Art Movements, our weekly Thursday afternoon publication, compiles essential news, appointments, awards, and other occurrences within today’s vibrant art scene.
Marking the centenary of the celebrated painter and multimedia artist, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation is offering a special $100,000 award to four distinguished artists. The Rauschenberg Centennial Award honors Senga Nengudi for visual art, David Thomson for performance, Chandra McCormick and Keith Calhoun for photography, and Patricia Spears Jones for writing.
In other notable developments, Emerson Bowyer has been appointed chief curator at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Julian Cox, facing controversy over a suspended Nan Goldin acquisition, will resign from his role at the Art Gallery of Ontario next month. Madeleine Grynsztejn plans to leave her position as director of Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art at year-end. The Frick Collection welcomes Luciano Johnson as its new chief librarian, following his success in a large-scale digitization project.
Further updates include Jitish Kallat’s future presidency of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in 2027 and Helen Legg’s appointment as artistic director of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Meanwhile, Jac Leirner joins the Nara Roesler gallery, and Powerhouse Arts announces Liz Munsell as vice president of Curatorial and Arts Programs and Constanza Valenzuela as associate curator. Trevor Paglen is set to receive the 2026 LG Guggenheim Award, and Smiljan Radić has been honored with the Pritzker Prize in architecture, delayed due to controversy surrounding sponsor Tom Pritzker.
Lastly, Alissa Schapiro has been named senior curator for the Magnes Collection at UC Berkeley, James Taylor-Foster assumes leadership at Para Site in Hong Kong, and Toleen Touq is appointed curator for MOMENTA 2027 in Montreal. In a curious twist, Reuters suggests Banksy’s true identity may be Robin Gunningham, now allegedly known as “David Jones,” although the artist’s lawyer denies this claim.
