Marc Gauthier

* It’s this Wednesday evening that the director of the Museum of Comporary Art of Montréal (MACM), Paulette Gagnon, should deliver her first guidelines for the institution.

* Nudity and Censorship: The sculpture of Ron Mueck, A Girl, cannot be shown in the public transport system of Calgary. A case to follow because it promotes an exhibition organized by the Glenbow Museum, where the Quebec National Gallery will move The Nude in Modern Canadian Art in 2010.

* Lacerte art contemporain will attend the 10th edition of the TIAF (Toronto International Art Fair), starting tomorrow. The works of fifteen artists will be displayed.

* Amnesty International may protest against BODIES during the exhibition’s visit to Montreal.

* Did you know? It is a Montreal specialist, Peter Paul Biro, who was behind the authentication of the recently found drawing by Leonardo and valued at 150 M$.

* La Tribune de l’art talks about the Napoleon collection at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

* David Altmejd won the Sobey Art Award 2009, where he represented Quebec.

* The situation between the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC) and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) continues to be tense. There is a strike at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum since September 21st. Negotiations in front of a mediator failed on October 8th. The Canadian Museum of Civilization is still preparing for the opening of the exhibition Afghanistan - Hidden Treasures while the union say that the museum’s real treasures are its employees. In the mean time, the board turns away employees who wanted to talk directly to board members.

* An exhibition about hockey is grinding a few teeth in Toronto.

* The Met now has a blog that allows users to delve into the exhibits.

* What if LEGOs were used to create a life-size model?

* A drawing by Raphael could set a new sale record in December.

[Rapport du marché de l’art contemporain 2008/2009, p. 70]

* Artprice and the International Fair of Contemporary Art (FIAC) launched their market report for contemporary art for 2008/2009. The 144-page document is available on the artprice.com site. Damien Hirst is in a class by himself. Canadians who attain market success are photographer Jeff Wall (46th), conceptual artist Jack Goldstein (160), sculptor Rodney Graham (337), photographer Robert Polidori (358) and painter Marcel Dzama (461).

* Tate Modern and the British Museum will have the money to build their new wings.

* A spiral crossword in the New York Times to celebrate the anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum.