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# Week in Review: The NYC Mayoral Candidate’s Cultural Plans; First-ever NFT Sells at Auction
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/week-in-review-nyc-mayoral-candidates-cultural-plans-first-ever-nft-sells-at-auction/
- Published: 2021-06-10T19:12:45.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:38:32.000Z
- Description: Also, over 16,000 artists voiced solidarity with Palestine in a “Letter Against Apartheid,” 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)

W*eek 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*.

## Culture in NYC

As the June 22 NYC mayoral primary draws near, Hyperallergic rounded up the top six contenders and [summarized their priorities for the cultural sector](https://hyperallergic.com/where-2021-nyc-mayoral-candidates-stand-on-the-arts/).

NYC will distribute [$5,000 grants to over 3,000 artists](https://hyperallergic.com/new-york-city-artist-corps-will-distribute-5k-grants-to-artists-for-public-art/) as part of the City Artist Corps, a WPA-inspired initiative addressing the devastating toll the pandemic has had on the cultural sector.

A program organized by Museum Hue, the Laundromat Project, and Hester Street will [map POC-led NYC arts organizations](https://hyperallergic.com/huearts-nyc-will-map-poc-led-arts-organizations-to-encourage-equity/) to encourage equity in the cultural sector.

The Met Museum partnered with Citymeals on Wheels to [deliver monthly art-making kits](https://hyperallergic.com/citymeals-on-wheels-delivers-metropolitan-museum-art-making-kits-to-nyc-seniors/) to over 1,000 seniors in New York.

## Strike MoMA

Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill is the first artist to [withdraw from Museum of Modern Art events](https://hyperallergic.com/exhibiting-moma-artist-withdraws-from-museum-events-in-solidarity-with-protesters/) in solidarity with Strike MoMA protesters.

Hyperallergic reporter Hakim Bishara [accompanied two Strike MoMA protesters](https://hyperallergic.com/washing-their-hands-with-our-blood-activists-on-moma-trustees-dominican-republic-gold-mine/) on their journey from Queens to Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art for an insider view of the weekly protests.

Artists nominated MoMA as an “[at-risk cultural heritage site](https://hyperallergic.com/artists-nominate-moma-world-monument-fund-at-risk-cultural-heritage-site/)” to the World Monuments Fund, citing several MoMA board members for their connections to “gentrification and displacement,” “extractivism and environmental degradation,” and more.

## In Other News

The first-ever NFT, minted by artist Kevin McCoy, [sold at Sotheby's for $1.4 million](https://hyperallergic.com/kevin-mccoy-quantum-first-nft-created-sells-at-sothebys-for-over-one-million/).

Kara Walker, Nan Goldin, and over 16,000 artists, musicians, and more voiced solidarity with Palestine in a “[Letter Against Apartheid](https://hyperallergic.com/kara-walker-nan-goldin-and-16000-artists-voice-solidarity-with-palestine/).”

The Detroit Institute of Arts is facing backlash over a [mural that depicts a group of police officers holding hands](https://hyperallergic.com/detroit-institute-of-arts-pro-cop-mural-backlash/) against the background of the US flag. Artists including Dawoud Bey, Jordan Casteel, and Kevin Beasley criticized the institution’s partnership on the mural, which has been labeled as pro-cop by many.

New machine learning technology can [match ancient pottery fragments](https://hyperallergic.com/machine-learning-matches-ancient-pottery-fragments-tusayan-white-ware/) by rapidly sorting thousands of fragmented pottery designs into differing stylistic categories.

## Awards & Accolades

- **Lulani Arquette** and **Roberto Bedoya** were awarded the 2021 Berresford Prize by United States Artists.
- **Koral Carballo, Roopa Gogineni, Bayeté Ross Smith,** and **Daniella Zalcman** were named 2021 CatchLight fellows.

## Transitions

- **Joy Bivins** was named director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
- **Allison Glenn, Diya Vij, Dream the Combine, New Red Order,** and **Risa Puelo** have been selected to curate the second Counterpublic triennial in St. Louis.
- **Loren Rothschild** will retire from the board of the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, becoming trustee Emeritus.
- **Legacy Russell** was appointed executive director and chief curator of the Kitchen.
- **Portia Zvavahera** is now represented by David Zwirner gallery.
- **Jeffrey Gibson, Julie Tolentino, Torrey Peters, Alexis De Veaux, Will Rawls,** and **Constantina Zavitsanos** have joined the Queer|Art|Mentorship program as new mentors.

## In Memoriam

- Gottfried Böhm (1920–2021), Brutalist architect | [Wallpaper\*](https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/gottfried-bohm-1920-2021?ref=hyperallergic.com)
- Violetta Elvin (1923–2021), dancer with Britain's Royal Ballet | [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/10/arts/dance/violetta-elvin-dead.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)
- Geri Hooks (1935–2021), Houston art gallery owner | [Glasstire](https://glasstire.com/2021/06/09/geraldine-geri-lee-epstein-hooks-1935-2021/?ref=hyperallergic.com)
- Cornelia Oberlander (1921–2021), landscape architect| [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/arts/design/cornelia-oberlander-dead-coronavirus.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)
- Clarence Williams III (1939–2021), actor | [*Washington Post*](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/clarence-williams-iii-dead/2021/06/07/dbeb9194-c799-11eb-afd0-9726f7ec0ba6%5Fstory.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)