Art Workers Plan Venice Biennale Strike
Cultural groups call for a “boycott of the genocide pavilion,” shows to see in Los Angeles, memes from the out-of-touch Met Gala, and more.
As the Venice Biennale opens for previews this week, cultural workers and organizers opposing Israel’s inclusion in the event are planning what they say is “the first ever organized strike to occur within the Biennale.” This Friday, May 8, labor unions, event participants, and other individuals plan to withhold their labor in an action organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance and other groups. Look out for Hyperallergic’s coverage.
Also today, our list of exhibitions to see around Los Angeles this month; a round-up of the best memes about the out-of-touch, Bezos-funded Met Gala; and a profile of nonagenarian artist and master printmaker Mohammad Omer Khalil, whose work is currently on view in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York. Khalil’s paintings, collages, etchings, and more incorporate found elements like stamps and fragments of varying shapes, colors, and textures — a vision of a world made richer by the interplay of difference.
— Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor
Culture Workers Announce Venice Biennale Strike in Israeli Pavilion Protest
Labor unions, grassroots groups, and artists plan to withhold their labor on Friday, May 8, with a call to “shut down the genocide pavilion.” | Valentina Di Liscia, Isa Farfan
NADA New York 2026 Welcomes 121 International Galleries
The 12th edition of the New Art Dealers Alliance’s signature fair presents an expanded selection of contemporary art from around the world. On view May 13–17.
News
- A rare Keith Haring self-portrait and other intimate works are on view at Sotheby's in New York, offering the public a glimpse into Haring's friendship with Kermit Oswald.
- Those who flouted the calls to boycott the Bezos-sponsored Met Gala were flogged in memes featuring some of the most creative insults ever crafted.
Artists Up Close
At 90, Printmaker Mohammad Omer Khalil Gets His Due
The New York-based Sudanese artist looks back on a lifetime of experimentation in a multi-city retrospective. | Jasmine Weber
Rosy Simas on Creating a Space for Peace in Minneapolis
Hyperallergic sat down with the Minnesota-based Seneca artist to discuss her exhibition at the Walker Art Center. | Sheila Regan
In Kyoung Chun: Make Room
Transparent houses, suspended structures, and intimate paintings serve as metaphors for belonging in this exhibition at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston.
Guide
10 Art Shows to See in Los Angeles This May
Remembering Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Yoko Ono’s first museum show in LA, Richard Mayhew’s “mindscapes,” Gordon Parks’s musical output, and more. | Matt Stromberg
Member Comment
Antonio C. Cuyler on Damien Davis's “What Artists Sign Away”
From the Archive
Why Are Hiroshige’s Woodblock Prints Still So Moving?
The artist subverts the status system of 19th-century Japan, foreshadowing the impact of modernization and industrialization. | Livia Caligor
