Melting DeSantis Statue, Beatles Museum, V&A Strike: Today in Art

A life-size melting statue of Florida governor Ron DeSantis went up in Tallahassee, its wax face slowly revealing a skull beneath, The Guardian reported. The work is a public protest staged by the environmental group 350 Action with the advertising agency Uncommon, aimed at what the groups call DeSantis's inaction on the climate crisis.

"The climate crisis is one of the top issues facing our planet today. And yet, some candidates running for office still deny it's happening, and deny the bold climate action that the people want," said Candice Fortin, campaign manager at 350 Action. DeSantis leaves office in January after eight years. In 2018 he said: "I am not a global warming person, I don't want that label on me."

What does Liverpool's Beatles plan include?

Liverpool, the Beatles' home city, will move the Beatles Story Museum to a new 100,000-square-foot location, The Times of London reported. Ownership transfers to the band's media company Apple Corps, which has also acquired the St Johns Beacon — Liverpool's second-tallest building — for a separate attraction themed around the 1968 animated musical Yellow Submarine. The project is scheduled to finish by 2028.

Paul McCartney has called the project "extraordinary." British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said it is the "kind of ambition I want to see more of across Britain." The announcement lands as four Beatles biopics are slated for release next year.

Why are V&A staff striking again?

Unionized staff at the Victoria & Albert Museum will strike across all four of its London sites on October 29 and 30, Hyperallergic reported. Since the summer, staff have demanded better pay and working conditions, citing denied hydration breaks and restroom access at the newly opened V&A East Storehouse.

Prospect Union general secretary Mike Clancy said in a statement: "Prospect members are dedicated to their jobs, and it is these dedicated staff who make the museum the world-class attraction it is." Clancy added that V&A director Tristram Hunt has refused to participate in negotiations.

The Digest

• Bayeux Tapestry tickets go back on sale today. [The Standard]
• James Bond memorabilia heads to auction, including Daniel Craig's Skyfall suit and Ana de Armas's No Time to Die dress. [The Hollywood Reporter]
• The National Gallery in London will stage an exhibition of art acquired through tax schemes. [Artlyst]
• London museums are joining forces for a new South Asian arts festival. [The Art Newspaper]
• Ancient Assyrian artifacts damaged by ISIL in Iraq have been restored. [Al Jazeera]
• A Russian archaeologist from the Pushkin Museum has been charged with conducting illegal excavations in Kerch, Ukraine. [UNN]
• Valkyrie Historical Auctions has canceled the sale of a Torah looted during the Holocaust. [VINnews]
• You Hong-june, director of the National Museum of Korea, has resigned following his misattribution apology. [The Korean Times]

With the V&A walkout set for late October and Apple Corps taking institutional control of the Beatles' Liverpool story through 2028, both museum governance and cultural-heritage branding face very public tests in the coming months.