Art for Dignity
Saving the "Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art,” on being a Somali American artist in Minnesota, and how get into the Whitney Biennial.
As if demolishing the East Wing, gutting arts agencies, and slapping his name and face on several federal buildings weren't enough, the US president now wants to do away with a DC building known as the “Sistine Chapel of New Deal art.”
This week, we reported on a burgeoning campaign to save the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, which houses murals by Ben Shahn, Philip Guston, Seymour Fogel, and other major American artists. We will continue to follow this story.
I also recommend reading Ifrah Mansour's moving essay on her life as a Somali American artist in Minnesota during these dark times. Despite all the pain and fear, she still believes that kindness will prevail.
On a brighter note, Paddy Johnson has useful tips for artists on how to get into the Whitney Biennial. It takes more than just hard work and schmoozing.
These are just a few of the excellent pieces we have for you in this edition. Stay warm if you're in the path of the snowstorm hitting the US this weekend, and thanks for reading.
—Hakim Bishara, editor-in-chief
Activists Fight to Salvage the “Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art”
“We couldn’t stop them from destroying the East Wing of the White House, but I pledge we’ll stop them from destroying the Wilbur Cohen building," Alex Lawson, executive director of the advocacy organization Social Security Works, told Aaron Short. Lawson is one of the authors of a new petition to save the historic space in Washington, DC.
News
- The Philadelphia Art Museum rebrand debacle continues as the museum appoints a new task force to evaluate the controversial redesign and its chief marketing officer steps down.
- The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and other Twin Cities art institutions closed on Friday to protest against ICE deportations in the area.
- New camera footage of the infamous jewelry heist at the Louvre in Paris last year leaves us with more questions than answers.
- After months of uncertainty, the Senate has confirmed full or near-full funding for cultural organizations, including the Institute of American Indian Arts, the world’s only university dedicated to the study of contemporary Native American and Alaska Native art.
- A 10-foot-tall artwork on the National Mall in DC Lampoons the infamous Trump-Epstein birthday card.
- Artist Gabrielle Goliath is taking legal action against South Africa’s right-wing arts and culture minister after he dropped her Venice Biennale commission, which included references to Israel's genocide in Gaza.
Taxes for Humans: A Radical Reimagining of Financial Empowerment
For artists, freelancers, and the self-employed, tax season can feel like a looming cloud. A new book by artist-turned-tax-specialist Hannah Cole offers an antidote.
Opinion
On Being a Somali Artist in Minnesota
"To live in Minnesota as Somalis at this moment can feel like being skinned bit by bit," writes Ifrah Mansour, whose public artworks can be found across Minneapolis. "The pain of an entire community being bullied by a government is unimaginable — and, unfortunately, unoriginal. This has happened to so many other communities before us."
Accessibility Should Be at the Center of Museum Education
Though some museums offer specialized programs for individuals with disabilities and their caretakers, there is much work to be done to embed disability studies in arts education, writes Bryan Martin.
San Francisco's Tech Billionaires Don't Care About Your Art School
News of the abrupt closure of the California College of the Arts (CCA) and its acquisition by Vanderbilt University sent shockwaves through the Bay Area community. But we shouldn't be surprised that San Francisco's tech titans didn't step in to save it, writes Christian L. Frock.
From Our Critics
What the Smithsonian Won’t Say About Grandma Moses
The benign narrative of the beloved artist must be deconstructed, as she also embodies the US’s detrimental values. | Bryan Martin
Uman’s Diasporic Abstraction
The artist paints the distance between the homeland you lose and the one you try to dream back into existence. | Qingyuang Deng
Lotty Rosenfeld Weaponized the Line
The Chilean artist knew that survival under authoritarianism requires both sustenance and nerve — something to live on and something to stand for. | Clara Maria Apostolatos
Yoko Ono’s Art Is an Exercise in Hope
By inviting viewers to participate in her work, she has consistently framed collective hope amid a cultural backdrop of suffering and pain. | Debra Brehmer
John Wilson’s Relentlessly Humane Vision of Black Life
He portrayed the gamut of the Black experience, making visible a sense of deep isolation as well as pride, family, and community. | John Yau
Fra Angelico Etched the Divine in Stone
The veiled symbolism of the artist's marble and stones has largely flown under the radar, but these mystical depths are too profound to miss out on. | Daniel Larkin
Nicola L.’s Soft Power
The late artist’s playful “functional sculptures” nod to second-wave feminism, but make a broader statement about resistance through collaboration. | Kimberly Bradley
The Future of Art Museums
This Is the Year We Redefine Art Institutions
Writer and curator Lise Ragbir sat down with two fellow arts workers, eunice bélidor and Dejha Carrington, for a grounding conversation about art museums in 2026 — namely, the roles they should shed and embrace in order to cultivate community and redefine what an art institution can be.
Community
Art Problems: How Do I Get Into the Whitney Biennial?
Inclusion in the prestigious survey is the dream of many US-based artists. But how do you win this honor? Conventional wisdom says there isn’t much you can do, but Paddy Johnson knows that’s not the whole story.
A View From the Easel
This week, Clara Cohan from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, carves faces into tree trunks, and Maria Schechter from Bloomington, Indiana, forages for color in the natural world. Your studio, in your own words, could be next!
Art Movements: New Leaders Everywhere
In this week's roundup of industry news: Creative Time, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the New Mexico Museum of Art get new leaders, plus the Whitney Museum’s head-scratching “cosmic look” at its 2026 Biennial artists.
Required Reading
Rose B. Simpson at SFMOMA, historical writers with day jobs, anti-surveillance clothing, a day in the life of an art conservator, and what is the "2016 trend"?
In Memoriam
The designer of the Native American Veterans Memorial, a Disney animator, a picture book illustrator, and a Los Angeles painter who opened a storefront museum of his work are among the artists we honor this week.
Comics
Falling in Love With Vintage Gay Films
Solomon Brager's comic is a semi-personal exploration of "rediscovering" vintage gay adult films from the 1970s and '80s in a moment of rampant state repression, and its revolutionary potential. If you liked Heated Rivalry, you'll love this.
Opportunities This Month
Residencies, fellowships, grants, and open calls from Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, and more in our January 2026 list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers.
