The Bronx Museum’s fifth biennial continues to focus its programming on individual identity, eliding the ever-divergent interests of the art market and local communities.
Billy Anania
Billy Anania is an editor, critic, and journalist in New York City whose work focuses on political economy in the cultural industries and the history of art in global liberation movements.
How the First “Viral” Media Spawned a Peasant Uprising in Germany
Pamphlets on Reformation-era poverty, widely considered Europe’s first drafts of human rights, were printed millions of times in the early 16th century.
Bob Thompson’s Provocative Challenge to Euro-American Art History
A new retrospective expands on the late artist’s legacy as a Black Expressionist who teased out Civil Rights-era tensions in the United States.
In Ethiopia, Artists Protect the Environment Through “Plant Graffiti”
Researchers and artists are working to restore biodiversity in Kofele, Ethiopia, through a 50-meter tree nursery in the shape of a lion that will be visible from outer space.
A Coalition of Artists Promote Indigenous and Environmental Struggles Through Open Access Art
Throughout 2021, Indigenous water protectors and climate justice groups have distributed copyright-free artworks supporting recent anti-pipeline protests in Minnesota.
Genieve Figgis Paints High Society as a Spectacle of Humor and Horror
Figgis’s musings on bourgeois decadence feel particularly canny in a time of widespread inequality.
Eco-Feminist Art Collective Protests UN Climate Summit with Textiles
Founded by Dora Napolitano in 2016, Zurciendo el Planeta planted its “Forest of Hope” international embroidery project in art spaces across Glasgow during COP26.
A Cameroonian Artist Explores the Ambazonian Fight for Post-colonial Freedom
In his Afro-Expressionist paintings and installations, Adjani Okpu-Egbe ruminates on native resistance in Cameroon and the colonial propaganda promoted in mainstream media.
An Anarchist Illustrator Looks to Radical Histories to Fight Fascism
N.O. Bonzo’s illustrations, murals, and literature build on radical art traditions, addressing relations of labor and identity in local communities and protest movements.
How Landscape Became Doctrine in American Art
In his new book, Tyler Green argues that landscape was Emerson’s method of glorifying territories shaped and bordered by White men.
A Bipartisan Bill Aims to Assist Arts Workers
The Creative Economy Revitalization Act (CERA) proposes a $300 million federal grants and commissions program for art workers.
Spirited Textiles Capture the Fervor of Recent Political Unrest
Tabitha Arnold’s rugs pay tribute to organizers who lay their bodies on the line in the workplace, in the public square, and in the depths of private prisons.