Pedro Reyes’s new Lacma commission sparks criticism in Mexico

Pedro Reyes's new sculpture 'Tlali' (2026), a four-meter-tall Olmec-inspired volcanic-stone female face installed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma), has sparked criticism in Mexico. An open letter signed by nearly 80 cultural figures, published on the art criticism site Cubo Blanco, alleges the work is a new version of a 2021 project that was canceled after backlash. That earlier project, 'Tlalli', was meant to replace a Christopher Columbus statue on Mexico City's Paseo de la Reforma but faced opposition from over 300 cultural figures who argued a male, non-Indigenous artist should not represent Indigenous women. The site later became the 'Glorieta de las Mujeres que Luchan', an anti-monument against gender violence.

Social documentary network ZEKE award 2026 winners – in pictures

The 2026 ZEKE award winners have been announced, with Ginevra Bonina winning the award for systemic change for her project 'Out for Blood,' which documents period poverty in India and the women fighting to reclaim their bodies. Ebrahim Alipoor won the award for documentary photography for his long-term project 'Bullets Have No Borders,' capturing the lives of border porters carrying goods across the Iran-Iraq mountains.

There are 21 artists supporting the new voyage of the Global Sumud Flotilla that set sail from Sicily with painted sails

Ci sono 21 artisti a sostegno del nuovo viaggio della Global Sumud Flotilla salpata dalla Sicilia con vele dipinte

A new humanitarian mission by the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail on April 26 from Augusta, Sicily, with 59 Italian and Spanish boats heading toward Gaza. The flotilla, which follows a first attempt in September 2025 that ended with activists arrested by the Israeli military, aims to deliver humanitarian aid by early May. Twenty-one artists have joined the initiative, called Vele d'Arte, painting the sails of the boats with symbolic artworks. Among the participating artists are Gio Pistone, Antonio Curcio, Escif, Lydia Giordano, Glenda Costa, Millo, Elia Novecento, MP5, Matteo Todeschini, Alleg, Sam3, Okuda, Antonella Santonocito, Fabrizio Foti, Igor Scalisi Palmiteri, Andrea Sposari, and Salvo Ligama. The project was conceived by Carlo Alberto Giardina, who hopes the energy painted on the sails will transform into positive forces.