The California African American Museum in Los Angeles said that it could not reopen for the time being due to heavy rains that struck the city earlier in August.

“As we survey and repair the damage to our building, we now know we must remain closed at least through October,” the museum wrote in a statement. “Public programs slated to happen at CAAM in September and October are postponed.”

No other major Los Angeles museums have been quite as severely impacted by Tropical Storm Hilary, which hit California on August 21. By some estimates, it was the first time that a tropical storm had made landfall in the region since 1939.

Read More: Veteran Cape Town Gallery Southern Guild To Open First U.S. Branch In Los Angeles

Although the storm’s damage was expected to much more severe—it was called a hurricane at first, and then was downgraded—it still brought around 5 inches of rain to some coastal areas and more than double that to ones in the mountains. There were no fatalities in California as a result of the storm.

A spokesperson for CAAM told the Los Angeles Times that “water intrusion occurred in some areas of our building.”

For much of the past year, the museum hasn’t been fully open to the public. It began shuttering its galleries in August to make way for a maintenance project that included a new HVAC system and a weatherproofed glass ceilings. CAAM only just reopened in its entirety August. It is still expected to unveil a new library and conference center.

Southern Guild, a Cape Town–based gallery known for nurturing superstars like Zanele Muholi, will open an outpost in the Melrose Hill section of Hollywood, steps from Sargent’s Daughters, James Fuentes, and David Zwirner, in 2024. The announcement comes a week after another Cape Town stalwart, Goodman Gallery, revealed plans for a New York space.

The expansion has been 16 years in the making, Southern Guild’s cofounders, the artist-turned-gallerists Trevyn and Julian McGowan, said in an interview.

At the time of the interview, the pair were in Los Angeles overseeing the construction of the new space, while also preparing for Southern Gallery’s debut at the Armory Show in New York. Neither McGowan seemed particularly daunted by the workload. Under their direction, Evan Raabe Architecture—the studio behind Hauser & Wirth’s LA branch and Christie’s Beverly Hills—is transforming a disused laundromat at 474 N Western Avenue into a 5,000-square-foot gallery. 

It comprises three large-scale exhibition rooms, and while each room may host separate exhibitions, there’s no difference in size or designation. The layout mirrors the cofounders’ approach to dealing: no hierarchy within their wares, whether they be painting, ceramic, performance, or sconce.

Southern Guild opened in 2008 as the one of the few commercial spaces in South Africa dedicated to “collectible” craft and homeware made by artists from Africa, most of whom were not well-known beyond the continent. That was a shame, they said, because the work was unlike anything else on the international market—tactile and sculptural but also functional, with a form and feeling inextricable from the art traditions of South Africa, as well as its neighbors, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Senegal.

At the time, Cape Town was only 14 years post-apartheid. Art that celebrated the social idiosyncrasies suppressed during its rule was flourishing. Southern Guild wanted collectors, critics, and curators around the world to see its worth without having to travel to South Africa.

A theatre has shut after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was discovered.

The Royal and Derngate in Northampton said all of its remaining September performances and events had been postponed.

The neighbouring Northampton Filmhouse will also be closed “temporarily”.

It comes after a school in the town became one of hundreds to postpone reopening for the new term after suspected RAAC was found.

RAAC is a lightweight form of concrete that was used in the construction of public buildings between the 1950s and 1970s. Experts believe much of the RAAC used in construction projects has exceeded its lifespan of 30 years and could collapse.

The Royal and Derngate published a list of events affected by the closure and said it would contact ticket holders.

In a statement, it said: “We ask for your patience during this time, and we will be reopening as soon as we can.”

The venue consists of two theatres, the Derngate auditorium, with a capacity of 1,500, and the Royal theatre which can hold 450.

Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai received a Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, brushing away his tears as he was given a prolonged standing ovation.

“It is like a dream come true,” Leung said in an interview.

Talking to reporters ahead of the ceremony, the 61-year-old Leung said acting had helped him become less shy. “I used to suppress all the feelings inside. I didn’t show all my feelings in front of others,” he said.

He also discussed his upcoming work, including the Hong Kong crime thriller, “The Goldfinger”, which opens at the end of the year and will reunite him with Andy Lau, his co-star from the 2002 hit “Infernal Affairs”.

On that occasion, Leung played the hero, while Lau was the baddie. This time their roles are reversed. “I think it’s very challenging to me to play the bad guy,” he told reporters.

In another major challenge, Leung said he was about to make his first European film, “Silent Friend”, directed by Hungary’s Ildikó Enyedi.

“I plan to spend like eight months (preparing for it) because I’m playing a neuroscientist. I have no idea about what neuroscience is. So I have to read a lot of books and I have to do a lot of university hopping,” he said.

The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), has advised the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, to review some key film industry’s policies that have the capabilities of enhancing the sector.

This information is contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the Director Public Affairs, Brian Etuk.

Etuk said that the Managing Director of NFC, Dr Chidia Maduekwe, gave the advice while presenting a catalogue of film festival to the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa in Abuja.

Read More: AMAA 2023: Keith Shiri Gets Reappointed As Jury President

Maduekwe noted that the policies would help in sustaining the sector’s contributions to content creation, effective film distribution and exhibition.

He added that the minster should also revisit training and capacity building, as well as the establishment of the National Film Development Fund (NFDF).

Maduekwe said the corporation had achieved 10-year hosting partnership with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in 2021 through a Memorandum of Understanding which designated Abuja as the official host city.

According to him, it is natural for Abuja to be named the official host city for the film festival in line with best global practices. For instance, the cities of Cannes, Toronto, Durban and others.

The NFC chief said that the film industry challenges that had slowed down the development process and growth rate of the sector, particularly the laws, including the NFC Act of 1979 that needed to be reviewed.

“This has never undergone any single amendment in the last 44 years, and other legal framework for the Motion Picture Practitioners Council (MOPICON)”, he said.

“The National Film Institute (NFI), Jos has continued to provide training and capacity building for Nigeria in film and television production, including entrepreneurial skills acquisition for youths across the geopolitical zones of the country.

“This is achieved through its Mobile Audiovisual Training Platform, aside the Master Degree Programme in Film Culture and Archiving Studies.

“The progress at the National Film Video and Sound Archive (NFVSA), recently designated the national repository for audio-visual heritage was also brought into focus,” he said.

Responding, the minister commended the NFC for its various achievements in spite of its obsolete law.

She acknowledged the critical role the film industry played and had continued to play in the growth and development of the nation’s economy.

The minister assured NFC that the government was determined to ensure an effective and efficient film industry.

Keith Shiri has been reappointed as the President of the Jury for the 19th edition of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).

The Zimbabwean-born but UK-based international film curator and programme advisor to several international film festivals presided over the 12-man board of international jurors for the awards in 2022.

He returns to lead the other respected curators, renowned filmmakers, and critics who make up the AMAA jury. They will decide the nominees and eventual winners in the 26 categories of the 2023 AMAAs, scheduled to be held in Lagos in October 2023.

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Announcing on behalf of the board of the Africa Film Academy (AFA), the organisers of the AMAA, Raymond Anyiam-Osigwe said, “We are very excited to welcome Keith Shiri back as President of Jury for 2023. AMAA has a tradition where Jurors have an opportunity to preside over the jury for two editions running. So we are sustaining that tradition by further extending the tenure of Keith Shiri, who is a founding juror at the AMAA and a promoter of African art and film as the president of the AMAA 2023 Jury. Keith’s experience and vast knowledge of African films which has spanned over three decades coupled with his expertise which has seen him serve in different international organisations made him a great fit for this position…”

Reacting to the news of his reappointment, Shiri, who is presently curating the Icons of the Africa Centre Series for the legendary London-based cultural institution, thanked the AFA board for his reappointment.

He also noted that it is sad that he will be presiding over a jury in the first edition without the founder and CEO, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe. In his words, “I don’t know what to say, but of course, it is rather sad to preside over this first edition without our CEO, founder, and sister, Peace Ogechi Marie Anyiam-Osigwe. But we have an award to deliver, and deliver we must.”

Members of the AMAA jury include international film curator and programmer for the Berlin International Film Festival Dorothee Wenner, film curator and archivist June Giviani, Burkinabe-Swiss-born filmmaker Berni Goldblat, ambassador and former Burkina Faso Minister of Culture Phillipe Savadego, and filmmaker John Akomfrah.

The jury will sort through the 368 entries received so far for this year’s award. According to Dr Shaibu Husseini, the selection committee chairman, the nominations will be announced on September 20, 2023.