Helen Stoilas

Helen was previously Editor, Americas and has worked for The Art Newspaper since 2003. She regularly reports on political and social issues that affect artists and institutions.

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K-Pop superstars BTS help present gift from Korean government to the Metropolitan Museum

The set of five richly coloured lacquer vessels by artist Chung Haecho will go on show in the New York museum this December

Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend

From Adam Pendelton's colossal recaps of the past year at MoMA, to Objects of Common Interest's minimalist designs at the Noguchi Museum

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara named an ‘icon’ of 2021 by Time magazine

The Cuban artist and activist is joined on the publication’s list of 100 Most Influential People by Barbara Kruger and Mark Bradford

Timothée Chalamet kicks off the Met Gala with a flag-inspired collaboration with street artist JR

The actor debuted a new performance and installation in the Breuer building, before protestors crashed the party at the Costume Institute’s annual celebrity fundraiser

Prospect New Orleans to stagger openings and delay gala after Hurricane Ida

The event, launched in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, has been impacted by another major climate disaster

What do the bells of Notre Dame 'hear'? Artist Bill Fontana listens to the soul of Paris

The Bay Area sound artist is working on a contemporary sound installation in the fire-ravaged cathedral's bell tower

Podcastspodcast

Afghanistan: the threat of the Taliban to artists and heritage

Plus, artist Bill Fontana records Notre Dame's bells

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New and noteworthy: see what the Armory Show's younger galleries are bringing to the fair

In the Presents section, galleries founded within the past ten years present solo or dual-artist shows. Here are some works to look out for this year

Digital artinterview

From Atari to the No Fly List, artist Yucef Merhi uncovers the pervasive power of technology

The Venezuela-born artist’s pioneering work exploring information systems is on view in two shows in Miami

Louis Armstrong’s ‘second home’ in New Orleans destroyed by Hurricane Ida

The Karnofsky Store, a Jewish family’s former tailor shop where the young jazz legend found early encouragement for his musical talent, has been reduced to rubble

Chuck Close, Photo Realist painter of large-scale portraits, has died, aged 81

The outsize artist retreated from public attention in his later years, following a diagnosis of dementia in 2015 and accusations of sexual harassment in 2017

Pornhub removes videos and online tours based on works in Louvre, Uffizi and Prado collections

The site’s “Classic Nudes” series still includes erotic explorations of masterpieces at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, National Gallery in London, and Musée d’Orsay in Paris, as well as several other international institutions

Cubanews

Cuba cracks down on protestors with summary trials and prison sentences

Artists and writers are among those targeted by the government, causing human rights groups to raise an alarm about abuses

Designinterview

Loki’s production designer on the Modernist inspiration behind the show’s stunning visuals

Kasra Farahani explains why the Time Variance Authority waiting room looks so much like the Breuer building, and how the inside of a Fabergé egg became an alien train carriage

President Biden's budget includes funding boost for National Park heritage

Increase would give NPS budget of $3.5bn, to preserve infrastructure and pay for projects related to Native American and African American heritage

Movement grows to replace statues of Columbus with ones dedicated to a more respected figure—TV detective Lieutenant Columbo

Fans of Peter Falk and his dishevelled but dogged investigative persona have been quick to get behind the idea

'The biggest mistake of my life': 49-year-old ‘art freak’ confesses to stealing a Picasso and Mondrian from National Gallery in Athens

During an interrogation with Greek police, a construction worker explains what drove him to commit a brazen heist in 2012

Podcastspodcast

Should the Science Museum stop taking money from oil companies?

Plus, Michael Landy's exhibition at Firstsite and artist Shahzia Sikander on a manuscript miniature

Sponsored byChristie's

Original 1978 rainbow flag designed by Gilbert Baker acquired by San Francisco’s GLBT Historical Society

The banner, thought lost for more than 40 years, was recently authenticated by a vexillographer who had worked with the artist

Solange’s Saint Heron dossier project releases interview with Barbara Chase-Riboud

In an excerpt shared with The Art Newspaper, the artist and writer describes how the letters her mother kept made her more ‘visible’ that ever

Lawnews

Settlement reached over Robert Indiana’s estate—paving way for planned museum in artist's home in Maine

Under the agreement, the Morgan Art Foundation will continue to promote the Pop artist's work in museums and on the market

Cubanews

Ahead of G7, Cuban artist Tania Bruguera addressed the Geneva Summit on Human Rights and Democracy

The activist spoke about her own experiences with state repression and the growing movement for political change in the country

Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend

From Cézanne's drawings at MoMA to Takashi Murakami curating Outsider art

The Met will return two Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

The Benin Court plaques donated in 1991 with more than 150 other works, have been deaccessioned, while a third object, an Ife Head offered for purchase, will instead be restituted

Podcastspodcast

Classicist Mary Beard on the infamous Roman emperor Nero

Plus, London Gallery Weekend and Nina Katchadourian on her adopted grandmother's embroidery

Sponsored byChristie's

Biden wants to boost culture funding to historic levels as part of $6 trillion budget proposal

If Congress approves, the National Endowment for the Arts in particular would see its 2022 budget go up to $201m—the highest amount of government funding since its inception

Designnews

Thomas Heatherwick’s Vessel to reopen in Hudson Yards—without higher barriers

Visitors will have to come in groups, and buy tickets that will help pay for more security, after three suicides at the site

A year after George Floyd’s death, art memorials are at a crossroads

Efforts to preserve murals and street art are growing, as are threats to sites around the country, including the intersection where Floyd was killed