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The Making Their Mark Forum recently convened 350 women in the arts—including artists, curators, and over 20 museum directors—at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. Organized by collector Komal Shah alongside Cecilia Alemani and Loring Randolph, the invitation-only conference coincided with a traveling exhibition of Shah’s collection at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The event featured high-profile speakers like Chelsea Clinton and Ava DuVernay, focusing on dismantling structural gender inequities and celebrating the foundational contributions of women to art history.

5 Ways the Art World Can Better Support Women Artists

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Komal Shah, a prominent art collector, announced the renaming of her Shah Garg Foundation to the Making Their Mark Foundation, coinciding with a three-day forum in Washington, D.C., scheduled for March 2025. The foundation takes its name from the traveling exhibition "Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection," curated by Cecilia Alemani, which highlights women artists from Shah and her husband Gaurav Garg's collection. The forum, held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, will feature panels, keynotes, and performances organized around themes like Visionary Voices and Changemakers, with Alemani as curatorial director and Loring Randolph as director.

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The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has opened "Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955–1985," a major survey featuring some 150 images by Black photographers who documented the civil rights and Black liberation movements. Curated by Deborah Willis and Philip Brookman, the exhibition includes works by Doris Derby, John W. Mosley, Ming Smith, and about 100 other artists, capturing both iconic protest imagery and quieter, intimate moments of Black life. The show runs through January 11, 2026.

president trumps budget bill includes 40 m for statues at new national garden of heroes 1234746576

President Trump's proposed spending legislation, known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," includes $40 million for the procurement of statues for the National Garden of American Heroes. The funds, appropriated to the National Endowment for the Humanities for fiscal year 2025 and available through 2028, will support life-size statues of 250 historical figures, with selected artists receiving up to $200,000 per statue. The garden, first announced in a 2020 executive order, is a priority for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and requires realistic depictions in materials like marble or bronze.

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The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced a new grant program to fund statues for President Trump’s National Garden of American Heroes, a sculpture garden first proposed in 2021. The garden will feature life-size statues of 250 notable Americans, with a location still to be determined. Selected artists, who must be U.S. citizens, can receive up to $200,000 per statue, which must be made of traditional materials like marble or bronze and depict figures in a realistic style. The application deadline is July 1, and the project is jointly funded by the NEH and the National Endowment for the Arts with a total of $34 million, drawn from federal grants originally allocated to other cultural programs but later canceled by the administration.

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Photographer Bob Adelman was found dead in his Miami home at age 85, with head injuries likely from a fall. Adelman began his career photographing New York jazz clubs, studied under Harper’s Bazaar art director Alexey Brodovitch, and became a protégé of presidential photographer Jacques Lowe. He earned a master’s degree in philosophy from Columbia and was a member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), using his camera to document the Civil Rights movement—including sit-ins, the Selma-to-Montgomery march, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. He also photographed cultural figures such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Samuel Beckett, and Jim Morrison.

HOSOO to Present “Glorious Robe,” a Collaborative Exhibition with Theaster Gates

Kyoto-based textile house HOSOO has announced a collaborative exhibition with American artist Theaster Gates titled “Glorious Robe,” scheduled to run from April 11 to August 30, 2026. The showcase centers on the “Dashikimono,” a hybrid garment merging the West African dashiki with the Japanese kimono, alongside ceramic vessels and traditional obi sashes. These works incorporate motifs from the American Civil Rights Movement, including tributes to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, woven directly into the fabric using HOSOO’s centuries-old Nishijin techniques.

smithsonians african american history museum removed objects 1234742628

Two lenders to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) reported that their objects were removed from the museum’s galleries earlier than expected, raising concerns about the influence of President Trump’s recent executive order targeting “anti-American content” in Smithsonian museums. Amos C. Brown, a civil rights activist and pastor, lent a 1880 book on Black history and his father’s Bible, which Martin Luther King Jr. carried during protests; the museum cited the loan’s May expiration as the reason for removal. Liz Brazelton, who lent the diary of her great-great-grandfather—a lawyer who worked on behalf of Solomon Northup—said the diary was returned in March, six months before a 10-year loan agreement was set to end in September, with the museum citing an “internal gallery rotation schedule.” At least 32 objects have reportedly been removed, though the museum denied planned removals.

The National Gallery of Art Holds an Artistic Mirror Up to the United States for Its Big 250th Birthday

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has launched "Dear America," a major exhibition commemorating the United States' 250th anniversary. Featuring over 100 prints, drawings, and photographs from the museum’s permanent collection, the show spans from the late 18th century to the present day. The exhibition is organized into three thematic sections—"Land," "Community," and "Freedom"—showcasing works by iconic artists such as Andy Warhol, Ansel Adams, and Richard Avedon alongside contemporary voices like Tom Jones of the Ho-Chunk Nation.

A $15 million Compton arts center is in the works thanks to this formerly incarcerated painter

Fulton Leroy Washington, the self-taught painter known as Mr. Wash, has unveiled plans for a $15-million community arts hub in Compton, California. Designed by the renowned firm Morphosis Architects, the proposed Art by Wash Studio & Community Center will provide housing, studio space, and a small-business incubator specifically for formerly incarcerated artists. The project was launched alongside Washington’s latest exhibition, “The City of Compton: Then & Now,” which serves as a fundraiser for the construction.

The Met to Reopen Its Arts of Africa Galleries on May 31, Following a Multiyear Renovation

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will reopen its Arts of Africa galleries on May 31, 2025, after a multiyear renovation that began in summer 2021. The redesigned Michael C. Rockefeller Wing features some 500 works spanning from the medieval period to the present, including a 12th-century fired clay figure from Mali and Abdoulaye Konaté's 'Bleu no. 1' (2014). A quarter of the works are recent acquisitions or gifts, displayed for the first time. The project was led by Kulapat Yantrasast of WHY Architecture with Beyer, Blinder, Belle Architects LLP and the Met's Design Department, and involved a network of international scholars and digital partnerships with the World Monuments Fund and filmmaker Sosena Solomon.

MoMA acquires works featured in monumental Adam Pendleton installation

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has acquired the 35 individual paintings, drawings, and video works that comprised Adam Pendleton's monumental installation *Who Is Queen?* (2019-21), which was on view in the museum's atrium from 2021 to 2022. The installation explored Pendleton's conceptual framework of "Black Dada," a term he first outlined in his *Black Dada Manifesto* (2008), and included works such as *Notes on the Robert E. Lee Monument, Richmond VA (Figure)* (2021), a film reflecting on the 2020 racial justice protests. The acquisition marks a significant institutional commitment to Pendleton's practice, which continues to evolve in his current exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC.

Obama Presidential Center announces new work by Jeffrey Gibson, Rashid Johnson, Lorna Simpson.

The Obama Foundation has unveiled the final group of artists commissioned to create site-specific works for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. This prestigious roster includes Jeffrey Gibson, Rashid Johnson, Lorna Simpson, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, whose works will be integrated into the 19.3-acre campus. The announcement completes the artistic vision for the center, which aims to blend public space with high-caliber contemporary art when it opens on June 19th.

Exhibit Review: Revolution! 250 Years of Art and Activism in Boston – Museum Studies Blog at Tufts University

The Boston Public Library in Copley Square has opened "Revolution! 250 Years of Art and Activism in Boston," its first major exhibition in nearly a decade. The show uses a deliberately unfinished design of plywood and scaffolding to symbolize democracy as a work in progress, moving chronologically from the American Revolution through the 21st century. It features engravings by Paul Revere, portraits of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, works addressing Toussaint L’Ouverture and Haitian revolution, Boston abolitionists, the Civil War, civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and contemporary activism including Indigenous, LGBTQ+, climate, and anti-police brutality movements.

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The Trump administration is considering West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., as the site for its proposed “National Garden of American Heroes,” a sculpture garden featuring statues of American historical figures. According to anonymous sources cited by the Washington Post, the park—located near the Jefferson Memorial and memorials to Martin Luther King Jr. and Franklin D. Roosevelt—may require an exemption under the Commemorative Works Act if the southern tip is used. The project, first announced in January 2021, received $40 million in congressional funding through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025, and the National Endowment for the Humanities launched a new grant program for statue design after canceling most of its existing grants.

Five can't-miss art exhibits in The City this winter

The article highlights five must-see art exhibitions in San Francisco during the winter season, centered around San Francisco Art Week in January. Featured shows include 'Labor Is on Our Mind' at CCA Wattis Institute, exploring labor through three interconnected exhibitions; 'Emory Douglas: In Our Lifetime' at the African American Art & Culture Complex, celebrating the artist's 50-year career in activism; 'Moving San Francisco' at City Hall's North Light Gallery, showcasing public transit history through photographs; and '1-800 Happy Birthday,' a participatory project beginning on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Billionaire Collector Ken Griffin Buys Second Rare Constitution Printing

Billionaire collector Ken Griffin has quietly acquired a second rare first printing of the US Constitution, known as the Van Sinderen copy, through a private deal after it was pulled from a planned Sotheby’s auction in 2022. Griffin, who previously paid $43.2 million at Sotheby’s in 2021 for another copy, now holds the only two copies of the 1787 document still in private hands. The newly acquired document will go on public display starting May 27 at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York, headlining an exhibition titled “The Promise of Liberty” that includes other foundational texts.

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David Oyelowo and Ava DuVernay are reuniting for a new thriller film titled "Heist of Benin," more than a decade after their Oscar-winning collaboration on "Selma." The film is set in modern-day London and described as a thriller that intertwines art, love, and restitution. DuVernay will direct from a screenplay by Jesse Quiñones, based on an original idea. Oyelowo will star and produce under his Yoruba Saxon banner, with Studiocanal financing and distributing. The project was announced during Canal+’s ORIGINAL+ presentation in Paris.

Artist Paul Rucker’s Klan Robes Expose America’s Racist Underbelly

Artist Paul Rucker's exhibition "Rewind Resurrection" returns to New York a decade after its debut, featuring his iconic Klan robes reimagined in bold fabrics like pink, Kente cloth, and camouflage. The show, which was censored at York College of Pennsylvania in 2017 following the Charlottesville white supremacist rally, includes KKK memorabilia, data visualizations of prison proliferation, and wooden relief sculptures honoring victims of racial violence. It is Rucker's first New York show, self-funded in a rented Chelsea gallery, and he hopes an institution will acquire the entire installation.

Comment | Trump's 100 days should remind us to be brave—because in an autocracy there is no safety

The article examines the impact of the first 100 days of Donald Trump's second term on the U.S. cultural sector, detailing executive actions that force museums, libraries, and arts institutions into ideological conformity. Orders targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and gender threaten funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, while the Smithsonian Institution and Kennedy Center face direct political oversight. The administration also redirects funds toward patriotic projects like a sculpture garden of 'American Heroes,' and private institutions such as the Rhode Island School of Design and Creative Capital face pressure over pro-Palestinian expression and diversity-focused programs.

US National Portrait Gallery reveals winner of its triennial portraiture award

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, has announced Brooklyn-based artist Kameron Neal as the winner of its 2025 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Neal was honored for his two-channel video installation *Down the Barrel (of a Lens)* (2023), which incorporates surveillance footage from the 1960s and 70s obtained during his residency at New York City’s Department of Records. The work explores the relationship between police and protesters, displaying footage of Vietnam War protesters, the Black Panthers, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy alongside images of police filming. Neal receives $25,000 and a commission to create a portrait for the museum’s permanent collection. Second prize went to photographer Jared Soares, and third prize to painter David Antonio Cruz; the exhibition featuring all 35 finalists runs from January 24 to August 30, 2025.

SCH exhibit celebrates Black artistic legacy in Philadelphia

Megan Monaghan, director of arts at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (SCH), organized an exhibition at the school's Barbara Crawford Gallery titled "Echoes of Our Future: 250 Years of Black Artistic Legacy in Philadelphia" to honor the city's Black artistic heritage ahead of America's semiquincentennial. Collaborating with Claudia Volpe, director and curator of the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, Monaghan selected over 30 works by 27 artists—including Barbara Bullock, Eustace Mamba, Tim McFarlane, Dox Thrash, and Henry Ossawa Tanner—organized into three themes: faces and community, music and movement, and environment. The exhibition runs from Jan. 15 to March 12 and is accompanied by The Next 250, an educational project connecting students through workshops, mentorship, and visual storytelling.

Dallas' African American Museum reopens with iconic Sepia photo exhibit

The African American Museum in Dallas reopens on May 1 after temporary renovations, featuring the exhibition "People Who Make the World Go ‘Round: The Legacy of Sepia Magazine." The show highlights influential Black icons such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Maya Angelou, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Thurgood Marshall through photographs from the museum's archive of over 40,000 images. Sepia magazine, founded in Fort Worth in 1946, chronicled Black life and culture for nearly four decades, offering a Southern perspective that rivaled national publications like Ebony and Jet.

Hanover Creative, new gallery in Trenton, shows striking works by five textile artists

A new gallery called Hanover Creative has opened in Trenton, New Jersey, with its debut exhibition "Fiber Politic." The show, curated by Áine Mickey, features the work of five textile artists, including Patricia Dahlman and the artist known as Woolpunk, and runs from March 21 to April 25. The gallery represents a significant step for Trenton's art scene, which has historically lacked independent exhibition spaces for its many talented artists.

African American Museum, Dallas will reopen May 1 with new exhibitions

The African American Museum, Dallas has announced it will reopen on May 1 following extensive facility improvements, including HVAC upgrades, floor repairs, and technological enhancements. The reopening will be marked by the debut of a major exhibition titled "People Who Make the World Go ‘Round: The Legacy of Sepia Magazine," which showcases over 40,000 images from the museum’s archives featuring Black icons like Aretha Franklin and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Remembering the fight for equality: Tuskegee Airmen project enters next chapter at Cleveland History Center

The Cleveland History Center has opened a new exhibition honoring local Tuskegee Airmen, featuring hand-drawn portraits by students from the Cleveland School of the Arts. The exhibition, part of the Cleveland Heroes Project, is displayed at the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum and runs through April 30. It highlights airmen with Northeast Ohio roots, including 2nd Lt. Gilbert Cargill, Capt. Erwin Bernard Lawrence Jr., and Cpl. Howard Arthur Tibbs.

US National Park Service removes slavery memorial at Philadelphia historic site

The US National Park Service has removed an outdoor exhibit titled “Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation” at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. The exhibit, which focused on nine people enslaved by George Washington and explored the paradox between slavery and freedom in the nation's founding, was dismantled following a directive from President Donald Trump to eliminate “corrosive ideology” from cultural heritage sites. The removal, captured on social media on January 22, aligns with a March 2025 executive order instructing the NPS to emphasize American achievements and avoid materials that “inappropriately disparage Americans.”

Riverside Arts Center's Ypsi Fine Arts Club hosts Black Artist Exhibition

The Riverside Arts Center's Ypsi Fine Arts Club is hosting its fourth annual Black Artist Exhibition in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The show, which opened on January 16, 2026, features original works across painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, fiber, sculpture, installation, and mixed media. Its theme is 'Unity,' though artists were not required to adhere to it. The exhibition runs through February 28, 2026, in the center's North Gallery.

‘D.I.Y. in the District’ at MLK Library: An exhibition that celebrates D.C.’s artist run spaces

The article reports on the exhibition 'D.I.Y. in the District' at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (MLK Library) in Washington, D.C., which celebrates the city's artist-run spaces. The show highlights the grassroots, self-organized venues that have shaped D.C.'s visual art scene, featuring works and histories from collectives and alternative galleries that operated outside traditional institutions.