Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most consequential developments coming out of the art world and art market. Here’s what you need to know on this Tuesday, May 4.

NEED-TO-READ

Adrian Piper Plans Protest in Berlin – The New York-born, Berlin-based artist is organizing a protest against overcrowding in German schools outside German parliament in Berlin on May 15. The demonstration is part of Piper’s ongoing campaign Wahlkampagne, which advocates for no more than 15 students per teacher. (The Art Newspaper)

Ziwe Visits the Met – Ahead of the premiere of her new Showtime variety show, comedian Ziwe Fumudoh visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art with the New Yorker. The comedian, who gained renown last year with an Instagram Live show in which she interviewed people who had been so-called “cancelled,” was particularly taken by Indigenous artist Kent Monkman’s massive painting Resurgence of the People in the lobby. “This is dope,” she said. “But they should put it in the actual museum. This is the coat check.” (New Yorker) 

In Other Met News… – After repeated delays, the Met Ball is finally happening on September 13, and it will be themed “American Independence” to celebrate the opening of the exhibition “In America: a Lexicon of Fashion” at the Costume Institute. The event will be co-chaired by an all-star cast of celebrity hosts: poet Amanda Gorman, tennis star Naomi Osaka, actor Timothée Chalamet and musician Billie Eilish. “If I see Rihanna ima pass out,” Osaka tweeted. (Vulture)

The Actor Who Played Turner Has His Own Art Show – Actor Timothy Spall, who has played artists including J.M.W. Turner and L.S. Lowry on film, is trying on a new role: artist in real life. After studying painting for two years in advance of the Turner biopic and showing a few of his own paintings in Salford, Spall was invited by the director of London’s Pontone Gallery to create new work for his first fully-fledged solo show. The show, called “Out of the Storm,” will open in June. (Guardian)

ART MARKET

Titus Kaphar Signs with United Talent Agency – The artist and activist has joined United Talent Agency, which will work with him across media including film, TV, publishing, and podcasts. Gagosian will continue to represent Kaphar’s fine-art practice. (ARTnews)

Goodman Gallery to Pop Up in East Hampton – South Africa’s Goodman Gallery is joining the ranks of dealers popping up in East Hampton for the summer, beginning May 15. The move coincides with the gallery’s hire of Denis Gardarin, who will oversee its presence at Frieze New York. (Press release)

COMINGS & GOINGS

Cuban Artist Hospitalized During Hunger Strike – Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has been forcibly hospitalized in Havana, ending his seven-day hunger strike in response to Cuban authorities raiding his home and studio in April, confiscating work, and detaining the artist. Alcántara leads the San Isidro Movement, which was formed in protest of government censorship. (Hyperallergic)

DRAF Rebrands as Roberts Institute of Art – The David Roberts Art Foundation (DRAF), founded by the eponymous British property developer in 2007, is rebranding and changing its name to the Roberts Institute of Art (RIA). It will lead a UK-wide program of events, exhibitions, and residencies beginning this spring. (Press release)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Antwaun Sargent Guest Edits Art in America – The curator, critic, and Gagosian director guest edited Art in America‘s “New Talent” issue, recruiting an all-star cast of Black writers and thinkers including Alexandra Bell, Jessica Lynne, and Janicza Bravo. “White and non-Black POC writers have started discussing ‘overlooked’ Black artists and cultural figures,” Sargent writes in his introduction. “I ask, ‘overlooked’ by whom?” (Art in America)

Students Spent Tens of Thousands Buying Art—See What They Bought – Every four years since 1963, a group of students from Wake Forest University has traveled to New York City to purchase art for the student union art collection. This year, selections were made over Zoom with a $100,000 budget; they include examples by Martine Gutierrez, Zanele Muholi, and Salman Toor. The kids aren’t just alright—they have good taste, too! (Press release)

Salman Toor’s The Meeting (2020). © Salman Toor. All rights reserved. Student Union Collection of Contemporary Art, Wake Forest University.

Martine Gutierrez, Queer Rage, Don’t touch the art, p68 from Indigenous Woman (2018). © Martine Gutierrez; Courtesy of the artist and Ryan Lee Gallery, New York
Student Union Collection of Contemporary Art, Wake Forest University

Zanele Muholi, Thandiwe I, Roanoke, Virginia (2018). © Zanele Muholi. Courtesy of the artist, Yancey Richardson, New York, and Stevenson Cape Town/Johannesburg
Student Union Collection of Contemporary Art, Wake Forest University