Good morning. Although 2025 was marked by aesthetic oddities like Labubus and low-rise jeans, it also heralded a revival of anti-monarchical art, a movement both transformative and provocative. Writer Ed Simon notes the emergence of this trend not only in the No Kings movement with its distinctly post-crown language but also in a growing bipartisan disdain for power abuse. A striking example is the widespread Republican condemnation of President Trump’s vicious tirade against Rob Reiner, occurring just after the filmmaker and his wife, Michele Reiner, were tragically found stabbed to death in their home. Could this signal a new era of political consciousness?
Yesterday, I attended an event at New York City’s Federal Hall, the birthplace of the Bill of Rights 234 years ago, where speeches and performances celebrated the vital role of artistic freedom. Initially, the ‘First Amendment Day Rally’ seemed somewhat detached from current realities. However, when high school student Madison Lindo began to sing, her voice resonating throughout the space, it reminded me of the cause we champion. In the struggle for creative expression, there is no room for cynicism.
In current news, the artists participating in the upcoming Whitney Biennial have been announced. Among the 56 selected for the 2026 edition is Palestinian artist Samia Halaby, whose show at Indiana University was controversially canceled last year, sparking accusations of censorship. Additionally, the Guggenheim Museum has awarded its first $50K Jack Galef Visual Arts Award to Catherine Telford Keogh. Over the weekend, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani engaged with approximately 140 attendees at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, at an event inspired by Marina Abramović’s iconic performance. Meanwhile, artists and cultural advocates like Coco Fusco and Karen Finley gathered at Federal Hall for a ‘First Amendment Day Rally’ to stand against threats to artistic freedom.
