> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # It's Art-World Summer in NYC - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/its-art-world-summer-in-nyc/ - Published: 2026-05-26T20:43:21.000Z - Updated: 2026-05-26T21:55:25.000Z - Description: Celebrate with a visit to Betye Saar's doll collection and Roberto Lugo's ode to Puerto Rico. - Author: Lisa Yin Zhang - Tags: New York Newsletter, Newsletter, New York Welcome back! We hope you had a lovely Memorial Day Weekend. Is it just me who thinks of this period as the secret start of summer? (I'm really hoping I won't regret these words, especially after the year we've had ...) But the art world is indeed (thankfully) slowing down. We've wrapped up the [last of the fairs](https://hyperallergic.com/tag/art-fairs/), and we're about to enter the summer slumber, insofar as that exists in New York. There are many lovely ways to welcome it: Enjoy the dreamy weather with a visit to Roberto Lugo's brand-new love letter to Puerto Rico in Madison Square Park. Or visit nonagenarian legend Betye Saar's personal collection of Black dolls at the New York Historical, a promised gift on the occasion of her 100th birthday this summer. Or attend Pioneer Works's boat regatta, or celebrate AIR Gallery's new space at their moving party, or a hundred other things, because slow season in New York is still fast season everywhere else. --- [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/05/image-78-1-1-1.png)](https://hyperallergic.com/how-betye-saar-set-black-dolls-free/) Betye Saar with Black dolls from her collection, 2025 (photo Tracye Saar-Cavanaugh, courtesy the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, California) ### [How Betye Saar Set Black Dolls Free](https://hyperallergic.com/how-betye-saar-set-black-dolls-free/) Nearing the occasion of her 100th birthday, an exhibition at the New York Historical celebrates Saar’s promised gift of her collection of dolls to the institution. | Jasmine Weber --- ## Upstate Artists [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/05/image-81-1.png)](https://hyperallergic.com/the-divine-powers-of-chicken-linda/) Performance artist Linda Mary Montano in her devotional chicken costume (photo Taliesin Thomas/**Hyperallergic*) ### [The Divine Powers of “Chicken Linda”](https://hyperallergic.com/the-divine-powers-of-chicken-linda/) Pioneering performance artist Linda Mary Montano gave me a tour of her home-shrine and a glimpse into her lifelong spiritual quest through art. | Taliesin Thomas --- ## MFA Shows [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/05/image-80-1.png)](https://hyperallergic.com/an-artists-mfa-show-confronts-columbia-university-over-gaza/) Detail of Alejandro Valencia, “DYNAMO (RATM01)” (2026) (photo Daniel Larkin/**Hyperallergic*) ### [An Artist’s MFA Show Confronts Columbia University Over Gaza](https://hyperallergic.com/an-artists-mfa-show-confronts-columbia-university-over-gaza/) Alejandro Valencia’s multipart installation alludes to the institution’s failure to come to terms with Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. | Daniel Larkin --- ## From Our Critics [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/05/image-79-1.png)](https://hyperallergic.com/for-ceija-stojka-memory-is-survival/) Ceija Stojka, “Untitled” (1995) (© Celia Pernot © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/Bildrecht, Vienna; photo courtesy Drawing Center) ### Bryan Martin ***Ceija Stojka: Making Visible* at the Drawing Center** "What she accomplishes is more than a reminder to never forget history: It is a painstaking argument for the value of remembering, at both the personal and collective levels." [*Read the full review*](https://hyperallergic.com/for-ceija-stojka-memory-is-survival/) ### Brian Karl ***Karla Knight’s Cosmic Conspiracies* at Andrew Edlin Gallery** "Are they richly composed blueprints for mysterious systems connected to extraterrestrial lifeforms — schematics for advanced engines that could guide us toward wormholes to new coordinates of potential? Or attempts at mapping some underlying substrate of the universe?" [*Read the full review*](https://hyperallergic.com/karla-knights-cosmic-conspiracies/) --- ## What Else Is Happening? [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/05/image-77-1.png)](https://hyperallergic.com/roberto-lugos-colossal-ode-to-puerto-rico-rises-in-madison-square-park/) Lugo’s “Capicú de Cariño (I Heard It Both Ways)” in Madison Square Park (photo Isa Farfan/**Hyperallergic*) - Roberto Lugo's ode to Puerto Rico, comprising hand-painted portraits of Bad Bunny, his parents, and other inspiring figures that conjure boyhood summers, is [now on view in Madison Square Park](https://hyperallergic.com/roberto-lugos-colossal-ode-to-puerto-rico-rises-in-madison-square-park/). - The Stonewall Monument doesn't just mark a milestone in queer history — it's an actively embattled part of it now, having just been [named one of the most endangered sites in the US](https://hyperallergic.com/stonewall-monument-named-among-most-endangered-sites-in-the-us/) amid the Trump administration's attacks. Let's show it some love. - Sure We Can and the Canal Street Research Association are holding a single-day, pop-up can and bottle redemption center at the Columbus Park Pavilion today. (Tues May 26) \[[Sure We Can](https://www.instagram.com/p/DYWFN5TDQP3/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fweb%5Fcopy%5Flink&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)\] - AIR Gallery's moving party is tomorrow, featuring a performance by Asia Stewart and DJ sets by cute boys! (Wed May 27) \[[airgallery.org](https://www.airgallery.org/events-1/2026benefit?ref=hyperallergic.com)\] - The Schomburg Center is closing its *100 Years of New York Stories* exhibition with a free sing-along screening of *The Wiz.* (Wed May 27) \[[nypl.org](https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2026/05/27/black-screen-100-years-new-york-stories-wiz-sing-along?ref=hyperallergic.com)\] - Pioneer Works is hosting its annual regatta of 3D-printed boats this weekend! (Sat May 30) \[[pioneerworks.org](https://pioneerworks.org/programs/red-hook-regatta-2026?ref=hyperallergic.com)\] - The Film-Makers’ Cooperative is hosting a free 16mm camera-less filmmaking workshop with Joel Schlemowitz. (Sat May 30) \[[film-makerscoop.com](https://film-makerscoop.com/screenings/free-workshop-cameraless-filmmaking-in-16mm?ref=hyperallergic.com)\] - The Africa Center is hosting its annual free Africa Day celebration this weekend, featuring a vendor market, drum circle, screenprinting, and more! (Sat May 30) \[[theafricacenter.org](https://theafricacenter.org/event-detail-page/details/201/Africa-Day-Celebration-2026?ref=hyperallergic.com)\] - The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space is screening a slide presentation on the history of Tompkins Square Park with Eric Drooker. (Sat May 30) \[[Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tompkins-square-history-a-live-slide-presentation-by-eric-drooker-tickets-1989677044601?ref=hyperallergic.com)\] - Arts and Letters, the Hispanic Society Museum & Library, and the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance are hosting an Uptown Arts Stroll next Monday, June 1\. \[[Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/24th-uptown-arts-stroll-opening-reception-tickets-1989623217603?ref=hyperallergic.com)\]