June 21 | Tamara Chalabi and Paolo Colombo appointed curators of the Iraqi pavilion at Venice Biennale

Their exhibition — titled “Archaic” — will feature ancient artifacts as well as examples of contemporary Iraqi art. Art Forum has more information.

Cultural Development Barcelona and partner Valery Yarovslavski from Acceleration Group have announced today the opening of Hermitage Barcelona Museum, the first international outpost of the Saint Petersburg institution. The museum, set to open in September 2019 in, will cover a surface of 15,000 square meters and will comprise five floors and seven gallery rooms. Director Jorge Wagensberg has clarified that despite its name, the Hermitage Barcelona Museum will be an autonomous institution and not merely a “franchise” of the St. Petersburg institution. Artnet news has more information.

Hannah O’Leary — formerly of Bonhams auctioneers — has been appointed director of Modern African art at Sotheby’s London. The auction house has also announced that it will begin holding sales of modern and contemporary African art in the UK capital, starting in early 2017. More on Art News.

The Malmö Art Academy might soon be forced to cease its activities. As the deadline for Lund University to vacate their current premises approaches, the art school — which is housed on the university’s campus — could be shut down for lack of a new space to move into. Read more on Art Forum.

Online art marketplace Artsy has announced  the launch of a partnership with auction houses Phillips and Koller to develop a software that will allow collectors to bid in live auctions through their website. Collectors will be able to bid live in Phillips’s 20th-century and contemporary art day sale on 28 June and Koller’s post-war and contemporary sale on 25 June, The Art Newspaper reports.