January 18, 2001
CONTENTS:
- Display was radioactive, museum admits
- British Museum: What happens now
- International Arts Federation Created
- Disclosure of Nazi-era art planned (Museums will catalogue holdings for posting on the Net)
Display was radioactive, museum admits
by Tom Sykes
The Natural History Museum has admitted breaching safety regulations after it displayed radioactive rocks in its minerals gallery. The museum has pleaded guilty in a case brought by the Health and Safety Executive, which found that some of its exhibits were emitting radiation above permitted levels. The case, heard in a magistrates' court last year, has now been committed for sentencing to Blackfriars Crown Court on 16 February, according to a report in the Financial Times today. The museum in South Kensington would not make a detailed comment for fear of prejudicing their case, but said the rocks were emitting levels of radiation higher than that permitted by safety rules, according to the FT. The museum was adamant, however, that visitors who saw the rocks were in no danger of harm. "The museum wishes to emphasise there has been no actual danger to visitors to the museum's minerals gallery," it said. The institution also told the FT that it "greatly regrets this contravention of health and safety legislation and regulations and has acted to ensure there will be no repetition."
http://www.thisislondon.com/
British Museum: What happens now
The report by PricewaterhouseCoopers does not draw a line under the South Portico affair. The London Borough of Camden has yet to decide on what to do about the matter of listed building consent and, indeed, whether the portico should be demolished. Camden councillors have been taking expert legal advice on what action they should take and one option being considered is that the museum should be prosecuted for breaching planning laws. The PWC report may influence that decision. It notes that "in the extreme scenario" costs would exceed anything the museum could expect to reclaim from Easton Masonry.
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International Arts Federation Created
A December arts summit in Canada has resulted in national arts councils and arts funding agencies from some 50 countries forming an international federation aimed at benefiting artists, arts organizations and communities throughout the world.
Delegates attending the World Summit on the Arts and Culture in Ottawa approved the proposal opening the new federation to all national or international agencies that support the development of the arts and culture, in the first instance, through funding and/or advocacy, according to the Canada Council for the Arts website. Globally, some 80 countries currently have arts council-type agencies; many more have government departments and non- governmental organizations that support the arts.
More:
Disclosure of Nazi-era art planned
Museums will catalogue holdings for posting on the Net
By Jacqueline Trescott
THE WASHINGTON POST
Jan. 17 - Representatives of the nation's museums have announced they are planning rigorous and systematic disclosure of the origins of their artworks to try to settle any questions about property seized by Germany during the Nazi era. Museums will be asked to disclose on the Internet the identity and chain of ownership of all works in their collections that changed hands during the Nazi years (1932- 1945) and could have been in Europe during that period.
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