Museums Under Fire, Gulf Art Boom

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news. Louvre Abu Dhabi director Manuel Rabaté leaves to head India’s largest private art museum https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/02/louvre-abu-dhabi-director-manuel-rabate-knma-india The first Art Basel Qatar heralds a new model for art fairs in the region https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/02/the-first-art-basel-qatar-heralds-a-new-model-for-art-fairs-in-the-region British Museum’s A.I.-Generated Post Sparks Online Backlash https://news.artnet.com/art-world/british-museum-ai-backlash-2742244 Documentary tracks Indigenous efforts to recover ancestors’ remains from museums and universities https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/02/aanikoobijigan-documentary-repatriation-indigenous-human-remains Sotheby’s Second Sale in Saudi Arabia Tops $19.6 M., Sets Record for Saudi Artist https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/sothebys-second-sale-saudi-arabia-results-1234771783/ One battle after another: Trump’s war on federal architecture https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/02/trump-war-on-federal-architecture Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts to close permanently https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/02/glasgows-centre-for-contemporary-arts-to-close-permanently Photomontage of Israel bombing Gaza will go on show at Art Basel Qatar https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/02/photomontage-of-israel-bombing-gaza-goes-on-show-at-art-basel-qatar Jeffrey Epstein Advised on Leon Black’s Purchase of $115 M. Picasso from Gagosian, Files Show https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/jeffrey-epstein-leon-black-gagosian-picasso-sculpture-1234771752/ Palestinians Decry Israel’s Plan to Seize West Bank Archaeological Site: ‘A Violation of Our History’ https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/sebastia-west-bank-archaeological-site-israel-palestinians-1234771807/