What Makes a Good Protest Sign?
Tip on how to create a powerful No Kings sign, art to see in Chicago this spring, DHS uses a Japanese artist’s painting to promote its racist agenda, the baby Jesus painting that went viral.
“When in doubt, always bring art supplies to the protest.” Words to live by from Steven Weinberg, a comic artist and children’s book author based in Upstate New York. With the next No Kings protest coming up this Saturday, he asked several artists, writers, and curators — including Hyperallergic Editor-at-Large Hrag Vartanian — for practical tips on making a protest sign that sticks it to the powers that be.
Check out his guide below, plus the Japanese artist whose work was appropriated by the Department of Homeland Security, how the US-Israel war on Iran is impacting art spaces across the Gulf states, and a Mannerist baby Jesus who foreshadowed the advent of looksmaxxing by 500 years.
—Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor
How to Make a No Kings Protest Sign
We asked artists, writers, and curators for practical tips on crafting a powerful protest sign. | Steven Weinberg
Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair Returns to Powerhouse Arts This Spring
Over 50 exhibitors, hands-on programming, and a juried print exhibition make up the fair’s expanded second edition. April 9–12, 2026.
News
- The internet goes wild for The Met’s newly acquired Mannerist painting of an unusually muscular baby Jesus, which was recently identified as a long-lost work by Italian painter Rosso Fiorentino.
- Though some galleries and museums across the Gulf states remain open and organizations project cautious optimism, the impact of the US-Israel war on Iran is being felt by the neighboring cultural sector.
- Japanese artist Hiroshi Nagai, best known for painting leisurely beach and poolside scenes, told Hyperallergic that he is “at a loss” after the US Department of Homeland Security used his work to promote its agenda.
On View in Chicago
10 Exhibitions to See in Chicago This Spring
Martin Wong’s mesmerizing Chinatowns, Mindy Rose Schwartz’s subversion of craft, Nate Millstein’s tin ceilings, and so much more. | Natalie Jenkins
Center for Craft – 2026 Craft Archive Fellowship
Four $5,000 awards will be offered to fellows conducting research on underrepresented craft histories. The fellowship will culminate with a featured article on Hyperallergic and a virtual program hosted by the Center for Craft. Read more on Hyperallergic.
Deadline: May 20, 2026 | centerforcraft.org
See more in this month’s list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers!
From the Archive
A Visual History of No Kings
From the destruction of King George III’s statue to today’s No Kings movement, resistance to tyranny has always demanded aesthetic subversion. | Ed Simon
