A lot went down this week in the weird and wild world of Art. Some things were more scandalous than others, some were just plain wacky—but all of them are worth knowing about. Without further ado:
+ One of the publishing editors of the Harry Potter series, Barry Cunningham, is selling a rare, handwritten, and illustrated manuscript by J. K. Rowling entitled The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The Harry Potter spin off was written nearly 20 years after the franchise first hit the shelves and is conservatively estimated to bring in a whopping $620,000. [The Telegraph]
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+ The city of Helsinki announced a new proposal to fund the construction of the Guggenheim Museum. The new proposal says $90 million of the project’s estimated $156 million cost will be paid for by the state. [Art Forum]
+ Mr. Robot’s Rami Malek has been chosen to play Freddie Mercury in upcoming Queen biopic. [Variety]
+ Chile’s first state run contemporary art museum will open in 2017 inside what was once an abandoned airport. [The Art Newspaper]
+ Christie’s looks to China for help with the art market bubble. The auction has plans to take $250 million worth of Western Art in the coming months. [Bloomberg]
+ Uruguayan police took a painting off a gallery wall last week by artist Julio de Sosa without serving a warrant. The painting of Adam and Eve was allegedly removed because of its likeness to the country’s former president Jose “Pepe” Mujica and his wife. [BBC]
+ A Supreme Court judge signed off on the case against David Zwirner approving the $6 million lawsuit over a Jeff Koons sculpture to proceed. [The Art Newspaper]
+ The Royal Academy of Arts in London announced their first 3D printed virtual reality exhibition, scheduled to open in January of next year. [ArtNet News]
+ The Louvre announced that it will reveal its controversial restoration of Leonardo da Vinci’s St. John the Baptist this Wednesday in Paris. [Le Figaro via ArtNet News]
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