In Brief
China Taunts US Response to COVID-19 With Absurdly Comical Lego Animation
A Chinese news agency released a propagandistic cartoon to herald its success at combating the coronavirus — that is admittedly entertaining.
Hakim Bishara
Hakim Bishara is Hyperallergic's Editor-in-Chief. He is a recipient of the 2019 Andy Warhol Foundation and Creative Capital Arts Writers Grant, and he holds an MFA in Art Writing from the School of Visual Arts in New York.
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Journalist Arrested in Manhattan for Writing “Trump=Plague” in Chalk
“I frankly feel, as an African American woman and a person of color, that it’s open season on us in every way,” says Jill Nelson, a 67-year-old writer who was kept in a cell for more than five hours.
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Petition Calls for Removal of New York Academy of Art Board Chair, Citing Jeffrey Epstein Ties
The petition calls on the academy to “immediately remove” Eileen Guggenheim from her post as chair of the school’s board of trustees, noting allegations made by Maria Farmer, one of Epstein’s alleged victims.
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A Digital Archive of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, From Graffiti to Music
The rich online resource, spearheaded by researcher Nicola Pratt, reveals how culture was “an outlet” for political views during the revolution and its aftermath.
In Brief
White House Gift Shop Releases Out-of-Touch Coin Commemorating “Global Fight Against COVID-19”
The $100 limited-edition coin features imagery of the microscopic virus and a presidential podium, surrounded by Trumpian slogans.
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Spreadsheet Highlights Major Income Disparities at Cultural Institutions
According to a document by the group Indebted Cultural Workers, MoMA director Glenn Lowry takes home about 48 times the salary of an education assistant at the museum.
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Museums Worldwide Prepare to Reopen Their Doors After Lockdown
Museums in the United States remain shuttered, but museums in Germany have begun to cautiously open their doors, and museums in Hong Kong were forced to close for a second time due to a second wave.
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Wolfgang Tillmans Gets Artists to Sell $50 Posters for Global Fundraiser
The 2020Solidarity fundraiser features posters by Tillmans and other acclaimed artists like Nicole Eisenman, Betty Tompkins, and David Wojnarowicz.
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Metropolitan Museum Lays Off 81 Employees; Now Estimates $150M in Losses
The laid-off workers belong to the visitor services and retail departments. The Met’s director and president will take 20% pay cuts.
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Museums Worldwide Post the Creepiest Objects in Their Collections
A social media challenge by the Yorkshire Museum prompted institutions to share chilling photos of objects, including a preserved a taxidermic “mermaid” and a pincushion made to look like childrens’ heads.
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NYC’s Lesley Heller Gallery Will Close Permanently
The COVID-19 crisis has had tremendous impact on small and mid-sized galleries in New York.
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Artists, Scholars, and Museum Workers Petition Museums to Retain Staff During Pandemic
“Before a single museum worker is laid off, let every mid-six- or seven-figure museum director draw a salary of zero,” reads one petition.