People ‘I Truly Feel Optimistic’: The Guggenheim’s Chief Curator Naomi Beckwith on Why She Still Has Faith in Museums—and How They Can Change In her first major interview since taking the role at the New York museum, the curator and museum leader outlines her vision. By Melissa Smith, Sep 29, 2021
Art World Betty Blayton Cofounded the Studio Museum and Taught Art to Hundreds. Now, Her Own Work Is Getting a Blue-Chip Reevaluation The late Blayton, who co-founded the Studio Museum in Harlem, is the subject of a new show at Mnuchin gallery. By Melissa Smith, Sep 9, 2021
Galleries Can Ebony L. Haynes’s New David Zwirner Offshoot Actually Make the Art World Slow Down? She’s Banking on It The highly anticipated downtown New York space will debut in October with a solo show of work by artist Kandis Williams. By Melissa Smith, Jun 7, 2021
Market ‘They Have a Lot More Control Than They Think’: How Black Art Promoters Are Urging Artists to Look Beyond Traditional White Gatekeepers Black-run galleries, residencies, and advisories are playing key roles in the careers of emerging Black artists. By Melissa Smith, May 11, 2021
People How Artist Karon Davis’s Tour-de-Force Portrayal of Black Panther Leader Bobby Seale Reveals a Cruel Blind Spot of American History The exhibition at Jeffrey Deitch in New York revolves around a terrifying image of Seale bound and gagged while on trial in Chicago. By Melissa Smith, Mar 15, 2021
Art World A New Documentary on HBO Shows How Black Artists Crafted Their Own Histories in the Face of an Art World That Excluded Them A new documentary on HBO takes as a point of departure a 1976 exhibition that changed everything. By Melissa Smith, Feb 12, 2021
People ‘Most Black Film Isn’t Allowed to Be Ambiguous’: How Garrett Bradley’s Quiet Documentaries Found a Rapt Audience in the Art World The artist was awarded best director at Sundance and has a solo show on view now at MoMA. By Melissa Smith, Jan 13, 2021
Analysis Flush With New Success, Black Art Stars Are Reinvesting Their Windfalls in the Next Generation in Ways That Could Permanently Reshape the Art World From Detroit to New Haven to Dakar, residencies established by Black artists are training artists of color in a way that art schools can't. By Melissa Smith, Oct 5, 2020
People The New Innovators: How ArtNoir’s Larry Ossei-Mensah Went From a Bronx-Born Art-World Outsider to the Ultimate Insider "The first couple years I went to Basel I was staying in the hostel," Ossei-Mensah says. By Melissa Smith, Sep 30, 2020
Art World Responding to Widespread Demands, Museums Are Acquiring More Works by Artists of Color. But How They Do So Matters More Than Ever Artists and cultural producers say museums need to collect and exhibit works with more respect and care. By Melissa Smith, Sep 2, 2020
People Meet the Black Women Working to Transform the Art Scenes in Three Cities Deemed Least Hospitable to Black Women CityLab ranked Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Detroit among the least livable cities for Black women. Here's what it's like to work in the arts there as a Black woman. By Melissa Smith, Jul 9, 2020
Shows & Exhibitions The Cancellation of Shaun Leonardo’s Museum Show Sparked an Uproar. Now, the Activists Who Wanted It Gone Tell Their Side of the Story Samaria Rice has issued a cease and desist letter to the artist to prevent him from using her son's image in his work. By Melissa Smith, Jul 7, 2020
People Legendary Black Panther Artist Emory Douglas on How Digital Media Can Be Harnessed to Make Protest Art Far More Effective Than Ever We spoke to the artist about art, protest, and why his work is gaining belated canonization. By Melissa Smith, Jun 30, 2020
Art World Crystal Bridges Made Arkansas a Hub for American Art. Can a New Offshoot Make It a Destination for Contemporary Work, Too? Nimble and ambitious, the Momentary aims to bring fresh creative energy to a repurposed Kraft plant. By Melissa Smith, Feb 13, 2020
People ‘We Had to Do It For Ourselves’: Legendary Gallerist and Artist Suzanne Jackson on Why the Art World Has Never Gotten Her Story Right Ahead of the artist's first New York solo show, at Ortuzar Projects, she speaks to Artnet News about her newfound acclaim. By Melissa Smith, Nov 20, 2019
