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The Headlines
ESCALATION. Two weeks after news broke that South Africa cancelled a Gabrielle Goliath artwork planned for its Venice Biennale pavilion, the artist has announced her next move: taking her dispute to court. Tomorrow Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo will file an application with South Africa’s High Court in Pretoria in the hopes of convincing judges that Sport, Arts, and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie‘s decision to remove Goliath’s artwork is unconstitutional. “We have also insisted that the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) respond to the lawful selection decision of the Independent Curatorial Selection Committee, and take all necessary steps to ensure that the exhibition goes ahead as planned,” Goliath said in a statement. Goliath also sent a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa. While DSAC has yet to comment, the Art Newspaper reported that it has restarted the Biennale planning processs with an eye towards working with 30-artist collective Beyond the Frames.
SHOW’S OVER FOLKS. Since Donald Trump became chairman of the Kennedy Center board in February 2025, a wave of high-profile performers have canceled appearances in protest of the center’s new leadership and perceived politicization. NPR has detailed who decided against performing there. One of the earliest was the touring production of Hamilton, whose producer Jeffrey Seller cited both political and business concerns. Actress and writer Issa Rae followed, citing “infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds.” Composer Stephen Schwartz, banjoist Béla Fleck, singer-songwriter Sonia De Los Santos, folk duo Magpie, and choreographer Doug Varone also withdrew, along with Rhiannon Giddens, Kristy Lee, Low Cut Connie, and the Puerto Rican band Balún. Major institutions such as the Washington National Opera and the Martha Graham Dance Company pulled out as well.
The Digest
The Metropolitan Opera in New York may sell its famed Chagall murals, valued at over $55 million, to alleviate financial difficulties. [New York Times]
The US National Archives will launch the “Freedom Plane,” a national tour of historic documents visiting museums in eight cities from March to August, commemorating the country’s 250th anniversary and inspired by the 1976 bicentennial “Freedom Train” exhibition. [The Art Newspaper]
Marina Abramović has landed in Davos with an immersive installation inviting world leaders to unplug and reclaim presence. [The Art Newspaper]
Fannie Mae has taken ownership of Chicago’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Walser House. [Chicago Sun-Times]
An ancient mass grave in Jordan has shed light on the human toll of the world’s first recorded pandemic. [Phys Org]
The Kicker
SPORE-TACULAR SHOW. The 2025 exhibition “Fungi: Anarchist Designers” at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam immerses visitors in the hidden world of fungi through unconventional, domestic-inspired installations, including a kitchen with mouldy bread and dirty sponges. As Ocula writes, curators Anna Tsing and Feifei Zhou emphasize fungi’s uncanny closeness to humans, using custom-built sets to reveal their unseen networks and challenge traditional perceptions. Unlike previous mushroom-themed exhibitions, which often romanticized or aestheticized fungi in white-cube galleries, this interdisciplinary show bridges art, science, design, film, and interactive media to demystify and deromanticize the fungal world. Tsing, an anthropologist celebrated for her book The Mushroom at the End of the World, brings her research into the curatorial realm, connecting ongoing mycological studies with artistic creation.
