Starting in June 2021, the official portraits of Michelle and Barack Obama will leave the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC to tour five cities across the country.
Hakim Bishara
Hakim Bishara is a Senior Editor at Hyperallergic. 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. Send him your tips, comments, and questions at hakim@hyperallergic.com.
Philadelphia Museum of Art CEO Apologizes for Mishandling of Sexual Misconduct Complaint
At a town hall meeting with staffers, the museum’s CEO Timothy Rub promised to follow his words with improved actions, but some workers find his statements terse and insufficient.
Artist Tobias Madison Pleaded Guilty to Assault and Harassment of His Former Girlfriend
He agreed in a plea deal to attend a 26-week in-person batterers intervention program in Basel, Switzerland and to abide by a full and final order of protection.
Hear About FESTAC ’77, the World Black and African Festival, From Its Official Photographer
The Independent Curators International is hosting a conversation between curator and scholar Oluremi Onabanjo and Marilyn Nance, who captured the most extensive archive of the influential festival.
Hans Haacke Gets Hacked by Activists at the New Museum
Two hackers, an artist and a graduate student at the New School, interfered with the results of Haacke’s visitors poll at his New Museum retrospective to protest the museum’s “complacency in capitalism.”
A German Casino Worker Is Suing Ai Weiwei for Saying He Showed a “Nazi Attitude”
The world-renowned dissident artist, who is celebrated in the gambling community as a “Blackjack Guru,” explained the story behind the lawsuit in a New York Times op-ed.
An Israeli Museum Canceled a Talk With an Artist Because of His Palestinian Identity
Haifa University’s Hecht Museum said that Saher Miari’s talk was called off because an appearance by a Palestinian artist does not conform with the politics of the Hecht Foundation, which backs the museum.
Hundreds of Philadelphia Museum of Art Workers Call for Institutional Accountability on Sexual Harassment
Over 300 former and current PMA employees signed a petition saying the recent sexual misconduct allegations against Joshua Helmer, the museum’s former assistant director of interpretation, “barely scratch the surface.”
An American Photojournalist is Suing a Qatari Bank for Allegedly Aiding His Kidnappers in Syria
Matthew Schrier, who was captured by Al-Nusra Front in 2012, is accusing Qatar Islamic Bank of directly funding a charity that funneled money to terrorist groups in Syria.
In Letter to MoMA, 37 Artists in Gulf Wars Exhibition Target Trustees
Martha Rosler, Michael Rakowitz, and Laura Poitras are among the artists who call on the museum to separate itself from trustees with ties to private prison companies.
A New Abolitionist Book Club in NYC Aims to Improve Literacy About Incarceration
The book club’s first selection is Angela Davis’s Are Prisons Obsolete?. The monthly gatherings will be held at Bluestockings Bookstore, Café, & Activist Center in Manhattan.
Erie Art Museum Director Pushed Out Following Allegations of Sexual Misconduct
Mounting public pressure led to the dismissal of Joshua Helmer after a New York Times article raised concerns about his behavior towards women at the Erie Art Museum and the Philadelphia Museum Art.