Week in Review: Bethlehem Arts Center Raided by Israeli Army; Whitney Museum Employees Unionize

A protester raising a Palestinian flag in front of MoMA (photo by Hrag Vartanian/Hyperallergic)

Solidarity With Palestine

Artist Emily Jacir’s arts center in Bethlehem was ransacked by the Israeli army. Soldiers also confiscated phones, computers, hard drives, cameras, and books.

Over 300 protesters attended the most recent “Strike MoMA” protest, hosted under the slogan “All Eyes on Palestine,” during which NYPD officers tackled and arrested a protester who waved the Palestinian flag. The museum also confirmed that five activists from the campaign have been permanently banned from its premises.

Over 600 artists and organizations have urged the boycott of the Zabludowicz Art Trust over its founder’s ties to a pro-Israel lobby and the Israeli Air Force.

Against the view of Manhattan’s skyline, NYC artists projected messages in solidarity with Palestine, including: “Defend Palestine”; “Defend Sheikh Jarrah”; “All Eyes on Palestine”; and more.

After Palestinian content was restricted or removed from several social media platforms, users began using an ancient method of writing Arabic to combat AI censors.

Museums Acquisitions

The Baltimore Museum used the funds from the $16.1 million deaccessioning of works by white male artists, including Warhol and Rauschenberg, to acquire 125 works by underrepresented artists and artist collectives.

The National Gallery of Art acquired a seven-panel work by Carrie Mae Weems, which is now displayed beside a gilded memorial to black Union soldiers. Two panels of Weems’s work feature a photograph of the 19th-century monument.

Archaeology

Ancient cave paintings are deteriorating due to highly increased seasonal moisture from monsoonal rains and worsening droughts caused by climate change.

To preserve ancient mosaics, archaeologists are burying them underground.

In Other News

Citing job insecurity, Whitney Museum workers are unionizing.

Scholars and artists including Anish Kapoor and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak have called for the “immediate halt” of a controversial New Delhi redevelopment plan, which will raze major art institutions.

Restitution of a Franz Marc painting has set a new precedent for art sold under Nazi duress outside of Europe.

Biden has officially scrapped Trump’s bizarre plan for a “National Garden of American Heroes,” and revoked his predecessor’s authorization of harsh prison sentences for those who vandalize monuments.

Awards & Accolades

The Joyce Foundation has announced the recipients of its annual Joyce Awards: Sydney Chatman with Congo Square Theatre Company; Daniel Minter with Lynden Sculpture Garden; Kameelah Janan Rasheed with FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art; and ~~SANTIAGO~~ X with Chicago Public Art Group.

Rraine Hanson was awarded the 2020 Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental Filmmaking Grant.

Courtney Webster and Meg Turner were awarded the Robert Giard Grant for Emerging LGBTQ+ Photographers.

Transitions

Trudy Benson and Danny Ferrell are now represented by Miles McEnery Gallery.

Diedrick Brackens was appointed to the board of directors of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation and Community Partnership.

Marcela Guerrero and Rujeko Hockley have been promoted to newly endowed positions at the Whitney Museum. Guerrero was appointed the Jennifer Rubio Associate Curator, and Hockley was named the Arnhold Associate Curator.

Misan Harriman was named chair of Southbank Centre in London.