[/floatl]Sankei Biz has a report saying that the recent disasters may have repercussions for Japan's art galleries and museums. On the 16th March, the French government issued an order suspending loans of artworks and antiquities to Japan on the basis that it wasn't possible to make an assessment of the risks they might face. This led to the immediate cancellation of an exhibition of Impressionist paintings in Hiroshima (see left). While the French government may have issued the only national ban so far, the The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow cancelled a planned loan to Yokohama and the Honolulu Academy of Art has pulled out of a Hokusai exhibition in Tokyo. The Tokyo National Museum was due to open a Sharaku exhibition this week but the website now says the opening will have to be postponed to May 1st. However, Sankei notes that the Museum has yet to secure full agreement with lenders like the Metropolitan Museum of Art so not all the works may be in place next month.A key difficulty at the moment is that most artworks must be accompanied by a curator who will check the pieces during transport and ensure they are kept in optimum conditions. When news of radiation threats began to be reported, few curators were willing to make trips anywhere in Japan. Even as their fears abate, another difficulty arises with finding insurance cover as the uncertainty has raised premiums or else made insurers unwilling to price the risk at all. Finally, the threat of planned power outages means exhibitors may not be able to guarantee the heat and humidity levels in their galleries and museums. This poses a particular problem as we head towards summer where both will become major issues.
