Top ART News: Week In Review | Nov. 29 - Dec. 6

■ A Day With(out) Art | World AIDS Day 2009 | NEW YORK (11/29/09) — Tuesday, December 1 is World AIDS Day, dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. The theme for 2009 is "Universal Access and Human Rights" and people everywhere will be wearing red to show their support. Raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice, and improving education are just some of the ways to observe the day; those in the art community will honor the annual A Day With(out) Art. More >

■ Medieval Times and Renaissance at a London Museum | LONDON (12/2/09) — A major unveiling took place in London on Wednesday as the Victoria and Albert Museum opened its doors to a new $53 million wing of remarkable treasures. Ten new galleries at the V&A feature more than 1,800 objects spanning the Middle Ages to the Renaissance eras. One of the collection highlights is five of Leonardo da Vinci's small notebooks (1487-1505) on permanent display for the first time. More >

■ Art Basel Miami Beach: Comfy Shoes Required | MIAMI BEACH (12/3/09) — An estimated 40,000 art enthusiasts, art collectors, artists, dealers, curators and critics will attend the eighth annual Art Basel Miami Beach, America's preeminent contemporary art fair. From December 3-6, the fair, held at Miami Beach Convention Center, will offer contemporary art and rare museum-caliber artworks. In the city known for its all-night parties, Art Basel Miami Beach always attracts its share of celebrities. So far, early sightings include Lenny Kravitz, Sylvester Stallone, Calvin Klein, Naomi Campbell and John McEnroe. More >

■ The Ten Most Popular Oil Paintings of 2009 | WICHITA, KS (12/5/09) — Quick! Think of an artist, any artist. Who did you think of? Pablo Picasso? Vincent van Gogh? Claude Monet? Many of you probably did. So it's not too surprising, then, that those three artists, along with Gustav Klimt, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georgia O'Keefe and Wassily Kandinsky, were all listed in Overstock Art's Top 10 Oil Paintings rankings for 2009. More >

■ Mysterious Letters: Art Project or Mail Fraud? | PITTSBURGH (12/5/09) — "We intend to write to everyone in the world..." say artists Lenka Clayton and Michael Crowe on their website, Mysterious Letters. Last week, 620 residents of the Polish Hill community in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania received letters from Clayton and Crowe. But while some think the art project is an inspiration, others aren't so excited by it. More >

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Top ART News: Week In Review | Nov. 29 - Dec. 6

A Day With(out) Art | World AIDS Day 2009

NEW YORK — Tuesday, December 1 is World AIDS Day, dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. The theme for 2009 is "Universal Access and Human Rights" and people everywhere will be wearing red to show their support. Raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice, and improving education are just some of the ways to observe the day; those in the art community will honor the annual A Day With(out) Art.

A Day With(out) Art began on December 1, 1989 as the national day of action and mourning in response to the AIDS crisis. To make the public aware that AIDS can touch everyone, and inspire positive action, some 800 U.S. art and AIDS groups participated in the first A Day With(out) Art, shutting down museums, sending staff to volunteer at AIDS services, or sponsoring special exhibitions of work about AIDS. Since then, A Day With(out) Art has grown into a collaborative project in which thousands of national and international museums, galleries, art centers, AIDS Service Organizations, libraries, high schools and colleges take part.

This year, art museums including the Getty and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are shrouding various works of art in their collections "to reflect our sense of loss and to increase awareness of the global devastation that continues to be wrought by the disease."

For more information, please visit www.worldAIDSday.org

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[Image: The Red Ribbon is the global symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS.]

A Day With(out) Art | World AIDS Day 2009