October 3, 2022 • View in browser
Good morning. 🌧️ Today, we have a special opinion piece by former museum director and New York City Culture Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl and artist and museum educator Pablo Helguera about the need for museums to divest from fossil fuels, big pharma, and weapon manufacturing. While some art institutions have made concrete actions in this regard, others, like the Guggenheim Museum and the Getty, have failed to do so. I encourage you to read and share this important piece.
We also have news of how the Association of Art Museum Directors has announced a new deaccessioning policy, a new report is urging the Canadian government to fund the repatriation of Indigenous objects and human remains, and the strange story of a collector in Mexico who reputedly burned a Frida Kahlo drawing after turning it into an NFT.
This week, I'll be in London and I'll be moderating a conversation with the British Art Dealers Association on Thursday, October 6. Please RSVP (seats are limited), stop by, and say Hi.
— Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief
It's Time for US Museums to Divest From Immoral Industries
What would it look like if museums turned their billions toward positive good instead of questionable investments simply for profit? | Tom Finkelpearl and Pablo Helguera
SPONSORED
Poster House Presents Masked Vigilantes on Silent Motorbikes
Curated by RJ Rushmore, this NYC exhibition features David Wojnarowicz, Swoon, and other artists who use posters to question beauty standards, capitalism, and ownership of public space. Learn more.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Martín Mobarak burned what he says was a real Frida Kahlo drawing. (all images courtesy Melike Ayan, Mel Strategies; screenshot Elaine Velie/Hyperallergic)
Mexico's chief cultural authority is investigating a collector who says he burned a Frida Kahlo drawing for an NFT.
The Orange County Museum of Art is reopening with a brand-new building and free entry for the next 10 years.
A new report estimates that 6.7 million Indigenous objects and human remains continue to be held in Canadian institutions.
The Association of Art Museum Directors announced that museums can now apply deaccessioning funds toward collection care.
SPONSORED
ICA Philadelphia Presents First Major US Show on Sissel Tolaas, Smell Researcher and Artist
Using the building’s architecture to create an olfactory landscape, Tolaas explores the concept of experience, the unknown, and even the (un)pleasantly familiar. Learn more.
LATEST REVIEWS
My Imaginary Country Is a Witness to Chile's Past and Future
Patricio Guzmán combines reflection on the past, observation of the present, and hope for the future into an expansive vision of all the ideas he’s explored in his work. | Dan Schindel
How Disney Animation Provides a Gateway to Understanding Rococo
So closely do Disney's animators assimilate the sensibility of French design that on occasion their source material appears almost more Disney than Disney itself. | Olivia McEwan
SPONSORED
Little Ark Opens at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea
Made of iron and recycled cardboard boxes, Choe U-ram’s ship puts on a performance that seeks to reconstruct reality. On view in Seoul through February 26, 2023. Learn more.
ALSO ON HYPERALLERGIC
Your Concise Los Angeles Art Guide for October 2022
Your list of must-see, fun, insightful, and very Los Angeles art events this month, including the Maya Codex of Mexico at the Getty, Beatrice Wood, Trenton Doyle Hancock, and more. | Matt Stromberg
Billboard Art in Phoenix Is Tackling Abortion Bans
The Grand Avenue Billboard Project enables artists like Karen Fiorito to publicly express their political views. | Lynn Trimble
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