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 for the best national pavilion and artist throughout the exhibition. The new voting period runs from the opening in May until the closing ceremony on November 22, extending the awards timeline. This shift follows months of boycott campaigns and a crowdfunded U.S. pavilion, turning the event into a contested cultural showcase.
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,...
Jule Korneffel Finds Meaning at the End of Light
Jule Korneffel’s solo show "In Search of Lost Light" is on view at Spencer Brownstone Gallery in Manhattan through May 2. The exhibition features seven paintings created between 2023 and 2026, ranging from modest 20×18‑inch works to monumental 80×96‑inch canvases. Influenced...
The Future of Museums Is a Dance Floor
Museums are increasingly embracing rave culture, turning dance floors into curatorial tools that foreground sound, movement, and collective joy. Recent projects such as Steve McQueen’s low‑frequency installation at Dia Beacon, the Swiss National Museum’s “Techno” exhibition, and the Asian Art Museum’s “Rave...
In Surprising Twist, ADAA Art Fair Will Now Benefit the Whitney Museum
The Art Dealer’s Association of America (ADAA) announced that proceeds from its upcoming November fair’s preview gala will benefit the Whitney Museum of American Art’s education and artistic programs. This marks a shift from the association’s previous partnership with the...
Tutto Boetti 1966–1993
Magazzino Italian Art opens “Tutto Boetti 1966–1993,” a two‑year survey showcasing roughly 30 works that trace Alighiero Boetti’s evolution from his 1960s Turin experiments to his mature, large‑scale pieces. The show blends the museum’s permanent holdings with loans from the Boetti...