Art Movements, delivered every Thursday afternoon, compiles the essential news, appointments, awards, and other significant occurrences in the dynamic art scene of today.
Smithsonian American Art Museum has appointed a new director with Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, who currently serves as the executive director and CEO of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, stepping into the role. Hartigan’s leadership comes at a pivotal moment as the museum faces challenges, including those from the Trump administration’s efforts to control the narrative of U.S. history. This included targeting the museum’s exhibition on race and sculpture, which was mentioned in the president’s executive order that threatened Smithsonian funding. In response, some artists withdrew from a related symposium last fall, criticizing the decision to make the event private under perceived political pressure.
Hartigan’s new role marks her return to the American Art Museum, where she started her career in the 1970s and later became chief curator in 2003 before joining Peabody Essex. While at the Smithsonian, she helped establish the Joseph Cornell Study Center and authored the first biography on the artist, whose distinctive modern art she has skillfully interpreted. Hartigan will take over from Acting Director Jane Carpenter-Rock, who will continue as deputy director for museum content and outreach.
The Turner Prize shortlist for 2026 has been revealed, featuring Simeon Barclay, Kira Freije, Marguerite Humeau, and Tanoa Sasraku. Their works will be exhibited at the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art at Teesside University this fall. Each finalist will receive a £10,000 ($13k) prize, with the winner of the £25,000 ($33k) top award announced in December.
In other news, Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama received the 2026 Arnold Bode Prize from the city of Kassel. Mia Bogyo has been appointed deputy director at Indigo Arts Alliance in Portland, and new board members include Tim Dooley, Whitney Hess, Ruki Neuhold-Ravikumar, and Michael Derek Thomas. The Rainin Arts Fellowship, managed by United States Artists, selected four Bay Area artists: Sarah Crowell, Cheryl Dunye, Cece Carpio, and Danny Duncan. Print Center New York unveiled its fourth annual New Voices artists: Noah Breuer, Zoran Dobric, Johannah Herr, Jazzmen Lee-Johnson, Michael Menchaca, Melih Meric, Anette Millington, and Amy Yoes.
In a unique move, Dan Weiss, CEO and director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, has contributed funds to Johns Hopkins University for acquiring Lindsay Adams’s expansive diptych “Kind of Blue (1959)” (2024), inspired by Miles Davis’s iconic album. Weiss, an alumnus of Hopkins, previously led its Art History department and served as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. He currently holds a professor role and advises the provost on the arts.
