> ## 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. # South Africa's Fiasco in Venice - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/the-siren-is-back/ - Published: 2026-02-23T11:00:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-02-23T11:00:07.000Z - Description: South Africa withdraws from the Venice Biennale, Glenn Ligon and the color blue, and your guide to art in DC this spring. - Author: Hyperallergic - Tags: Daily Newsletter, Newsletter "Read, ponder, and rise up before it’s too late!" urge artists Coco Fusco and Noah Fischer, back with the fourth edition of *The Siren*. Yes, we're exhausted — and so are they. But their antidote comes in the form of this razor-sharp satirical publication, a steady source of humor and strength. The latest edition pokes fun at the absurdist cruelty of MAGA and rallies artists and writers, including Pamela Sneed and Pablo Helguera, to envision what resistance can look like right now, from Orwellian comic strips to the whistle you carry in your pocket. *—Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor* --- [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/02/the-siren-issue-4-1.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/the-us-department-of-hate/) ### [The US Department of Hate](https://hyperallergic.com/the-us-department-of-hate/) Stop the doomscrolling and get your dopamine rush of the day with satirical comics, Orwellian quotes, and political screeds in *The Siren* instead. As the editors reminded us in their first edition, "Nothing irks those who believe in their absolute power more than being laughed at." Isn't that the truth? --- SPONSORED [![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/02/RedStairwell16x26-2-1.jpeg)](https://hyperallergic.com/mitchell-johnson-personal-color-galerie-mercier-paris/) ****Mitchell Johnson’s Personal Color at Galerie Mercier in Paris** Intimate paintings spanning nearly four decades of the artist’s career are on view at the gallery from February 28 to March 21. [Learn more ](https://hyperallergic.com/mitchell-johnson-personal-color-galerie-mercier-paris/) --- ## News [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/02/goliath-and-masondo-1.jpeg)](https://hyperallergic.com/south-africa-pulls-out-of-venice-biennale/) Gabrielle Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo’s biennale proposal was scrapped in January. (photo by ZUNIS, courtesy Gabrielle Goliath studio) - Weeks after canceling a pavilion proposal over its mention of the genocide in Gaza, [South Africa has withdrawn from the Venice Biennale altogether](https://hyperallergic.com/south-africa-pulls-out-of-venice-biennale/). - We're long overdue for a global baby animal phenomenon. A [baby macaque and his stuffed orangutan at a Japanese zoo](https://hyperallergic.com/how-punch-the-monkey-captured-the-hearts-of-artists/), which have inspired fan art worldwide, are here to save the day. --- ## From Our Critics [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/02/squeak-c-ancestors-1.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/squeak-carnwath-paints-her-own-path/) Squeak Carnwath, “Ancestors and Future Ghosts” (2023), oil and alkyd on canvas over panel (image courtesy the artist and Jane Lombard Gallery) ### [Sque](https://hyperallergic.com/squeak-carnwath-paints-her-own-path/)[ak Carnwath Paints Her Own Path](https://hyperallergic.com/squeak-carnwath-paints-her-own-path/) This artist rejects the notion that paint as a medium inevitably becomes exhausted, incapable of making something, however broken it may be. | John Yau ### [A Cold Plunge Into Glenn Ligon’s Blue](https://hyperallergic.com/a-cold-plunge-into-glenn-ligons-blue/) New works exemplify a line of inquiry central to the artist’s practice: How might language and color merge to birth figuration? | Daria Simone Harper --- ## America Turns 250 [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/02/fritz-scholder-bicentennial-indian-1-1.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/10-art-shows-to-see-in-dc-this-spring/) Fritz Scholder, "Bicentennial Indian" (1975), color lithograph on wove paper (© Fritz Scholder Estate & LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM; image courtesy National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Collection) ### [10 Art Shows to See in DC This Spring](https://hyperallergic.com/10-art-shows-to-see-in-dc-this-spring/) Nick Cave links landscapes and race, Mary Cassatt in Paris, Joan Danzinger’s sculpted universe, America through the eyes of its artists, and more. | Emma Cieslik --- ## Member Comment Christopher Wangro on Maya Pontone’s “[Tracing Queer History Through NYC’s Public Parks](https://hyperallergic.com/tracing-queer-history-through-nyc-public-parks/)”: Great stuff. Worth noting too is the story of The Aids Walk in Central Pk. For many years AIDS Walk organizers were kept out of the pk, yet after much effort by The Walk's leadership and the NYC Pks Office of Special Events the event was welcomed into the Great Lawn. This only happened once NYC transitioned mayors from Ed Koch to David Dinkins - and importantly once a new commissioner was appointed. Having been there I can remember the meeting when the newly appointed Pks Commissioner Betsy Gotbaum agreed with the events team to allow the AIDS Walk to use The Great Lawn - the crowned jewl of NYC event locations. At the time this decision was cause for celebration. The move exponentially increased attendance and allowed for truly substantial increase in revenue. At one point upwards of 30,000 gathered on the lawn for the AIDS Walk. In recent years pressure from private groups has pushed this and other events from the Great Lawn; yet the event remains in Central Pk Bandshell with reports of crowds of more than 45,000 at the event's peak. --- FEATURED OPPORTUNITY ****Wilmers Integrity Prize** This annual award honors changemakers striving to better our world across a range of fields. The winner receives $50,000, finalists $5,000\. Given to transformative individuals whose leadership and execution show promise for broader influence. Deadline: March 31, 2026 | [wilmersintegrityprize.org](https://www.wilmersintegrityprize.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com) See more in [this month’s list of opportunities](https://hyperallergic.com/opportunities-in-february-2026/) for artists, writers, and art workers! --- ## ICYMI [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/02/g-gliath-personal-accounts-1.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/the-south-african-pavilion-is-betraying-its-own-history/) A visitor at **Personal Accounts* (2024) by Gabrielle Goliath at the previous Venice Biennale exhibition in April 2024 (photo by Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images) ### [The South African Pavilion Is Betraying Its Own History](https://hyperallergic.com/the-south-african-pavilion-is-betraying-its-own-history/) The same government that has held Israel accountable for its genocide in Gaza must revoke its culture minister’s decision to axe the Venice Biennale performance. | Christina Sharpe and Rinaldo Walcott ---