Artists, Read the Fine Print
The insidiousness of artists' contacts, visitors will now judge the Venice Biennale, and Trump’s border crew damages 1,000-year-old Native etching.
“The art world runs on informality,” artist Damien Davis writes, “until informality stops serving the institution.” In today’s must-read piece, Davis takes on the many ways so-called “standard” contracts actually undermine artists’ power. The cost of pushing back feels higher than the risk of signing, he writes, and sometimes, you can’t afford to walk away.
Speaking of walking away: The latest twist in this year’s Venice Biennale, after the awards jury resigned last week, is that you are now its judge. There will be no Golden Lions, the event’s top prize; instead, ticket holders will vote on “Visitor Lions,” with awards announced when the show closes in November. Conveniently, Israel and Russia are eligible after the jury said it would ban them from consideration due to charges of crimes against humanity. Okay, little lion, let’s hear that roar.
— Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor
What Artists Sign Away
Long consignment periods, moral rights waivers, and opaque “standard” contracts serve the institution more than the artist. | Damien Davis
SMFA at Tufts Presents Passages, the 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition
On view from May 5 to 17 in Medford, Massachusetts, this exhibition represents the graduating class and their journeys through worlds visited and imaged.
News
- Venice Biennale scrapped the "Golden Lion" awards, stating that the public will vote on “Visitor Lions” instead.
- Construction crews building President Trump’s hostile border wall damaged a portion of a Native American archeological site in Arizona estimated to be at least 1,000 years old.
From Our Critics
Diedrick Brackens’s Tapestries Beckon the Light of Freedom
In this Bay Area artist’s hands, weaving becomes a site of experimentation and refusal. | Natasha Boas
Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments
Featuring works from antiquity to today, the exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art explores the Rocky statue and its impact on the city’s culture, community, and public art.
Guide
15 Art Shows to See in NYC This May
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye captures quietude, Seydou Keïta documents a revolution, Renée Green compiles an autoethnography, and much more. | Hrag Vartanian, Valentina Di Liscia, Lisa Yin Zhang, John Yau, Jasmine Weber, Isa Farfan
Community
A View From the Easel with Gerardo Camargo
“I like to play with materials that have a history of manipulation.”
Member Comment
Don Dugal on Hakan Topal’s “The Death of the Art School”:
Podcast From the Archive
Michael Rakowitz Discusses Withdrawing from the 2019 Whitney Biennial, and His Leonard Cohen Problem
The artist shares his thoughts on museums, power, art, and ideology. | Hrag Vartanian
Opportunities This Month
Residencies, fellowships, grants, and open calls from the Bennett Prize, Oak Spring Garden Foundation, and more in our May 2026 list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers.
