Arts news

• Kathleen Goncharov, Esteemed Curator and Artist, Dies at 73

  02-01-2026 22:36 via artnews.com
  Kathleen Goncharov, a curator whose work included organizing shows for Just Above Midtown gallery, died at her home in Boca Raton, Florida, of natural causes on December 31. She was 73 years old. Goncharov served as senior curator at the Boca Raton Museum of Art in Florida from 2012 until she retired in 2025. She had previously worked as a curator at institutions throughout the US, curated exhibitions from Rio de Janeiro to Bologna and Rome, and served as the commissioner of the US Pavilion
  
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• Zohran Mamdani Uses Historic Qur’an at His Swearing-In Ceremony

  02-01-2026 21:52 via artnews.com
  At midnight on New Year’s Eve, incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdami took his oath of office on the Qur’an, Islam’s most important religious text. He is the first Muslim to hold the position of Mayor of New York City.One of the two Qur’ans used in the ceremony came from Mr. Mamdani’s grandfather. The other was lent by the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. According to the New York Times, the latter book was selected by Rahim and
  
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• At India’s Top Biennial, A Painting Referencing ‘The Last Supper’ Sparks Protests and Backlash

  02-01-2026 20:56 via artnews.com
  Just weeks after opening in mid-December, India’s top biennial, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, was forced to close briefly following protests by Christian groups in response to a painting depicting the Last Supper.The painting by Tom Vattakuzhy was not included in the main biennial exhibition, “For the Time Being,” but rather in a recurring side exhibition also organized by the Kochi Biennale Foundation called “EDAM,” which highlights the practices of artists and colle
  
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• Two Notables Harshly Criticized Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” — So He Painted Them Into It

  02-01-2026 20:50 via news.artnet.com
  Biagio da Cesena, the Papal Master of Ceremonies, and Venetian satirist Pietro Aretino hated the fact that Michelangelo was putting so many naked people on the Sistine Chapel’s wall, saying the painting belonged in a public bathhouse. Bad idea to publicly attack a high-profile artwork while the artist is still working on it. – Artnet
  
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• Sorry, But This Sounds Creepy: How AI Might Put You In The Movie You’re Watching

  02-01-2026 20:31 via deadline.com
  Producer Charlie Brooker proposes scanning the faces of cinemagoers as they enter the theater and then using AI to cast them “randomly” in the actual movie. – Deadline
  
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• Silicon Valley Is Pivoting To Audio And Away From Screens

  02-01-2026 20:15 via techcrunch.com
  The move reflects where the entire tech industry is headed — toward a future where screens become background noise and audio takes center stage. – TechCrunch
  
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• Erie Art Museum Refuses to Return ‘Abandoned’ Painting to Daughter of Late Local Artist

  02-01-2026 20:15 via artnews.com
  The Erie Art Museum has responded to a lawsuit filed on Nov. 7, 2025, by the daughter of a local artist, requesting the return of a watercolor painted by her late father. The artist, George C. Demiel, submitted the painting to be included in an annual juried show in 1966 at the museum, which was then known as the Art Center of Erie. The Art Center did not accept the painting, and Demiel—who died the following year at age 53—never reclaimed the artwork.The Erie Times-News, which has b
  
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• A Hudson River School Painting On Public View For The First Time In 152 Years

  02-01-2026 20:01 via msn.com
  In 1873, Jasper Francis Cropsey’s Autumn in the Ramapo Valley, Erie Railway was taken to London by its commissioner. It remained overseas until last year, when a couple of American art collectors acquired it — then sent it to a museum because it wouldn’t fit through the door of their home. – The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
  
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• Amid Ongoing Layoffs, Brown University ‘Terminates’ Both Bell Gallery Curators, Rankling Faculty

  02-01-2026 19:46 via artnews.com
  Both of the curators at the David Winton Bell Gallery at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, were terminated on December 4, according to an internal message shared with ARTnews. Kate Kraczon, director of exhibitions and chief curator, and Thea Quiray Tagle, associate curator, will both work until early 2026.The Bell exhibits contemporary art and is part of the Brown Arts Institute. The school is facing a substantial financial crunch that has led to layoffs and other austerity measures.
  
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• Amid Ongoing Layoffs, Brown University Furloughs Both Bell Gallery Curators, Rankling Faculty

  02-01-2026 19:46 via artnews.com
  Both of the curators at the David Winton Bell Gallery at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, were furloughed on December 4, according to an internal message shared with ARTnews. Kate Kraczon, director of exhibitions and chief curator, and Thea Quiray Tagle, associate curator, will both work until early 2026. The Bell exhibits contemporary art and is part of the Brown Arts Institute. The school is facing a substantial financial crunch that has led to layoffs and other austerity measures
  
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• 25 Dance Artists To Watch In 2026

  02-01-2026 19:44 via dancemagazine.com
  These dancers, choreographers, directors, and companies are already doing exceptional work, but we’re betting on them to break through in a major way in the year to come. – Dance Magazine
  
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• After an Audit Found Irregularities, Baltimore’s Lewis Museum Says It’s On the Road to Compliance

  02-01-2026 19:33 via artnews.com
  The leadership of Baltimore’s Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture is working to iron out problems uncovered in an August 15 audit by the Maryland Department of Legislative Services, according to a report in the Baltimore Sun.The audit uncovered serious irregularities. It found charges on the museum’s corporate credit card that were “without a readily apparent business purpose.” It found two instances in which payments were made to a
  
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• Rijksmuseum Director On The Humanness Of Museums

  02-01-2026 19:31 via thetimes.com
  “In a good museum, it’s a lot about imagination. You don’t want to spell things out. We are complex. History is complex, and history has both triumphs and it has dark pages.” – The Times
  
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• AMC Declares Its Live Event With Netflix A Huge Success

  02-01-2026 19:15 via investor.amctheatres.com
  In addition to the countless millions of people who will enjoy Stranger Things on the Netflix streaming platform, in just two days, more than 753,000 Stranger Things fans flocked to an AMC Theatre to personally join in the celebration. – Deadline
  
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• China Threatens To Jail Anyone Who Performs, Listens To, Or Shares Uyghur Songs

  02-01-2026 19:02 via apnews.com
  During a meeting in the historic Uyghur city of Kashgar in October, authorities warned residents that performing, playing, uploading onto social media, or storing on devices any of a list of Uyghur songs would face imprisonment. Uyghur exiles report that several people have already been jailed for doing so. – AP
  
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• Prince’s Withering Putdown Of Digital Musicians

  02-01-2026 18:44 via musicradar.com
  “The kid with the PC in the bedroom can’t play his instrument. He can make some sounds, and then you can get a vast amount of repetition, but if they didn’t take the time to learn their instrument and their scales and to actually speak the language of music then they can’t play.” – Music Radar
  
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• The Playwright Contemplating The Post-Human World

  02-01-2026 18:31 via nytimes.com
  “Everyone was afraid of the telephone, everyone was afraid of television,” Harrison said. “It’s just going to march on. And we’ll acclimate.” – The New York Times
  
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• Doug Varone Talks About Cancelling His Date At The Kennedy Center

  02-01-2026 18:15 via npr.org
  “I do believe they should be separate. And the success of the Kennedy Center, you know, working in a bipartisan way, has been an example of that in a great way.” – NPR
  
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• Māori Vogue Balls Hit The Mainstream In New Zealand

  02-01-2026 18:03 via theguardian.com
  The voguing scene, led by Māori (indigenous New Zealanders) and immigrants from the Pacific islands, only got started in the country about a decade ago. By last October, there was a major ball held at the national museum. – The Guardian
  
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• Works by Salvador Dalí, Piet Mondrian, Paul Klee, and More Have Officially Entered the Public Domain

  02-01-2026 17:54 via artnews.com
  With each passing year, new artworks are shorn of their copyright protections and entered into the public domain, allowing them to be used freely, without express permission from the estates that steward these pieces. This year, pieces by Salvador Dalí, José Clemente Orozco, and others of note have officially joined the public domain.There are some important exceptions about how these artworks can be used, however. In theory, in keeping with US copyright law, which states that a co
  
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• Ten Questions For Theatre In 2026

  02-01-2026 17:44 via newyorktheater.me
  Each year, theater producers and publicists work to make opening night more and more meaningless.  Given that this is the night that reviews come out, the result is the continuing, deliberate devaluing of professional theater criticism. – New York Theatre
  
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• Trump Plans To Reconstitute The “Commission Of Fine Arts” To Approve His Projects

  02-01-2026 17:31 via washingtonpost.com
  The White House is expected to invite past Trump appointees to rejoin the Commission of Fine Arts, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss those plans.  – Washington Post
  
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• Exploring the Globe of Online Gambling Establishment Play for Genuine Cash

  02-01-2026 17:14 via zouchmagazine.com
  “‘ html.
  Over the last few years, the allure of online casino sites has actually grown significantly, using fanatics the thrill of betting from the convenience of their own homes. The benefit and range of video games offered by these platforms make them an attractive option for lots of gamers. Nonetheless, venturing right into the world of on-line gambling enterprises requires cautious consideration and knowledge.
  Whether you’re an experienced casino player or a curious beginne
  
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• Like “The Vandals In Rome”: Senators Investigate How MAGA Allies Are “Looting” Kennedy Center

  02-01-2026 17:02 via theguardian.com
  Led by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Democrats on the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee say they’ve obtained documents suggesting that the Center is being operated as a “slush fund and private club for Trump’s friends and political allies”, resulting in millions of lost income and a departure from its statutory mission. – The Guardian
  
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• 2,000-Year-Old ‘Extensive Industrial Complex’ and Roman Cemetery Found in Egypt

  02-01-2026 16:58 via artnews.com
  Archaeologists working in the western Nile Delta of Egypt discovered remnants of an “extensive industrial complex” from as far back as the 5th century B.C.E. as well as a Roman cemetery that suggests the area was fertile ground for civilization and exchange in the Mediterranean.As reported by Archaeology News, the findings—by an Egyptian-Italian team from the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the University of Padua at the sites of Kom el-Ahmar and Kom Wasit in Beheira Governo
  
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• Trump Rings in 2026 at Mar-a-Lago With Auction of Jesus Painting for $2.75 M.

  02-01-2026 16:37 via artnews.com
  President Donald Trump rang in the New Year with an amateur art auction at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, where a freshly painted portrait of Jesus Christ sold for $2.75 million. He even shared his New Year’s resolution: “Peace on Earth.”The painting was created on stage by Vanessa Horabuena, a self-described Christian “worship artist” whom the president described as “one of the greatest artists anywhere in the world”.“To me, she’s one of
  
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• Australia’s Capital Will Finally Get A Big-City-Sized Performing Arts Center

  02-01-2026 16:36 via limelight-arts.com.au
  “The new (2,000-seat) theatre will allow Canberra to host major national and international theatre productions that currently don’t visit Canberra because our 1965-built Canberra Theatre stage is too small and with only 1,200 seats, it just isn’t commercially viable for most touring shows,” wrote Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister Andrew Barr. – Limelight (Australia)
  
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• If We Want More People To Read, We Should Tell Them That Reading Is A Vice

  02-01-2026 16:04 via msn.com
  “This would be a more effective way to attract young people, and it also happens to be true. When literature was considered transgressive, moralists couldn’t get people to stop buying and reading dangerous books. Now that books are considered virtuous and edifying, moralists can’t persuade anyone to pick one up.” – The Atlantic (MSN)
  
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• Rightist Politicians Instigate Parliamentary Inquiry On Impartiality Of France’s National Broadcaster

  02-01-2026 15:31 via theguardian.com
  “The UDR party, an ally of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, set up the inquiry amid far-right claims that public TV and radio has a bias against them. Le Pen … has said ‘there is a clear problem with neutrality in public service broadcasting’ and that she would like to privatise it.” – The Guardian
  
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• UK Museums Increasingly Turning to Public to Make Decisions, Trump Auctions Off Jesus Christ Painting for $2.75 M.: Morning Links for January 2, 2026

  02-01-2026 15:24 via artnews.com
  To receive Morning Links in your inbox every weekday, sign up for our Breakfast with ARTnews newsletter.The HeadlinesPOWER TO THE PEOPLE. British museums are increasingly handing the compass to the public, inviting ordinary citizens to help chart future policy, priorities, and even funding decisions through citizens’ assemblies, The Art Newspaper wrote. The National Gallery’s newly launched NG Citizens panel is emblematic of this shift, followi
  
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• Russia Reopens Theater It Bombed Out In Occupied Ukrainian City

  02-01-2026 15:05 via apnews.com
  “Moscow-installed authorities marked the rebuilding of the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater (in Mariupol) with a gala concert on the building’s new main stage Sunday night. … The original theater was destroyed when it was targeted by a Russian airstrike on March 16, 2022,” killing around 600 people sheltering inside. – AP
  
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• Janet Fish, Dead At 87, Painted Radiant Still Lifes As The Art World Favored Abstraction

  02-01-2026 14:33 via artforum.com
  “As rendered by Fish, bottles of window-cleaning fluid, jars of honey, plastic-wrapped trays of fruit, and glass vases bursting with flowers appeared to glow from within, conjuring a sense of exuberance and possibility.” – Artforum
  
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• Historic Amsterdam Church Destroyed In New Year’s Eve Fire

  02-01-2026 14:00 via telegraph.co.uk
  The Vondelkerk, a 154-year-old Gothic Revival church which had been deconsecrated and run as a concert and events venue in recent years, ignited shortly after midnight. The flames were fanned by strong winds, and the tower and roof of the building collapsed. – The Telegraph (UK)
  
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• 2026 Preview: 20 Museum Openings, Art Exhibitions, Fairs, and Biennials to Look Forward To

  02-01-2026 11:00 via artnews.com
  While 2026 has barely even begun, the year already looks to be a busy one. The world’s biggest art festival, the Venice Biennale, is returning, headlining a year that will also see many more biennials staged from New York to Sydney. Long-awaited museums are finally set to arrive, and new fairs are launching. And that’s to say nothing of monumentally scaled retrospectives for some of art history’s biggest stars.What should you look forward to most this year? To help you plan, we
  
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