A painting by JMW Turner has sold at Sotheby's in London for a huge amount of money. The picture has sold for £29.7million in fact, breaking the artist's record at auction. It's silly money, even for a really beautiful painting like this one. The previous record price for a Turner was £20.5m, paide in 2006 for Giudecca, La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio.

According to the auction house, six bidders battled it out for five minutes over 'Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino', helping to take the price of the piece well above its estimate of £12 - £18million. It was apparently purchased by a London dealer for the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

The Serpentine Gallery's new and rather striking red summer pavilion has been unveiled in London. The building, designed by the rather good architect Jean Nouvel, is the latest in a long line of yearly architectural commissions by the gallery, and will be open to the public until 17 November.

Launching the temporary structure, which is filled with leisure items such as chess sets and frisbees, Nouvel said "When I see the red sun through the ceiling I am happy. The red for me was the idea of something very strong, energetic and optimistic and also complementary because the green, you can see that around”.

Previous commissions in the pavilion scheme, which began in 2000, include Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa's Floating Pool Of Water, and Frank Gehry's jagged, glass and wood structure.

The Pet Shop Boys, aka Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, are to compose music for a new dance show, 'The Most Incredible Thing', to be staged at Sadler's Wells in London. The pop duo will work with choreographer Javier De Frutos on the piece, which is based on a Hans Christian Anderson story and will feature a 26 piece orchestra and a cast of fifteen. It will run in the Jerwood Studio for four days in March.

That Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, yesterday launched Big Dance 2010, which is set to commence on 3 July, and runs until 11 July. More than eight hundred events will take place as part of the festival, including Big World Dance, which will, it's hoped, see many thousands of Londoners taking to the streets to take part in a dance routine choreographed by Luca Silvestrini.

Johnson, who inflicted the sight of his own dancing on the amused spectators, was joined at the launch by 'Strictly Come Dancing' star Camilla Dallerup, West End type Sheridan Smith, and choreographer Jerry Mitchell as well as those involved in organising the various Big Dance events. The Mayor told his audience that dance "not only gives people exercise but of course it teaches people to break down their inhibitions and form relationships with people they might not otherwise become so friendly with. We have a magnificent example of a great coalition waltz by Nick Clegg and David Cameron, followed by William Hague break-dancing down Whitehall".

The Big Dance was founded in 2006 by the Mayor and Arts Council England, and is supported by English National Ballet. As previously reported, organisers of the biennial event have big plans for the 2012 festival, which will tie in with, and take place just ahead of, the 2012 Olympics. For more information, see www.bigdance2010.com.

Prolific art collector Charles Saatchi has announced that he is giving his Saatchi Gallery and more than 200 artworks to the British Public. I'm not sure he can actually give the Gallery away, to be honest, because the building appears to be owned by the Cadogan Estate, but the running costs will continue to fall to the gallery itself to meet, and not to the state.

The Gallery will be renamed The Museum Of Contemporary Art (MOCA) for London. Which is kind of what the Tate Modern is, really, isn't it? But never mind; what's in a name? More than £25million worth of stuff is in there, including famous pieces like Tracey Emin's 'My Bed', but the gallery said in a statement that the institution will continue to maintain "a living and evolving collection of work, rather than an archive of art history".

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt says: "Charles Saatchi has built up a collection of huge international importance. His decision to gift these works to the nation is an act of incredible generosity and I'd like to thank him on behalf of the government. Philanthropy is central to our vision of a thriving cultural sector and this is an outstanding example of how Britain can benefit from individual acts of social responsibility".

Around 170 arty types have signed a letter criticising Tate Britain for accepting a sponsorship from BP. Signatories include cartoonist Martin Rowson, playwright Caryl Churchill, artist John Keane, musician Matthew Herbert, and comedian Rob Newman.

The missive - published in The Guardian the same day as the Tate's summer party, which activists plan to picket in protest over the massive Gulf Of Mexico oil spill – says that the BP logo "represents a stain on the Tate's international reputation".

The Tate isn't the only large arts institution to receive funding from the petrol giant. Last week, the organisation, together with the Royal Opera House and National Portrait Gallery, released a joint statement which read "We are grateful to BP for their long-term commitment. The income generated through corporate partnerships is vital to the mixed economy of successful arts organisations and enables each of us to deliver a rich and vibrant cultural programme".

'Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto', a painting from Picasso's 'blue period', has raised £34.7million at auction in London. The work, which was expected to fetch between £30m and £40million, was owned by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Art Foundation. It follows the previously reported record-breaking sale, earlier this week, of a self-portrait by Edouard Manet.

Giovanna Bertazonni, head of impressionist and modern art at Christie's, says that despite recession, art prices are soaring. "At the moment we are really seeing this market of these masterpieces - the top, the most rare, beautiful works, the most iconic, the most symbolic work of the oeuvre of an artist - sell extremely well," she says. "There is actually a recognition that works of art are a very tangible investment... as opposed to many others that fail to resist the test of time".

A self-portrait by Edouard Manet has been sold at an auction at Sotheby's in London, and has raised more than £22million. 'Manet A La Palette', was painted between 1878 and 1879, and is one of only two self-portraits by the Impressionist artist. It's the highest figure ever raised by a Manet, but was still towards the lower end of the £20 – 30million estimate.

Belgian Chris Dercon is to be head of the Tate Modern art gallery in London. The arts director, who replaces Vincente Todolo, has been running Munich's Haus der Kunst since 2003, and worked as a freelance arts and culture journalist earlier in his career.

Tate director Nicholas Serota said: "Chris Dercon has made some outstanding exhibitions in Munich and has demonstrated a commitment to showing art from across the world. We are delighted that he has agreed to lead the team that is taking Tate Modern into its second decade".

'Slumdog Millionaire' director Danny Boyle is to be the artistic director of the London 2012 games opening ceremony. The appointment of four executive producers has also been announced; one of them is Stephen Daldry of 'Billy Elliot' fame, and he'll be joined by Beijing 08 designer Mark Fisher, TV director Hamish Hamilton, and producer Catherine Ugwu.

Artistic directors for the Olympic closing ceremony, and for the Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies, are to be announced later in the year.

Sebastian Coe, who is, of course, chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, said: "These Games are bringing together world-class British talent. Each one of these individuals would hold their own on the worldwide stage and they are joining names like children’s author Michael Morpurgo who has created the story behind our highly successful mascots. We are delighted with the team we have brought together to deliver our ceremonies in 2012".

Theatre company Dash Arts is planning a season of four dance, theatre and music commissions from performers from the Arabic-speaking world to be staged over the next two years. The works will be presented at a number of London venues, beginning with 'Babel (Words)', a contemporary dance piece created by Sidi Larbi Cherkoaui, Damien Jalet and visual artist Antony Gormley, on 18 and 19 May at Sadlers Wells.

Also on the programme is urban music event 'Lyrical Alliance', to be staged at the Roundhouse in October, a tribute to Oum Kalsoum at The Barbican, and Dash Arts' production of 'One Thousand And One Nights', which will premiere in Toronto in June next year before proceeding to the UK.

The Turner Prize short list has been announced, and the nominees are Dexter Dalwood, Angela de la Cruz, Susan Philipsz and The Otolith Group.

All the nominees apart from Susan Philipsz are London based. Dalwood, who has previously used such subject matter as the Manson murders and the death of David Kelly as the basis for his material, is nominated for his paintings drawing on art history. De la Cruz, who is also a painter, tears and folds her pieces and displays them in doorways and corners. The Otolith Group  - Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshun - creates "overlooked histories" using archive material, and Glaswegian Philipsz does recorded voice installations.

The winner will be announced on 6 December, following an exhibition of the artists' work.

London's National Gallery is to stage an exhibition showing off some of their more embarrassing acquisitions: pieces that have turned out to be fakes. More than forty works of art, including ones originally believed to have been by the likes of Sandro Botticelli and Hans Holbein, will form the show. 'Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries' opens on 30 June and will run until 12 September.

Former Monty Python type Terry Gilliam is to direct 'The Damnation Of Faust' for the English National Opera next year. It will be staged from 6 May 2011. Also making his operatic debut is theatre director Rufus Norris, who will helm Mozart’s 'Don Giovanni', set to be staged in November this year.

Other season highlights include two new pieces: a currently untitled new work by Nico Muhly (who scored the film 'The Reader') will have its world premiere, whilst Alexander Raskatov's 'A Dog's Heart' will have its UK premiere.

Darius Campbell is to take a lead role in a performance of Bizet's 'Carmen' at the O2 A, rena in May, following his win on that ITV1 reality show 'Popstar To Operastar'. The singer, who used to go by the name of Darius Danesh, rose to notoriety, you may remember, with his risible appearance on 'Popstars', but then went on to gain a bit of respect on the first series of 'Pop Idol' before launching a mildly successful pop and West End career.

Anyway, he will appear in the production, the first opera to be staged at the London venue, on 23 May. He says this: "I thoroughly enjoyed my time on 'Popstar to Operastar' and learning the discipline of opera was tough but hugely rewarding. This opportunity, however, takes it to the next level and I cannot wait to get started".

The V&A are to show an exhibition of works celebrating influential former ballet company Ballets Russes and its leader, Serge Diaghilev.

Original costumes, set designs and props will form part of the display, which will include a stage curtain which is also the largest known canvas with Picasso's name on it, 'Le Train Blue'. The piece, which is 10metres by 10metres in size, was signed by the artist, but completed by other painters who reproduced his work 'Deux Femmes Courant Sur La Plage'. Picasso became a member of the company during the first world war, and designed for a number of its productions.

'Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes 1909-29' will be open from 25 September to 9 January 2011. As previously reported, A number of events are being held by Sadlers Wells this year to celebrate the company's centenary.

Five new works are to be performed at the London's Peacock Theatre -currently under lease to Sadlers Wells, as you may be aware - in celebration of the centenary of the former itinerant dance group Ballets Russes.

The pieces have been created for community groups by  Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance, English National Ballet and Russell Maliphant, and will be performed by the likes of the Tiffin Boys Youth Dance and Company Of Elders, at Ballet Russes Encounters on 29 March.

Well, it seems bizarre, but I've checked that it's not 1 April. The Royal Opera House is to stage a premiere of a new opera about the life of the late Anna Nicole Smith as part of their 2010/11 season. I'm sure you all know who she was, but just in case you don't, she was a stripper turned model, ultimately most famous for marrying a billionaire oil tycoon 63 years her senior (he was 89). Smith died at the age of 39 in 2007, following an accidental prescription drug overdose.The opera is the work of composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and writer Richard Thomas, co-creator of 'Jerry Springer: The Opera', and will open at the venue on 17 February next year.

So that should be interesting. There are also other interesting things happening at the ROH in the upcoming season, though surely none so guaranteed to grab headlines. Highlights include the Royal Ballet's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, and the UK premiere of Philip Glass's Kafka adaptation 'In The Penal Colony'.

Staff at the National Gallery are planning to strike for two hours tomorrow to protest over rates of pay. Union members say that some employees' pay falls under Boris Johnson's London 'living wage' standard, which was set at £7.60 in May 2009.
 
Mark Serwotka, of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said: "Staff who protect important artworks and assist the public are sick and tired of working 50 to 60 hour weeks and having to take second jobs to earn a living wage. The refusal by management to reopen pay talks and its imposition of the pay award, just days before Christmas, has left staff feeling angry and betrayed".

A National Gallery spokeswoman says: "The gallery will do all it can to keep disruption to the public to a minimum during the industrial action. However we are hopeful that the gallery will continue to open".

A sculpture by Alberto Giacometti has sold at auction for the rather extraordinary price of £65,001,250.

When the life-sized bronze figure of a man - entitled 'L'Homme Qui Marche' - went on sale at Sotheby's in London this week, bidding opened at £12m, and it took just eight minutes to reach the end price of £58m (the rest of the £65m is the buyer's premium).

The item, purchased by an anonymous phone bidder, had only been expected to raise between £12m and £18m.

The sculpture is, as you might expect, at that price, one of the renowned Swiss artists' most important works, but expert Georgina Adam, editor of The Art Newspaper, says that bidding went so high because it's rare to see a Giacometti turning up at auction like that.

She told the BBC: "There's a market which is sort of exceptional for exceptional things If something is a one in a lifetime opportunity, people will really step up to the plate and they will spend enormous amounts of money because it was a now or never opportunity".