The great art quiz of 2020

The great art quiz of 2020

By Adam Koszary

Published 21 December 2020

It’s been a challenging and eventful year for everything, let alone art — have you been paying attention, or wrapped under a duvet watching Netflix?

<section><h2>Think you know your art?</h2></section><section><h2><p>Which A-list actor helped LACMA smooth over the deal with the LA County Board of Supervisors?</p></h2><p><strong></strong>The Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art’s (LACMA’s) ambitious but controversial renovation of its galleries began in April (taking some locals by surprise). The $750 million restoration by architect Peter Zumthor, approved in 2019, involve a reduction of gallery space. </p></section><section><h3><p><strong></strong>Which award did David Adjaye OBE RA receive in 2020, marking the first time in 173 years this award was given to a black artist? <span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;"></span></p></h3><p>David Adjaye OBE RA has designed award-winning buildings across the world, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, and the forthcoming Edo Museum of West African Art in Benin City. </p></section><section><h3><p><strong></strong>Whose statue was tipped into Bristol's harbour?<span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;"></span></p></h3><p>In June, a Black Lives Matter march in Bristol made headlines when they took to the streets and removed a contentious statue from the city centre.</p></section><section><h3>Who put up the Utah monolith?<br /></h3><p>In November 2020 the world was captivated by the appearance of a three-sided, metal monolith erected in a remote part of Utah. Ten days later, it mysteriously disappeared. </p></section><section><h3><p><strong></strong>How many rainbows were estimated to have been made during lockdown?<span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;"></span></p></h3><p>Artist Helen Marshall and design studio <a href="https://thepeoplespicture.com/rainbows-for-the-nhs/" target="_blank">People’s Picture</a> teamed up to create Rainbows of the NHS, a “mosaic of hope” made up of rainbows displayed in the nation’s windows.</p></section><section><h3><p><strong></strong></p>In May 2020 we said a sad farewell to the sculptor and artist, Christo Vladimirov Javacheff. Together with his late partner, Jeanne-Claude, over their careers they wrapped buildings, landmarks and islands in fabric across the world. But what will be their last, posthumous artwork in 2021?<h2><br /></h2></h3><p></p></section><section><h3><p>How did the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition make history?</p></h3><p>The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition is the world’s longest running annual display of contemporary art, occurring every year since 1768 and throughout both world wars. The coronavirus pandemic, however, presented a unique challenge.</p></section><section><h3><p><strong></strong>In 2019, the four shortlisted artists for the Turner Prize made history by opting to share the prize and money between themselves. As the arts sector was hit by the pandemic in 2020, how did the Turner Prize respond?</p></h3><p></p></section><section><h3><p><strong></strong><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;"></span>Who created the controversial sculpture of Mary Wollstonecraft?<span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;"></span></p></h3><p>Unveiled in November 2020 after a long-running campaign, a new sculpture in Newington Green commemorates Mary Wollstonecraft, an 18th-century radical known as the Mother of Feminism. </p></section><section><h3><p>In March, artist Matthew Burrows set up the #ArtistSupportPledge to help — but how does it work?<strong></strong></p></h3><p>The coronavirus pandemic has impacted everyone, and the closure of art galleries and fairs has meant that artists have faced increased challenges in selling their work in 2020. </p></section><section><h3><p>All the way back in January, Art Fund and Tilda Swinton asked us to save a very special fisherman’s hut for the nation: Prospect Cottage. Who once owned this home on the windswept shore of Dungeness?</p></h3><p></p></section><section><h3><p><strong></strong><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;"></span>Eight years after the ‘Beast Jesus’, there was another questionable restoration of a Spanish painting in 2020. This time, Jesus wasn’t on the end of an unwanted facelift — can you name the biblical figure who was?<span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;"></span></p></h3></section><section><h2><h2><strong>Call yourself an art-lover?</strong></h2></h2><p><p>Don't beat yourself up though — we have spent most of the year indoors after all!</p><p>If you've had to give art a miss this year, then 2021 is here to help. When we can welcome you back into the RA, treat yourself to exhibitions including <em><a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/francis-bacon?utm_source=web%20address&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=Exh%20%7C%20RAFrancisBacon%20%7C%20ArtQuiz2020%20%7C%20ORGANIC%20%7C%20BuyNow%20%7C%20INT&utm_content=ORGANIC&utm_term=20201220" target="_blank">Francis Bacon: Man and Beast</a></em>, <em><a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/david-hockney?utm_source=web%20address&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=Exh%20%7C%20HockneySpring%20%7C%20ArtQuiz2020%20%7C%20ORGANIC%20%7C%20BuyNow%20%7C%20INT&utm_content=ORGANIC&utm_term=20201220" target="_blank">David Hockney: The Arrival of Spring, Normandy, 2020</a></em> and <em><a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/marina-abramovic?utm_source=web%20address&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=Exh%20%7C%20MarinaAbramovicRA%20%7C%20ArtQuiz2020%20%7C%20ORGANIC%20%7C%20BuyNow%20%7C%20INT&utm_content=ORGANIC&utm_term=20201220" target="_blank">Marina Abramović: After Life</a></em>.</p><p><br /></p></p></section><section><h3><h2><strong>Average art-lover</strong></h2></h3><p><p>Well done! You've managed to keep at least some sort of tabs on what's happening in the art world, even if the rest of the world is going up in flames around you.</p><p>Treat yourself in 2021 and brush up on your art for next year's quiz with our exhibition programme, which includes <em><a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/francis-bacon?utm_source=web%20address&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=Exh%20%7C%20RAFrancisBacon%20%7C%20ArtQuiz2020%20%7C%20ORGANIC%20%7C%20BuyNow%20%7C%20INT&utm_content=ORGANIC&utm_term=20201220" target="_blank">Francis Bacon: Man and Beast</a></em>, <em><a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/david-hockney?utm_source=web%20address&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=Exh%20%7C%20HockneySpring%20%7C%20ArtQuiz2020%20%7C%20ORGANIC%20%7C%20BuyNow%20%7C%20INT&utm_content=ORGANIC&utm_term=20201220" target="_blank">David Hockney: The Arrival of Spring, Normandy, 2020</a></em> and <em><a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/marina-abramovic?utm_source=web%20address&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=Exh%20%7C%20MarinaAbramovicRA%20%7C%20ArtQuiz2020%20%7C%20ORGANIC%20%7C%20BuyNow%20%7C%20INT&utm_content=ORGANIC&utm_term=20201220" target="_blank">Marina Abramović: After Life</a></em>.<br /></p></p></section><section><h3><h2>A visionary quizzer</h2></h3><p><p>Well done, you win! You are the ultimate art lover.</p><p>Keep it up in 2021 — we've got plenty of art to sink your teeth into at the RA. Take a look what's to come in the video above, and treat yourself to an exhibition or two, including <em><a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/francis-bacon?utm_source=web%20address&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=Exh%20%7C%20RAFrancisBacon%20%7C%20ArtQuiz2020%20%7C%20ORGANIC%20%7C%20BuyNow%20%7C%20INT&utm_content=ORGANIC&utm_term=20201220" target="_blank">Francis Bacon: Man and Beast</a></em>, <em><a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/david-hockney?utm_source=web%20address&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=Exh%20%7C%20HockneySpring%20%7C%20ArtQuiz2020%20%7C%20ORGANIC%20%7C%20BuyNow%20%7C%20INT&utm_content=ORGANIC&utm_term=20201220" target="_blank">David Hockney: The Arrival of Spring, Normandy, 2020</a></em> and <em><a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/marina-abramovic?utm_source=web%20address&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=Exh%20%7C%20MarinaAbramovicRA%20%7C%20ArtQuiz2020%20%7C%20ORGANIC%20%7C%20BuyNow%20%7C%20INT&utm_content=ORGANIC&utm_term=20201220" target="_blank">Marina Abramović: After Life</a></em>. </p><p>You've earned it.</p></p></section>

The great art quiz of 2020

By Adam Koszary

Published 21 December 2020

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