legal resistance grows against doge cuts 2639551

Two legal challenges advanced on Thursday against the Trump administration's cuts to U.S. cultural agencies. A coalition of academic groups—the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, and the Modern Language Association—filed a lawsuit to stop the "illegal dismantling" of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which in April announced a 70–80 percent staff reduction and cancellation of over 1,000 grants. Separately, a federal judge issued an emergency order temporarily blocking similar cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, after the Department of Government Efficiency placed its 75-person staff on leave and the American Libraries Association brought suit.

Carnival celebrations at a Hungarian retirement home: János Bődey’s best photograph

Hungarian photojournalist János Bődey captures a poignant moment of joy at a retirement home in Páty, near Budapest, featuring two elderly women dressed as a bride and groom for a carnival celebration. The photograph is part of his series "Carnival at the Retirement Home," which documents the resilience and vitality of Hungarian pensioners who maintain a zest for life despite economic hardships and a strained healthcare system.

food marcel sothebys restaurant roman williams

Marcel, a new restaurant, opened on April 17 in the lower level of Sotheby’s new home at the Marcel Breuer building on the Upper East Side. Designed by Roman and Williams in partnership with the auction house, the space features walnut-paneled walls, an open kitchen, and a pâtisserie. Chef Marie-Aude Rose, who also oversees La Mercerie downtown, created a “continental” menu rooted in French technique but influenced by Breuer’s Hungarian heritage, with dishes like chicken paprikash and lobster bisque with turmeric and ginger. The wine list comes from Sotheby’s own collection, allowing guests to purchase bottles they enjoy during their meal.

parties 2026 bronx museum gala art

Over 500 guests gathered on a Tribeca rooftop for the 2026 Bronx Museum Gala, a fundraising event held in advance of the museum's South Wing renovation, slated to open in 2027. The evening honored artist Awol Erizku, designer Colm Dillane (KidSuper), and patron Lois Plehn, with newly-installed museum director Shamim M. Momin and co-chairs Danielle Falls and Annie B. Taylor wearing custom KidSuper suits. The gala featured a live auction led by Phillips auctioneer Sarah Krueger, including works by Ann Craven and Joyce McDonald, and an afterparty with DJ sets by Erizku and DJ Düe Champ.

art collector questionnaire dallas art fair 2026

Cultured magazine interviewed five Dallas collectors ahead of the 18th edition of the Dallas Art Fair, which runs April 17–19 at the Fashion Industry Gallery. The article features collectors Rachel and Adam Green, who discuss the city's collaborative art scene, their 20-year collection journey, and how local collectors grow alongside artists. Adam Green, who founded the Green Family Art Foundation and Adam Green Art Advisory, and Rachel Green, founder of L'Epoque Parfums, highlight works by Dana Schutz, Nicole Eisenman, Ilana Savdie, and Lynda Benglis, among others.

art collector book recommendations

Cultured magazine asked 10 art collectors to recommend books that changed how they think about art. The responses range from John Berger's "Ways of Seeing" (Matthew Harris) and Sarah Thornton's "Seven Days in the Art World" (Paola Creixell) to Peter Brook's "The Empty Space" (Brandon John Harrington) and Calvin Tomkins's "Off the Wall" (Francis J. Greenburger). Other collectors cite exhibition catalogs, biographies, and personal collection books as transformative reads.

art collector pamela joyner nevada

Pamela Joyner, a prominent art collector and patron, shares a first look inside her Lake Tahoe home in Reno, Nevada, which houses her formidable collection of 20th- and 21st-century abstraction by Black artists. The collection, co-owned with her husband Fred Giuffrida, includes works by Mark Bradford, Jack Whitten, Frank Bowling, and Charles Gaines, and was shaped by Joyner's childhood visits to the Art Institute of Chicago. Joyner, a Harvard Business School graduate and founder of Avid Partners, discusses her collecting philosophy, the strategic approach she applies from her business career, and her advice for new collectors.

parties studio museum gala usher spike lee

On Monday, more than 750 artists, patrons, and friends gathered at the riverside Glasshouse in New York to celebrate the Studio Museum in Harlem's upcoming reopening after seven years of renovations. The event, hosted by director and chief curator Thelma Golden, featured performances by the Hudson Horns, honored five longtime trustees, and awarded the Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize to Kenturah Davis. Notable attendees included Spike Lee, Usher, Colson Whitehead, and numerous artists such as Nina Chanel Abney, Derrick Adams, and Carrie Mae Weems.

dorchester frieze london breakfast cultured magazine

CULTURED magazine hosted its third annual Frieze London breakfast at the Dorchester hotel, co-hosted by Editor-in-Chief Sarah Harrelson, European Contributor Georgina Cohen, and photographer Mary McCartney. The event drew a mix of art-world figures, celebrities, and cultural tastemakers, including actor Richard E. Grant, Tate director Maria Balshaw, musicians Jess Glynne and Sophie Ellis-Bextor, gallerists Lucy Chadwick and Pilar Corrias, and collectors Laura de Gunzburg and George Wells. Guests enjoyed a plant-based breakfast and copies of CULTURED's September issue amid the buzz of Frieze London.

parties high museum alison saar john legend

The High Museum of Art in Atlanta honored artist Alison Saar with the 2025 David C. Driskell Prize, a national award celebrating contributions to African American art. The gala featured a live performance by musician John Legend, a bespoke award designed by David Yurman, and drew Atlanta tastemakers, arts leaders, and cultural figures. Saar joins past recipients including Amy Sherald, Mark Bradford, and Rashid Johnson.

art new york museum visit guide

CULTURED magazine gathered insider tips from its editors, contributors, and frequent museumgoers on how to save time, money, and enhance the experience when visiting New York museums. Hacks include entering the Metropolitan Museum of Art through the education center to avoid crowds, visiting free ground-floor galleries at the Whitney Museum and MoMA, and using MoMA's movie theater for cheap or free films. Other tips recommend Café Fledermaus at the Neue Galerie for a quicker meal, and the Noguchi Museum's membership discount on Akari light sculptures.

david zwirner loewe cultured 2025 young collectors

David Zwirner, Loewe, and Cultured magazine co-hosted a summer party at David Zwirner's Los Angeles gallery to celebrate the release of the magazine's 2025 Young Collectors list. Guests enjoyed mint- and cucumber-infused drinks, browsed the new Art + Food issue, and previewed Marcel Dzama's exhibition "Empress of Night," on view through August 8. The event drew a crowd of art, fashion, and media insiders, including collector Ben Weyerhaeuser, philanthropist Claudia Kahn, interior designer Jamie Bush, and artists Christina Quarles, Julien Nguyen, Hilary Pecis, and Richard Hawkins. Attendees left with tote bags containing copies of the magazine featuring a limited-edition cover by Lisa Yuskavage.

schomburg center new york public library centennial

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, part of the New York Public Library, is celebrating its centennial with the exhibition “100: A Century of Collections, Community, and Creativity,” on view through June 2026. The show features manuscript pages from Maya Angelou, writings by Malcolm X, photography by Gordon Parks, murals by Aaron Douglas, and the original 1925 visitor book signed by Langston Hughes, recreating the experience of visiting the institution at the height of the Harlem Renaissance.

At the Venice Biennale, Ukraine’s Pinchuk Art Centre finds fragile moments of joy amid loss

The Pinchuk Art Centre in Kyiv has transformed its Venice Biennale presentation from a glamorous celebration of young artists into a somber exhibition responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This year's show, titled "Still Joy — From Ukraine into the World" (9 May-1 August) at the Palazzo Contarini-Polignac, features works by international artists like Tacita Dean and Julian Charriere alongside Ukrainian artists, as well as testimonials from soldiers collected by former marine Hlib Stryzhko. The exhibition explores how joy can persist amid trauma, with installations including pink scrolls bearing survivors' quotes, light box photographs of bombed interiors with rescued pot plants, and a sculpture of bells with displaced women's fingerprints.

Venice Biennale’s fierce pussy Group Says City Censored Posters About Queer and Trans People

The lesbian artist collective fierce pussy, comprising Nancy Brooks Brody, Joy Episalla, Zoe Leonard, and Carrie Yamaoka, claims that the city of Venice censored their posters for the Venice Biennale. The posters, which feature phrases like "Welcome queers and trans people" and "we are queers and trans people" alongside a list of occupations, were intended to be pasted across the city. After the city blocked the full-scale posting, the group created stickers and placed them on walls, windows, and advertising spaces. As a concession, La Biennale installed the original posters inside the Arsenale entrance.

Art Basel reveals 33 medalists for second edition of its awards

Art Basel has announced the 33 medalists for the second edition of its annual awards program, honoring a diverse group of artists, curators, collectors, and institutions. The cohort is divided into categories including emerging, established, and icon artists, as well as cross-disciplinary figures and art-world allies. Notable honorees include Julie Mehretu, Barbara Kruger, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, representing a broad cross-section of the global art ecosystem.

This Small Dorothea Tanning Painting Sold for $120,000 per Square Inch—and Set a New Record

Dorothea Tanning's small 1942 Surrealist painting, 'Children's Games,' sold for £3.8 million ($5 million) at Christie's London, nearly quadrupling its low estimate. With fees, the final price reached $6.26 million, setting a new auction record for the artist and achieving a remarkable price of approximately $120,000 per square inch.

dries van noten launch foundation venice 1234776799

Fashion designer Dries Van Noten and his partner Patrick Vangheluwe have announced the launch of Fondazione Dries Van Noten, a new cultural institution in Venice. Housed in the historic 15th-century Palazzo Pisani Moretta on the Grand Canal, the foundation will host residencies, collaborative projects, and exhibitions focused on the intersection of craftsmanship and contemporary art. The inaugural exhibition, "THE ONLY TRUE PROTEST IS BEAUTY," curated by Van Noten and Geert Bruloot, is set to open on April 25 and will feature over 200 objects spanning fashion, sculpture, and collectible design.

bob ross second bonhams auction 2736840

A trio of Bob Ross paintings sold for over $1 million at Bonhams' “Americana” auction on January 27, 2026, with proceeds benefiting American Public Television (APT). The top lot, *Change of Seasons* (1990), fetched $787,900—more than 13 times its high estimate—followed by *Babbling Brook* (1993) at $279,900 and *Valley View* (1990) at $203,700. The sale follows APT's record-breaking November auction and is part of a series of 24 Ross paintings to be offered throughout the year.

public television richer bob ross auction 1234771312

Three paintings by Bob Ross sold for up to thirteen times their high estimates at a Bonhams Skinner auction, raising $1.3 million for American Public Television. The top lot, 'Change of Seasons' (1990), painted live on his TV show, fetched $787,900, setting a new high for Ross at a traditional auction house.

artists circulate letter urging jewish museum save murals guston shahn fogel demolition 1234770975

A group of artists led by Elise Engler, Joyce Kozloff, and Martha Rosler has circulated a letter urging the Jewish Museum in New York to intervene and save New Deal-era murals and sculptural reliefs from the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building in Washington, D.C. The artworks, created by Jewish artists including Ben Shahn, Philip Guston, and Seymour Fogel, are threatened with demolition after the U.S. government listed the building for accelerated disposal in November 2025 and began soliciting demolition bids in December. The letter, addressed to Jewish Museum board chair Shari Aronson, has been signed by hundreds of artists and art-world figures, including Joan Semmel, Rochelle Feinstein, Joan Snyder, Lucy Lippard, and Kay WalkingStick.

nairy baghramian katarzyna kobro isamu noguchi wiels brussels 1234762854

Nairy Baghramian's exhibition "nameless" at Wiels in Brussels engages in a sculptural dialogue with the Polish avant-garde artist Katarzyna Kobro, whose work was largely destroyed during and after World War II. Baghramian riffs on Kobro's forms with unpainted steel variations that double as plinths for her own works, while also referencing other displaced sculptors such as Isamu Noguchi, Louise Bourgeois, and Jean Arp. The show deliberately leaves works untitled and undated, inviting viewers to discover art-historical references while enjoying the material playfulness of the sculptures.

john oliver bob ross auction public media 2715288

A 1987 Bob Ross painting, *Cabin at Sunset*, sold for $1.04 million in a benefit auction hosted by late-night comedian John Oliver, setting a new auction record for the artist. The work was painted during the second episode of the 10th season of Ross's television series *The Joy of Painting*. The online sale, which concluded November 24, included 65 eclectic lots—from presidential wax figures to a signed bucket of dolls—and raised funds for the Public Media Bridge Fund, which supports independent broadcasters amid federal cuts to public broadcasting.

kochi muziris biennial artist list 1234756480

The Kochi-Muziris Biennial, South Asia's largest contemporary art biennial, has announced the 66 artists from over 20 countries participating in its 2025 edition, titled “For The Time Being.” Running from December 12 to March 31 across venues including Aspinwall House and Pepper House in Kochi, India, the event features around 50 new commissions and a theme centered on the body, memory, and temporality. The announcement comes after the 2023 edition was marred by controversy, with more than half of its 90 artists signing a public letter alleging communication breakdowns, unpaid fees, and production issues, as well as the Kerala government reportedly pulling out of a deal to acquire the main venue.

suzanne duchamp retrospective zurich kunsthall schirn frankfurt 1234753306

A new retrospective at Kunsthaus Zurich, soon traveling to Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, spotlights Suzanne Duchamp (1889–1963), a French artist often overshadowed by her brothers Marcel Duchamp, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, and Jacques Villon. The exhibition, titled “Suzanne Duchamp: Retrospective,” showcases her highly individual painterly practice rooted in Cubism and Dada, featuring works like *Radiation of Two Solitary Separates Apart* (1916–20) and *Marcel’s Unhappy Readymade* (1920), which reappropriates her brother’s readymade concept. The show includes a new catalog commission by painter Amy Sillman, who created digital drawings inspired by Duchamp’s formal dynamics.

kamala culture failure 2566890

Ben Davis, an art critic, analyzes the failure of Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign through the lens of its visual culture, particularly a MoveOn.org poster in Brooklyn that renders Harris's face entirely from emojis—smiley eyes, fist-bump skin, octopus lips, and coconut necklace. He argues this poster epitomizes the campaign's reliance on incoherent internet vibes and substance-free memes, contrasting it with Shepard Fairey's uninspired "FORWARD" poster and the self-parody of "Brat Summer" aesthetics. Davis blames Democratic Party consultants for wasting over $1 billion on a campaign that failed to connect with voters on economic anger, instead offering wonkish proposals and appeals to nonexistent Liz Cheney Republicans.

Playing it safe: this year’s Turner prize nominees lack the anger – and joy – of previous years

The 2026 Turner Prize nominees have been announced, featuring artists Marguerite Humeau, Tanoa Sasraku, Kira Freije, and Simeon Barclay. The shortlist is notably lacking in painting, video art, and overtly political work, instead offering sci-fi utopianism, jazz performance poetry, ephemeral sculpture, and anti-corporate satire. Critics describe the selection as timid and safe compared to previous years, missing the anger, radicalism, and transformative joy of past editions.

Art for art’s sake, but for people’s health too | Letter

Art Fund director Jenny Waldman responds to a philosophical article about art's intrinsic value, arguing that while art should be enjoyed for its own sake, promoting its measurable health benefits can serve as a crucial entry point for new audiences. She cites the organization's National Art Pass adverts and recent research with King's College London, which demonstrated immediate physiological responses to viewing original art, as tools to invite people who might otherwise feel excluded from cultural institutions.

Experience the Joy of “From MacArthur Park, with Love” at Charles White Elementary School

Charles White Elementary School in Los Angeles, in collaboration with LACMA, is presenting the exhibition "From MacArthur Park, with Love" opening May 21, 2025. The show features artworks by over 100 students from the school's Visual Arts Magnet program, celebrating the MacArthur Park neighborhood through diverse media including collaborative diptychs, observational drawings, and paintings of local landmarks and bird species. The exhibition runs Saturdays from May 23 to August 1, with free drop-in art workshops.

81 artists withdraw from Venice Biennale competition