The Mayor Is Present
Marina Abramović is Zohran’s muse, the Whitney Biennial announces its exhibitors, the High Line replaces a giant pigeon with a huge Buddha, and more.
Hello, New York! Hope you all enjoyed those beautiful, peaceful couple hours of snow this weekend, before, well, you know the drill. (By the way, reporting businesses and landowners who haven't shoveled their sidewalks to 311 doesn't make you a narc — change my view).
In art-related news, the Whitney Museum announced the 56 participants in its 2026 biennial, which includes some familiar names from New York institutions — Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien, CFGNY, and Samia Halaby among them.
Plus, the Mayor is Present — well, mayor-elect. Inspired by Marina Abramović's iconic performance, Zohran Mamdani heard directly from constituents in three-minute one-on-one conversations at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria this past weekend.
Have a lovely rest of the week — hope you're all starting to get into the holiday spirit! ❄️🕎🎄
The Inside View
On occasion of Sylvia Sleigh's solo show at White Cube — which you have through this Friday to see! — Jasmine Weber had a heartwarming conversation with the sculptural abstract expressionist. "Color is life," Snowden told her. "Without color, what would you have?"
Speaking of color — it might be all white and ice out there, but there's tons of color in our list of best exhibitions from the year — curl up with a hot drink of choice and peruse!
View The Best New York City Exhibitions of 2025
From Our Critics
Lisa Yin Zhang
Joan Semmel: In the Flesh at the Jewish Museum
"She renders [old and older women] compelling, which is more interesting and important than rendering them beautiful — the terms to which her project is so often reduced."
Jasmine Weber
In Our Time: Eleven Artists + W.E.B. Du Bois at Pratt Manhattan Gallery
"[The exhibition] invokes the simultaneous positive and negative potential of collectivization — the possibility for resistance, community, and intimacy at odds with racism’s desire to extinguish autonomy."
Artist Connor Wright Debuts Solo Presentation: Alexa, Truth or Dare?
On view in Manhattan through January 20, 2026, Wright’s new large-scale paintings engage with the speed, scale, and inundation of images today.
What Else Is Happening?
- Hundreds rallied outside the New School last week after huge cuts to faculty and programs.
- Artists, cultural leaders, and politicians gathered at the Federal Hall rotunda, where the Bill of Rights was first introduced, to speak on protecting the first amendment.
- New York graffiti depicts ICE arresting the Statue of Liberty. Wild that we live in a world where that doesn't even feel too on-the-nose.
- Bye, bye, birdie — hello Buddha? After Iván Argote's giant pigeon, Tuan Andrew Nguyen will be bringing a colossal Buddha to the High Line in March.
- The Museum of the City of New York is partnering with Brooklyn Pop-Up to bring a holiday market to its halls! (Tues Dec 16– Wed Dec 17) [mcny.org]
- Got any items in your closet that no longer suit your style (say, some peplum?), or pieces that need new life? Material for the Arts is hosting a Swap and Mend. (Thurs Dec 18) [materialsforthearts.org]
- Lavender Market is hosting an event with free books and community crafts plus clothes mending, live portraits, and hand-made items for sale at Boyfriend Co-Op in Bushwick. (Wed Jan 21) [eventbrite.com]
- Are you a high school student passionate about the arts? Do you know one? Springboard to Design is a free program for those who want to learn about theater design, led by Tony Award winners. (Through Jan 15) [springboardtodesign.com]
- Magic Circle is calling on crafters and fiber artists to donate handmade winter pieces for their annual mutual aid fundraiser. [instagram.com]
- A little birdie (Editor-at-Large Hrag Vartanian, to be precise) told me there's a lonely swan at the North 5th Street Pier and Park. Say hi for me, but know that they have refined taste — no bread, please.
