NewsDisasters & destruction
Warehouse of the Cinemateca Brasileira is struck by fire
Lawsuit was filed against the Brazilian government earlier this month citing the imminent risk of a blaze
FeatureBook Club
Extract | A rare pamphlet from a historic Black art exhibition by the Spiral collective
The text accompanied the group's only show and is now one of several texts about Black art brought together in a new book Soul of Nation Reader
NewsFakes & copies
Dealer admits to marketing fraudulent Indigenous wood carvings to Canadian museums and galleries
Works by a non-Indigenous artist known as Harvey John were sold at museum gift shops and galleries as authentic Haida artworks
NewsLand art
Plans scrapped for solar project that would disrupt Michael Heizer’s Double Negative
A solar farm was cancelled after months of backlash from local residents
NewsBlack history
African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund grants $3m to Black historic landmarks
The $50m grant programme, launched in the wake of the Unite the Right rally, aims to preserve histories beyond Confederate heritage
NewsMuseum of Chinese in America
Protestors gather at the reopening of New York’s Museum of Chinese in America
Demonstrators argue the museum is complicit in mass incarceration and the gentrification of Chinatown
NewsPaper Project
Paper craft: Getty Foundation grants $1.55m to undersung prints and drawings projects
The funding will benefit emerging and mid-career curators from 19 US and international museums
NewsConfederate monuments
Charlottesville removes statue of Confederate general at the centre of the Unite the Right rally
City officials are asking museums and historical societies to solicit interest in acquiring several removed statues
NewsBaltimore Museum of Art
Security guards become guest curators at the Baltimore Museum of Art
The forthcoming show, developed with the help of art historian Lowery Stokes Sims, aims to highlight a “multiplicity of curatorial voices in major institutions”
NewsBienal de São Paulo
Bienal de São Paulo celebrates its 70th anniversary this month with a podcast series and other programmes
The biennial helped launch the careers of artists like Lygia Pape, Hélio Oiticica and Lygia Clark
NewsNancy Holt
Nancy Holt’s archives head to Smithsonian, opening the door for more land art works
From astronomical observations to personal photographs, the 50,000-piece collection includes documentation of unrealised works that the artist's foundation hopes to one day complete
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From the Met’s survey of women photographers to Wong Ping’s dark films at the New Museum
PreviewExhibitions
The best art day trips you can take from Berlin, London and New York
From crumbling castles to beach huts and giant chalk drawings on the English coast, there's no need for PCR tests if you live near these local gems
NewsPublic art
Angela Two Stars is the first Indigenous artist to install work in Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Recovering from controversy, the Walker Art Center has commissioned the Minnesota artist to create a labyrinth-like installation that celebrates the Dakota language as a way to heal the community and the land
NewsColombia
Monuments of European colonisers are vandalised and toppled in Colombia
The country's ministry of culture says it will form a committee to review contested memorials
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Huguette Caland at The Drawing Center to the last week to visit the Met’s Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
NewsMaya Train
Mexico's controversial 'Maya Train' receives $42bn federal grant for archaeological research and preservation
With more than 14,000 artefacts discovered in the project's path, protestors say pre-Hispanic heritage sites could be destroyed by the construction
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Shahzia Sikander at The Morgan to lyrical outdoor installations in Brooklyn by Chloë Bass
NewsProtest
Brooklyn’s long history of resistance is celebrated on Juneteenth
A series of installations and programmes draw on the Center for Brooklyn History's extensive archive
NewsArt market
Casa Versalles, an initiative envisioned to benefit the Mexican cultural sector, opens second edition in Mexico City
A portion of the proceeds from the selling exhibition will benefit two regional museums, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey and the Zapopan Art Museum
NewsPrizes
New grant programme to benefit Black designers
The initiative includes three $10,000 awards for emerging designers and one $100,000 grant for a Black-owned design business
NewsAmerican Museum of Natural History
Shine bright: American Museum of Natural History unveils a years-long revamp of its prized gems and minerals hall
Visitors are encouraged to bring their own flashlight for the full optical experience
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Louise Bourgeois at The Jewish Museum to Sam Durant’s High Line Plinth commission
NewsCorita Kent
Hallelujah! Former studio of 'nun-turned-artist' Corita Kent designated historic cultural landmark
The Hollywood studio where Kent made works challenging social injustice in the 1960s was due to be demolished to make room for a parking lot
NewsLand art
Nevada Museum of Art launches year-long focus on Land Art in the high desert
The museum has also announced the forthcoming programming for its triennial Art and Environment Conference
NewsTeotihuacan
Mexican authorities halt illegal development near Teotihuacán
It is unclear who is behind the construction of the ecotourism park, which resulted in the destruction of at least three unexplored archaeological mounds
NewsTulsa Race Massacre
Calls for reparations lead the commemoration of Tulsa Massacre
US President Biden acknowledged during visit that "some injustices are so heinous… they cannot be buried"
NewsRace
The Greenwood Massacre, America’s ‘single worst incident of racial violence’, is remembered 100 years on
The historic example of domestic terrorism, when white mobs killed hundreds of Black residents and destroyed businesses, finally gets due recognition
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Guadalupe Maravilla at Socrates Sculpture Park to Nina Katchadourian at Pace
NewsSpiral Jetty
Surge in visitors to Spiral Jetty through the pandemic leads to plans for more amenities and ecological awareness
The famous Land Art site in Utah became a popular destination, with more than 700 cars logged at the site in one day
FeatureBook Club
In Pictures | Kara Walker's private archive of works on paper published in new book
The publication is released ahead of an exhibition of the US artist's works at the Kunstmuseum Basel this summer
PreviewDenver Art Museum
Marie Watt and Cannupa Hanska Luger find creative ways to collaborate through the pandemic in Denver Art Museum show
How do you crowd-source art without the crowd? The Indigenous artists explore communal art-making traditions amid the isolation of last year
NewsProtest
Plywood boards used to shutter New York shops are transformed into canvases for local artists
The Plywood Protection Project has given five artists material to create new public works in each borough
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Nicola Vassell’s inaugural show devoted to Ming Smith to Huma Bhaba at Salon 94
PreviewBoca Raton Museum of Art
The splendours of the Incan Empire are coming to Boca Raton in blockbuster show
The comprehensive exhibitions features never before shown loans of ancient golden objects and a VR tour of Machu Picchu
NewsObituaries
'Restless, experimental and enigmatic': Brazilian artist Carlito Carvalhosa has died, aged 59
He was the first living Brazilian artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
Wangechi Mutu at Gladstone, Adriana Varejão at Gagosian and the unveiling of Day’s End by David Hammons
NewsSarah Oppenheimer
Sarah Oppenheimer will create a monumental permanent work for the University of Texas at Austin
The commission is part of the university’s Landmarks public art programme, which includes pieces by artists like Louise Bourgeois and Mark di Suvero
NewsJames Turrell
James Turrell will unveil another Skyspace this year in the Colorado mountains
The permanent work will be installed on a hillside in Green Mountain Falls later this summer
NewsArcheology
Archaeologists rush to record the Rio Grande’s art amid threat from flooding and drug cartels
Ancient rock art near Texas-Mexico border could be lost forever
PreviewExhibitions
Amateur hour turns to golden hour for forgotten Brazilian photo club with New York show
The Museum of Modern Art will present rarely-seen work by the mid-century collective Foto-Cine Clube Bandeirante
NewsSanford Biggers
Sanford Biggers unveils monolithic sculpture at Rockefeller Plaza
The work is part of a campus-wide exhibition exploring themes around European and African mythologies
ReviewExhibitions
Top shows to see in New York during Frieze week
From Eva Hesse and Hannah Wilke at Acquavella Galleries to Deana Lawson at the Guggenheim
NewsFoundations
MoMA trustee Lonti Ebers to open huge arts centre in Brooklyn this summer
The Amant Foundation in East Williamsburg will combine exhibition and studio spaces for resident artists
NewsBiennials & festivals
After social media backlash, Dark Mofo art festival in Tasmania launches fund for Aboriginal artists
The festival drew criticism last month for an art project that would crowd-source blood from Indigenous and Aboriginal people
NewsUgo Rondinone
Ugo Rondinone’s Seven Magic Mountains in the Nevada desert will undergo a second restoration
The immersive artwork, installed in 2016, could be up for another five years
NewsVandalism
Another ancient petroglyph panel has been vandalised in Utah
The Bureau of Land Management is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From David Smith at Hauser & Wirth to Katherine Bradford at Canada
NewsIndigenous art
Lummi artists create a totem pole to call attention to the need to protect sacred Indigenous sites
The totem pole will travel from Washington State to Washington, DC and make stops at significant Native American locations
NewsRepatriation
Penn Museum apologises for allowing the use of human remains of Black Philadelphians in an online class
The statement follows a petition condemning the institution and calling for a public investigation
NewsPublic art
Creative Time launches Kickstarter campaign for Kamala Sankaram’s concrete opera about trees
The immersive soundscape will feature sounds from nature and address the climate crisis
NewsPetroglyphs
Ancient petroglyphs damaged by climber in Utah
A man installed several bolts on and around petroglyphs he believed were "graffiti"
NewsPrizes
Pérez Art Museum Miami awards María Magdalena Campos-Pons its annual prize
The artist was a pioneer of the New Cuban Art Movement in the late 1980s
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Yayoi Kusama in the Bronx to Alex Da Corte's Big Bird on the Met Roof
NewsHigh Line Art
Sam Durant to create drone sculpture for the High Line's next plinth commission
The work is the artist’s first public commission since a controversial installation at the Walker Art Center’s Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
NewsPenn Museum
Penn Museum announces recommendations for repatriation of human skulls
The museum holds a collection of more than 1,000 remains amassed in the mid-19th century to uphold theories of racial superiority
PreviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Alice Neel at the Met to an ode to the first Black woman astronaut by Damien Davis
NewsHank Willis Thomas
Hank Willis Thomas builds a memorial to victims of gun violence at the National Building Museum
The project was developed in collaboration with the Mass Design Group and gun violence prevention organisations
PreviewExhibitions
A flurry of Yayoi Kusama shows are about to open, but restrictions on her installations may limit their appeal—and visitor numbers
The Japanese artist's exhibitions usually draw millions of people, will they be the same in a post-pandemic world?
PreviewNew Museum Triennial
New Museum 2021 triennial will explore themes of impermanence
The show takes its title, Soft Water Hard Stone, after a Brazilian proverb about perseverance and the impact of incessant actions over time
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Alexander Calder’s early works at MoMA to Molly Greene’s psychedelic flowers at Kapp Kapp
NewsRepatriation
After criticism, Harvard's Peabody Museum will revise its policies on repatriating Native American objects
The Association on American Indian Affairs issued an open letter accusing the institution of failing to fulfill its legal obligations
NewsAcquisitions
Mass Moca breathes new life into Taryn Simon's mourning sculptures
The Pipes were originally made for performances dealing with death and mourning but will now serve less specific purposes
ReviewExhibitions
An exhibition at Pioneer Works captures the 'perverse seduction' of nuclear weapons
The artist Smriti Keshari and the writer Eric Schlosser have adapted their acclaimed 2016 film into a blackbox format for the Brooklyn venue
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Ann Craven at Karma to Madeline Hollander at the Whitney
NewsOpenings
World's biggest Inuit art collection revealed at Winnipeg's new museum within a museum
Qaumajuq centre aims to reframe Winnipeg Art Gallery’s colonial past with displays of more than 10,000 rarely seen Inuit works
ReviewAllora and Calzadilla
Allora and Calzadilla create a 'haven' from the horrors of the past year at the Menil Collection
New works informed by the Houston museum founders' literature collection delve into the spiritual and social discomforts of our current time
NewsSantiago Sierra
Following social media backlash, festival organisers cancel Santiago Sierra's Aboriginal blood-soaked flag work
Many Indigenous cultural leaders commented that the work perpetuated, rather than critiqued, the violence of colonialism
NewsPark Avenue Armory
Park Avenue Armory postpones socially distanced programme after performers test positive for Covid-19
The recently announced season aimed to provide a safe space for live arts performances as Covid-19 cases begin to decline in New York
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Julie Mehretu’s mid-career survey at the Whitney to the Frick Collection’s temporary encampment in the Breuer building
PreviewShahzia Sikander
Shahzia Sikander, creator of feminist miniatures, will have a major show at The Morgan in New York
The Pakistani-American artist is known for her works that reimagine illuminated manuscript traditions from South and Central Asia in a contemporary feminist context
NewsICA San Diego
San Diego will get an Institute of Contemporary Art in September
An exhibition devoted to the Mexican conceptual artist Gabriel Rico will inaugurate the institute
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Niki de Saint Phalle’s first US retrospective at MoMA PS1 to El Museo Del Barrio’s sweeping survey of Latinx art
NewsBreonna Taylor
Amy Sherald, Kerry James Marshall, Theaster Gates, Nick Cave and others to show work reflecting on Breonna Taylor
The exhibition Promise, Witness, Remembrance opens at the Speed Art Museum in April
NewsBrazil
Brazilian government suspends federal cultural funding in areas with Covid restrictions
As the country's coronavirus cases spike, a new ordinance temporarily stops support for projects in places that have not yet lifted lockdown measures
NewsCharity
Lorna Simpson, Rirkrit Tiravanija and other artists donate works to benefit New York charities
The Artists Support initiative will donate 100% of proceeds to local organisations
FeatureBook Club
In Pictures | Rothko Chapel’s 50th anniversary celebrated in new publication
The Abstract Expressionist Mark Rothko created 14 paintings for the chapel but did not live to see it completed
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Lorraine O’Grady’s first museum retrospective to Carol Bove’s Met façade commission
NewsHigh Desert Museum
Oregon museum receives $6m grant to display its vast but largely unseen art collection
The High Desert Museum, which has previously had an emphasis on natural history, holds important works by artists like Rick Bartow and Edward Curtis
NewsReconstruction
Longwood Gardens begins a $6.5m reconstruction of cascade garden by Roberto Burle Marx
The work of the Modernist artist and landscape architect takes new precedence as Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro faces international criticism over the devastation of the Amazon
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Guadalupe Maravilla at PPOW to David Goldblatt at Pace
NewsJames Turrell
A colossal water tank at Mass Moca will house James Turrell’s latest Skyspace
The work is due to be unveiled this spring and was envisioned by Turrell when he first visited the campus in 1987
NewsSpeed Art Museum
Speed Art Museum will reflect on the death of Breonna Taylor in an exhibition
A panel of advisors including the artists Theaster Gates and Amy Sherald will explore the ways that art can address the police killing
NewsMuseum acquisitions
Aga Khan Museum acquires massive Lego sculpture of an ancient African metropolis
The conceptual work by the Ghanian-Canadian artist Ekow Nimako addresses the cultural impact of Kumbi Saleh, the centre of the trans-Saharan trade route
NewsMichael Heizer
Nevada solar power project threatens Michael Heizer’s land art sculpture Double Negative
Local activists are petitioning to protect the artist’s monumental work on the Mormon Mesa
NewsIndigenous art
Indigenous artist Chris Pappan honours the creative and political achievements of the late Zitkála-Šá with Google Doodle
The illustration spotlights the pioneering contributions of a woman who “devoted her life to the protection and celebration of her Indigenous heritage” in the 19th century
NewsAlexander Calder
Alexander Calder's expansive archive goes digital
A new platform launched by the Calder Foundations features thousands of artworks, photographs, archival documents and publications
NewsCuba
Calls for 'art strike' against state-run cultural institutions in Cuba
Art professionals “on and off the island” are urged to stop working with state-run institutions that have been “complicit in their silence” as the government amps up efforts to squash dissent
InterviewBook Club
Q&A | Keith Haring ‘had so much drive, was so good at promoting himself’ and artists can learn from him today
The British fashion writer Simon Doonan speaks about his new book on the artist and describes his first encounter with Haring via a t-shirt
NewsFreedom of speech
Florida arts professor says she was targeted for work denouncing white supremacy in annual staff exhibition
The work has received pushback from Republican student groups who denounce the artist's decision to place the US flag on the floor
NewsCuba
With the country labelled a ‘terror sponsor’ and the government claiming activists are CIA agents, Cuba's artists are stuck in the crossfire
Concerns for the cultural sector follow Trump’s parting shot at the country, and the Castro regime's growing efforts to discredit dissidents
NewsMaya Lin
Maya Lin’s 'ghost forest' will rise in Madison Square Park this spring
The installation about climate change was postponed for a year due to the pandemic
PreviewDocumentary
HBO documentary illuminates how Black artists shaped US art history
The show centres on a landmark 1976 exhibition by the late curator, scholar and artist David Driskell
NewsMuseum acquisitions
Pérez Art Museum Miami renames endowment fund for Black art to reflect the wider diaspora
The announcement coincides with acquisitions of works by Gordon Parks, Kwame Brathwaite and Tunji Adeniyi-Jones
ArchiveThree to see
Our picks of the must-see shows to see in New York in February
From Laura Aguilar’s first retrospective at the Leslie-Lohman Museum to sculptural salt licks evoking impermanence by Malia Jensen at Cristin Tierney
NewsCuba
Cuban artists file motion to dismiss culture minister Alpidio Alonso after a peaceful protest turns violent
The activist group 27N cites a law that revokes an official’s power for conduct unbecoming public service in their petition to parliament
NewsArt market
New York's ADAA Art Show moves to November from 2021 and beyond
The fair is normally held at the Park Avenue Armory in February
NewsCanadian art
Historic object or contemporary carving? Canadian artist claims a totem that washed up on a Victoria beach is actually his work
Archaeologists of the Royal British Columbia Museum announced the discovery was an important Indigenous work last week
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Gordon Parks at Jack Shainman to Shaun Leonardo at the Bronx Museum