Plans to open an outpost for the Pompidou Centre in China appear to have stalled after unexpectedly difficult negotiations with the Chinese authorities.The initial project, launched last year, would have seen the Pompidou Centre, France’s premier museum of contemporary art in Paris, opening a museum in Shanghai by 2010.

Huang Du, senior curator at the Today Art Museum in Beijing, says: “It will be difficult for the (Chinese) government to accept a foreign museum over which it has no control.”

Read full article (The Art Newspaper, October 1, 2007)

Remarkable news from the United States where a unanimous state appeals court in New Jersey has decided that people found dealing drugs within 500 feet of a museum can get hit with a longer prison terms.

The case involves Jessie Chambers who was arrested just after midnight Aug. 8, 2003, on charges of possession and intent to distribute cocaine. Chambers was within 500 feet of the New Brunswick Fire Museum. The decision comes at a time when similar drug-free zones are established near schools and public housing estates. Prosecutors said the decision gives police an additional tool to fight drug crimes, especially in smaller cities - if they can prove they have similar small museums.

Read article (nj.com, October 15, 2007)