> ## 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: Artists Mourn COVID-19 Deaths; Guggenheim Curator Resigns Amid Controversy - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/week-in-review-16/ - Published: 2020-10-09T11:00:02.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T16:38:48.000Z - Description: Also, a major Armenian archaeological site is threatened by the outbreak of violence by Azerbaijan, and more. - Author: Jasmine Weber - Tags: News, Week in Review, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 09:08 (2019, 2020, part 3) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20201006_kishabari_covidmemorial_085-2.jpg) *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.* Artists and activists [led a **vigil in Queens**](https://hyperallergic.com/queens-vigil-coronavirus-victims/) to mourn the 212,000 lives lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to urge the country to vote. [**Nancy Spector** has resigned](https://hyperallergic.com/nancy-spector-resigns-guggenheim-museum/) as the Artistic Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator of the **Guggenheim Foundation**. News of her resignation was accompanied by a report by the museum investigating allegations of racism made by curator **Chaédria LaBouvier**. Many have likened [**Donald Trump**’s photo-op on the **White House** balcony](https://hyperallergic.com/trumps-mussolini-moment/) to the famous speeches of fascist dictator **Benito Mussolini**. Check out the [best memes inspired by the fly who landed on **Mike Pence**‘s head](https://hyperallergic.com/fly-mike-pence-memes/) during the vice presidential debate. A major **Hellenistic and Armenian archaeological site** is [threatened by the **outbreak of violence** by **Azerbaijan**](https://hyperallergic.com/tigranakert-artsakh-nagorno-karabakh-war/) against the Armenian region. The **Baltimore Museum of Art** plans to [sell three works by **Brice Marden, Clyfford Still,** and **Andy Warhol**](https://hyperallergic.com/baltimore-museum-of-art-deaccession-2020/). It will funnel $10 million of the proceeds into a fund to acquire works by women and artists of color. **P.A.I.N. Sackler** — the activist group founded by artist Nan Goldin **—**[ criticized a potential settlement for **Purdue Pharma**](https://hyperallergic.com/justice-for-sale-purdue-pharma-settlement-sackler/), which would protect the personal wealth of members of the Sackler family. Funded by the **Mellon Foundation**, the [**Monuments** **Project**](https://hyperallergic.com/mellon-foundation-will-distribute-250m-to-reimagine-us-public-monuments/) will finance the development of more inclusive monuments, memorials, or historic storytelling spaces. A state Senate committee has **defeated a bill** that would have made it easier for local governments in **Virginia** to [**dismantle** **Confederate monuments**](https://hyperallergic.com/virginia-senate-confederate-monuments-bill/)**.** Members of a **Pan-African group** [**stood trial in Paris** on charges of attempted theft](https://hyperallergic.com/latest-in-restitutions-september/) for an action staged at the city’s **Quai Branly Museum**. Images of the murdered journalist **Jamal Khashoggi** and other political prisoners were [projected onto buildings in **Washington, DC**](https://hyperallergic.com/jamal-khashoggi-murder-two-years-campaign/) on the second anniversary of his death. Eclipsing its projected price tag of $8 million, a **T. rex** named Stan [sold for a whopping $31,847,500](https://hyperallergic.com/stan-the-tyrannosaurus-rex-kills-at-christies-auction/), making it the **most expensive dinosaur fossil** ever sold. A [**virtual** **auction**](https://hyperallergic.com/bronx-documentary-section-annual-auction/) will benefit the **Bronx Documentary Center** and Bronx photographers. ## Awards & Accolades ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/untitled-39-santa-monica-ca.jpg) **Jon Henry** was awarded the **Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture**. | [Hyperallergic](https://hyperallergic.com/jon-henry-arnold-newman-prize-stranger-fruit/) Artist **Ralph Lemon**, playwright **Larissa FastHorse,** and poet and cultural theorist **Fred Moten** are among the newly announced class of **2020 MacArthur fellows**. | [Hyperallergic](https://hyperallergic.com/2020-macarthur-genius-grant/) The **New York Foundation for the Arts** has announced the **2020 NYSCA/NYFA Fellowship Recipients, Finalists, and Panelists**. | [NYFA](https://www.nyfa.org/introducing-2020-nysca-nyfa-artist-fellows-finalists-and-panelists/?ref=hyperallergic.com) ## Transitions **Andrea Barnwell Brownlee** was appointed director and CEO of the **Cummer Museum of Art** **& Gardens** in Jacksonville, Florida. **Heidi Holder** was appointed the Chair of Education at the **Metropolitan Museum of Art** in New York. **|** [CultureType](https://www.culturetype.com/2020/10/05/metropolitan-museum-of-art-in-new-york-appoints-heidi-holder-chair-of-education/?ref=hyperallergic.com) **Allison Katz** is now represented by **Luhring Augustine** gallery. The **Ellsworth Kelly Award** this year was awarded by the **Foundation for Contemporary Arts** to fund a collaboration between **dana washington-queen** and the **Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University**. **Yinka Shonibare CBE** was awarded the **Robson Orr TenTen Award 2020**. ## Obituaries Jim Dwyer (1957–2020), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist | [*Washington Post*](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/jim-dwyer-author-and-pulitzer-winning-chronicler-of-nyc-life-dies-at-63/2020/10/08/5378f4c2-04ef-11eb-b7ed-141dd88560ea%5Fstory.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) James Helferich (1944–2020), butter and ice sculptor | [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/obituaries/james-helferich-dead-coronavirus.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) Thomas Jefferson Byrd (1950–2020), actor known for his roles in Spike Lee films and Tony nominee | [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/videos/entertainment/2020/10/05/thomas-jefferson-byrd-actor-killed-atlanta-lon-orig-mrg.cnn?ref=hyperallergic.com) Derek Mahon (1941–2020), poet | [*Guardian*](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/02/derek-mahon-belfast-born-giant-of-irish-poetry-dies-aged-78?ref=hyperallergic.com) Quino (1932–2020), cartoonist who created **the character** “Mafalda” | [NPR](https://www.npr.org/2020/10/04/920038792/mafalda-cartoonist-quino-dies-at-88?ref=hyperallergic.com) Maynard Solomon (1930–2020), musicologist and biographer | [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/08/arts/music/maynard-solomon-dead.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) Kenzo Takada (1939–2020), fashion designer | [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/04/style/kenzo-takada-dead.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) Eddie Van Halen (1955–2020), singer and lead guitarist of rock band Van Halen | [*Rolling Stone*](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/sammy-hagar-mike-anthony-eddie-van-halen-tribute-video-1072961/?ref=hyperallergic.com)