Author: Ann Williams
Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama has been awarded the inaugural Sam Gilliam Award, a new honor presented by the Dia Art Foundation and the Sam Gilliam Foundation. The prize, which includes a $75,000 gift and a public Dia program in the fall of 2024, was established in 2023 to support artists who have made a significant contribution in any medium. This collaboration was presented by Dia with Sam Gilliam’s work from 2019 to 2022. Born in 1987 in Tamale, Ghana, Mahama is known for his large-scale textile and found object installations, repurposing materials to encourage reflection on the social implications of…
The 20th edition of São Paulo’s SP-Arte—Brazil’s main art fair—will open a few weeks before the 60th Venice Biennale (April 20 to November 24), a historic moment for the country’s art world, with Brazilian Adriano Pedrosa. curator of the exhibition. Fernanda Feitosa, founder of SP-Arte, says that the nation’s commercial sector is ready to “capitalize on the moment”. The fair will gather this month 180 exhibitors, including from more than 15 Brazilian cities.”There are 30 Brazilian artists at the Venice Biennale, our largest representation ever,” says Feitosa. “Almost all of these artists have been exhibited at the fair and are…
French artist Pierre Huyghe uses site-specific works to explore the boundaries between humanity, nature and synthetics. For the past decade, Huygh has created outdoor sculptures that include active bee colonies and has “scanned” a Norwegian forest to create an ongoing cinematic narrative about a real place. Huygh planted a garden with hallucinogenic and carnivorous plants and transformed a skating rink into a watery earthen environment. Now, for his biggest exhibition to date, the artist returns to the institutional setting. It respects its limitations while rethinking the possibilities and limitations of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine sentience.The liminal It spreads over…
New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has apologized for preventing two Palestinian visitors from entering the institution. kefieh at the beginning of this month. In a document Hyperallergica museum spokeswoman said security staff mistakenly identified Brooklyn resident Ju-Hyun Park’s black-and-white headscarf as a banner, an item prohibited under MoMA’s prohibited items policy. The incident happened on Saturday, March 16, before Parkea and her friend Phuong entered the museum during a routine bag check. But the couple barely made it through the MoMA entrance when security staff told them they were not allowed to bring their keffiyeh, which featured a…
The Dia Art Foundation in New York has announced that Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama has won the inaugural Sam Gilliam Prize, along with $75,000 and a public program at one of Dia’s residences. The Sam Gilliam Award was established last year by the late artist’s foundation and his widow, Annie Gawla, as foundation president. Planned to award the award annually for the next decade, the award will be given to “an artist who has made a significant contribution in any medium and works anywhere in the world for whom the award would be transformative,” according to a statement. Related Articles…
ArtEmily SteerView of the Giardini della Biennale, 2019. Photo by Andrea Avezzu. By La Biennale di Venezia.Organizing a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale is a challenge for any curator. From a practical point of view, the unique historical buildings of the Giardini tend to have protected elements; conceptually, the complicated idea of national representation needs careful consideration. Many of this year’s curators are breaking away from traditional structures, in some cases remodeling existing buildings; in others, great work with diasporic groups. Although the concept of each pavilion was announced before the theme of the biennale’s main exhibition, “Foreigners Everywhere,”…
The debate over Morocco’s national pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale, after three artists and curators were suddenly replaced in January, has taken another turn: the country will not have a national pavilion at all.It started as good news for the North African country. In July, Morocco’s culture ministry announced that the country would participate with a national pavilion for the first time. Artist and writer Mahi Binebine was appointed curator, and commissioned three artists to participate: Majida Khattari, Safaa Erruas and Fatiha Zemmouri.Majida Khattari is one of the Moroccan artists who created works for Venice © Thomas Lohnes/Getty ImagesThe…
The Broad, the Los Angeles museum founded in 2015 by the late collector Eli Broad and his wife Edyth, is marking its first decade by embarking on a $100 million expansion that will add 55,000 square feet to the institution. The museum has engaged architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), which designed the existing building—with its distinctively designed exterior, dramatic interior spaces, and exposed warehouse—to create the new structure.The new building will increase the museum’s gallery space by 70% and create new amenities such as space for live events and public programming, two elevated outdoor patios and a new…
LOS ANGELES – In 2019, my fascination with experimental music led me to the non-profit Coaxial Arts Foundation at Nikita Gale’s event. EMPTY/OPEN residential exhibition I was fascinated by the immersive, multichannel sound works on display and the interaction with the architecture, and I’ve been following Coaxial’s evolution ever since. As the organization celebrates its ninth anniversary, I discussed its journey and impact with founder Eva Aguila. An artist and community organizer, Aguila decided to move back to Los Angeles from Oregon in 2013. “It was difficult for me to find a place for myself and my art,” he told…
The British Museum has appointed Nicholas Cullinan as its new director. Currently director of London’s National Portrait Gallery, Cullinan now faces the daunting task of helping to run the institution as he continues to deal with the revelation last year that 2,000 items from the museum’s collection were stolen, damaged or otherwise disappeared. Cullinan has been the director of the National Portrait Gallery since 2015. He oversaw a three-year, $53 million redevelopment of the institution that increased the museum’s public spaces by approximately 20 percent. He has also worked as a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and London’s…