Artistic communities throughout the United Kingdom have been disappointed to learn that a prominent mural in Nottingham has been altered. The mural was painted & crafted by Banksy, a prominent artist in Great Britain that’s become famous worldwide. Frustration & sadness evoked Nottingham after learning this artwork had been altered by the building owner. This mural depicted a small girl using a bicycle tyre for “Hula Hooping”. Banksy placed a destroyed bicycle beside the mural, emphasis that art & reality can often be one in the same.

Nottingham civilians began speculating that local criminals had stolen the bicycle & destroyed it for purposeful vengeance against the city. Two months haven’t passed since Banksy first designed this mural, which first appeared in Nottingham’s Lenton District on October 13st at Rothesay Avenue. Local newspapers obliged the concept that Banksy’s artbook bicycle had been stolen, which prompted members of council & the business owner to clarify why removal of the bicycle was sustained. Media personnel were informed the bike was removed & placed into safekeeping, with additional protective efforts made to Banksy’s mural.

“The Nottingham Project Organization” has worked years towards rejuvenating the downtown & uptown sectors. NPO designated that council members & the Rothesay Avenue business owner had moved the bicycle, with city-employed personnel placing protective plastic sheeting for Banksy’s mural. This ensures that criminals & disrespectful civilians cannot damage the influential panting, which has seen hundreds travel to Nottingham in recent weeks to witness Banksy’s latest artwork.

A Replacement is Coming

Nottingham’s Council & NPO Personnel emphasised that by November 23^rd, a replacement bicycle made from a local manufacturer would be placed beside Banksy’s mural. A Nottingham civilian named Kyle Myatt purchased the replacement cycle for Twenty Euros & informed the council of his strategy, which was approved hours later.

Civilians in Great Britain & Northern Ireland have adopted Banksy artwork, which has become famous worldwide. Dozens of artists work towards copying his artwork but often failed to accomplish his beauty. Banksy would become prominently famous after rescuing refugees from the ocean. His actions were considerable a humanitarian act.

The international art community has seen a global halt to their exhibitions, with the COVID-19 pandemic evoking multiple changes onto how organizers can host supports without risk of infection. It’s prompted the closure of various fairs & expos throughout 2020, with the most recent being the “Miami Art Basel Fair”. This venue is infamous for maintaining celebrity sightings & glamorous parties that make yearly headlines. However, COVID-19 has infected the state of Florida on extreme levels, with more than +630 thousand contracting the virus. Organizers for the Miami Art Basel Fair couldn’t risk visitors becoming infected with COVID-19.

It’s a notable disappointment for prestigious collectors & socialites that use this event to rally behind new business partnerships. The MABF is one of the few instances where collectors & socialites can engage with celebrity personalities. Guests aren’t exclusively from the United States of America, with a large percentage of visitors arriving for international countries. Travel restrictions seen worldwide would evoke logistical challenges that few have overcome during the pandemic. This left organizer’s little choice but to terminate the 2020 Miami Art Basel Fair, which won’t arrive against until August 1st of next year.

The Art Basel Americas Director released a formal statement on the closure. Noah Horowitz noted that this show is crucial for artists in Miami, their local economy, and the overall community. Noah knows the impact that this closure has but guarantees that MABF Organizers will redesign & enhance the fair for 2021. It should be mentioned that the Miami Art Basel Fair isn’t the exclusive venue under this banner that’s been cancelled.

The Hong Kong & Switzerland exhibitions were also postponed for 2020 and won’t arrive against until 2021. It marks the first time in the Art Basel Organization’s history that all three venues were cancelled. However, participants in these venues will be permitted “Online Viewing Rooms” for the general public in December 2020. It’ll showcase the paintings & sculptures made by artists from Switzerland, America, and Hong Kong.

Miami Coronavirus Infections

Miami-Dade County has maintained one of the most prominent COVID-19 outbreaks in the United States. Hundreds of thousands have been affected, with other cities like Jacksonville & Orlando facing similar difficulties with this virus. Though infection numbers have slowly begun lowering throughout Florida, the P-Rating per 100+ thousand civilians isn’t low enough to justify the MABF Organizers with going through on their exhibition.

August 28th marked the date when a subversive artist “Banksy” stood in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement. An explanation was given by the secretive man, affirming his belief that “All Black Lives Matter”. Banksy also revealed his sponsorship of a “Search & Rescue Operation” for African immigrants that float drifting in the Mediterranean Sea. It comes after the war has stricken multiple shores across the region, with massive oil reserves on the line.

Named the MV Louise Michel, this Search & Rescue Vessel appealed to nations surrounding the European Union for assistance. Appeals requested safe passage into a permitting country and docking within 24 hours. This immediate request follows after an influx of African immigrants has been located in the Mediterranean Sea. Weight distribution has exceeded the ships limit, imposing unsafe conditions in their navigation.

Banksy wasn’t the exclusive party to sponsor the MV Louise Michel, with the Italian Coast Guard sending a ship to remove 49 African immigrants. The most vulnerable were selected & provided safe passage into Italy, where they’ll receive medical treatment after days at sea in unsatisfactory conditions. Selected immigrants that were permitted to leave the MV Louise Michel & board the Italian Coast Guard’s vessel included a Pregnant woman. There were also children, elderly civilians in need of medical assistance, and a dead body that died from malnutrition. After seeing the horrendous conditions, the MC Louise Michel faced, two other rescue operations were permitted.

Humanitarian & Artist

The MV Louise Michel is under the ownership of Banksy, the famous British artist. His explanation video shocked international communities by confirming ownership of MVLM. Banksy expressed that the MV Louise Michel is a former Navy Vessel from France, which was converted into a “Search & Rescue” boat. Banksy employs a crew that traverses the Mediterranean for survivors, which comes after EU Authorities refuse to accept distress calls from Non-European Nations.

Crew members of the MV Louise Michel were questioned on the identity of Banksy. However, nobody who’s met this mystery artist revealed his true identity. Research into the financial documents of MV Louise Michel couldn’t be found online. What was found is updated announcements that several other immigrant families were located in the Central Mediterranean Sea.

The city of Chicago is iconic in American history and culture and is often seen in the news for various reasons, including its historic crime rates. After removing several Christopher Columbus statues temporarily from its public parks, the mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot released a plan that outlines a plan to review the fate of many of the cities more controversial public art monuments.

The initiative is being called “a racial healing and historical reckoning project” and is designed to access the monuments, memorials, and art located within the city said Lightfoot on Wednesday. In her statement, Lightfoot said: “The project will grapple with the often unacknowledged—or forgotten—history associated with the city’s various municipal art collections, and will provide a vehicle to address the hard truths of Chicago’s racial history.”

Other cities across America are putting similar measures in place as calls for racial justice continue after the killing of several black Americans by various police forces. Last month, officials in San Francisco started reviewing monuments and statues relating to figures. Likewise, the mayor of New York, Bill Blasio announced the city was creating a new commission for Racial Justice and Reconciliation. Its mandate is to look at the monuments that populate city owned properties.

Chicago Advisory Committee to Prioritize Artworks

The advisory committee in Chicago is tasked with reviewing the various works of art that could be deemed problematic. A representative from the mayor office stated that the city will release details on the advisory committee’s finding before the end of August.

The committee is being co-chairs by Mark Kelly, Bonnie McDonald and Jennifer Scott. McDonald is the CEO and president of Landmarks Illinois, while Scott is the chief curator and director for the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum. In addition to those selected to chair the committee, it will include select elected officials as well as historians and artists from Chicago.

The committee has been given four principal objectives. The first is to catalogue all public art and monuments located throughout the city, while the second is to determine through an advisory committee which requires action. The third mandate relates to making recommendations towards any new or replacement pieces that may be commissioned, while the fourth is to provide a platform that will allow the people of Chicago to speak about the cities history.

The Google Arts & Culture Team have worked diligently throughout recent years to create virtual reality experiences that illuminate historic paintings. The goal is to create landmark preservation of ancient & modern humanities contributions to the art community for future generations. Now one of the oldest painting’s drawn by caveman artists has been added into the Google Arts & Culture VR Experience. This painting is the Chauvet Cave Rock Drawing, which was creating 36+ thousand years ago. It’s one of the planet’s oldest known sites for rock art, with it being located in Southeastern France.

International visitors are permitted to visit the Chauvet Cave, which has been open since 1995. It was 1st discovered by a trio of Speleologists, who adeptly were named by the media as “Jean-Marie Chauvet”. It’d take twenty years for UNESCO to determine Chauvet Cave a World Heritage Site, ensuring that the 1000+ Rock drawings are protected for hundreds of years to come. Images drawn by caveman include Horses, Mammoths, Sabretooth Tigers, Horses, and Lions. These ancient paintings were preserved thanks to limestone walls in the Ardèche region of France.

Several years before UNESCO declared Chauvet Cave a World Heritage Site, the Ardèche Regional Government began a €55 Million Project that would construct the 2nd Version of Chauvet Cave, which could be easily maintained & ensure that public damage to the Palaeolithic drawings wouldn’t occur. Between 1995 & 2007, there’d been multiple tourists that purposely graffitied the ancient paintings. It required extensive restoration work that prompted the Ardèche Regional Government to begin the project. Since construction was finalized, more than two million tourists have selected Chauvet Cave Two.

The Collaboration

The Ardèche Regional Government would wait another thirteen years before contacting the Google Arts & Culture Team, requesting a collaboration that would see the creation of Chauvet Cave Three. This version of the Chauvet Cave would allow tourists unable to visit France for the coming years to witness the ancient drawing via their desktop, laptop, or mobile device.

It’s recommended that everyone witness these prehistoric paintings at least once in their life, with this form of ancient art having influenced notable artists like Pierre Soulages and Pablo Picasso. All models displayed in Chauvet Cave Three are built with 3D Mechanics, giving new insight into these ancient drawings that cannot be seen elsewhere.

Marc Quinn from Bristol in the North of England made headlines on July 15th. This African descendant took his formidable artistic skillsets & mounted a Black lives Matter statue without the permission of local authorities. It was installed by Marc Quinn throughout the dead of night, taking photographs with his sculpture earlier into the morning hours. Following the lack of legal permission to position this sculpture in Bristol’s downtown sector, law enforcement removed the statue & relocated it to the local museum.

The morning of July 15th was a brisk Wednesday in Bristol, which didn’t deter Marc Quinn from erecting his sculpture of Jenn Reid. This woman is known for being an iconic activist in the Black Lives Matter campaign; her statue stood in-place of Edward Colston. This man was a slave trader from Colonial Britain & African descendants in Bristol couldn’t help emphasizing that horrific history shouldn’t be celebrated.

Marc Quinn didn’t inform the Bristol Council that he’d be erecting a statue on the plinth that held Edward Colston. Council members didn’t want to remove the statue but had to stand without the purviews of British law. However, Bristol Council tweeted that Marc Quinn could pick-up the sculpture from their museum, or they’d happily accept it to their collection.

An Auction

Marc Quinn requested that Bristol Museum hold a digital auction for his sculpture of Jenn Reid, indicating that funds garnered would be donated to two charities that support African history in Great Britain’s School Curriculum. If auctioned funds cannot be earned, Quinn remarked that he’d happily give it to the Bristol Museum. This shows that Marc was using the sculpture more to emphasize the importance of BLM Activists, not anger or disturb the Bristol Council. It appears the two parties are now working together to earn charitable donations through his Jenn Reid’s Sculpture.

Both Parties Address Bristol

An official statement from the Council was released to their minor population. They remarked their sympathies with having to remove the sculpture and emphasized that all civilians in Bristol should maintain a position on what happens with the plinth which held Edward Colston. Marc Quinn would also release a formal statement to the people of Bristol, indicating that he hadn’t received permission & is happy to know that his actions didn’t garner anger from the Council.

Rarely does an artist obtain viral posts on social media, which isn’t the case for Banksy, an unidentified street painter that’s created notable works witnessed by millions worldwide. Located in the United Kingdom, Banksy will find unexpected locations to stuff & dazzle passersby. Nobody has ever uncovered the identity of Banksy, often supporting the concept of his secret character. Banksy’s paintings frequently relate to political statements that’ve angered members of parliament.

After not being seen since drawing painting for the National Health Service in Southampton General Hospital, the unidentified artist would’ve been remaining indoors under lockdown protocols to guarantee personal safety. British, American, Australian, Canadian, and First-World Nations not wearing face masks during the COVID-19 Pandemic prompted the return of Banksy. This became evident with his recently released video on Instagram, which captions “If You Don’t Mask Up, You Don’t Get It”. Since being uploaded to his profile, there have been 1+ million views, with this post becoming more popular than the majority. It’s because for the first-time supporters of Banksy have witnessed his physical frame, noting that this unidentified artist is male.

Video Shows Banksy in London’s Underground

Banksy walks through London’s Underground onto an arriving train, covered in medical gear to assist from COVID-19. This included a White-Pandemic Infection Suit, Gasmask, and Blue Surgical Gloves. While walking onto the train, a spray can & canvas are displayed by Banksy. He quickly begins working throughout the underworld train car, depicting rats from the ceiling. These rodents carry face masks for parachutes & dispense hand sanitizer from bright-blue skies down onto a darkened humanity. His image is meant to define how humanity has become higher carriers of disease & urban waste than the rodent.

The social media posting ends with Banksy walking from the underground train car & back onto the roads of Great Britain. The sounds of “I Get Knocked Down from Chumbawumba” is playing in the background. Banksy is highlighting here that that masking-up against the intolerant will always return to fight another day, inevitably acquiring victory. The final image become the post cuts out are the words “I Get Locked Down, I Get Up Again”. It’s suspected that Great Britain’s Underground will permit this painting to resume in the unidentified train car for months to come.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations confirmed that they’d raided the home of Donald Henkel in Michigan. This follows after the known artist became creating a “Forgery Ring”. Donald masterfully sold fake paintings & sports memorabilia to American civilians. The FBI detailed evidence against Donald Henkel, who sold forged copied of paintings from three noteworthy artists. The forged artists include George Copeland Ault, Ralston Crawford, and Gertrude Abercrombie. All three are infamous for designing geometric compositions that display simple shapes & objective outlines. 

Forged artwork isn’t the exclusive crime committed by Donald Henkel. The 60-Year-Old Thief also counterfeited sports memorabilia from notable legends in Major League Baseball. Counterfeited items include signed baseballs, gloves, bats, hats, and jerseys. Players represented on illegal memorabilia included Willie Mays & Babe Ruth. Lou Gehrig and Alex Rodriguez.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations identified that Donald Henkel operated this forgery ring between March 2016 – April 2020. Law enforcement became aware of the criminal proceedings of Henkel through online forums. Progression in their case against Henkel wouldn’t move forward until the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s because Donald was forced to resume all criminal proceedings through digital databases. FBI Personnel swept through these databases, obtaining necessary information that garnered a search warrant from a Michigan Judge.

Arriving on-scene, FBI Agents noted an immediate influx of forged products within the confines of Donald Henkel’s home. This included forged copies of historical Mickey Mouse Drawings. Evidence shows that Henkel was mastering the signature of Walt Disney, and members of the Beatles. Agents remarked that it’s rare to see a forger go to extensive lengths to master their art, indicating that Henkel is proficient with this level of crime. FBI Agents will interrogate Donald Henkel on his former lifestyle before March 2016, possibly revealing other forgery scams.

The Community Reacts

The Managing Director of Herschel Adler Museum spoke on the forging of their artwork. Elizabeth Field emphasized that regardless of these forged paintings being fake or note, they display true beauty for whoever holds them. Elizabeth did note that mastering forged artwork on this level is the nightmare forever dealer, defeating their stronghold of maintaining exclusive painting’s that most cannot obtain.

Thousands of Americans are shocked & angered by the recent announcement made by President Donald Trump. The National Garden of American Heroes was commissioned by America’s leader, with the President remarking this monument will tell the incredible story of the United States. Task Forces governing over the construction of this garden has been provided sixty days to locate a property & modern design blueprints.

The National Garden of American Heroes will replace dozens of statues that have been vandalized & removed from cities across the United States. Vandalism of these statues began after the George Floyd Incident, with many disputing the actions of protestors & activists. They’re destroying the history of America, whether it’s positive or negative. President Trump is demanding that all statues be manufactured realistically & accurately display the individual it’s representing.

Nationwide protests for the Black Lives Matter Movement prompted Americans to destroy monuments of slave owners during the Civil War. These actions weren’t warranted by Donald Trump, with the US President claiming the Confederate Flag stands with America’s heritage. That Donald isn’t incorrect with his sentiments; the culture associated with the Confederate Flag is sadistic & horrifying. After receiving notable criticism towards his issued views during the 2020 Campaign Rally, President Trump commissioned the “National Garden of American Heroes”.

The Arriving Statues

Condemning Anti-Racism protestors during July 4th at Mount Rushmore, it was clarified that all statues vandalized & removed throughout America from the Confederate Era will be recreated at “The National Garden of Heroes”. Hoping to avoid backlash, Trump clarified that Martin Luther King Junior & Harriet Tubman would also appear in this garden. It’s this very action that prompted a significant backlash against Donald Trump’s commission. Placing two iconic figures that stood for African American Anti-Racist Movements with leaders during the slave era is extensively disrespectful. Trump has avoided all questions that ask if this decision was based on racism.

Additional “Historical Figures” that will appear in the National Garden of Heroes include Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Ronald Reagan, Douglas MacArthur, Billy Graham, George Patton, Davy Crocket, Junipero Serra, Christopher Columbus, and Marquis de Lafayette. All these individuals have disrupted African American lifestyles in their lifetimes.

The Musée du Louvre in Paris has announced it will reopen on the 6th of July. The largest art museum in the world, it will be the first time in almost four months that visitors will be allowed to view the priceless art and artefacts that are on exhibit within the museum.

However, those who have visited before will find the experience to be much different than in the past. For starters, all victors who enter the 227-year-old institution will need to call in advance to schedule a time slot. They also will be required to wear masks if over the age of elven. Guests arriving at the Musée du Louvre will be met with signs that direct pedestrian traffic in one direction and those hoping to make use of its cloakroom will find it closed. Therefore, as a result, the Musée du Louvre will not be allowing in any large bags, suitcases, or knapsacks.

Additional Restrictions in Effect

In addition to the restrictions relating to travel within the Musée du Louvre and the mandatory mask requirement, only roughly 70 percent of the museum will be open for public access. However, to the benefit of those who book an appointment, they will be able to view many of the museums’ prized venues including its Roman and Greek Roman antiquities galleries, its English, Spanish and Italian paintings halls and those areas that are dedicated to 19th-century French painting. In addition, visitors will be able to see the top attractions such as the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory of Samothrace.

In some respects, the new rules in place will benefit those hoping to catch a glance of the Mona Lisa, a painting that is often difficult to appreciate due to the large number of guests that pose to take selfies in front of the painting. The new rules will require that those wishing to view the masterpiece form in ques that respect social distancing and only allow two victors at a time will be permitted to view the Mona Lisa for 10-15 minute increments.

The Musée du Louvre welcomes the reopening, especially the chance to begin once again generating revenue. It is estimated that the museum has lost $45 million since March when it was forced to shut down amid the pandemic. Ticket sales are a substantial part of the museums’ estimated yearly revenue of $100 million, the remainder being part advertising, part sales from souvenirs.