The Venice Biennale has announced the five-member jury for its 2026 edition, which will award the prestigious Golden Lion prizes. The jury president is Solange Oliveira Farkas, founder of the Videobrasil Biennial, and she will be joined by curators and academics Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi.
Creative Time, a New York-based nonprofit known for large-scale public art, has appointed Jean Cooney as its executive director. Cooney previously served as vice president of arts and culture at the Times Square Alliance and director of Times Square Arts since 2019, and before that spent seven years at Creative Time, rising to deputy director. She worked on major projects including Kara Walker's 'A Subtlety' at the Domino Sugar Factory. Cooney succeeds Justine Ludwig, who stepped down in September to join PST ART as inaugural creative director. Cooney begins her role on February 23, and the organization will celebrate her return at its annual spring gala on April 28.
Jon Neidich, a 43-year-old New York nightlife entrepreneur and collector who chairs the board of Creative Time, discusses his art collection in an interview. He shares that his first purchases were works from Robert Longo's "Men in the Cities" series and a Tracey Emin neon titled "Trust Yourself," which offered a wholesome counterpoint to his nightlife-focused world. Neidich credits his mother, Brooke Garber Neidich, a voracious collector of mid-century and contemporary artists, for teaching him to navigate the art world. He also recounts a hard-won acquisition of Victor Moscoso and Lee Conklin rock posters from Matthew Marks gallery, and highlights John Baldessari's "Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line" as a piece he often stares at.
Diya Vij has been appointed as the next commissioner of New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Vij, who most recently served as vice president of curatorial and arts programmes at Powerhouse Arts, is the first person of South Asian descent to lead the agency. She brings extensive experience from previous roles at Creative Time, the High Line, and a prior five-year tenure within the DCA itself, where she managed public artist residencies and diversity initiatives.
The Getty has hired Justine Ludwig, currently the executive director of Creative Time in New York, as the creative director of PST Art, a newly created position. Ludwig will relocate to California and start on October 27, leading a team that includes Zachary Kaplan and Tina Lee, with plans to expand the department. The Getty has spent around $50 million on PST Art over two decades but previously lacked a dedicated team for the event. Ludwig's appointment comes as the Getty prepares for the 2030 edition and aims to refine the program, including working closely with smaller partner museums and non-profits.
Diya Vij has been appointed as the new commissioner of New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs, the largest municipal funder of culture in the United States. Vij, a 40-year-old arts administrator with experience at Powerhouse Arts, the High Line, Creative Time, and the Queens Museum, previously worked for the department from 2014 to 2018 under former commissioner Tom Finkelpearl. She now oversees a $300 million annual budget and a 50-person staff, tasked with sustaining artistic communities across the five boroughs amid federal funding cuts to the NEA and NEH.
La giuria della Biennale d’Arte di Venezia 2026 sarà tutta composta da donne
The organizing body of the Venice Biennale has announced the international jury for its 61st International Art Exhibition, titled 'In Minor Keys.' For the first time, the five-member jury is composed entirely of women: Solange Oliveira Farkas (president), Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi. They will award the prestigious Golden Lions and special mentions during the awards ceremony on May 9.