Happy weekend! It was a tough week for historical art as a restoration at a Spanish church went wrong and a photo-seeker allegedly poured water on 6,000-year-old cave paintings to capture a clearer image. Maybe it’s time that expert conservators get recognized as the superheroes that they are! In more alarming news, the videographer who filmed the vandalism of the Brooklyn Museum leaders’ homes was arrested and charged with a hate crime. The charge marks a troubling precedent in terms of journalistic freedom. On the brighter side of the news, Philadelphia has announced a new Armenian Heritage Walk anchored by artist Khoren Der Harootian’s statue “Young Meher,” unveiled in the city in 1976. The walk comes at a time when the Azerbaijani regime’s attacks on heritage sites in Artsakh threaten a cultural genocide.
On a different note, Zoë Hopkins discusses Toni Morrison’s lifelong vision of centering the Black gaze in an incisive personal essay marking five years since the trailblazing writer’s death. There’s plenty more to enjoy this weekend, including Rebecca Schiffman’s review of a show that brings together Black women artists of different generations and Amy Golahny’s fascinating look at encounters between artists from the European Lowlands and Muslim-majority countries, on view at Harvard Art Museums. And make sure to check out the engrossing research and essays by our 2023–24 Emily Hall Tremaine Journalism Fellowship for Curators Brianna L. Hernández, Machiko Harada, Brian Johnson, Álvaro Ibarra, and Tiffany D. Gaines. This week, we highlighted their in-depth conversations with Hyperallergic’s Editor-in-Chief Hrag Vartanian.
— Natalie Haddad, Reviews Editor
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