Arts News Roundup: Outage, Visa Fraud and Frieze Abu Dhabi

By Elena Vasquez

What did Microsoft’s outage interrupt?

Microsoft’s global outage entered its second day on Friday, November 13, 2026, disrupting businesses, airlines, police and intelligence services; ARTnews could not read its Microsoft Outlook inbox.

ARTnews said its email system relies on Outlook, and its Morning Links newsletter usually arrives around 9 a.m. ET.

The British Museum responded with playful memes drawn from its historic collection. Musée d’Orsay offered the suggestion, “it’s time to relax.”

By 6 a.m. ET, Asia Pacific traffic was returning, according to The New York Times. Across businesses, airlines, government agencies, police and intelligence services in several sectors and regions, the disruption continued even as Microsoft reported that its services were improving.

Microsoft also said it had “no evidence of malicious activity associated with this incident.” It had received no emails about the incident.

The practical result: communications remained impaired for a second day, even as Microsoft reported gradual service recovery.

How did companies exploit the UK Global Talent program?

An undercover BBC investigation found that companies helped migrants build fake art portfolios for UK visa applications. The packages included fake published art criticism and art news.

The BBC reported that the UK government launched the Global Talent program in 2020 to attract creative workers, including scientists and artists. Companies courted wealthy migrants who would pay thousands for help cheating the system.

The Home Office revoked visas for two Nigerian men because it believed they were not the fine art photographers they claimed to be.

Molara Wood said: “There is a real problem whereupon fake articles are being implanted onto newspaper websites using bylines of reputable culture journalists.”

The BBC investigation shows a paid service joining fake portfolios, planted press coverage and visa applications.

What else changed across the art world?

Five further reports covered a delayed gala, a Times Square installation, a restituted painting, a Los Angeles redevelopment and a Rubens anniversary program.

• Kennedy Center: NPR reported that the Kennedy Center delayed issuing tickets for its annual December Honors gala. Negotiations begun under former president Richard Grennel concerned a switch to Ticketmaster, whose parent company, Live Nation, was also tied to Grennel, raising conflict-of-interest concerns.

• Jenny Holzer: Artnet News reported that Jenny Holzer will bring a solo installation of quotations about queer love and loss to Times Square in time for World AIDS Day on December 1.

• Max Slevogt: The Art Newspaper reported that Eduard Fuchs’s family received a Nazi-looted painting by German Impressionist Max Slevogt in July. The work will go to auction next month at Ketterer Kunst’s December Day Sale, with an estimate of €40,000 to €60,000 ($44,250 to $66,370).

• Oceanwide Plaza: The Los Angeles Times reported that Los Angeles’s graffiti-covered Oceanwide Plaza towers were washed clean. The cleaning prepares the stalled real-estate development for acquisition.

• Peter Paul Rubens: The Brussels Times reported that 450 years will have passed next year since the birth of Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens. His native Antwerp plans multiple exhibitions.

The concrete outcomes are a delayed ticket release, a December Times Square installation, an auction after restitution, a planned acquisition and a 450-year exhibition program.

Why are exhibitors uneasy about Frieze Abu Dhabi?

The Financial Times reported that Frieze will make its Abu Dhabi debut from November 19 to 22. Exhibitors described jitters about travel to the region amid uncertainty about the ongoing US war in Iran and recent attacks by Houthi militants in Saudi Arabia.

“Anyone saying that they are not concerned in some way is either lying to themselves or to each other,” said Niamh Coghlan, director of Richard Saltoun gallery in London.

Coghlan added: “there are some incredible collectors and institutions in Abu Dhabi, and it is important to be seen to support them, as they support us.”

Around the same time, the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial and the design and art fair Nomad are scheduled to open.

Katia Nounou Boueiz, chair of Sotheby’s Middle East, said: “We are checking the news and obviously attuned to what could happen. We are all in the same boat … and we’ve decided to carry on.”

Even as exhibitors question the risks of travel to the Gulf, Frieze, the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial and Nomad remain scheduled to open in the same period.

The November openings will proceed, but they do not resolve exhibitors’ concerns about conflict, attacks and travel.