> ## 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. # Mom, I'm Gonna Be an Artist! - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/mom-im-gonna-be-an-artist/ - Published: 2026-05-09T10:00:14.000Z - Updated: 2026-05-09T10:00:15.000Z - Description: Art and protest at the Venice Biennale, consignment agreements, and artists share their mothers’ best advice. - Author: Hyperallergic - Tags: Weekly Newsletter, Newsletter After a lively art-world week humming with protests and resistance, from the Venice Biennale to the Met Gala to New York's American Folk Art Museum, we've made it to Saturday. Tomorrow, we celebrate the mothers in our lives, and to mark the occasion, Staff Writer Isa Farfan asked 15 artists to share the best advice they got from their moms or maternal figures. “My mother sagely advised that I would be appreciated in college, and she was right,” said Pat Oleszko, who “lost the class vice presidency to some dumb pretty chick” in high school. (Now, Oleszko's work is on view in the Whitney Biennial, so, yeah.) On the ground from Venice this week, our editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara weighed in on a drab US Pavilion and reported on a historic strike for Palestine and workers' rights, while Editor-at-Large Hrag Vartanian led us through stirring works on view at the Giardini and Arsenale for *In Minor Keys*, the Biennale's wondrous central exhibition. Also: Damien Davis on artists and consignment agreements, Matt Stromberg on the LA Art Book Fair, and our monthly roundup of opportunities in the arts. And with that, I'll leave you with my mami's most memorable guidance: Get off your phone, stop to smell the flowers, and steal one or two from your neighbor while you're at it. *—Valentina Di Liscia, senior editor* --- [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/05/mothersday-2-1.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/15-artists-share-the-best-advice-they-got-from-their-mother/) Left: Maddy Inez as a child with her mother, sculptor Alison Saar, and grandmother, artist Betye Saar. (photo courtesy the artist); right: “Blood Bloom” (2026) (photo Paul Salveson, courtesy Megan Mulrooney) ### [15 Artists Share the Best Advice They Got From Their Mother](https://hyperallergic.com/15-artists-share-the-best-advice-they-got-from-their-mother/) “She taught me how to play, how to laugh until my face burns, and how to dance in the kitchen to ‘Believe’ by Cher.” --- ## Venice Biennale [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/05/IMG_0043-2-1.png)](https://hyperallergic.com/historic-strike-disrupts-venice-biennale/) People march in Venice during a historic Biennale strike for Palestine and workers’ rights on May 8\. (photo Hrag Vartanian/**Hyperallergic*) ### [Historic Strike Disrupts Biennale as Thousands March in Venice](https://hyperallergic.com/historic-strike-disrupts-venice-biennale/) Dozens of national pavilions were partially or fully shut down in a strike for Palestine and for workers’ rights. | Hakim Bishara ### [“In Minor Keys” Hits All the Right Notes](https://hyperallergic.com/in-minor-keys-hits-all-the-right-notes/) The Venice Biennale’s international art exhibition is an unexpected symphony that asks us to ponder what may otherwise be overlooked. | Hrag Vartanian ### [A Whole Lot of Nothing at the US Pavilion](https://hyperallergic.com/a-whole-lot-of-nothing-at-the-us-pavilion/) After the last two Biennales searched the soul and history of this nation, how did we end up with this art from the land of the bland? | Hakim Bishara ### [Artists Pay Tribute to Koyo Kouoh in Poetry Caravan at Venice Biennale](https://hyperallergic.com/artists-pay-tribute-to-koyo-kouoh-in-poetry-caravan-at-venice-biennale/) The late curator’s 1999 voyage with nine African poets inspired a moving procession led by María Magdalena Campos-Pons, writers, and musicians. | Greta Rainbow ### Also in Venice - The art collective Pussy Riot and feminist group FEMEN [rallied against the Russian pavilion](https://hyperallergic.com/pussy-riot-and-topless-activists-rally-against-russian-pavilion-at-venice-biennale/) at the Venice Biennale. - Israeli pavilion artist Belu-Simion Fainaru [made legal threats](https://hyperallergic.com/israeli-pavilion-artist-made-legal-threats-before-venice-biennale-jury-resigned/) against the Venice Biennale for alleged antisemitism and discrimination before the show's awards jury resigned. - [Hundreds protested Israel's](https://hyperallergic.com/hundreds-protest-israels-genocide-pavilion-at-venice-biennale/) “genocide pavilion” at the Venice Biennale, demanding it be shut down immediately. - Organizers said [Iran would not be participating](https://hyperallergic.com/iran-will-not-participate-in-venice-biennale-organizers-say/) with a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale. --- ## News [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/05/DSC_0247-1-1.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/rollicking-protest-against-bezoss-met-gala-erupts-in-manhattan/) Rise and Resist members hold a sign calling for increased taxes on the billionaire class. (photo Isa Farfan/**Hyperallergic*) - A [small but rollicking protest](https://hyperallergic.com/rollicking-protest-against-bezoss-met-gala-erupts-in-manhattan/) against Jeff Bezos, who co-chaired this year’s Met Gala, unfolded blocks from the museum while celebrities filed into the event. On Sunday, a series of [projections condemning Amazon](https://hyperallergic.com/met-gala-boycott-message-projected-on-bezoss-manhattan-penthouse/) lit up the billionaire’s Madison Square Park luxury residence. - MoMA PS1 will present the first United States survey of [Mexican artist Teresa Margolles](https://hyperallergic.com/first-us-survey-of-mexican-artist-teresa-margolles-coming-this-fall/), bringing together several works at the intersection of grief and violence. - Workers at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City and local union organizers [picketed the museum’s annual gala](https://hyperallergic.com/american-folk-art-museum-workers-picket-gala-calling-for-higher-wages/), demanding higher wages and better benefits. --- ## Reviews [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/05/BFO_7125-1-1.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/keith-haring-before-the-end-of-the-world/) Keith Haring, “Untitled” (1981) (© Keith Haring Foundation, courtesy the Brant Foundation) ### [Keith Haring Before the End of the World](https://hyperallergic.com/keith-haring-before-the-end-of-the-world/) The artist’s free-handed style, on view in works at the Brant Foundation, feels prescient in light of the upcoming AI cataclysm. | Arthur Nersesian ### [](https://hyperallergic.com/ive-got-the-post-duchamp-blues/) ### [Is This What “Made in America” Looks Like?](https://hyperallergic.com/is-this-what-made-in-america-looks-like/) Christopher Payne’s photographs at Cooper Hewitt sidestep questions of economic uncertainty and geopolitical strife to spotlight the craftsmanship of factory workers. | Julie Schneider ### [I’ve Got the Post-Duchamp Blues](https://hyperallergic.com/ive-got-the-post-duchamp-blues/) MoMA’s Marcel Duchamp show made me long for those simpler times when “eliminating the artist’s hand” provided a pathway back to the true self. | Hakim Bishara ### [The Carnegie International Looks Back at Itself](https://hyperallergic.com/the-carnegie-international-looks-back-at-itself/) The 59th iteration captures some of the excitement of earlier exhibitions, providing vital commentary on issues of authoritarianism and militarism. | Ed Simon --- ## Artists Up Close [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/05/agreement_illu-4.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/what-artists-sign-away/) Artists, read carefully before you sign. (illustration by Shari Flores/Hyperallergic) ### [What Artists Sign Away](https://hyperallergic.com/what-artists-sign-away/) Long consignment periods, moral rights waivers, and opaque “standard” contracts serve the institution more than the artist. | Damien Davis ### [Getting Messy in the Archive at LA’s Art Book Fair](https://hyperallergic.com/getting-messy-in-the-archive-at-las-art-book-fair/) This year’s edition of the annual Printed Matter show unearths and remixes historical media, collapsing time and giving the past new relevance. | Matt Stromberg ### [At 90, Printmaker Mohammad Omer Khalil Gets His Due](https://hyperallergic.com/at-90-printmaker-mohammad-omer-khalil-gets-his-due/) The New York-based Sudanese artist looks back on a lifetime of experimentation in a multi-city retrospective. | Jasmine Weber ### [Rosy Simas on Creating a Space for Peace in Minneapolis](https://hyperallergic.com/rosy-simas-on-creating-a-space-for-peace-in-minneapolis/) Hyperallergic sat down with the Minnesota-based Seneca artist to discuss her exhibition at the Walker Art Center. | Sheila Regan ### [Shoot the Shit With Jack Kerouac](https://hyperallergic.com/shoot-the-shit-with-jack-kerouac/) In NYC, an exhibition of cherished letters, photographs, and talismans brings us into the daily life of the reluctant Beat Generation icon. | Greta Rainbow --- ## Guides [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/05/Fonseca1-2-1.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/10-art-shows-to-see-in-los-angeles-this-may/) Harry Fonseca, “Swan Dive Swan Lake Act II” (1984), acrylic on canvas with glitter (image courtesy the Harry Fonseca Trust and Babst Gallery) ### [10 Art Shows to See in Los Angeles This May](https://hyperallergic.com/10-art-shows-to-see-in-los-angeles-this-may/) Remembering Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Yoko Ono’s first museum show in LA, Richard Mayhew’s “mindscapes,” Gordon Parks’s musical output, and more. | Matt Stromberg ### [15 Art Shows to See in NYC This May](https://hyperallergic.com/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 ### [10 Exhibitions to See in Upstate New York This May](https://hyperallergic.com/10-exhibitions-to-see-in-upstate-new-york-this-may/) Irina Lotarevich’s edgy minimalism, Koyoltzintli’s investigations into a sacred object, Daniele Frazier’s explorations in camera-less photography, and more. | Taliesin Thomas --- ## Community [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/05/IMG_8702---Brenda-Zlamany-1-1.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/a-view-from-the-easel-336/) Photo of a painting location for Brenda Zlamany in her ancestral village ### [A View From the Easel](https://hyperallergic.com/a-view-from-the-easel-336/) This week, Brenda Zlamany returns to her ancestral village near the Pollino National Park in Italy, where she paints in an old sausage factory and grows her own olives. “Rome has Michelangelo. We have the mountain.” ### [Required Reading](https://hyperallergic.com/required-reading-783/) This week: Mamdani honors garment workers, a fake exchange with Sophie Calle, the first Black American tattoo artist, RIP Spirit Airlines, and more. ### [Art Movements: New Museum Names Its First Artist Studio Residents](https://hyperallergic.com/art-movements-new-museum-names-its-first-artist-studio-residents/) Plus, Forge Project’s 2026 fellows, the Robert Therrien Estate leaves Gagosian for Zwirner, and this year’s Frieze uniform. ### [Steven Durland, Champion of Performance Art, Dies at 75](https://hyperallergic.com/steven-durland-champion-of-performance-art-dies-at-75/) A longtime editor of High Performance magazine in Los Angeles, Durland maintained his own practice while advocating for the art form. ### [Remembering Georg Baselitz, Nicole Hollander, and Doris Fisher](https://hyperallergic.com/remembering-georg-baselitz-nicole-hollander-and-doris-fisher/) This week, we honor a German Neo-Expressionist, the creator of the “Sylvia” comic strip, and an arts patron behind SFMOMA. --- ## **Opportunities This Month** [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/05/SAAM-1968.19.12_1-2-1.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/opportunities-in-may-2026/) H. Lyman Saÿen, “Calligraphic Interior” (1915) (courtesy the [Smithsonian American Art Museum](https://www.si.edu/object/calligraphic-interior:saam%5F1968.19.12?ref=hyperallergic.com)) Residencies, fellowships, grants, and open calls from the Bennett Prize, Oak Spring Garden Foundation, and more in [our May 2026 list of opportunities](https://hyperallergic.com/opportunities-in-may-2026/) for artists, writers, and art workers.