Page 459 – a-n The Artists Information Company

Amsterdam museum ends sponsorship deal with British-Dutch oil and gas company after its current six-year contract, which ended in July, was not renewed.

Four photographers have been shortlisted for the annual international prize which this year includes portraits of South African majorettes, London shoppers, and a young boy in a remote village in Sierra Leone’s Eastern Province.

Artist and Cambridge School of Art lecturer Jim Butler won the ‘professional book’ category at this year’s World Illustration Awards with his screenprinted book, Blackrock Sequence. Sarah Bodman is impressed by his subtle interweaving of image and text.

In Brief: news briefing featuring national and international stories including: the National Portrait Gallery says drop in visitor figures due to counting error; Henry Moore sketch found amongst collection of Nazi-looted art; and 2,000-year-old city of Palmyra to be restored after destruction by the Islamic State.

Announcing the recipients of a-n’s latest professional development bursaries which will enable 25 members to benefit from advice from one of five visual arts mentors, and a further 15 members to remotely access a series of coaching sessions with an accredited coach.

This week’s selection of recommended shows includes: ‘Drag: Self-portraits and Body Politics’, at the Hayward Gallery, London; a group show in Edinburgh of works made in protest at Pussy Riot’s 2012 imprisonment in Russia; and Elisabeth Frink sculptures at Abbott Hall Art Gallery in Kendal.