Netflix's Cleopatra Has a Thick British Accent

April 18, 2023

Good morning. ⛅ Today's stories speak for themselves: The NYPD arrests an artist for painting a call for help for an unhoused man; vandals scribble crayon all over a 200-year-old statue; an ostentatious Armenian businessman wants to erect the world's tallest Jesus statue; and Netflix releases a docuseries depicting Cleopatra as a Black woman with a heavy British accent.

Also, Briana Ellis-Gibbs visits the Black Comic Book Festival in New York, art historian Natasha Seaman traces Vermeer's mysteries, and art crime professor Erin L. Thompson brings us juicy provenance anecdotes from a new book on the subject.

— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor

Internet Perplexed by Netflix’s Black Cleopatra

Critics say producer Jada Pinkett Smith and the streaming platform should center the stories of historical Black women instead of rewriting history. | Rhea Nayyar

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WHAT'S HAPPENING

Münninghoff’s painting (photo by Francisca Benitez)

East Village artist Helena Münninghoff was arrested for painting a call for help for her unhoused friend on a construction fence.

An 18th-century statue by prominent British sculptor John Bacon was recently discovered scribbled with blue crayon.

Autumn Breon, juice wood, and Oto-Abasi Attah will each receive a $100,000 stipend and healthcare through Crenshaw Dairy Mart’s inaugural fellowship.

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Make Brookfield Place Your NYC Cultural Destination This Spring

Free seasonal programming includes an Earth Day celebration with the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, new art installations, a piano bar series, and more. Learn more.

LATEST REVIEWS

The Stories of Art History's Detectives

The provenance researcher must be a detective, figuring out alternative ways to get at information that major participants in the trade are often unwilling to disclose. | Erin L. Thompson

Can We Ever Get Closer to Vermeer?

Even when his style is at its most self-effacing, smoothly drawing us into the moment, we remain, inevitably, outside. | Natasha Seaman

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The 2023 Columbia MFA Thesis Exhibition Opens in New York City

Curator Jasmine Wahi notes the exhibition “instills a glowing spark of excitement for the future of contemporary art.” On view April 23 through May 21. Learn more.

MORE ON HYPERALLERGIC

The Black Comic Book Festival Is an Act of Resistance

At the annual Schomburg Center event, I didn't have to go searching for books made by and for me — because they were all around me. | Briana Ellis-Gibbs

Meet the Oligarch Who Wants to Build the World’s Tallest Jesus Statue

Armenia’s Trump-like business tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan is determined to surpass Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer. | Simon Maghakyan

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