lindsey halligan trump smithsonian executive order 2626200

President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Smithsonian Institution to be purged of "divisive, race-centered ideology." The order tasks Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum with overseeing the review of the Smithsonian's 21 museums, the National Zoo, and other sites. However, the article focuses on Lindsey Halligan, a former property lawyer from Fort Lauderdale, who is named twice in the order as the only individual specifically charged with co-piloting the initiative alongside Vance. Halligan, a former Trump legal team member involved in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case and a defamation lawsuit against CNN, has a background in property law and little public record on cultural or historical matters.

frieze acquisition finalized mari ari emanuel 1234756029

Ariel Emanuel, through his newly formed company Mari, has finalized the acquisition of Frieze, which includes its magazine, seven art fairs worldwide, and two exhibition spaces. The deal also encompasses tennis events like the Miami Open and Madrid Open, along with a majority stake in the collector car auction house Barrett-Jackson. The acquisition was first announced in May and reportedly valued at $200 million, with financial backing from investors including Apollo, RedBird Capital Partners, and the Qatar Investment Authority. Mari will be led by Emanuel and Mark Shapiro, with Simon Fox remaining as CEO of Frieze.

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A fire broke out late Wednesday in a 19th-century warehouse at 481 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn, destroying dozens of artist studios and damaging the building's roof and fourth floor. Over 250 FDNY members battled the blaze for more than seven hours, with two firefighters sustaining minor injuries. The warehouse housed a large artist cooperative, woodshops, furniture makers, and small businesses, and many artists lost work prepared for the upcoming Red Hook Open Studios event.

gaza artifacts removed school building 1234751722

Archaeological treasures from Gaza's five main archaeological sites were evacuated from the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem's storehouse in Gaza City, following an Israeli order to vacate the building before a threatened military strike. The operation, described by school director Olivier Poquillon as a "high-risk" and "last-minute rescue," involved improvised transport and logistics in a context where almost no international actors remain on the ground. The relics include artifacts from a fourth-century monastery designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

sothebys institute of art under federal hcm2 finances 1234749624

Sotheby's Institute of Art (SIA), a for-profit graduate school in London and New York, has been under the U.S. Department of Education's 'Heightened Cash Monitoring 2' (HCM2) designation since December 2023, a status reserved for institutions with serious financial or compliance concerns. The designation bars the school from receiving federal financial aid in advance, requiring it to front its own funds and seek reimbursement. Public records and financial filings reveal that SIA has fallen below federal 'financial responsibility' baselines, and its UK auditors noted 'material uncertainty' about the school's ability to continue as a going concern, though management asserts it has adequate resources.

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David Chichkan, a Ukrainian artist known for his explicitly political and often censored work, has died at age 39. The Ukrainian culture ministry reported that his heart stopped after he was wounded in battle against Russian troops. Chichkan founded the Libertarian Club of Underground Dialectics in 2014 and staged provocative exhibitions, including one about the 2013–14 Maidan revolution that was vandalized by masked intruders. He enlisted in the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2024 as a mortar operator, after being unable to serve earlier for health reasons, and continued to create art depicting antiauthoritarian soldiers until his death.

trump to withdraw us from unesco for second time 1234747976

President Donald Trump has announced the United States will withdraw from UNESCO for the second time, effective at the end of 2026. The State Department cited the organization's focus on "divisive social and cultural causes" and its alignment with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals as contrary to America First foreign policy, as well as "anti-Israel rhetoric" within UNESCO. This follows a pattern of Trump pulling the US from multilateral bodies, including the UN Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization, and continues a fraught history: the US stopped funding UNESCO under Obama over Palestine's membership, left in 2017 under Trump, and rejoined under Biden in 2023.

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A group of high-profile art market veterans—Ed Dolman, Alex Dolman, Brett Gorvy, Philip Hoffman, and Patti Wong—have launched a new collaborative consultancy called New Perspectives Art Partners (NPAP). Unlike traditional advisory firms, NPAP operates on a flexible, project-based model where partners retain their existing roles and assemble only for high-level, specialized challenges. The consultancy aims to advise collectors, fiduciaries, and family offices on managing, growing, or dispersing significant collections, leveraging the partners' deep experience across auction houses, galleries, institutions, and advisory, with a global footprint spanning Hong Kong to Doha.

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Australian politicians are pushing back against UNESCO's concerns that ancient rock art in Murujuga, Western Australia, is endangered by the proposed expansion of the Karratha Gas Plant, operated by Woodside Energy. The site contains up to 1 million petroglyphs, some dating back 47,000 years, and UNESCO's advisory body ICOMOS has warned that industrial emissions are a major threat. Australia's environmental minister Murray Watt has disputed ICOMOS's findings, calling them factually inaccurate, while Woodside claims the expansion will help transition away from coal and achieve net zero by 2050.

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Adam Chinn, former chief operating officer at Sotheby's, has been quietly building International Art Finance (IAF), a boutique art lending firm backed by the billionaire Nahmad family. In a recent interview with ARTnews, Chinn revealed that IAF has disbursed nearly $400 million in loans and is on track to reach $500 million by the end of 2025. The firm offers short-term, non-recourse loans with an average size of $8 million, claiming an edge in speed and scale, with loans disbursed in as little as 10 days. The Nahmad family, prolific collectors and dealers, provides funding and conducts internal artwork valuations, a practice that has drawn scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest.

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A federal judge has declined to extend a temporary restraining order that would have prevented the Trump administration from dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The ruling, issued on Friday, allows the administration to proceed with mass layoffs and budget cuts that have already placed the agency's entire 75-person staff on leave. The IMLS, which distributes federal grants to museums and libraries nationwide, was targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in April. The case, ALA v. Sonderling, was brought by the American Library Association and AFSCME, and will continue in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

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Jonathan Crockett, deputy chairman of Phillips in Asia, reflects on the auction house's 10-year journey in the region, from a small Hong Kong office to a major presence in the West Kowloon Cultural District. He recounts his career path from Christie's and Sotheby's to founding his own advisory firm, then joining Phillips to launch its Asian operations, overcoming brand confusion and building a robust client network.

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Peru's Culture Ministry has reduced the protected area surrounding the Nazca Lines by nearly half, from approximately 2,162 square miles to 1,235 square miles. The move shrinks the Nazca Archaeological Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and archaeologists warn it could expose the ancient geoglyphs to exploitation by informal miners seeking to legitimize their operations amid a global surge in precious metal prices.

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Writer and theorist Nadia Asparouhova has published a new book titled *Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading*, which introduces the concept of "anti-memes"—cultural phenomena whose influence derives from being hard to find or difficult to understand, rather than from popularity and visibility. The book is released by the Dark Forest Collective, a group of artists and thinkers inspired by Yancey Strickler's metaphor of the internet as a "dark forest," where meaningful exchange retreats to private spaces away from commercial and contentious public platforms. Artnet News critic Ben Davis reviews the book, connecting its ideas to contemporary art that deliberately operates below the radar.

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London-based Gallery Les Bois, founded in late 2024 by Claire-Julia Hill, is establishing itself as a pioneering force in sustainable contemporary art. The gallery features a diverse roster of artists who work with eco-conscious materials and techniques, such as transforming natural resources from impacted waterways into pigments and repurposing textile waste. In an interview, Hill discusses her background studying art history at Cambridge University, her inspiration to integrate sustainability into the art world, and the gallery's mission to champion artists who combine ecological responsibility with aesthetic excellence and conceptual rigor.

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The article reports that at the 100-day mark of Trump's second presidency, his economic policies—particularly tariffs—are disrupting the art world. While artworks remain exempt, antiques and design objects are not, causing concern for dealers, including those preparing for Tefaf New York. Changes to de minimis rules have lowered the customs processing threshold from $2,500 to $800, triggering widespread shipping delays. Additionally, Frieze has been sold to Hollywood powerbroker Ari Emanuel, and auction veteran Alex Rotter has been tapped as Christie's new global president.

Roar materials: the ‘uncanny’ art of dinosaur puppetry – in pictures

The Australian puppetry company Erth is preparing for a new immersive dinosaur show at the Sydney Opera House. The article provides a behind-the-scenes look at their workshop in Marrickville, where a team of artists and designers hand-craft highly realistic, large-scale dinosaur puppets using animatronics, 3D printing, and traditional craftsmanship.

NYC’s American Folk Art Museum Is Closing for Renovations

The American Folk Art Museum (AFAM) on Manhattan's Upper West Side will temporarily close this summer for a major renovation project. The museum will shutter its current exhibition "Somewhere to Roost" on May 2 and close remaining galleries on May 26. The renovation, the largest in 30 years, will revitalize the museum shop, courtyard, office spaces, entry façade, and operations systems, with phased reopenings starting this fall and full completion expected next spring, timed around the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.

Industrial Dreams of the GDR

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The exhibition "Robotron – Arbeiterklasse und Intelligenz" has opened at the Hartware Medienkunstverein (HMKV) in Dortmund, following its initial run in Leipzig. Centered on the history of the GDR’s largest computer manufacturer, the show features 20 artistic positions including photography, film, and sculpture, alongside a significant five-meter oil sketch by Socialist Realist painter Werner Tübke. The presentation bridges East and West German industrial histories by juxtaposing state-commissioned propaganda with progressive, unofficial works by artists like Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt and A.R. Penck.

Once a Year: Shock Trauma!

"Ein Mal im Jahr: Schock-Trauma!"

Artist Nik Nowak is exploring the "Sound Horeg" phenomenon in East Java, Indonesia, where massive DIY loudspeaker systems are mounted on trucks and boats for extreme mobile discos. These parades, characterized by towering walls of speakers and intense bass, represent a global evolution of sound culture influenced by social media rather than traditional folklore. Nowak's research into these unregulated, high-tech spectacles has culminated in a new body of work featuring sculptures and photographs.

parties filmmakers cooperative anniversary john waters

The Film-Makers’ Cooperative celebrated its 65th anniversary with a gala at Judson Memorial Church in New York City on a recent Friday. The event featured performances by Isaiah Barr, a recreation of Yvonne Rainer's Trio A by Brittany Bailey, and a closing set by musician Kinlaw. Notable attendees included photographer Nan Goldin, video artist Joan Jonas, and filmmaker John Waters, who was honored in absentia. The evening included speeches, a shoppable collection of film ephemera, and a crowd of artists, actors, and filmmakers.

Venice Biennale denies it helped ‘circumnavigate’ sanctions against Russia with pavilion

The Venice Biennale is facing allegations that it helped Russia circumvent EU sanctions by allowing the Russian pavilion to operate during preview days, when only arts professionals and press are present. Investigative website Open published emails between Biennale officials and Russian pavilion organizers, including requests for visa assistance for artists and staff. The commissioner, Anastasia Karneeva, is the daughter of a Rostec deputy CEO and runs a consultancy with the daughter of Russia's foreign minister. The Biennale denies any wrongdoing, stating it acted in compliance with international law. Russia has been absent from the Biennale since 2022 but retains a permanent pavilion in the Giardini.

Marcos Kueh in Turbulent Seas

Artist Marcos Kueh presents his solo exhibition 'Smooth Sailing' at ESEA Contemporary in Manchester. The show features new sculptures, tapestries, and a large-scale installation that reflect on the histories of Chinese labour and migration, particularly to northwest England, drawing inspiration from 19th-century trade union banners found in Manchester's People's History Museum.

US Returns 337 Looted Objects to Italy in Repatriation Effort

The United States officially returned 337 looted antiquities to Italy at a ceremony held at La Marmora barracks in Rome. Of these, 221 objects were repatriated through the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, while the remaining 116 were recovered on April 10, 2026, via joint efforts by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the District Attorney’s Office, and Christie’s New York auction house. The objects span from the Villanovan era (900–700 BCE) to the Hellenistic period (323–31 BCE) and include a 1st-century CE marble head of Alexander the Great, a bronze sculpture from Herculaneum, and two Egyptian basalt sculptures.

Artnet and Artsy Announce They’re ‘Joining Forces’ Under Shared Leadership

Artnet and Artsy have announced a strategic merger under a single leadership structure following their acquisition by Beowolff Capital. While both platforms will maintain their distinct brand identities and websites, they will now operate as a combined organization led by Artsy CEO Jeffrey Yin, with Beowolff Capital founder Andrew Wolff serving as chairman. The move aims to integrate Artnet’s industry-leading price database and journalism with Artsy’s expansive e-commerce and discovery marketplace.

Printing the Unprinted: The Reversal of World Discovery

The Indonesian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale presents "Printing the Unprinted: The Reversal of World Discovery," a project that reimagines global history by casting an Indonesian kingdom as the explorer who discovers the West. Seven Indonesian artists—Agus Suwage, Syahrizal Pahlevi, Nurdian Ichsan, R.E. Hartanto, Theresia Agustina Sitompul, Mariam Sofrina, and Rusyan Yasin—participated in a two-month residency at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica in Venice, collaboratively creating works through printmaking and expanded forms. The pavilion includes exhibitions, workshops, and symposiums that challenge dominant narratives and highlight Indonesia's contributions to maritime technology, commerce, arts, and knowledge.

Poly Auction Hong Kong Spring Auctions 2026 concluded on a high note

Poly Auction Hong Kong's Spring 2026 season concluded with a total of HKD 255 million in sales, representing a 23% increase over the previous autumn cycle. The auction was headlined by Liu Wei’s 1995 painting "You Like Pork?", which fetched HKD 27.6 million, followed by a Ming Dynasty 'Grapes' foliate-rim dish that sold for HKD 24.6 million. The event saw participation from collectors across 17 countries, with significant growth in the Modern and Contemporary Art and Jewels and Watches sectors.

What Did the Golden Lion Die Of? On Judgment and Disavowal at the Venice Biennale

The international jury of the 61st Venice Biennale announced it would exclude from prize consideration countries whose leaders are charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, specifically targeting Russia and Israel. This prompted the Italian culture minister to send inspectors to the Biennale's offices, leading the jury to resign. The Biennale then replaced the Golden Lion with "Visitors' Lions" prizes voted by ticket-holders, immediately making Russia and Israel eligible again. The article traces this crisis to the Biennale's historical structure under Mussolini's 1930 Royal Decree, which established the national pavilion system as a diplomatic concession system designed to serve state power, and notes the recent acceptance of a €50 million donation from Qatar for a new permanent pavilion in the Giardini.

Sands China Celebrates Grand Opening at Hong Kong's Art Central

Sands China has officially debuted its Sands Gallery booth at Art Central 2026, Hong Kong's prominent international art fair. The exhibition features contemporary works by three emerging Macao artists—Lei Ieng Wai, Leong Chi Mou, and Dor Lio Hak Man—paired with historical artifacts from the Iec Long Firecracker Factory. This marks the first time a Macao integrated resort operator has participated as an Associate Partner at the fair, signaling a significant push to elevate Macao's local art scene on a global stage.

Adriana Groza Celebrates Grand Opening of Princeton Art Gallery

Award-winning artist Adriana Groza has announced the grand opening of the Adriana Groza Art Gallery & Studio at 38 Spring Street in Princeton, New Jersey, in the former Kopp’s Cycle building. The ribbon-cutting event takes place on Tuesday, November 25, from 5:25 to 7:25 p.m., coinciding with the 21st anniversary of Groza and her husband's arrival in the United States. Groza has been an active member of the Princeton arts community since 2021, maintaining a studio at Princeton Makes, an artist cooperative founded by Jim Levine. The new gallery will showcase her original paintings and serve as a hub for workshops, exhibitions, and community engagement.