> ## 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. # Week in Review: 150+ Artists Urge MoMA to Remove Leon Black From Board; Turkish Students Jailed for LGBTQ Poster - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/week-in-review-150-artists-urge-moma-to-remove-leon-black-from-board-turkish-students-jailed-for-lgbtq-poster/ - Published: 2021-02-05T12:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T16:38:39.000Z - Description: Also, a zoning board in upstate New York ruled that a Nick Cave artwork is protected by the First Amendment after months of dispute, and more. - Author: Jasmine Weber - Tags: News, Week in Review, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 09:11 (2021, 2022, part 1) *Week in Review is a weekly collection of news, developments, and stirrings in the art world.* [*Subscribe*](https://hyperallergic.com/newsletters?utm%5Fsource=page&utm%5Fcampaign=artmovements) *to receive these posts as a weekly newsletter* Over 150 artists have urged the **Museum of Modern Art** to [remove **Leon** **Black** from its board of trustees](https://hyperallergic.com/artists-call-for-leon-blacks-removal-moma-jeffrey-epstein/). Black recently announced that he would step down as CEO of his private equity firm Apollo Global Management after an independent report found that he provided convicted sex offender **Jeffrey** **Epstein** with a $30 million loan. **Andrea Fraser, Nan Goldin, Michael Rakowitz,** and **Xaviera Simmons** are among the signatories. The activist group **Guerrilla** **Girls** revealed that it [canceled a book deal with **Phaidon**](https://hyperallergic.com/guerrilla-girls-phaidon-book-deal-leon-black/) in 2019 after realizing the publisher is owned by **Leon** **Black**. After weeks of opposition against government censorship in **Turkey**, protests have escalated after a [group of students was detained for creating **LGBTQ posters**](https://hyperallergic.com/after-istanbul-students-detained-for-lgbtq-posters-protests-against-government-censorship-escalate/). The initial demonstrations started one month ago after **President Erdoğan** appointed one of his political allies as the school's rector, inciting outrage over political motivations. Months of dispute over a **Nick** **Cave** artwork has come to a close after a zoning board in **Kinderhook**, New York, ruled in a unanimous vote that "Truth Be Told" (2020) was "a political message and art," and [therefore protected by the First Amendment](https://hyperallergic.com/nick-cave-truth-be-told-vote/). The work had recently been removed after a code enforcement officer instigated a stop-work order for the 160-foot message on **Jack Shainman Gallery's** upstate outpost. **PEN America** has released a [handbook for artists facing persecution](https://hyperallergic.com/a-handbook-for-artists-facing-persecution/), produced with input from creators worldwide. A **Botticelli** painting [sold for $92.2 million](https://hyperallergic.com/a-botticelli-portrait-becomes-the-second-most-expensive-old-master-painting-sold-at-auction/), becoming the second most expensive Old Master work ever sold at auction. The tempera on panel painting is one of three portraits by the 15th-century artist left in private hands. Two [recent investigations of "**Salvator** **Mundi**,"](https://hyperallergic.com/leonardo-salvator-mundi-investigations/) including one conducted by the Louvre, suggest sections of the portrait were not part of **Leonardo da Vinci's** original design and may have been painted by another artist. Nine **Gee's Bend** quilters have [opened their first online shops on **Etsy**](https://hyperallergic.com/the-influential-quiltmakers-of-gees-bend-are-now-on-etsy/), with prices that range from $27 to $5,500 per piece. **Mexico** has asked **Christie's** to [cancel an upcoming sale of pre-Hispanic objects](https://hyperallergic.com/mexico-asks-christies-to-cancel-upcoming-sale-of-pre-hispanic-objects/). The **National Institute for Anthropology and History** says 30 items in the sale belong to the country's national patrimony, and three others are fake. The **Getty Foundation** announced that it would be awarding [45 grants amounting to over $5 million for the next **Pacific Standard Ti**me initiative](https://hyperallergic.com/getty-pacific-standard-time-art-science-2024/). ## Awards & Accolades **Tacita Dean**, **Renée Green**, **Sky Hopinka**, **Joan Jonas**, and **Oscar Santillán** were selected for an inaugural art commission by the **Holt/Smithson Foundation**. **Porfirio** **Gutiérrez** will be awarded the **Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation Art Prize,** and **Jovan C. Speller** will be awarded the **Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation Minnesota Art Prize**. **Lauren Halsey** was awarded the 2021 Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Prize by the **Seattle Art Museum**. ## Transitions **Polly Brannan** was named artistic director of **Open School East** in the United Kingdom. **Kelly Taxter** was named director of the Parrish Art Museum in Watermill, New York. ## In Memoriam Guy Brett (1942–2021), curator and critic | [*ARTnews*](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/guy-brett-dead-critic-signals-gallery-1234582792/?ref=hyperallergic.com) Robert Cohan (1925–2021), dancer, choreographer, and artistic director | [*Guardian*](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/jan/14/robert-cohan-dance-choreographer-tribute?ref=hyperallergic.com) Dustin Diamond (1977–2021), actor and stand-up comedian known for his role on *Saved by the Bell* | [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/01/arts/television/dustin-diamond-dead.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) Rini Dippel (1931–2021), Stedelijk Museum curator | [*ARTnews*](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/rini-dippel-stedelijk-museum-dead-1234582656/?ref=hyperallergic.com) Sibongile Khumalo (1957–2021), singer of classical, jazz, opera, and traditional South African music | [Africa Report](https://www.theafricareport.com/62955/sibongile-khumalo-voice-of-the-new-south-africa-dies-at-63/?ref=hyperallergic.com) Richard L. Feigen (1930–2021), art collector and dealer | [Antiquities and the Arts](https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/richard-l-feigen-90-new-york-dealer-collector/?ref=hyperallergic.com) Ricky Powell (1961–2021), photographer known for his images of the hip-hop music scene and downtown New York City Sophie (1986–2021), pioneering producer, songwriter, and musician | [Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/remembering-sophies-radical-futurism/?ref=hyperallergic.com) Monika Tilley (1934–2021), swimwear and loungewear designer and founding Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) member | [WWD](https://wwd.com/eye/people/swimwear-and-loungewear-designer-monika-tilley-dies-at-1234689071/?ref=hyperallergic.com) Marc Wilmore (1963–2021), writer for *In Living Color, The Simpsons, F Is for Family*, and more |[ *New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/01/arts/marc-wilmore-dead.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)