Letter from the editor:

It's been another week of protests in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, as anger grows over the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Media outlets are reporting the Minneapolis police department may be disbanded, while activists in cities around the country (and the world) are making demands for reform or abolition of prisons and police departments. It certainly feels like the beginning of a new era.

I wrote about the boarding up of luxury galleries in Chelsea as a symptom of another malaise, namely the tendency of art galleries to feel exclusionary to large parts of society. 

Kambole Campbell and Lauren Lluveras wrote about the "black square" phenomenon that appeared all over social media last Tuesday. 

While the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis ended their contract with local police, the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City got caught allowing police to station on their property during BLM protests, the Toledo Museum of Art expresses political neutrality, SFMOMA gets called out for censoring Black voices, and, in Florence, Italy, the director of the Uffizi Gallery suggests some religious art shouldn't be in museums.

And finally, a reminder that we still urgently need your support to reach our membership goal this month to sustain our operations. We've almost reached our launch goal and you can help us get there. Support Hyperallergic by becoming a member today!

The Disregard of Power in Journalistic “Objectivity”

Images of the brutalized, dead, and dying can buy awards and recognition for journalists. When the opportunity presents itself, many rush to participate because they subscribe to the doctrine of redistributing pain as it is, not as it should be.

William C. Anderson

News

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Agrees to Cut Ties With City Police

Following a petition by the MCA Chicago’s Teen Creative Agency, the museum has pledged to stop contracting CPD’s services until the department makes reforms. But the group believes much more work remains to be done.

Major Actors and Directors Join Campaign to “Arrest the Cops Who Killed Breonna Taylor”

Breonna Taylor would have turned 27 on June 5. Jordan Peele, Ava DuVernay, and others joined the thousands who are calling out for justice in Taylor’s case.

Pittsburgh Newspaper Bars Black Journalists, Citing “Bias” in Protest Coverage

“The only bias that is being shown is by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette management,” said a spokesperson for the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh.

Queer Art Workers Reflect: Raja Feather Kelly Wants Sustainability to Become “Actual Practice”

LGBTQ Pride month is now. Every day in June, we are celebrating the community by featuring one queer art worker and asking them to reflect on what this moment means to them.

Dessane Lopez Cassell

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4. The Delirium of Female Desire

5. Phillip Allen’s Astonishing Achievement

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