schools would not be accepting new enrollments for the coming 2018/19 school year. Some students are opting to withdraw from the school without completing their degree, although other institutions may not recognize credits from Art Institute schools. Students also have a few options for completing their degree or switching to a partner institute to receive a grant or a tuition discount. The spokeswoman for the company that operates the art institute noted that upon review, the operators found that there was not enough demand for the schools to justify their continued existence.

3) Melgaard's House Won't Be Built on Munch's Former Studio Site

The saga of Bjarne Melgaard’s much-maligned A House to Die In has taken a turn, with Oslo city councilors voting against the work’s installation in a well-known area of Norwegian wilderness. Proposed plans for the house, a collaboration between Melgaard and the architecture firm Snøhetta, projected a truly bizarre structure straight out of a science fiction movie, with an even more fanciful interior. However, the project drew controversy right from its inception, due to Melgaard’s desire to construct the home on an empty plot of land right beside the former site of Edvard Munch’s winter studio, which was demolished in 1989. According to city councilors, the site will remain a green area “for the benefit of the local population.”

4) Censored Queer Art Show Reopens in Brazil to Record Crowds

The Queermuseu, the massive queer art show in Brazil that was shut down by conservative authorities last year, has reopened thanks to a huge influx of crowdfunding support. In a record-breaking campaign, the Queermuseu raised over 1 million Brazilian reals, more than twice its goal for fundraising. The exhibition opened last weekend at the School of Visual Arts at Parque Lage in Rio de Janeiro to equally record-breaking crowds, with 5,000 people on opening day, and 3,000 on the following, leading to wait times of up to 90 minutes for visitors to get in to the museum.

5) New Company Lets Users Buy "Shares" in High-Priced Artworks

A new micro-investing opportunity for fine art lovers: a new U.S.-based company called Masterworks is allowing users to purchase “shares” of high-priced original artworks. While the works in question may draw multi-million-dollar prices at auction, Masterworks allows people without so much capital to purchase shares for as little as $20 USD. And just like with traditional investments, shareholders have the opportunity to earn a small profit off the sale of the artworks. In the case of a work with multiple shareholders, the work will be auctioned only if a majority of the shareholders vote in favour of the sale.