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# Week in Review: Artist’s TIME Cover Denounces Anti-Asian Hate Crimes; NFTs Stolen by Hackers
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/week-in-review-artists-time-cover-denounces-anti-asian-hate-crimes-nfts-stolen-by-hackers/
- Published: 2021-03-18T20:36:43.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:38:36.000Z
- Description: Also, artists withdrew from an MCA Chicago exhibition in solidarity with laid-off workers, 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://newsletters.hyperallergic.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) *to receive these posts as a weekly newsletter*.

## Honoring the Lives of Hate Crime Victims

A portrait by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya on the cover of [*TIME* Magazine](https://hyperallergic.com/anti-asian-violence-hate-crime-time-cover-portrait/) [reflects on the rise of anti-Asian violence](https://hyperallergic.com/anti-asian-violence-hate-crime-time-cover-portrait/). The kaleidoscopic painting honors the lives of Ashley Yaun, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, and three other Asian women brutally murdered by a white gunman[ targeting Atlanta massage parlors.](https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/atlanta-spa-shooting-suspect-s-bad-day-defense-america-s-ncna1261362?ref=hyperallergic.com) 

In the wake of the massacre, the deadly consequences of racism and misogyny have come into the media spotlight. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, [hate crimes targeting Asians and Asian Americans](https://www.voanews.com/usa/race-america/hate-crimes-targeting-asian-americans-spiked-150-major-us-cities?ref=hyperallergic.com) have increased exponentially. Arts organizations like StopDiscriminAsian and NYC’s Museum of Chinese in America have directed their resources to [document and combat the rise of violence against AAPI groups](https://hyperallergic.com/565401/art-workers-combat-anti-asian-racism/), which has been exacerbated by xenophobic and destructive hostility by politicians and pundits like Donald Trump.

## Museum Turmoil

Behind the scenes of *Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars 1991–2011* at MoMA PS1, several artists included in the exhibition [confronted leadership over Chairman Leon Black’s implication in the Iraq War](https://hyperallergic.com/moma-ps1-gulf-wars-exhibition-conflict/). The artists say they were ignored and demeaned after speaking up about the trustee’s ownership of a security firm linked to untold carnage in Iraq.

A [recording of a confidential meeting at the Detroit Institute of Art](https://hyperallergic.com/leaked-recording-of-confidential-meeting-at-detroit-institute-details-allegations-of-toxic-workplace/) last November, leaked and published by the *Metro Times*, elucidated a toxic workplace culture, including descriptions of director Salvador Salort-Pons’s leadership as “erratic, autocratic, condescending” and “intolerant of dissent.”

Six artists and dozens of members of an artist collective [withdrew from an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago](https://hyperallergic.com/artists-withdraw-mca-chicago-worker-solidarity/) in solidarity with workers at the museum who have been laid off over the past year, many of whom are people of color.

## Technology

Several crypto-art collectors claim they had their [non-fungible tokens (NFTs) stolen by hackers](https://hyperallergic.com/reports-of-stolen-art-on-nft-marketplace-raise-issues-for-crypto-collectors/) of the digital marketplace Nifty Gateway, with little recourse to get them back.

A recent analysis ranked the world’s [20 most Instagrammed art museums](https://hyperallergic.com/worlds-most-instagrammed-museums/), starting with the Louvre.

## Legal Disputes

In a proposed amendment for Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy restructuring plan, 23 states are calling to [protect nonprofits that choose to drop the Sackler name](https://hyperallergic.com/states-call-for-protections-for-nonprofits-that-choose-to-drop-sackler-name/). Artist advocacy organization PAIN said the amendment's passing would “be like a magic wand freeing museums of honoring the Sackler name.”

*Artforum* has [settled an unlawful retaliation lawsuit](https://hyperallergic.com/artforum-settles-retaliation-lawsuit-with-amanda-schmitt/) brought by its former employee Amanda Schmitt in 2017 for an undisclosed amount. Schmitt accused *Artforum’s* former co-owner and publisher Knight Landesman of sexually harassing her and retaliating against her when she and other women went public with the allegations.

## In Other News

The new Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego, [will open in September](https://hyperallergic.com/institute-of-contemporary-art-san-diego-to-open-in-september/), citing the area’s expansive Latinx history as central to its identity and mission.

The Al Thani Collection, a Qatari foundation, stepped in to [prevent the deaccession of Islamic artifacts](https://hyperallergic.com/qatari-foundation-steps-in-to-prevent-deaccession-of-islamic-artifacts-at-la-mayer-museum/) by the Museum of Islamic Art in Jerusalem.

Using X-ray technology, researchers have been able to [examine letters that were previously impenetrable](https://hyperallergic.com/researchers-use-x-ray-technology-to-read-letterlocked-historical-correspondences/) through modes of “letterlocking,” a means of folding paper correspondence so that they serve as their own envelopes.

## Awards & Accolades

- The World Photography Organisation has announced the category winners and shortlist in the Open competition of the Sony World Photography Awards 2021\. | [WPO](https://mcusercontent.com/909b96e2414058d2fa81cf4a4/files/339911c0-f5e1-49d0-96f0-2050f24e174e/SWPA%5F2021%5Fl%5FOpen%5FCompetition%5Fl%5FWinners%5Fand%5FShortlist%5FAnnounced.pdf?utm%5Fsource=Press+Contacts+-+Main+List+%28Last+Update%3A+17.03.2021%29&utm%5Fcampaign=aba1d0f4fa-EMAIL%5FCAMPAIGN%5F2019%5F12%5F30%5F01%5F51%5FCOPY%5F03&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F3dd83b44bd-aba1d0f4fa-89888251&mc%5Fcid=aba1d0f4fa&mc%5Feid=bad9ec645b)
- The Institute of Museum and Library Services announced the 30 finalists for the 2021 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. | [IMLS](https://www.imls.gov/news/imls-names-finalists-2021-national-medal-museum-and-library-service?ref=hyperallergic.com)

## Transitions

- Louis Grachos was appointed executive director of SITE Santa Fe.
- Deana Haggag stepped down as president and CEO of United States Artists. She will join the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as a program officer in arts and culture. | [Hyperallergic](https://hyperallergic.com/deana-haggag-will-join-mellon-foundation/)
- Ficus Interfaith is now represented by Deli Gallery.
- Naudline Pierre is now represented by James Cohan Gallery.
- Philemona Williamson is now represented by Jenkins Johnson Gallery. | [Culture Type](https://www.culturetype.com/2021/03/18/jenkins-johnson-gallery-announced-its-representation-of-new-jersey-based-painter-philemona-williamson/?ref=hyperallergic.com)

## In Memoriam

- Patrick Dupond (1959–2021), ballet dancer and director of the Paris Opera Ballet | [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/13/arts/dance/patrick-dupond-dead.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)
- Leon Gast (1936–2021), director of the Oscar-winning *When We Were Kings* | [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/12/movies/leon-gast-dead.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)
- Flory Jagoda (1923–2021), singer, songwriter, guitarist, and accordionist who preserved Sephardic Jewish music traditions | [NPR](https://www.npr.org/2021/02/12/966942550/remembering-flory-jagoda-who-preserved-sephardic-jewish-music-and-language?ref=hyperallergic.com)
- Yaphet Kotto (1939–2021), actor known for roles in *Alien* and the James Bond film *Live and Let Die* | [*Variety*](https://variety.com/2021/film/news/yaphet-kotto-dead-dies-alien-bond-villain-1234931654/?ref=hyperallergic.com)
- Carmel Quinn (1925–2021), Irish singer and storyteller | [*Irish Times*](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/carmel-quinn-obituary-irish-singer-and-storyteller-who-regaled-new-york-audiences-1.4510869?ref=hyperallergic.com)