Somali Artists Take Issue With Nation's First-Ever Venice Biennale Pavilion
Somalia’s inaugural national pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale sparked backlash after the lineup featured only diaspora artists and an Italian co‑curator, prompting the Somalia Arts Foundation and queer collective Warbixinta Cidda to demand inclusion of locally based creators and a transparent selection process. Organizers defended the show, citing a Mogadishu‑based painter and promising side events, but offered few details. The dispute revives colonial sensitivities and coincides with wider Biennale protests over political representation.
Art Problems: WTF Is an A-Corp?
Colorado lawmakers have introduced a bill to create an Artist Corporation, or A‑Corp, a new business form tailored for creators. Proposed by entrepreneur Yancey Strickler, the structure would let artists form a legal entity with a single form, bypassing the...
Israeli Pavilion Artist Made Legal Threats Before Venice Biennale Jury Resigned
Israeli pavilion artist Belu‑Simion Fainaru filed legal warnings alleging antisemitism and nationality‑based discrimination after the Venice Biennale awards jury announced it would exclude Israel and Russia. The threat of litigation coincided with the women‑led jury’s abrupt resignation, prompting the Biennale...
Steel And Shadows Converge in “Larry Kagan: Men”
Louis K. Meisel Gallery will present Larry Kagan’s new exhibition “Men” from May 9 to June 20 in New York. Kagan, an engineer‑turned‑sculptor, creates steel assemblages that cast precise shadow images when illuminated from calculated angles, merging solid form with illusion. The...
Venice Biennale Scraps “Golden Lion” Awards as Turmoil Continues
The 61st Venice Biennale has eliminated its prestigious Golden Lion awards after the entire jury resigned in protest over the inclusion of Russian and Israeli pavilions. In their place, the Biennale Foundation introduced "Visitor Lions," allowing ticket‑holding visitors to vote...
What Artists Sign Away
Artists increasingly discover that standard gallery contracts often sacrifice their control and earnings. A six‑month consignment clause can keep works tied to a gallery long after an exhibition, forcing artists to share sales even when they secure buyers themselves. Moral‑rights...
SMFA at Tufts Presents Passages, the 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition
The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts is hosting “Passages,” the 2026 MFA thesis exhibition, running May 5‑17 in the university’s art galleries. Nineteen graduating MFA candidates present work across painting, sculpture, installation, and mixed media that explore...
Five Independent Souls: The Signers From New Jersey
The Morven Museum & Garden in Princeton is hosting “Five Independent Souls,” an exhibition that examines New Jersey’s five 1776 signers—Abraham Clark, John Hart, Francis Hopkinson, Richard Stockton, and John Witherspoon. The show juxtaposes their fight for liberty with their...
The US Pavilion Is Taking Online Donations
The United States Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, featuring self‑taught sculptor Alma Allen, is turning to online donations after the State Department pledged only $375,000 of an estimated $5‑7 million budget. The American Arts Conservancy (AAC) launched a “Support Our...
Mexican Cultural Workers Denounce Pedro Reyes Sculpture at LACMA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has installed Pedro Reyes’s new stone sculpture “Tlali” in its recently opened Elaine Wynn Wing. The work, a reworked version of a controversial 2021 Mexico City commission, sparked an open letter signed by...
Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair Returns May 7–10
Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair returns May 7‑10 at the ArtCenter South Campus in Pasadena, featuring 250 exhibitors ranging from established publishers to emerging collectives. The four‑day event offers a mix of talks, panels, live music, and the Project Spaces...
Jan Staller Photographs the Nuts and Bolts of Manhattan's Urban Symphony
Veteran photographer Jan Staller releases *Manhattan Project*, a new monograph that isolates construction components—pipes, rebar, cranes—against stark white skies. The book marks a technical pivot from his signature night‑time, color‑saturated cityscapes to high‑contrast, single‑object studies. Accompanied by a foreword from...
Required Reading
The Hyperallergic "Required Reading" roundup weaves together a diverse set of cultural and policy stories. Elena Megalos offers a poetic essay on motherhood and cosmic scale at the American Museum of Natural History, while fire lookout Philip Connors reveals how...
Tale of a Riderless Horse
The National Gallery in London is hosting a major exhibition devoted to 18th‑century equine artist George Stubbs, featuring his iconic 1762 painting “Whistlejacket.” The work portrays a riderless horse that was originally intended for King George III but never received a...
Historic $116M Gift Endows Lending Program at National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art received a historic $116 million donation from the Mitchell P. Rales Family Foundation, endowing the Across the Nation artwork‑lending program in perpetuity. Launched as a pilot last spring, the initiative has loaned works by O’Keeffe, Rembrandt, Rothko,...