Art News. Vasari Codex

article policy schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 15 link 15 artists

national garden of american heroes analysis

President Trump is moving forward with the National Garden of American Heroes, a monument featuring 250 life-size statues of American historical figures, to be built for the U.S. semiquincentennial in 2026. The project, first announced in a 2020 executive order, has released grant guidelines offering $200,000 per sculpture, with $34 million diverted from the NEA and NEH. The list of 244 subjects includes figures like Hannah Arendt, Neil Armstrong, and John Singer Sargent, with six remaining to be chosen by a presidential aide. The statues must be realistic, using materials like marble or bronze, and the location is still undecided, though South Dakota is a strong contender.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Mar 9, 2026 visibility 23 link 3 artists

Comment | What is the role of art museums in times of civic stress?

The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is navigating the civic distress caused by 'Operation Metro Surge,' a federal immigration enforcement initiative that has disrupted the lives of local artists, staff, and residents. In response to the atmosphere of fear and the shift to virtual schooling, the museum has positioned itself as a sanctuary, offering art-making kits, indigenous-led workshops, and public screenings to foster community resilience.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Aug 27, 2025 visibility 19 link 17 artists

Teiger Foundation gives grants totalling $7m to 85 curators

The Teiger Foundation, a US-based nonprofit supporting art curators, has announced its 2025 grantees, awarding a total of $7 million to 85 curators at institutions across the country. This nearly doubles last year’s grants as the foundation transitions to a biennial model, with individual grants ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 for exhibitions, research, touring shows, and three years of programming. Notable projects include a major survey of the late artist L.V. Hull organized by curators Ryan N. Dennis, Annalise Flynn, and Yaphet Smith, and a Theresa Hak Kyung Cha retrospective curated by Victoria Sung and Tausif Noor.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Aug 20, 2025 visibility 14 link 4 artists

Trump accuses Smithsonian of being too focused on ‘how bad slavery was’

US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social accusing the Smithsonian Institution of focusing excessively on negative aspects of American history, specifically citing exhibits about slavery and the struggles of marginalized groups. He claimed the organization is "out of control" and instructed his attorneys to review its museums, mirroring recent actions against universities. The White House has initiated a four-month review of eight Smithsonian museums, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Portrait Gallery, with a directive to replace "divisive or ideologically driven language" with "unifying, historically accurate" descriptions.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Apr 27, 2026 visibility 17

Comment | Museums are civic institutions. It’s time we acted like it

Lindsay C. Harris, director of the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), publishes a commentary calling for museums to act as true civic institutions. She outlines concrete internal commitments OMCA has made, including voluntarily recognizing a staff union, adopting a pay equity philosophy with a minimum wage of $30.88 per hour, implementing transparent financial practices, and shifting investments toward socially responsible funds. Externally, she advocates for centering community voices, building social cohesion through inclusive programming, and measuring institutional impact through visitor surveys.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Jan 30, 2026 visibility 8 link 3 artists

state department report biden paintings gifts

The U.S. State Department's annual report on gifts to senior officials revealed that former President Joe Biden received a painting valued at $19,000 from Angolan President João Lourenço in 2024. The artwork, titled *Marimba*, was created by self-taught Angolan painter Augusto Guizef Guilherme. Other officials, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, also received various artworks from foreign leaders, all of which were subsequently transferred to the National Archives.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Oct 3, 2025 source 2 sources visibility 13 link 3 artists

New York City provides long-term support to five local arts organisations

The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) has inducted five new members into its Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), an exclusive program that provides long-term operational subsidies to private arts organizations operating on public land. The new members—Bric (Brooklyn), Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (Manhattan), the Bronx Children’s Museum, the Noble Maritime Collection (Staten Island), and the Louis Armstrong House Museum (Queens)—represent each of the city’s five boroughs. This is the largest expansion of the program, now totaling 39 members, since the 1970s. A celebratory event was held at Bric on September 30, featuring remarks from DCLA Commissioner Laurie Cumbo and Deputy Mayor Adolfo Carrión Jr., along with musical performances by each institution.

newspaper The Art Newspaper Also: ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Apr 8, 2026 visibility 16 link 1 artist

ACLU and anti-censorship group target UNT over art exhibit removal with mobile billboard

The ACLU of Texas and the National Coalition Against Censorship have deployed a mobile billboard to the University of North Texas (UNT) campus to protest the administration's removal of an art exhibition by Victor Quiñonez, known as Marka27. The show, titled “Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá,” was abruptly taken down in February after being open for only a week, with administrators later citing concerns that the artist's critiques of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could cause campus disruptions.

newspaper KERA News open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Mar 10, 2026 visibility 17 link 1 artist

Texas university's sudden cancellation of exhibition with works critical of Ice sparks censorship row

The University of North Texas (UNT) abruptly shuttered a solo exhibition by Brooklyn-based artist Victor Quiñonez just nine days after its opening at the College of Visual Art & Design Gallery. The show, titled "Ni de Acquí," featured sculptures from the artist’s "I.C.E. Scream" series, which utilizes Mexican popsicle motifs to critique the enforcement tactics of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Following the closure, university staff covered the gallery windows with brown paper and terminated the loan agreement with Boston University without providing a detailed public explanation.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Feb 17, 2026 visibility 13 link 1 artist

UNT art students protest exhibit’s removal with a funeral for freedom of speech

Students at the University of North Texas (UNT) staged a protest in the form of a funeral for freedom of speech at their College of Visual Arts and Design gallery. They were responding to the unexplained removal of the exhibition "Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá" by street artist Victor Quiñonez (Marka27). The students, dressed in black, laid flowers on a Mexican flag and wrote messages to administrators, delivering eulogies for the silenced artwork and expression.

newspaper KERA News open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Feb 13, 2026 visibility 12 link 3 artists

UNT Faculty Denounce Closure of Victor Quiñonez Show in Open Letter to University President

Faculty at the University of North Texas College of Visual Art & Design have issued an open letter to university leadership, protesting the sudden and unexplained closure of artist Victor "MARKA27" Quiñonez's solo exhibition, 'Ni de Aqui, Ni de Allá,' just nine days after it opened. The letter demands an explanation for the cancellation, which occurred before a scheduled public reception, and cites university policies protecting artistic expression and academic freedom.

newspaper Glasstire open_in_new Read original