south africa venice biennale gabrielle goliath banned work exhibition

South Africa’s official pavilion at the Venice Biennale will remain empty this year following the government's abrupt cancellation of artist Gabrielle Goliath’s planned exhibition. The controversy erupted when Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie pulled the project just days before the deadline, labeling Goliath’s work "highly divisive" due to its inclusion of a tribute to Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada. Despite the official ban and a failed court challenge by the artist and curator, the work, titled *Elegy*, will now be staged independently at the Chiesa di Sant’Antonin nearby.

The Bennett Prize Just Raised Its Award to $75,000. These Artists Think You Should Apply.

The Bennett Prize, a biennial award dedicated to women figurative realist painters, has increased its grand prize from $50,000 to $75,000 for its fifth cycle. Founded by collectors Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, the prize aims to bridge the gender gap in the art world by providing substantial financial support and institutional recognition. The current call for entries is open to artists who have not yet reached a specific commercial price ceiling, culminating in a 2027 exhibition at the Muskegon Museum of Art.

Mysterious Lake District barn joins national treasures on heritage list

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has granted Grade II* listed status to "Henry’s Castle," a mysterious limestone structure in the Lake District previously used as a livestock shelter. Following a four-year restoration project involving archaeologists and conservation engineers, experts identified high-status architectural features including a 14th-century oak roof truss, a corbelled chimneystack, and a garderobe. These elements suggest the building was originally a significant residence, such as a hunting lodge or a lookout dwelling, rather than a simple barn.

A festival of young European photography

The 16th edition of the Circulation(s) festival has launched at the Centquatre-Paris, showcasing the work of 26 emerging European photographers. Running from March 21 to May 17, 2026, the exhibition highlights contemporary projects that reflect the current intuitions, social commitments, and creative challenges facing the next generation of lens-based artists.

The Long Legal Saga Between Artist Ryder Ripps and the Bored Ape Yacht Club Is Finally Over

Yuga Labs, the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), has reached a confidential settlement with artist Ryder Ripps and his partner Jeremy Cahen, ending a multi-year legal battle over trademark infringement and appropriation art. The dispute began in 2022 when Ripps launched his RR/BAYC NFT collection, which used identical imagery to the original Bored Apes to protest alleged racist and alt-right symbolism within the project. As part of the agreement, Ripps and Cahen are now under a permanent injunction preventing them from using any Yuga Labs trademarks or images.

Charles Bronson Art Auction

charles bronson art auction

A collection of 500 artworks by Charles Bronson, one of the United Kingdom’s most notorious prisoners, is scheduled for auction at David Duggleby Auctioneers on March 11. The works, created using crayon, ink, and pencil on prison documents, will be sold as a single lot. The collection explores themes of isolation and endurance, reflecting Bronson’s decades of incarceration and solitary confinement.

michelangelo sculpture reattributed rome

A marble bust of Jesus Christ located in Rome’s Basilica of Sant’Agnese fuori le mura has been reattributed to Michelangelo. Independent researcher Valentina Salerno, a member of the Vatican committee for Michelangelo’s 500th anniversary, used archival records and inventories to trace the sculpture back to the Renaissance master, reversing a 19th-century dismissal of its origins. Simultaneously, a private owner in Belgium is claiming a recently acquired Pietà painting is also a work by Michelangelo, supported by carbon dating and stylistic analysis from art historian Michel Draguet.

south africa officially cancels venice biennale pavilion

South Africa has officially withdrawn from the 2024 Venice Biennale following a legal battle over the cancellation of its national pavilion. The controversy began when Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie pulled the plug on artist Gabrielle Goliath’s planned exhibition, which referenced the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza. Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo challenged the decision in court, alleging censorship and a violation of freedom of expression, but a South African judge recently dismissed their case without providing a specific reasoning.

south african court rejects gabrielle goliaths bid to reinstate venice biennale pavilion

A South African high court has dismissed artist Gabrielle Goliath’s urgent application to reinstate her selection for the 61st Venice Biennale. Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie canceled Goliath’s pavilion, titled "Elegy," labeling the work "highly divisive" just days before the official submission deadline. The artist and curator Ingrid Masondo argued the cancellation was an act of censorship and a violation of constitutional freedom of expression, but the court rejected the bid without providing immediate reasons.

Caravaggio, Class, Clothes, and Street Style by Elizabeth Currie

caravaggio class clothes street style elizabeth currie

An excerpt from Elizabeth Currie's upcoming book "Street Style: Art and Dress in the Time of Caravaggio" analyzes the significance of clothing in Caravaggio's painting *The Cardsharps*. The author dissects the garments of the three figures—a finely dressed youth, a possibly liveried servant, and a disheveled card sharp—to reveal how their attire provides clues to their social status, professions, and the complex, often deceptive relationships between them.

victoria helena artist money matters financial literacy artists

Victoria Helena, an artist and former CFO, is launching Artist Money Matters, a financial consultancy designed specifically for artists. The service aims to provide independent, informed support to artists navigating a volatile and opaque art economy, addressing common issues like contract clarity, payment terms, and intellectual property.

hitler paintings art market industry hbo

This week's episode of HBO's *Industry* features a watercolor of Neuschwanstein Castle signed "A. Hitler," reflecting the real-world market for Adolf Hitler's amateur paintings. The show uses the artwork as a symbol of inherited wealth and moral ambiguity, mirroring actual auction sales—such as a 2015 Nuremberg sale where a group of Hitler watercolors fetched roughly €400,000, with one version of Neuschwanstein selling for €100,000 to an anonymous Chinese buyer. These works continue to circulate legally in Germany as long as they omit Nazi symbols.

south africa venice biennale court

South Africa's culture minister Gayton McKenzie canceled artist Gabrielle Goliath's selected presentation for the country's national pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, prompting Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo to file a constitutional court challenge on January 22. The artist's work, *Elegy*, commemorates victims of injustice including women, queer people, and victims of the Herero and Nama genocide, and was to address deaths of Gazan women and children since October 2023. McKenzie described the work as "highly divisive" and canceled the exhibition on January 2, despite an independent committee's binding selection. The minister now plans to replace it with a project by the collective Beyond the Frames titled "Shameless Rebellions: a South African Chorus."

gabrielle goliath legal action south africa venice pavilion

Artist Gabrielle Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo are filing a court case against South African culture minister Gayton McKenzie after he canceled their planned pavilion for the Venice Biennale. McKenzie objected to a performance from Goliath's "Elegy" series that would address Israel’s war in Gaza, calling it "polarizing," a move Goliath described as censorship. McKenzie later attributed the cancellation to alleged interference by an unnamed foreign nation, with reports suggesting Qatar was involved, though the Qatar Museums ultimately did not purchase the work. The application, to be filed in the South African high court in Pretoria, seeks to have McKenzie's actions declared unconstitutional.

qatar museums gabrielle goliath venice biennale pavilion

Gabrielle Goliath's planned South African pavilion at the Venice Biennale was abruptly canceled by South African culture minister Gayton McKenzie. McKenzie claimed the cancellation was not due to the pavilion's focus on Israel's war in Gaza, but because a foreign nation attempted to purchase the work after the show. The Daily Maverick reported that the foreign entity was actually Qatar Museums, which had expressed interest in acquiring a video recording of Goliath's performance piece 'Elegy,' which addressed violence against women and queer people in South Africa and a genocide in Namibia. McKenzie's statement contradicted earlier reports that he had privately called the pavilion 'polarizing.'

south africa pavilion venice biennale cancelation qatar

South Africa has canceled its pavilion at the Venice Biennale, which was to feature a performance by artist Gabrielle Goliath addressing the killings of women and queer people in South Africa, a German-led genocide in Namibia, and Israel’s war in Gaza. The performance would have included readings of poetry by Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2023. South African Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie blamed an unidentified foreign nation for seeking to use the pavilion for "proxy power," and Israeli publication Ynetnews reported that nation is Qatar. McKenzie denied censorship, claiming a rift with the nonprofit Art Periodic South Africa over a foreign nation's offer to purchase artworks after the Biennale.

south african culture mp denies censoring venice pavilion

The South African Ministry of Sport, Arts, and Culture has denied censoring its 2026 Venice Biennale pavilion after canceling a proposed artwork by artist Gabrielle Goliath on December 2. The work, part of Goliath's "Elegy" series curated by Ingrid Masondo, addressed sexual assault, femicide, the killings of women and queer people in South Africa, colonial-era genocide in Namibia, and included a tribute to Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada. Culture minister Gayton McKenzie initially called the piece "highly divisive" and linked to a polarizing international conflict, but a January 10 statement reframed the cancellation as a safeguard against foreign interference, alleging a foreign country attempted to fund or purchase the work to use the pavilion as a proxy for a geopolitical message about Israel's actions in Gaza.

israel pavilion venice biennale belu simion fainaru protest

Israel will officially participate in the 2026 Venice Biennale, two years after its pavilion closed amid protests. The pavilion will be located in the Arsenale rather than its usual Giardini site, which is under construction. Representing Israel is sculptor Belu-Simion Fainaru, a Haifa-based artist and Israel Prize winner, who previously represented Romania at the 2019 Biennale. His pavilion, titled "Rose of Nothingness," will feature an installation about water inspired by poet Paul Celan's concept of black milk, with 16 pipes dripping black water into a pool. The pavilion is curated by Sorin Heller and Avital Bar-Shay. However, the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) has renewed its protest, calling the pavilion the "Genocide Pavilion" on Instagram and demanding Israel's exclusion from the Biennale.

lewis carroll rare alice in wonderland oxford

Lewis Carroll's personal copy of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' from the original 1865 run has been acquired by Oxford's Christ Church college and the Bodleian Libraries. The rare volume, donated by American philanthropist and bibliophile Ellen Michelson, contains the author's handwritten notes, sketched plans for a future nursery edition, and 10 original pencil sketches by John Tenniel used for the wood engravings. The book had never before been exhibited in the United Kingdom.

trump mamdani roosevelt salisbury portrait

New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani visited President Donald Trump at the White House on November 21, where the two former online adversaries found common ground on issues like crime, rent, and affordable housing. They posed together in front of Frank O. Salisbury's portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which Trump claimed to have rediscovered in White House vaults, though it was previously hung by President Joe Biden. The article traces the history of Salisbury's 1935 painting and its copies, including the official White House version commissioned by Harry S. Truman in 1947.

konstantin chaykin mad horological party universe

Russian watchmaker and artist Konstantin Chaykin debuts his new painting, 'A Mad Horological Party,' at Dubai Watch Week 2025 from November 19–23, before it heads to auction via Ineichen Auctioneers on December 13. The artwork draws inspiration from Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' and parallels Chaykin's ambitious 'White Rabbit' wristwatch, which features 16 complications. Chaykin, a master of haute horlogerie and member of the Academy of Independent Creators in Watchmaking (AHCI), blends his technical watchmaking expertise with painting, using a proprietary method rooted in geometry, precise calculations, and hidden symmetries.

reindeer hunting facility found in melted ice norway

Melting ice in Norway has revealed a 1,500-year-old reindeer hunting facility, preserved beneath centuries of snow and ice. Archaeologists from the University Museum of Bergen and Vestland County uncovered wooden mass-capture fences, marked antlers, iron spearheads, arrow shafts, wooden spears, a crafted antler brooch, and a mysterious decorated pine oar at the site on the mountain plateau of Aurlandsfjellet. The trap, composed of hundreds of tree branches stacked into two fences, was likely used around the middle of the 6th century at the start of a cold period, when year-round snow and ice made it unusable yet ideal for preservation.

australian government rejects proposal text data mining ai companies

On Monday, Australian Attorney General Michelle Rowland confirmed the federal government's rejection of a proposal that would have allowed tech companies to use text and data mining to train artificial intelligence models. The proposal, initially presented to the Productivity Commission in August, had been advocated by tech firms including Atlassian cofounder Scott Farquhar, who argued for copyright changes similar to those in the US and Europe. The decision follows backlash from Australian creatives, including rapper Adam Briggs, author Anna Funder, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and the Australian Recording Industry Association.

guillermo del toro collection sells heritage

Oscar-winning film director Guillermo del Toro sold the first part of his macabre collection, known as "Bleak House," through Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas, for a total of $1.65 million. The trove included art, props, and rare objects tied to his fascination with the macabre, with highlights such as H. R. Giger's painting for the unrealized project *The Tourist* fetching $325,000 (an auction record for the artist), Mike Mignola's original illustration for *Hellboy: Seed of Destruction* selling for over $50,000, and Bernie Wrightson's cover for Meat Loaf's *Dead Ringer* album reaching $167,000. Props from del Toro's films, including a clay model of the Amphibian Man from *The Shape of Water* and drivesuits from *Pacific Rim*, also sold for significant sums.

danielle seewalker palestine painting lawsuit settlement

Danielle SeeWalker, a Húŋkpapȟa Lakȟóta artist and citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, settled a lawsuit with Vail, Colorado, after the town canceled her artist residency in 2023. The cancellation followed her posting of a pro-Palestine painting titled "G for Genocide" on Instagram, which linked Palestinian and Indigenous liberation movements. The American Civil Liberties Union sued Vail on her behalf, alleging First Amendment violations. Under the settlement, SeeWalker may hold a powwow in Vail for five years, and the town will host a non-public community forum on Israel and Palestine involving Jewish, Palestinian, Muslim, and other community leaders.

anonymous was a woman the new york foundation for the arts environmental art grants 2025

Anonymous Was A Woman (AWAW) and the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) have awarded $521,125 in grants to 29 environmental art projects led by women-identifying artists from the United States and its territories. The grants, up to $20,000 each, require a public engagement component to be completed by August 2026. Recipients include artists such as Heidi K. Brandow, Charlotte Brathwaite, Cara Romero, and collectives like BEAM and DeepTime Collective, working across locations from California to Senegal and South Korea.

sothebys fee structure trump tariffs

A New Yorker profile of Sotheby's and its billionaire owner Patrick Drahi reveals the chaotic aftermath of the auction house's failed 2024 fee restructuring. The plan, announced in February 2024 and enacted that May, standardized seller's commissions and buyer's premiums but backfired, driving away business and causing profits to plummet. By December, Sotheby's reversed course. The article quotes former and current employees who compare Drahi's management style to Donald Trump's tariff disputes, and recounts a tense June 2024 meeting where contemporary art chairman Grégoire Billault told Drahi he was losing business, only to be told by Drahi that everyone is replaceable.

maria lai magazzino

Maria Lai (1919–2013), a Sardinian artist who blended abstraction, Arte Povera, and craft, is receiving her first North American museum retrospective at Magazzino Italian Art in Cold Spring, N.Y. The exhibition, curated by Paola Mura, features nearly 100 works drawn from the personal collection of founders Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu, the artist's foundation, and Italian museums. It includes a permanent installation of Lai's 1992 cement sculpture *Colombe di Cemento* on the museum grounds.

painter morgan weistling dhs stole work social media homelands heritage

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted an image of Morgan Weistling's oil painting "New Life in A New Land" on its X account with the caption "Remember Your Homeland’s Heritage," without obtaining the artist's permission. Weistling publicly stated that the use was a violation of his copyright, expressing surprise and seeking next steps. The painting depicts a pioneer family in a covered wagon, and DHS had also recently used a Thomas Kinkade work without apparent authorization.

artists no kings protests against trump

On Saturday, demonstrators across the United States took part in No Kings rallies protesting President Donald Trump, with artists playing a key role in creating protest visuals. In New York City, activists including Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo carried a yellow banner by graphic designer Ange Tran reading “People Over Billionaires,” while Brooklyn artist Julie Peppito led an art build with Indivisible Brooklyn, producing around 100 signs featuring slogans like “people power” and a red sun design. The protests, organized by the 50501 movement alongside Indivisible and MoveOn, drew an estimated 5 to 13 million participants nationwide, making it the largest action since Trump took office in January.