Taiwan Strips National Prize from Sakuliu Pavavaljung After Sexual Assault Conviction

Taiwan’s National Culture and Arts Foundation has revoked the National Award for Arts from Indigenous Paiwan artist Sakuliu Pavavaljung, following his conviction for sexual assault. The Supreme Court upheld a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence for forcible sexual intercourse involving a female student in 2021. Pavavaljung, who received the award in 2018, must return the NTD 1 million prize. The case gained traction after artist Kuo Yu Ping disclosed it on social media in December 2021, leading to additional victims coming forward. His planned exhibition for Taiwan at the 59th Venice Biennale was canceled in 2022.

VCSU Arts Gallery announces new exhibit

Valley City State University's Robinson Center for the Arts Gallery has opened "Uncensored: The Art of Politics," an exhibition exploring political discourse through a variety of media including digital art, painting, fiber, and bronze sculpture. Co-curated by Gratia Brown and Reagan Koppelman, the show features works from a national call for politically themed art, addressing topics such as pedestrian rights, immigration, ecological concerns, and public trust in political institutions. The exhibit runs through November 28, 2025, and includes a virtual component on the VCSU Art Department’s YouTube Channel, with a curator talk by Koppelman scheduled for November 20.

Berlin's Next Crash Landing

Berlins nächste Bruchlandung

Berlin's culture senator, Sarah Wedl-Wilson, resigned on Friday after being pressured by Mayor Kai Wegner amid a funding scandal. She approved 13 project applications totaling €2.6 million intended for combating antisemitism, bypassing mandatory co-payment rules and ignoring objections from her state secretary. Leaked chat logs revealed that CDU parliamentarians Christian Goiny and faction leader Dirk Stettner pushed her to fast-track approvals, leading to violations of budget law. The state audit office had flagged irregularities, and Wegner withdrew his support, prompting her resignation.

Berlins Kultursenatorin tritt ab

Berlin's Senator for Culture, Sarah Wedl-Wilson, has resigned after less than a year in office, following a damning report from the Berlin Court of Audit. The report found that the allocation of €2.6 million in funding for 13 projects aimed at combating antisemitism was 'evidently unlawful,' citing a lack of proper criteria, arbitrary project selection, and violations of budget regulations. Wedl-Wilson stated she stepped down to prevent damage to the fight against antisemitism, and Governing Mayor Kai Wegner accepted her resignation, vowing to reform the funding system. The opposition has accused CDU politicians of exerting improper influence to push through the projects.

One of New York City’s oldest houses to open as its neighbourhood’s first museum

The Hendrick I. Lott House, one of New York City’s oldest surviving structures, is set to become the first museum in Brooklyn’s Marine Park neighborhood. Built in 1720 as a Dutch Colonial farmhouse and expanded in 1800, the house remained in the Lott family until 1989. After the city purchased it in 2002 and completed exterior renovations in 2013, plans are now underway to open its interior to the public for the first time, preserving its unique wallpaper and agricultural history.