The latest episode of The Art Newspaper's 'The Week in Art' podcast, hosted by Ben Luke, covers three major stories. It features a discussion with co-curator Kevin Dumouchelle about 'Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art,' a new exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., focusing on LGBTQ+ artists from Africa and its diaspora. The episode also examines the cultural impact of the protests and brutal crackdown in Iran, with reporter Sarvy Garenpayeh, and highlights Louise Nevelson's 'Tropical Garden II (1957)' as the Work of the Week, tied to a new survey of the sculptor's work at the Centre Pompidou-Metz.
This episode matters because it brings together urgent cultural and political issues—LGBTQ+ representation in African art, the suppression of artistic expression in Iran, and the legacy of a pioneering American sculptor—demonstrating how art intersects with social justice, global crises, and institutional history. The exhibition at the Smithsonian marks a significant step for queer visibility in African art, while the Iran segment underscores the risks faced by artists under authoritarian regimes. Nevelson's re-staged installation at Pompidou-Metz reaffirms her enduring influence on contemporary sculpture.