When Will MoMA Dump Leon Black?
New horrific allegations against the museum trustee, artists push against ICE, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art says goodbye to "PhAM."
In March 2021, we published an open letter signed by over 150 artists and art workers calling on the Museum of Modern Art in New York to cut ties with its then-chairman, private equity billionaire Leon Black, for his close relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. It worked, kind of. Black stepped down from his role, but still sits on the museum's board of trustees to this day.
Meanwhile, some devastating sexual abuse allegations were leveled against Black, including particularly heartbreaking ones in the recently released files. Black denies the allegations. MoMA is not lifting a finger. Read the full story below.
But I won't leave you on that grim note. Please read Alicia Eler's report on how Minneapolis artists are employing the full power of their creativity and community to fight against the ICE invasion of their city. Their message is loud and clear: Get the hell out.
—Hakim Bishara, editor-in-chief
In Minneapolis, Artists Mobilize to Crush ICE
After ICE agents murdered Renee Good in broad daylight on January 7, Minnesotan printmaker Art Price was furious but determined to put his resources to work. "I said, 'What do I have as a resource?' I have presses and I have ink," he recalls. He's one of dozens of artists who are mobilizing against ICE's occupation of Minneapolis, using beads, ink, and posters as tools of community-building and resistance.
The Rubin’s Annual Grant Program Funds Himalayan Art and Research
The 2026 grant cycle opens February 16. Submit a letter of intent by March 6.
News
- After a disastrous rebrand and internal turmoil, the Philadelphia Museum of Art decided to return to its old name. Farewell, "PhAM"!
- The latest tranche of Epstein files includes new details and gruesome descriptions of alleged abuse by MoMA trustee Leon Black. Among them is a disturbing diary entry by an alleged victim.
- Palestinian residents in the Occupied West Bank village of Sebastia have expressed outrage at Israel's plan to seize the town and neighboring archaeological site as part of a plan convert the area into a tourist attraction for Jewish settlers.
From Our Critics
Deborah Jack’s Immersive Elegy for Water
The artist critiques the legitimacy of cartography, empire, and ecological adaptation. | Stacy J. Platt
In Memoriam
Remembering Richard Gorman, Seyni Awa Camara, and Björn Roth
An Irish colorist, a Senegalese sculptor, the steward of a family art dynasty, a beloved Philadelphia art blogger, and two Florida Highwaymen are among the community members we honor this week.
Member Comment
Antonio C. Cuyler and Damien Davis’s “After the Strike, Will Art Galleries Be Allies?”
Onassis AiR Residency Program 2026-27
Participants in Onassis AiR’s artistic research and residency program in Athens, Greece, receive an artist’s fee, a research budget, housing, round-trip travel, mentoring, and other resources to support their work. Read more on Hyperallergic.
Deadline: March 3, 2026, at 12pm (UTC+2) | onassis.org
See more in this month’s list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers!
ICYMI
What Hew Locke Carries
With his haunting exhibition, Passages, the Guyanese-British artist reminds us that when we survive, so do our ghosts and our wounds. | Seph Rodney
