Arts news

• Whitney Museum Voluntarily Recognizes Union

  01-06-2021 23:02 via artnews.com
  
  After workers at the Whitney Museum announced plans to unionize, the New York art institution said it would recognize their group—a rare gesture for a major U.S. museum. Jacobin first reported the news of the museum’s recognition of the union on Friday.
  “We respect the desire of our colleagues to engage in a dialogue about collective bargaining, as is their legal right, and we remain committed to supporting all staff, regardless of affiliation,” a Whitney spokesperson sai
  
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• Hammer Museum Names Chief Curator and Launches Chief Learning, Engagement, and Research Role

  03-02-2026 19:00 via artnews.com
  The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles announced two senior leadership appointments today: Michael Wellen will be chief curator, and Regan Pro will be chief of learning, engagement, and research, a newly created role. Wellen begins at the museum on April 6, while Pro will start on March 2.The chief curatorship at the Hammer, which oversees the museum’s contemporary art exhibitions and collection, publications, and registrar and preparator teams, has been vacant since 2023, when Connie Butler dep
  
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• Woodie King Jr., a Driving Force in Black Theater, Dies at 88

  03-02-2026 18:40 via nytimes.com
  His New Federal Theater in New York provided a rare stage for Black playwrights and emerging actors, among them Denzel Washington, Phylicia Rashad and Chadwick Boseman.
  
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• Former French Culture Minister Jack Lang and His Daughter Caroline Lang Appear in the Epstein Files

  03-02-2026 18:21 via artnews.com
  Former French culture minister Jack Lang and his daughter, film producer Caroline Lang, are the latest art world figures revealed to have had ties with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. Correspondence between Epstein and the Langs appears in the documents published Friday by the US Department of Justice, and Caroline Lang has resigned from her position as a general delegate with the Syndicat des Producteurs Indépendants, a union of independent media prod
  
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• Jeff Koons Says He ‘Did Not Have a Relationship’ with Jeffrey Epstein After Appearing in Files

  03-02-2026 18:00 via artnews.com
  After correspondence between Jeff Koons and Jeffrey Epstein’s representatives emerged last month via a newly released set of files, the artist distanced himself from the convicted sex offender.Among those files is an email from Koons to Epstein’s assistant, confirming his presence at a dinner held at Epstein’s house, as ARTnews previously reported. Other documents in the newly released files show that Epstein sought a visit to Koons’s studio with filmmaker Woody Allen and
  
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• Chuck Negron, Singer With Three Dog Night, Is Dead at 83

  03-02-2026 17:38 via nytimes.com
  His tenor anchored generational hits like “Joy to the World” and “One.”
  
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• 10 Movies to Stream for Black History Month

  03-02-2026 17:14 via nytimes.com
  Watch these selections that highlight the range and evolution of Black film.
  
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• Curator Ekow Eshun Picked to Organize Next SITE Santa Fe International

  03-02-2026 16:00 via artnews.com
  SITE Santa Fe has appointed independent curator Ekow Eshun as the organizer of the next SITE Santa Fe International. The exhibition’s 13th edition is scheduled to open in summer 2027.London-based Eshun, a former director of the Institute of Contemporary Art London, has recently drawn acclaim for organizing a number of high-profile exhibitions in the UK. In 2022, he curated “In the Black Fantastic” at the Hayward Gallery in London, which included 11 artists from the African dias
  
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• M HKA Will Remain a Museum After All, Flemish Culture Minister Says

  03-02-2026 15:53 via artnews.com
  The government of Belgium’s Flanders region has backpedaled on its plan to close down the M HKA in Antwerp and convert it into a new cultural center, temporarily ending a months-long controversy over what would become of one of Europe’s most beloved contemporary art museums.As part of a new plan for the institution that Flemish culture minister Caroline Gennez dubbed “M HKA 2.0,” the museum’s collection will now remain in Antwerp, meaning that the holdings will no l
  
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• Before a Rape Trial, a Theater Piece Passes Its Own Judgment

  03-02-2026 15:48 via nytimes.com
  A new work by the director Lorraine de Sagazan looks at a high-profile case that will soon be heard in a French court.
  
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• Review: This is Your Grandparents’ ‘Muppet Show,’ Fortunately

  03-02-2026 15:00 via nytimes.com
  Nobody put too much thought into reinventing the gonzo variety classic for its revival. That’s what makes it a delight.
  
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• British Museum Faces Backlash After Using AI-Generated Images of Woman Looking at Exhibits

  03-02-2026 13:41 via artnews.com
  Several archaeologists have slated the British Museum after it shared images containing AI-generated content on its Instagram and Facebook accounts. The posts, which quickly drew backlash online after being posted on January 27, were removed later the same day.The images show what appears to be the same young woman in various outfits gazing thoughtfully at objects inside the museum. The caption read, “Taking time to take a closer look is always worthwhile,” alongside the hashtag #You
  
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• UK’s National Trust, International Donors Raise $3.5 M. to Keep Dorset’s Ancient Cerne Giant Monument Standing Proud

  03-02-2026 11:04 via artnews.com
  A fundraising appeal to protect one of Britain’s most enigmatic ancient monuments, the Cerne Giant, has drawn international support, underscoring the global fascination with the site.The 180-foot chalk figure carved into a hillside in the county of Dorset is a domineering presence, largely thanks to its erect appendage.  On Tuesday, the National Trust announced it had reached the target of £2.53 million (about $3.5 million) to purchase the land surrounding the monument, after do
  
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• Trump’s Kennedy Center Shutdown Plan Jolts Workers and Performers

  03-02-2026 11:04 via nytimes.com
  The administration’s announcement to shut the center for a major overhaul led to a swirl of confusion and anxiety among performers and patrons about its future.
  
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• Jewish Heirs Say Met Museum Pissarro Was Sold Under Nazi-Era Duress

  03-02-2026 11:04 via nytimes.com
  The museum says a Jewish art dealer received a fair price for the work in 1941. The heirs say sales from that time are considered to have been forced and void under French law.
  
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• International Donors Dig Deep to Keep Dorset’s Ancient Cerne Giant Monument Standing Proud

  03-02-2026 11:04 via artnews.com
  A fundraising appeal to protect one of Britain’s most enigmatic ancient monuments, the Cerne Giant, has drawn international support, underscoring the global fascination with the site.The 180-foot chalk figure carved into a hillside in the county of Dorset is a domineering presence, largely thanks to its erect appendage.  On Tuesday, the National Trust announced it had reached its target to purchase surrounding land near the giant, after donations from more than 20 countries, including
  
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• At a Charged Time for Jewish Culture, Stand-ups Confront the Moment

  03-02-2026 11:04 via nytimes.com
  Not so fast. A new special from Raanan Hershberg shows how charged times can make for funnier jokes involving anxiety over Israel, Gaza and antisemitism.
  
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• Sean Hayes Suffers Writer’s Block and More Horrors in ‘The Unknown’

  03-02-2026 11:03 via nytimes.com
  In David Cale’s “The Unknown,” the actor plays 11 characters including a writer suffering the horrors of writer’s block and an unraveling mind.
  
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• At City Ballet, Alexei Ratmansky’s Morality Tale Is Wrapped in Farce

  03-02-2026 11:02 via nytimes.com
  “The Naked King,” based on “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” debuts Thursday. “I’ve been dealing with what I’ve been experiencing in life and in the news,” Ratmansky said.
  
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• My 5 Favorite Places for Art in Los Angeles

  03-02-2026 11:00 via nytimes.com
  Our critic Jason Farago shares what you shouldn’t miss in a city with as much culture off the silver screen as on it.
  
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• Jon Stewart Can’t Believe Elon Musk’s Choice of Holiday Party Venue

  03-02-2026 09:08 via nytimes.com
  “You’re asking if Jeff Epstein has got any parties planned on the island on Christmas Day?” Stewart asked on Monday’s “Daily Show.”
  
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• John Forté, Who Forged a Hip-Hop Redemption Tale, Dies at 50

  03-02-2026 06:53 via nytimes.com
  He seemed destined for a glittering career, working with the Fugees and solo, and then landed in prison. After a presidential pardon, he clawed his way back.
  
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• From ‘Hamilton’ to Issa Rae to Philip Glass: Here’s a List of Kennedy Center Cancellations

  03-02-2026 04:06 via nytimes.com
  More than two dozen musicians, dancers, theater companies and other creative groups have pulled out of performing at the Kennedy Center since President Trump returned to the White House.
  
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• Here Are the Artists Who Have Canceled Performances at the Kennedy Center

  03-02-2026 03:47 via nytimes.com
  The list so far includes more than two dozen musicians, dancers, theater companies and other creative groups.
  
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• Trump Says He’s Only Renovating the Kennedy Center

  03-02-2026 02:41 via nytimes.com
  Even though President Trump held a movie premiere for his wife’s new film there last week, he said the state of the building was “actually sort of dangerous.”
  
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• Woodie King Jr., Impresario of Black Theater, Dies at 88

  03-02-2026 00:25 via nytimes.com
  His New Federal Theater in New York provided a rare stage for Black playwrights and emerging actors, among them Denzel Washington, Phylicia Rashad and Chadwick Boseman.
  
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• Jeffrey Epstein’s Art World Connections: A Guide

  02-02-2026 23:11 via artnews.com
  Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by apparent suicide in 2019 while in jail facing additional charges related to alleged sex trafficking in New York and Florida, cultivated an expansive network of powerful and influential contacts in a wide array of fields—art very much among them. In addition to his dealings in the worlds of finance, science, and technology, the reputed billionaire engaged with art institutions, collectors, and cultural enterprises now reckoning with their
  
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• Portrait of Anne Boleyn Was Meant to Rebut Rumors That She Was a Witch, Historians Say

  02-02-2026 23:05 via artnews.com
  A portrait of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s ill-fated second wife, is now thought to be an attempt to rehabilitate her image after her death. Using infrared reflectography, historians and curators have uncovered evidence that the work was at least partially created to dispel rumors that Boleyn was a witch with six fingers.In the painting, which hangs in Hever Castle in England, both of Boleyn’s hands, each with the usual number of digits, are visible. But the new infrared scans reveal th
  
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• Two Paris Museums Get More Than a Dozen Works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

  02-02-2026 22:51 via artnews.com
  The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, the organization that stewards the legacy of the iconic artist duo who wrapped large structures in fabric, has donated 14 artworks to two museums in Paris.The artists’ ties to the city are well documented. In 2021, a year after Christo’s death at 84, the artists’ 1962 plan to wrap the Arc de Triomphe in 25,000 square meters of metallic blue polypropylene fabric and red rope was finally realized after almost 60 years. Christo and Je
  
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• John Forté, Hip-Hop Redemption Tale, Dies at 50

  02-02-2026 22:29 via nytimes.com
  He seemed destined for a glittering career, working with the Fugees and solo, then landed in prison. After a presidential pardon, he clawed his way back.
  
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