Okwui Enwezor to step down as director of Munich’s Haus der Kunst

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Okwui Enwezor to step down as director of Munich’s Haus der Kunst | Okwui Enwezor is to leave the Haus der Kunst with immediate effect, for health reasons, it was announced today. In a statement released today, Enwezor, who has been the director of the institution since 2011, said, ‘There is never an ideal time to leave but I am stepping down when the Haus der Kunst is in an artistic position of strength.’

Jeremy Corbyn pledges to return Parthenon Marbles to Greece | In an interview with Greek newspaper Ta Nea, Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, has supported the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens, saying, ‘It is very clear to me that the Parthenon sculptures belong to Greece’ (Greek language article). Corbyn is quoted as recommending that the two countries’ governments engage in ‘constructive talks’ about their return. The British Museum has since issued a statement saying that Corbyn’s comments have not changed their position on the matter and that any decisions are the responsibility of the museum’s trustees, not the UK government.

National Trust for Scotland announces grants of £60m for heritage projects | The National Trust for Scotland has announced an investment of £60m into built and natural heritage over the next five years. According to the BBC, the Trust’s five year plan will see it focus on developing a range of ‘learning experiences’ and finding new ways to present its collections and properties. Ultimately, the body aims to increase visitor numbers to more than 5m people per year, bringing in roughly £10m.

New information regarding location of stolen Caravaggio | Investigators attached to Italy’s anti-Mafia commission say they have information that could lead to the recovery of Caravaggio’s Nativity with St Francis and St Lawrence, a painting that was stolen from a church in Sicily in 1969. According to the Guardian, the new lead is from a gangster turned informant, who told investigators that the missing work had been held by Gaetano Badalamenti, a Mafia boss who was later arrested for heroin trafficking, and died in 2004. The informant says that Badalamenti contacted a Swiss art dealer about the painting, leading to hopes that it could be recovered intact.

David Chipperfield selected to transform Santander headquarters into art gallery | David Chipperfield Architects has won a contest to convert the current headquarters of Spanish bank Santander into a public space incorporating an art gallery, reports the Architects’ Journal. The redevelopment comes as part of an initiative to bring much of the bank’s vast art collection, which is currently held in Madrid, to Santander itself. The banking giant will move its HQ to the nearby Banesto building.

Recommended reading | In ArtNews, Alex Greenberger remembers Malcolm Morley, the Turner Prize-winning British painter who died in his adopted home of New York last week. In the Observer, Rowan Moore reviews Frida Escobedo’s Serpentine Pavilion and in Frieze, Sarah Hromack pays tribute to Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine, which announced its closure last month after almost half a century in print.