Gilles Bloch: "The Museum needs 1.1 billion euros"

Gilles Bloch : « Le Muséum a besoin de 1,1 milliard d’euros »

Gilles Bloch, president of the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle in Paris, has issued an urgent call for €1.1 billion in funding to address the critical state of the institution's infrastructure. Ahead of its 400th anniversary in 2026, a diagnostic report reveals that 74% of the museum's 120 buildings are in poor condition, with several galleries currently closed to the public or suffering from inadequate climate control. The requested funds would cover €500 million in emergency repairs to stabilize decaying structures and a further €600 million for long-term modernization and energy efficiency upgrades.

Venice Biennale Artists Decline Consideration for Golden Lions Chosen by Public Vote

Nearly half of the artists in the main exhibition of the Venice Biennale have signed a statement declining consideration for the Golden Lion awards, in solidarity with the jury that resigned last month. The statement, published by e-flux, includes prominent names such as Alfredo Jaar, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Otobong Nkanga, and Walid Raad, as well as national pavilion representatives from France, Lithuania, and the Netherlands. The Biennale had planned to replace the jury-selected Golden Lions with "Visitor Lions" decided by public vote, but the artists' refusal marks an unprecedented protest within the exhibition.

Drained, Drowning, and Decay: The Best National Pavilions at the Venice Biennale

The 2026 Venice Biennale is defined by themes of ruin and decay, with standout national pavilions exploring bodily, infrastructural, and archaeological collapse. The Slovenian Pavilion features the Nonument Group repurposing materials from past Biennales into a ruin of a mosque for Bosnian Muslim soldiers from World War I. Syria presents its first national pavilion since the Civil War, with Sara Shamma invoking Palmyra, destroyed by ISIS. Germany's pavilion, titled "Ruin," features works by Henrike Naumann (who died in February) and Sung Tieu, questioning the pavilion's fascist architecture and nationalist residue. The Austrian Pavilion, curated by Florentina Holzinger, offers a visceral performance titled "Sea World." The Biennale is also marked by the abrupt resignation of its five-member jury, who refused to consider nations charged with crimes against humanity, leading to awards being chosen by public vote. Additionally, the main exhibition "In Minor Keys" was affected by the death of its curator, Koyo Kouoh.

An Unprecedented 24-Hour Strike Could Upend the Venice Biennale

An unprecedented 24-hour strike is set to interrupt the Venice Biennale's opening week on Friday, May 8, in protest of Israel's participation in the global art event. The action, organized by the activist group Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA), follows a letter signed by over 230 Biennale participants demanding Israel's exclusion. The strike has exposed divisions among participants, with some artists and pavilion teams weighing solidarity against the rare opportunity to platform their own political messages. The Slovenian pavilion, represented by Nika Grabar of the Nonument Group, has committed to the strike, while others like Ecuador's Tawna Collective remain undecided, balancing protest with their mission to highlight ecological crises in the Amazon.

First Impressions of a Venice Biennale Torn Apart by the Present

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys," opens amid turmoil: its curator Koyo Kouoh died of cancer during planning, and the festival jury resigned after a controversial statement about excluding Israel and Russia from prizes, replaced by a Eurovision-style people's choice award. The main exhibition, completed by a team of five collaborators using Kouoh's plans, features over 110 artists and collectives, with highlights including works by Big Chief Demond Melanchon, Tammy Nguyen, Guadalupe Maravilla, Ayrson Heráclito, and a section focused on Michael Armitage's Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute.

‘We are complicit’: Austrian artist Florentina Holzinger’s immersive Venice Biennale pavilion brings apocalypse to the city

Austrian artist Florentina Holzinger has created 'Seaworld Venice,' an immersive and confrontational installation for the Austrian Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale. The work explores climate change, technology, and a dystopian flooded future, drawing comparisons to the 1995 film 'Waterworld'—though neither Holzinger nor curator Nora-Swantje Almes had seen it. Known for extreme performance art involving nudity, blood, live piercing, and heavy machinery, Holzinger's previous works have caused audience members to faint or require medical treatment. The pavilion marks a significant platform for her radical, hybrid practice that blends theatre, dance, opera, and performance art.

After His Untimely Death, Rutherford Chang’s Survey Rewrites What a Square Can Do

Rutherford Chang, who died last year at age 45, is the subject of a posthumous survey at UCCA Center for Contemporary Art Beijing titled "Hundreds and Thousands." The exhibition centers on Chang's socially engaged works that explore value, circulation, and systems through the deceptively simple form of the square. His best-known piece, "We Buy White Albums" (2013–25), involved amassing roughly one percent of the first pressing of the Beatles' "White Album," highlighting how objects accrue personal and economic worth through use and history. Other works include melting 10,000 copper pennies into a cube and assembling Wall Street Journal portraits from 2008 into a grid that captures a year of crisis and change.

Prominent German Art Foundation Accuses Top Culture Official of ‘Attempted Intimidation’

Jurors from the Kunstfonds Foundation, a major German contemporary art funding body, have accused Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer of attempted intimidation and political interference. The conflict erupted after Weimer requested the names of the independent jury members, a move the foundation views as a threat to artistic freedom. This follows a separate controversy where Weimer reportedly consulted domestic intelligence to exclude bookstores with left-wing leanings from a national award.

Olafur Eliasson stages public wake for the Great Salt Lake in Utah

Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson presented 'A symphony of disappearing sounds for the Great Salt Lake,' a large-scale multimedia installation in Salt Lake City’s Memory Grove Park. The work featured a three-story luminous sphere projecting visuals of wind currents and geothermal light, accompanied by a soundscape of migratory birds, brine flies, and frogs. Commissioned by the Salt Lake City Arts Council and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the ten-day public event served as a creative wake for the rapidly receding lake.

Unlike Josh Kline, I Choose New York

Artist Josh Kline’s recent essay on the devastating impact of New York City’s real estate market on the arts has sparked a heated debate regarding the city's future as a creative hub. While Kline argues that the 'polycrisis' of high rents and student debt is stifling artists born after 1975, this response critiques his generational focus, suggesting that the struggle for affordability is a structural issue affecting artists of all ages, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds who have faced these barriers for decades.

Bicoastal Art World Satire ‘Kill Dick’ Imagines Sackler Revenge

Luke Goebel's new novel 'Kill Dick' is a satirical, chaotic takedown of the contemporary art world and its entanglement with the Sackler family, fictionalized here as the Sicklers. The book follows protagonist Susie, the daughter of the Sickler family lawyer, as she navigates addiction, familial disgust, and a numbed existence against the backdrop of 2016 America. Its prose is deliberately abrasive and shocking, mirroring the emotional state of its narrator.

Love & Fury: how poster artists responded to the Aids crisis – in pictures

A new exhibition titled 'Love & Fury: New York’s Fight Against AIDS' showcases posters created by grassroots groups and artists in response to the AIDS crisis from the late 1970s to the 2000s. The show features works from collectives like the Silence=Death Project and Gay Men’s Health Crisis, as well as artists including Keith Haring and Howard Cruse, highlighting how graphic design was used to promote safe sex, demand government action, and build community resilience.

warhol foundation grant program expansion small nonprofits

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts is launching a new grant program to support U.S.-based visual arts nonprofits with budgets under $200,000, offering awards between $20,000 and $30,000. The program will begin accepting applications for its Spring 2026 grant cycle, with a deadline of March 1. This marks a significant expansion of the foundation's previous focus, which had been on organizations with budgets of $300,000 or more.

california college of the arts closure

California College of the Arts (CCA), the Bay Area's last private art and design school, will close after the 2026–27 academic year, ending 116 years of operation. Vanderbilt University will acquire CCA's San Francisco campus and open a West Coast outpost in 2027, continuing some art and design programs. The closure follows years of financial struggles, including a $20 million deficit, declining enrollment from 1,800 to 1,295 students, and emergency fundraising that raised nearly $45 million—including a $22.5 million matching gift from the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Foundation and a $20 million state grant—but proved insufficient to ensure long-term independence.

san francisco art institute closed

The San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), a historic art school founded in 1871, permanently closed on July 15 after the University of San Francisco (USF) withdrew from a proposed acquisition deal. USF cited financial risks, low enrollment projections, and deferred maintenance as reasons for backing out. SFAI will continue as a small nonprofit to protect its archives and legacy, but the fate of its prized Diego Rivera fresco, valued at up to $50 million, remains uncertain.

christmas identical new banksy murals london housing crisis

Banksy has unveiled two identical murals in London, one near Tottenham Court Road Tube station and another in Queen's Mews, Bayswater. The artwork depicts two children lying on their backs, one pointing skyward, and was confirmed via the artist's Instagram. The piece appears during the Christmas season, but its placement near the landmark Centre Point skyscraper—a symbol of London's housing crisis—suggests a critique of homelessness and unaffordable housing.

the round up 2025s highs lows and wtfs

In this year-end roundup episode of The Art Angle, co-hosts Kate Brown and Ben Davis, joined by Artnet Pro editor and art critic Andrew Russeth, review the defining trends, themes, and stories of 2025. They cover the art market's slump and subsequent rebound in New York's fall auctions and Art Basel Miami Beach, the political impact of Trump 2.0 on arts funding and museum governance, the question of a 'post-woke' art world, the return of digital art, and the ongoing power of red chip art. The episode also highlights the multi-front crisis facing institutions due to changing public expectations, rising costs, and political shifts, alongside lighter, unusual stories from the art world.

school of art institute of chicagos video data bank

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) laid off three of five staff members of its Video Data Bank (VDB), including director Tom Colley, as part of 20 total layoffs across the institution. The cuts, announced on November 12, eliminated leadership and key distribution and digital management roles, sparking outcry from the new-media art community. VDB, founded in 1976, is a leading archive of video art with over 6,000 works by artists including Nam June Paik, Bruce Nauman, and Pipilotti Rist, distributed worldwide via subscription streaming.

scope art show miami 2025

Scope Art Show Miami has announced its 2025 edition, themed "Be Here Now," which will take place December 2–7. The fair will feature 95 galleries from 18 countries and territories, including over 30 first-time exhibitors, along with large-scale installations, performances, and collaborative activations. Highlights include a reprisal of The Better Together Bar by Chris Allen Darsow and Al Hamm, a monumental installation by Victor Quiñonez (Marka27) titled "Elevar La Cultura" (2025), Shepard Fairey's "Phone Booth" presented by Mortal Machine Gallery, and Dan Witz's hyperrealist painting "Crown Heights" (2025).

pope leo xiv olafur eliasson greenland ice blessing

At the Raising Hope conference in Rome, Pope Leo XIV blessed a 20,000-year-old piece of Greenland glacial ice brought onstage by artist Olafur Eliasson. The ice, transported from Nuup Kangerlua fjord with geologist Minik Rosing, had already broken away from the Greenland ice sheet and was melting. Eliasson documented the event on Instagram, calling it a striking moment that underscored the connection between nature and humanity.

sao paulo bienal 36 2025 bonaventure sharon hayes

The 36th São Paulo Bienal, curated by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung and his team, explores the theme of humanity through six chapters, from the primordial to the transcendent. The exhibition features works by artists such as Precious Okoyomon, Frank Bowling, Aline Baiana, Gervane de Paula, Frankétienne, and Sharon Hayes, with a focus on textiles, sound, and jewel-toned aesthetics. The curators draw inspiration from avian migration and estuaries, structuring the show like tributaries connecting "the river to the sea," a phrase echoing Palestinian sovereignty without explicit mention. Highlights include Okoyomon's installation of dirt and plants, a career-spanning Frank Bowling survey, and Gervane de Paula's playful wood carvings that reveal subtle, provocative details upon close inspection.

mahmoud khalil nan goldin market tanked palestine activism

Artist Nan Goldin and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil discussed Khalil's 104-day ICE detention, the 'Palestine Exception' to free speech, and the backlash faced by pro-Palestinian activists in a conversation published in Dazed magazine. Khalil was arrested in March 2024 after serving as a negotiator during Columbia University protests, with the Trump administration alleging he undermined foreign policy and later claiming he failed to disclose information on his green card application. Goldin compared her own experience leading the activist group PAIN, which successfully pressured museums to cut ties with the Sackler family over the opioid crisis, noting that pro-Palestinian activism has faced far greater criminal and professional repercussions.

alan sonfist seeds of time

American artist Alan Sonfist, a pioneer of the Land Art movement known for his 1978 work "Time Landscape" in New York City, has opened a solo exhibition titled "Seeds of Time" at Parco Arte Vivente (PAV) in Turin, Italy. Curated by Marco Scotini, the show features a new installation, "Growth Between the Cracks" (2025), for which Sonfist collaborated with local residents to collect soil samples from overlooked urban spaces across Turin. The exhibition revisits Sonfist's early ecological works and includes a conversation between the artist and curator about the evolution of environmental art.

eddington ari aster poster david wojnarowicz

Ari Aster's upcoming film *Eddington*, premiering at Cannes, uses David Wojnarowicz's 1988–89 artwork *Untitled (Buffalos)* as its poster image. The film, set in May 2020, follows a sheriff and mayor clashing over face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wojnarowicz's work, originally a critique of U.S. government indifference during the AIDS crisis, depicts bison falling off a cliff—a metaphor for societal collapse. The poster slightly alters the image, and A24, the production company, has not commented on the design.

nadya tolokonnikova interview police state la moca

Nadya Tolokonnikova, cofounder of Pussy Riot, has created a performance installation titled "Police State" (2025) at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (LA MOCA). The work recreates a Russian jail cell where Tolokonnikova performs daily activities—making music, creating art, and resting—observed by visitors via security camera footage and peepholes. The installation also features artworks by current and former political prisoners from Russia, Belarus, and the United States, curated through Tolokonnikova's Art Action Foundation and the Artistic Freedom Initiative. Originally scheduled for June 5–14, the show was extended due to the museum's closure amid anti-ICE protests and National Guard deployment.

ai weiwei major installation ukraine

Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei will debut a major new installation in Kyiv, Ukraine, this fall at Pavilion 13, a Soviet-era glass exposition hall that recently reopened as a cultural venue after renovation by architectural firm Forma. The work, titled *Three Perfectly Proportioned Spheres and Camouflage Uniforms Painted White* (2025), features metal spheres inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's mathematical illustrations, encased in camouflage fabric thinly painted white, exploring themes of concealment, reality, and war. Commissioned by the nonprofit Ribbon International, the installation will be on view from September 14 to November 30, 2025, alongside a site-responsive intervention by Berlin-based artist Sam Lewitt.

moca los angeles closed anti ice protests

The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (MOCA) has closed its Geffen Contemporary space through the weekend due to nearby anti-ICE protests and increased military activity, including National Guard deployment. The closure affects an Olafur Eliasson exhibition and has postponed a durational performance by Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova, who turned part of the venue into a prison cell-like installation. The protests began after ICE raids in Los Angeles, leading to arrests, a curfew, and vandalism of MOCA's facade.

amalia ulman film magic farm

Amalia Ulman's new film *Magic Farm* follows an American documentary crew that arrives in a rural Argentine town with a mandate to cover "crazy subcultures," only to find none. Led by a harried producer (Alex Wolff) and an anchor (Chloë Sevigny), the crew fabricates a zany trend while completely missing an environmental crisis affecting the village—no drinking water and widespread illness. Ulman describes the film as a critique of media bureaucracy, where content demands override actual news. The film continues her exploration of image-making and fiction, themes she previously investigated in her 2014 Instagram performance *Excellences & Perfections* and her 2021 debut feature *El Planeta*.

kamala culture failure

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.

Prague Redefines Contemporary Art. Prague Art Week 2025 Recap.

Prague Art Week 2025 (PAW25) took place from September 25 to 28 across multiple venues in Prague, including the Mánes Exhibition Hall, galleries in Prague 1 and Prague 7, and the Trade Fair Palace of the National Gallery. The program featured exhibitions such as HAC#2 celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Havrlant Art Collection, group shows like Interlude at C12 gallery and IT at HYB4, solo exhibitions by Lenka Glisnikova and Stanislav Zábrodský, the Jindřich Chalupecký Award exhibition, and the duo show With Feathers and Flesh. Activities included guided tours, artist talks, and open studios, with works by Czech and international artists exploring themes of digital transformation, corporeality, identity, environmental crisis, and spirituality.