British Museum Launches Farcical “Decolonizing” Loan Program
Long-term loans to former colonies are not restitution. They do not acknowledge historical wrongdoing, nor do they restore agency to source communities.
Dec 22, 2025
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White House Renews Threats to Smithsonian Institution
A letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch reiterates that federal funds are conditional on the organization turning over records, including exhibition drafts.
Dec 22, 2025
The Messy Family Drama of Ancient Egyptian Gods
We walk you through the incestuous, murderous, and surprisingly relatable world of Egyptian deities at The Met.
Dec 22, 2025
Banksy’s Latest Mural Is a Heartbreaking Christmastime Message
The elusive street artist’s latest stencil may reference the tens of thousands of unhoused children living in London.
Dec 22, 2025
The Egalitarian Vision of Nativity Scenes
In all its artistic iterations across millennia, the nativity remains inherently political in its depiction of God choosing to enter the world in marginalized circumstances.
Dec 22, 2025
Banksy’s Heartbreaking Christmas Mural
Also: Messy Egyptian gods at The Met, the moral weight of nativity scenes, and the British Museum’s latest “decolonizing” stunt.
Dec 23, 2025
Hyperallergic’s Art Tarotscope for the Winter Solstice
After a long period of feeling frozen, the new year hints at signs of thaw and forward movement.
Dec 23, 2025
Happy Holidays, New York!
A letter to Mayor Mamdani, medieval psalms at the Morgan, and divine chaos at The Met.
Dec 23, 2025
Wes Anderson Brings Joseph Cornell’s Studio to Life
The whimsical filmmaker recreated the Queens artist's home studio at Gagosian Gallery in Paris, the city Cornell longed for but never visited.
Dec 23, 2025
Faith Ringgold's Story Quilts Get to the Heart of Being Human
Through her creative lives as author, illustrator, painter, quilter, sculptor, and activist, Ringgold spoke to the urgency and vulnerability of life.
Dec 23, 2025
The 20 Most Powerless People in the Art World: 2025 Edition
Hyperallergic’s annual antidote to the lists of wealthy collectors, royals, and so-called tastemakers that pervade the art media.
Dec 23, 2025
Our Powerless 20 List Is Here
Hyperallergic’s annual antidote to the lists of wealthy collectors, royals, and so-called tastemakers just dropped.
Dec 24, 2025
Odd-Shaped Cookie Cutters Spark Community and Creativity
A growing subreddit helps confounded users decipher the mystery cutouts, but not without some imaginative detours.
Dec 24, 2025
The happiness shortcut that hides in plain sight
Most of us think happiness is something you achieve: status, money, accomplishment. Robert Waldinger’s work asks a more unsettling question: what if happiness is less about what you get and more about...
Dec 19, 2025
Great stories share the revelations in life’s quiet undertakings
Bryan Washington’s characters reveal themselves through what they don’t, won’t, or can’t say as much as the utterances they give voice to. Though he constructs his stories from the first-person perspe...
Dec 19, 2025
How recently have we understood the Universe?
Since ancient times, humanity has studied the skies. 70,000 years ago, a brown dwarf pair known as Scholz’s Star, right on the precipice of igniting hydrogen fusion in its core, passed through t...
Dec 22, 2025
The art of the hook: How Simon Squibb redefines influence
When Simon Squibb was kicked out of his family home aged 15, he quickly built up the first of many businesses that helped him transform his name into a global brand. A gardening venture born of teenag...
Dec 22, 2025
3 philosophical debates from the 20th century that neuroscience is reshaping
Philosophers and scientists have always kept close company. Look back far enough, and it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Before we had instruments to measure reality, we had ...
Dec 22, 2025
The simplest explanation for ultra-high-energy cosmic rays
Earth, whether we like it or not, serves as a cosmic particle detector on a continuous basis. It isn’t just light waves that travel through the Universe, nor is that light merely joined by gravi...
Dec 23, 2025
Why the best leaders help their teams to “savor” the world
Despite these times of extreme change, uncertainty, and complexity, many leaders still expect that they, and the people who work for them, should leave their worries at the proverbial office door. If ...
Dec 23, 2025