May 25, 2021 • View in browser

Good morning. 🌤

Today, how digital colonialism raises questions for museums, San Francisco is expanding its program that pays artists $1,000 a month, and a review of the large exhibition about Blackness and architecture in the US.

— Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief

What the "Nefertiti Hack" Tells Us About Digital Colonialism

A hacked 3D scan of the famous sculpture shows how traditional models of heritage ownership might change in museums.

Sarah E. Bond

What's Happening

Activists dressed in flame colored robes chanted while violinists performed in Nero costumes in the colors of the BP logo (photo by Joseph Edwards; image courtesy BP or not BP?)

Clad in togas, activists crashed the reopening of the British Museum and Science Museum this past weekend in protest of a Big Oil-sponsored exhibition on the Roman Emperor Nero.
San Francisco will extend and expand its recently launched Guaranteed Income Pilot for artists, which provides monthly payments of $1,000 to local artists, thanks to a $3.46 million donation from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

Art Investigations

How Does Plastic Age? Conservators Are Taking a Closer Look

A new project is researching how Soviet-era plastics were made and used.

Karen Chernick

Using Her Art History Training, a Tiktoker Debunks Eurovision’s Cocaine Controversy

Popular Tiktoker and art historian Mary McGillivray mapped the angles and visual geometry of the scene to debunk rumors that the musician celebrated his band’s win with cocaine.

Sarah Rose Sharp

Imagining the Future & Reflecting on the Past

In Reconstructions, Black Artists and Architects Move Beyond the Limitations of the Present

What would happen if Black people had or were currently given the time, space, energy, and funding to build alternative futures?

Sinclair Spratley

Plywood Obelisks Reflect on a Year of Racial Justice Protests

Michael Zelehoski’s sculpture “Miguelito” is crafted with plywood used to board up businesses during last summer’s racial justice protests.

Hrag Vartanian

Streaming Now

A Feminist Streaming Site Centers Palestinian Filmmakers and Much More

Another Screen is featuring contemporary short films by Palestinian women, as well as rare ‘60s TV interviews by French writer Marguerite Duras.

Elizabeth Horkley

From the Store

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