Arts &amp; Culture

The Greatest Art Costumes From Hyperallergic's Halloween Party

From “Las Dos Fridas” to a walking Eva Hesse sculpture, Hyperallergic members, readers, friends, and artists brought the spirit of the season to our second annual costume contest.

10 Years Later, Magenta Plains Is Still Embracing the Unexpected

An anniversary exhibition spotlights the artists who’ve made the gallery one of Lower Manhattan’s most adventurous success stories.

MoMA, Centre Pompidou, and M+ Announce Novel Collection Alliance

The partnership between the museums will include intermuseum loans and joint exhibitions.

Pipo Nguyen-duy, Beloved Photography Professor, Murdered at 64

"He took a lot of joy in his everyday life. He sought to make really beautiful photos, and strove to make the world a more beautiful place," said his former student.

Crafted From Bone, This 2,800-Year-Old Flute Unearthed in Troy May Have Been Played Around the Time That Homer Composed 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey'

After more than 150 years of excavations, the object is the first musical instrument ever discovered in the ruins of the ancient city, which is located in modern-day Turkey

A Dog Left a Paw Print on This Mud Brick 4,000 Years Ago. Archaeologists Discovered It in the Rubble of a Bronze Age House

The brick was found at Tavsanli Hoyuk, an archaeological site in western Turkey. Humans and dogs in this region have had a close relationship for thousands of years

Madagascar's Giant Bats Seem to Be Shrinking. After Measuring 121 Specimens, Scientists Suggest Hunting by Humans Is to Blame

In a new study, researchers looked at museum specimens of the island’s flying foxes, spanning 150 years of history. They found a significant decline in size—right when commercial hunting ramped up

This Rosy Stone Spotted in the Sahara Turned Out to Be a 4.1-Billion-Year-Old Meteorite From Mars, One of the Oldest Ever Found

Martian samples this old are extremely rare and offer clues about the Red Planet's youth. This meteorite further hints that our celestial neighbor was once a watery world, suggesting it could've had the conditions to host life

Manga Are Black, White and Read All Over. Treasures of the Globally Popular Japanese Comic Book Medium Are on View in New York

The Brooklyn Museum's "Art of Manga" exhibition highlights the "mangaka," or creators, who have shaped the medium. Hundreds of original illustrations are making a rare trip to the United States

What Can Space Offer Humanity? In Pursuit of the Answer, Astronauts Have Been Making a Home in Microgravity for Decades

In a new gallery called "At Home in Space," the National Air and Space Museum shows how humans have tackled risky and arduous missions to push the boundaries of scientific discovery and exploration

In South Carolina, Artistic Freedom Is on the Ballot This November

A governor-appointed arts commission has denied funding from two LGBTQ+ organizations and an artist focused on immigration issues.

Where Is England's Oldest Pub? An Archaeologist Drilled Into 600-Year-Old Timbers to Answer the Contentious Question

Tree-ring dating shows that a historic tavern in Somerset has been continually operating as an inn since the 1430s, when local monks built it to lodge wool merchants

Three in Four Former NFL Players Who Died From 2008 Through 2023 May Have Had CTE, a Brain Disease Caused by Repeated Head Injuries

The researchers also estimate that around one in four of the former football players had dementia, a common feature of late-stage CTE

Surprise! US Pavilion Needs More Cash to Ship Works Home

Commissioner Jenni Parido sent a letter to donors pleading for "urgent funding" for deinstallation and shipping as the Venice Biennale comes to an end.

For Over Four Years, the Hirshhorn Worked to Revitalize Its Sculpture Garden. Today, It's Home to a 'King and Queen,' a 'Wish Tree' and a 55,000-Pound Vertical Swimming Pool Artwork

Newly refreshed by Japanese artist-architect Hiroshi Sugimoto, the sunken garden welcomes National Mall visitors with bronze masterpieces, contemporary stunners and a stage set for creative performances

A View From the Easel: Anna Pajak

“I wanted it to feel like a chapel, a place for everything I believe in. My painting chapel.”

Otis College of Art and Design in LA Offers a Two-Year MFA Fine Arts Degree Program

Refine your artistic vision and join a diverse community at the first professional school of the arts in Los Angeles.

Crows Can Make Decisions Based on Visual Information at Lightning Speed—Roughly Twice as Fast as Humans Can, Study Suggests

Even though the brain structures of birds and mammals are different, a new study suggests that crows and primates have similar decision-making nerve cell circuitry

Are Black Cats Modernity’s Icons?

How Manet transformed the misunderstood feline into an emblem of independent thinking; plus, Gay Halloween memes galore!

Documenta 16 Names Four New Curatorial Team Members

The embattled German exhibition's latest appointments, artist Catherine Opie wins a Yale University award, and Dallas Art Fair partners with … a university?

How Édouard Manet's Black Cat Became a Symbol of Modernity

Long associated with witchcraft and bad luck, the black feline became an emblem of artistic rebellion and urban life in 19th-century Paris.

This Year's Gay Halloween Celebrates Women's Rights and Wrongs

From the Kelly Clarkson's mechanical bird fiasco to Carrie Bradshaw's Dior newsprint dress, Gay Halloween speaks to the staying power of women's iconic media moments.

Why Do Horror Films Have Such a Hold on Our Imaginations?

An exhibition at the Academy Museum explores the transgressive power of scary movies, channeling our deepest fears about life, death, and the unknown.

Hell Takes the Form of State Repression in 1971’s “The Devils”

Ken Russell’s film designed by Derek Jarman, newly released in a 4K restoration, mirrors the horrors unfolding outside our windows.

Art Books on Needles and Threads

We recommend titles on fiber art, weaving, and textiles, plus Megan O’Grady on a new John Berger biography.

Hundreds Protest in Colombia After Far-Right President Removes Works From National Museum

In a Trumpian move, the government of Abelardo de la Espriella took down works referencing LGBTQ+ and women’s rights and political violence.

The Burning of This French City Hall Was a 'Catastrophe for Heritage,' Tragically Reminiscent of the Notre-Dame Fire

French authorities say that the Limoges city hall, built in the late 19th century and celebrated as an architectural gem, was the victim of an arson attack amid mass protests in France over the weekend

Gowanus Open Studios Turns 30

This year’s iteration of the artistic assembly was a love letter to the neighborhood and its craftsmanship amid an era of remediation, development, and gentrification.

Beer With a Painter: Melissa Brown

“I want to visualize the fact that, despite our perception, reality is changeable,” the Brooklyn-based artist said of her paintings.

David Reed Went Where Lichtenstein Wouldn’t

He brought his optical preoccupations into the 21st century, without losing his love of artists from earlier eras.

Scientists Don't Know How Mars Acquired Its Two Moons. Japan Just Launched a Historic Space Mission That Will Fetch Samples to Find Out

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's spacecraft is expected to reach the Martian system in August 2027 and return samples from the moon Phobos to Earth in 2031

When a 19th-Century Scottish Landowner Blocked a Public Footpath, Locals Rebelled. Now, Archaeologists Have Unearthed Parts of His Controversial Wall

The rebellion against "Harvie’s Dyke," a pair of stone walls erected in the 1820s, was a triumph for the workers and middle classes of Glasgow, who used riots, boycotts and lawsuits to win back access to the River Clyde

Let’s Give a Round of A-Paws to These Tompkins Dog Parade Participants

Santa Paws, Vincent van Doge, and the papal Pup Leo were among this year’s fierce competition.

Paris Students Block Louvre Entrance, Forcing Closure

Students from the independent École du Louvre and the National School of Fine Arts are leading the ongoing action.

Rosana Paulino Reads the Archive Against Those Who Made It

“This history is dirty,” says the Brazilian artist, who sees the colonial past as an active force in her country’s present.

How a Bunch of Broke Teachers Created a Hot New Way to Vacation

Generation Z and millennials are choosing home swapping over hotels as chic clubs launch to embrace the trend

This Iranian Documentary Wasn’t Meant to Begin This Way

In Mani Haghighi’s new film, an artist’s extensive archive draws the ire of the authorities.

Earth's True North and South Poles Have Wandered Four Times Over the Past 320 Million Years, Study Suggests

The phenomenon, which involves the geographic poles, is distinct from when the magnetic poles move. The planet's solid crust and molten mantle occasionally shift and subsequently reorient themselves during what's called true polar wander

Diasporican Abstraction: A Cross-Border Cartography of Puerto Rican Abstraction

More than sixty artists explore migration, memory, and identity in this survey of Puerto Rican abstraction across and beyond the archipelago.

Smiles Meyer Queers “The Last Supper”

The Los Angeles-based photographer, who was raised in a conservative Catholic environment, is reclaiming the divinity of queer and trans identity through religious imagery.

How Colorado's Wildlife Mitigation Efforts—Including the Largest Animal Crossing Overpass in North America—Are Making Everyone Safer

Animals can now cross a dangerous stretch of Interstate 25 thanks to new infrastructure, including fences, underpasses and a massive overpass, which has led to a 91 percent reduction in wildlife-vehicle collisions

A Farmer in Egypt Stumbled Upon a Pink Stone and Called the Authorities. They Found the Remains of Two Colossal Statues of Ramses II Beneath the Property

Archaeologists recovered the head of one statue that might have measured nearly 28 feet tall. It could point to a major building site commissioned by the pharaoh

The Buffalo Haunts America

Hrag Vartanian on Cannupa Hanska Luger, Artavazd Pelechian’s cinema of connections, and a Ron DeSantis statue melts.

Can a Cruise Capture 12,000 Years of Norwegian Heritage? Hurtigruten Certainly Thinks So

From Viking routes and fishing villages to Arctic wonders and UNESCO-listed fjords, discover Norway’s living heritage along the coast that connects it all

Six Ways the Charleston Area Brings American History to Life

Three and a half centuries on, the Lowcountry still thrives in its own history

Arts & Culture•Hyperallergic•17 Oct 2026

Diaries of a Primitive Man

John Yau on Roy Lichtenstein, Megan O’Grady on John Berger, and Paddy Johnson answers the question: Do I need an agent?

Cannupa Hanska Luger’s Truth About America

The beauty of the Native artist’s forms seduces, but the visual history of destruction is embedded into each element.

Artavazd Pelechian’s Distant Connections

Through his “distance montage” technique, the Armenian filmmaker’s masterpieces are built around impressions, not stories.

Rembrandt Turned Ancient Myths Into 'Supremely Human' Works of Art. An Upcoming Exhibition Traces the Inspiration He Took From Antiquity

"Rembrandt and the Ancients" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will unpack an "underexplored but vital" part of the Dutch master's career, putting his paintings and drawings in conversation with the antecedents that inspired them

Tanya Merrill's Animal Instinct

After a move upstate and a newborn, Merrill’s new work responds to the world around her.

This Ron DeSantis Statue Can’t Take the Heat

The climate group 350 Action’s gallium statue began melting soon after being installed outdoors in Tallahassee on October 13.

Legend Has It That This Roman Emperor Established a Camp in Wales. A Newly Discovered Fort May Offer Proof That It Really Existed

An archaeologist has uncovered an ancient fortification linked to Magnus Maximus, a fourth-century ruler who is immortalized in the medieval "Mabinogion" stories as Macsen Wledig

Wildlife Experts Stunned to Find That Bird Flu Killed Jackie, the Beloved, Internet-Famous Bald Eagle

Jackie died in August after receiving weeks of intensive care at the Ojai Raptor Center in California. The necropsy results are surprising, given that Jackie's symptoms were unusual for bird flu and there is no ongoing outbreak among bald eagles

Madrid's Renewed and Expanded Sorolla Museum Lets the Paintings of the Spanish 'Master of Light' Re-emerge Into Public View

Dedicated to the works of Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, the museum is centered around his historic home and studio. The first phase of its yearslong renovation is complete, featuring expanded exhibition spaces

In the New Movie 'Whalefall,' a Cetacean Swallows a Diver Whole. The Sperm Whale's Remarkable Anatomy and Feeding Habits Shape the Survival Thriller

The film, an adaptation of Daniel Kraus’ 2023 novel, tells the story of a young man with an extremely challenging task: make it out of a whale’s stomach alive

Faith and Its Contradictions in “9 Temples to Heaven”

Director Sompot Chidgasornpongse, who has a knack for patient observation, follows a single family on a quest to find a miracle.

Massive King Ramses II Statues Unearthed in Egypt

The two sculptures were discovered after a citizen found a hieroglyph-etched stone on his property.

Dam Removals Are Bringing Fish Back Across the Northeastern United States, Striking Down One Tiny Barrier at a Time

While the demolition of big dams in the West gets more attention, many of these often-obsolete obstructions are also coming out of northeastern streams and rivers—and herring are returning in droves

Microplastics Have Been Linked With Myriad Human Health Problems. Scientists May Have Finally Figured Out How They Harm the Body

Lab experiments suggest that tiny bits of plastic can react with water inside us to produce highly reactive molecules. They can lead to damaging oxidative stress and inflammation

Small Dogs Tend to Live Longer Than Big Dogs. Scientists Say They Might Finally Know Why—and It Goes to the Molecular Level

Larger breeds like Great Danes seem to accumulate changes to chemical tags on their DNA more quickly than tinier breeds, such as chihuahuas. These alterations allow potentially harmful 'jumping genes' to move around their genomes

A View From the Easel: Allan Wexler

“My past sculptures [and] tools act as levers that pry ideas from my mind.”

This Ancient Animal Looked Like a Platypus-Otter Hybrid. It's Providing Clues About the Origins of Mammalian Suckling and Swallowing

The roughly two- to four-pound predator lived alongside dinosaurs some 165 million years ago. A fossil found in northern China shows the strange creature had a surprisingly modern throat structure

Arthur Conan Doyle Based Sherlock Holmes on a Real-Life Scottish Surgeon Who Used Deduction to Diagnose Patients and Investigate Crimes

A new book chronicles the exploits of Joseph Bell, an Edinburgh lecturer whose lessons sparked the creation of the world's most famous detective

The “Renegade Housewife” of Pop Art

Stories from a pioneering journalist and art worker, John Yau on Valerio Adami, and books of warp and weft for your reading list.

The School of Art at the University of Arkansas Offers Tuition-Free Graduate Programs

Applications are now open for the 2027–2028 academic year.

Danh Vo and Sandra Mujinga Selected for Met Museum Commissions

Genesis Facade and Great Hall artists announced, a new leader for the Armenian Museum of America, Bernie Sanders weighs in on the AI art debate, and more.

12 Must-Read Books on Textiles and Fiber Art

Titles on contemporary Diné weavers, Black American quilting in California, the Bayeux Tapestry, artists including Cecilia Vicuña and Olga de Amaral, and more.

WPA Murals at Harlem Hospital Restored to Their Original Glory

A New Deal-era sculpture by John Rhoden was also included in the city's restoration project.

It's Official: Timekeepers Have Gotten Rid of the Leap Second—and Introduced the Leap Hour Instead

Since 1972, experts have added 27 seconds to Coordinated Universal Time to keep it aligned with Earth's rotation, but it has been an imperfect fix

On an Island Outside Paris, a Sprawling Contemporary Arts Center Aptly Called 'Large' Prepares to Open Its Doors

The landmark institution’s first exhibition pays homage to a historic Renault automobile plant that once operated on the Île Seguin in the Seine River. "The project called for a great deal of perseverance," one official says

The 98-Year-Old Pop Art Queen Behind an Iconic Lichtenstein Billboard

Ahead of her memoir's release, we talk to Joan Kron about Andy Warhol, beating Sidney Janis to the punch, and why she calls herself a “renegade housewife” of Pop Art.

This Soldier Kept a Diary in the Trenches of World War I. A Child Found It at the Dump Decades Later, Pierced by a Bullet and Stained With Blood

Corporal Claude Nuttall recorded his wartime experiences in the diary. Now, after decades of research, a museum curator is telling the soldier's story in a new book

Ah, the Many Smells of Frieze London

Among them champagne, new money, and an artist’s custom-scented bathroom installations.

At the Bodega, Customers Can Get Pork Rinds, Plantains and Just About Anything They Need. Here’s How These Stores Became a 'Community Anchor' of Latino Life

For immigrants, bodegas provide daily necessities and cultural connections to the homelands they left behind. The recent book "Bodega Stories" paints a picture of one Florida family’s history working in and operating the stores

Valerio Adami’s Hot and Cold Art

His syncretic style melds Pop Art’s cool, outlined forms with expressionism’s figural distortions, resulting in a perturbing ambiguity.

Rembrandt’s Ancient Obsessions Are Made Anew in Upcoming Met Exhibition

Co-organized with the Louvre, "Rembrandt and the Ancients" opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in November 2027 and will travel to Paris in 2028.

Venetian Artist Canaletto Merged Fantasy and Architectural Detail in This Previously Unseen Sketch, Heading to Auction This Month

The 18th-century painter was a key practitioner of "capriccio" artworks, which blended scenes of everyday life with bold, out-of-place structures. This work was not known to exist for centuries and could now fetch up to $80,000

A Detailed Martian Rover Photograph Highlights Mysterious Cliffs on the Edge of One of Mars’ Mountains

These crags don't match the rest of the mountain, and scientists don't know how they formed

London's Oldest Restaurant, Frequented by Monarchs and Pop Stars Alike, Is a Site of 'Living History.' Now It's Protected by the National Trust for Generations to Come

Rules, a historic restaurant where the likes of Charles Dickens and Madonna have dined, is changing hands for only the fourth time in over 200 years. Visitors can see artifact-covered walls and indulge in rich British cuisine

Wildlife Biologists Start Vaccinating Shy Albatrosses by Hand, Taking Aim at the Spread of Avian Flu in Tasmania

If all goes to plan, officials hope to vaccinate up to 100 of the large seabirds on Albatross Island, giving each two doses of the vaccine. Afterward, they plan to keep tabs on the birds using remote cameras and follow-up visits

Jazmine Hayes Charts Community Displacement, Resilience in Brownsville Art Commission

“I genuinely want any child that walks through this door to be and feel protected,” the East New York-raised artist told Hyperallergic.

Birds in Their Pants: Two Men Accused of Smuggling 21 Avians After Miami Airport Bust

Customs officers say they found the creatures hidden in the men's clothes after they touched down on separate flights from Cuba, and it's unclear whether the two incidents are related. Wildlife trafficking is the world's fourth-largest form of organized crime

Asia NOW 2026 Brings Contemporary Asian Art to Paris

Celebrating the artistic voices of Asia and its diaspora, the fair brings new and returning international galleries together in Paris this October.

UCLA’s MFA in Media Arts Now Accepting Applications

A three-year program for artists critically and experimentally engaging with media, technology, and contemporary culture.

Construction Work on the North Dakota Governor's Residence Accidentally Unearthed Seven Coffins Dating Back to the State's Early Settlement

The cemetery site was established in 1872, when the state capital Bismarck was a small frontier community called Edwinton. Most, but not all, of its gravesites were exhumed five years later to make way for a railroad

Seeing Like John Berger

Megan O’Grady reviews a new Berger biography, Deana Lawson appropriates surveillance photographs, and Paddy Johnson answers the question: Do I need an agent?

See the Stunning Winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest, Capturing the Splendor and Drama of Nature

These 19 recognized images highlight the diversity across our planet and the value in appreciating and protecting the natural world

San Antonio’s Centro de Artes Celebrates 10 Years with "Mercado/Material"

Curated by Mia Lopez, 16 artists transform everyday objects into bold explorations of Latinx identity. On view in San Antonio from October 16 through March 7, 2027.

Why Pageant Is Suddenly All the Rage

In a world skewed toward artifice, the East Williamsburg performance space’s commitment to confronting, rather than escaping, one’s conditions in art feels like a renaissance.

Tammy Nguyen's New Opera Will Be the Coda to the Venice Biennale

The artist will present an aria from the still-unfinished opera, “Timaeus and The Teacher,” during the festival's closing program.

A New Contender for the World's Oldest Shipwreck Has Been Discovered Off the Coast of Turkey. Its Ancient Cargo Is a 'Time Capsule' From 4,700 Years Ago

The ship was likely transporting huge jars of olive oil or wine across the Mediterranean when it sank to the seafloor. One archaeologist "could not believe how much" residue remained inside

Who’s the Thief in Deana Lawson’s Photography?

I wonder what the women standing perpetually accused and anonymous might say about the sale of their stolen images.

This Vincent van Gogh Painting Has Not Been Seen in Public for Over 60 Years. It Is Now Poised to Set a Record at an Upcoming Auction

The Dutch Post-Impressionist painted "Chestnut Trees in Blossom" during the highly productive yet tragic final months of his life. It is heading to auction as part of a "legendary" private collection which also includes works from Cézanne and Renoir

Red Hook Open Studios Rises From the Ashes

Dispelling fears that last year's blaze pushed artists away for good, this year's edition proved that the Brooklyn neighborhood’s artistic community is as strong as ever.

Richard Dadd’s Strange and Delicate Worlds

Though he is known primarily for his work of fantastical landscapes and mystical woodland creatures, a new retrospective tells the full story.

Art Problems: Do I Need an Agent?

Artist agents are not the panacea we imagine them to be, but AI agents won’t solve all your problems, either. Paddy Johnson breaks it down.

John Berger in His Own Bruised Time

The late novelist and art critic asked Tom Overton to wait to write his biography until after his death. The result is deeply informative, deferential, and perceptive, sometimes lyrically so.

Two Recently Stolen Renoir Paintings Were Found Hidden Behind a Cinderblock Wall. French Police Used DNA Evidence and Vehicle Tracking to Crack the Case

The bungled heist took place at the Renoir Museum on the French Riviera in September. French authorities made six arrests and believe they prevented another "imminent" theft, possibly at a nearby modern art museum