Cornelia Stokes, the newly appointed assistant curator of the art of the African Diaspora at SFMoMA and MoAD, shares her top selections from Frieze Los Angeles. Her picks highlight a diverse range of artists including Narsiso Martinez, Ebony G. Patterson, Hugh Hayden, and Kenturah Davis, focusing on themes of migrant labor, the African Diaspora, and the intersection of personal history with material culture.
On Indigenous Peoples' Day, nonprofit media lab Amplifier launched an unsanctioned augmented reality exhibition titled “Encoded” at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The project features 17 Native artists who have digitally altered 25 iconic American artworks from the Met's collection—such as Thomas Cole's *View on the Catskills – Early Autumn* and Emanuel Leutze's *Washington Crossing the Delaware*—overlaying Indigenous perspectives onto the museum's American Wing. Visitors can view the AR works on smartphones or iPads, and Amplifier representatives are on-site to distribute guides and offer tours through the end of the year.
Culture Type has published its annual list of new appointments among museum curators and arts leaders for the first half of 2025, highlighting two dozen hires and promotions at major institutions. Notable appointments include Deana Haggag as program director for arts and culture at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ann Collins Smith as chief curator at the New Orleans Museum of Art (the first Black American in a full-time curatorial role there), and Vincent van Velsen as head of exhibitions at Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam. The list also features curators such as Alisa Chiles at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Brittany Webb at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
British painter Rose Wylie is preparing for a landmark solo exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, making her the first female British painter to receive a solo show in the institution's main galleries. At 91 years old, Wylie continues to work late into the night in her Kent studio, producing large-scale, vibrant canvases that draw inspiration from everyday objects, newspapers, and sports icons. Her work is celebrated for its 'punk' energy and a youthful spontaneity that belies her age.
The Fullerton Museum Center has launched "OC Made," a new biennial juried exhibition dedicated exclusively to artists living and working in Orange County. Curated by Georgette Collard and Jasmine McNeal, the inaugural show features over 130 artworks by more than 100 local artists selected from a pool of 260 submissions. The exhibition includes a diverse range of mediums, from glass sculptures and ceramics to photorealistic paintings of local landmarks, and awarded top honors to artists Ramón Vargas, Jaime “Germs” Zacarias, and Mahta Jafari.
Acclaimed actor Meryl Streep has donated a seven-figure sum to the National Women’s History Museum. The funds will support digital storytelling projects and programming, and the museum has created the Meryl Streep Educator Award in her honor, to be presented annually starting this November.
The New Mexico Museum of Art has launched "O’Powa O’Meng: The Art and Legacy of Jody Folwell," the first solo exhibition dedicated to an Indigenous woman in the institution's history. This career retrospective, organized in collaboration with the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Fralin Museum of Art, features over 30 works by the Santa Clara Pueblo potter. The display includes a newly debuted piece, "Buffalo Hunt," and highlights Folwell’s innovative use of relief techniques and narrative surfaces that address contemporary political and social issues.
The Portland Art Museum has opened a new permanent gallery dedicated to Black artists, named for local artist, dancer, and educator Thelma Johnson Streat. The gallery, which opened on the first day of Black History Month, features a variety of works by Black Oregon artists, including multimedia installations, paintings, drawings, and a large photographic grid.
The article reports on the life and work of Anna-Eva Bergman, a Norwegian-born painter whose abstract, minimalist works are gaining renewed attention. It highlights her recent exhibitions and the growing recognition of her contributions to post-war European art, particularly her use of metallic pigments and geometric forms inspired by Nordic landscapes.