New York Newsletter
An interview with Alfredo Jaar, a new craft supply lending program at the Brooklyn Public Library, and workers at the Whitney Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Folk Art Museum vote in favor of a strike.
I was heading down to Sunset Park on Sunday afternoon to visit a close friend when, as an absentminded creature of routine, I accidentally embarked on my usual journey to Atlantic Terminal. I’ve made this ultimately harmless mistake multiple times now, but I still get frustrated with myself for arriving somewhere later than I intended because of something so easily preventable.
In this instance, however, I was in the wrong place at the right time for once. Because if I hadn’t accidentally sent myself uptown, I wouldn’t have gotten to see this:
As one can imagine, my whole day was made because of this serendipitous little treasure named Benji. I’d hazard a guess that many others felt similarly when encountering the gilded cavatappi inflatable on the High Line. Staff writer Anna Lee reported that the shimmering serpentine installation was backed by the luxury jewelry company Bulgari for New York Fashion Week. Evidently, my little friend Benji got the memo about Fashion Week before any of us did.
I’ve been making a lot of collages to ease myself back into art-making without an agenda after sheepishly neglecting my studio for a summer spent outdoors. I was delighted to see that the Brooklyn Public Library began offering a craft supply lending program last week!
Between the Library’s rentable woodworking kits and Cricut machine and the recent inauguration of Brooklyn Creative Reuse’s brick-and-mortar shop in Industry City, it’s heartening to see these community-driven efforts to mitigate the costly barriers to entry for craft and artmaking. Resources like these are a salve for the sore soul amid the embattled landscape of higher arts education — the School of Visual Arts is shutting down its graduate photography and video practice program because of the school’s financial struggles and the general decline in enrollment.
It’s been a big day for museums today. Senior Editor Valentina Di Liscia brings us to The Met’s groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of its forthcoming Tang Wing for Contemporary Art, while unionized staff at the Whitney Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Folk Art Museum hit the ground running with a vote to authorize strike action if fair contracts aren’t reached.
Don’t miss Hyperallergic Editor-in-Chief Hakim Bishara’s interview with Alfredo Jaar on the occasion of the Chilean artist’s solo exhibition at Galerie Lelong, contributing critic Channelle Chevelle Russell’s experience at the Drawing Center’s show for the late artist Pope.L, and reflections by artists and art workers on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attack and its reverberating cultural impact around the globe.
Alfredo Jaar Is Still Trying to Change the World
In April of 1987, when Reaganism was running amok and Henry Kissinger was fiddling with world affairs like a puppet master from hell, a relatively unknown 31-year-old Chilean artist named Alfredo Jaar staged his billboard installation A Logo for America smack dab in the heart of Times Square. It instantly became one of the most discussed works of political art in the contemporary canon.
Appearing between ads for tomato sauce and a Mexican restaurant, the 42-second LED animation bewildered New Yorkers with the message “This Is Not America” superimposed on a map of the United States, followed by an image of the US flag with the text, “This Is Not America’s Flag.” Next, the “R” in America shifted into a dancing map of South, Central, and North America. | Hakim Bishara
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Affordable Art Fair New York Fall 2026 is back!
Affordable Art Fair New York returns for its Fall edition from September 16-20 at the Starrett-Lehigh building in Chelsea. You’ll find over 90 galleries showcasing thousands of artworks all priced from $100-$1200. Find your next favorite artwork!
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News
- An inflatable cavatappi-shaped artwork, inspired by fashion house Bulgari’s serpent motif, lands on Manhattan’s High Line, and will remain on view through New York Fashion Week.
- Unionized workers at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Folk Art Museum vote to authorize a strike action if they don’t receive fair offers for union contracts with their respective institutions.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art officially breaks ground on its forthcoming Tang Wing for modern and contemporary art, designed by Frida Escobedo.
- The Brooklyn Public Library officially launches its first-ever lending program for craft supplies.
- Artist Lucien Smith, an abstract painter whose work as a nonprofit founder and restaurateur channeled the community ethos of 1970s New York, dies at the age of 37.
- The School of Visual Arts will be ending its graduate Photography, Video, and Related Media program in light of the institution’s mounting deficit
Member Event: ISCP Ground Floor Studio Visits
Join Hyperallergic on September 30 for an evening of studio visits and conversations with the NYC-based artists selected for the International Studio & Curatorial Program’s Ground Floor Residency.
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Feature
ICYMI
Standing in the Shadow of No Towers
The struggle for immigrant rights and lives after 9/11 defined a generation of South Asian art and activism, even if it felt at times like we were trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon. | Naeem Mohaiemen
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What’s Happening
- Join the Museum of the City of New York for an advance preview of two new chapters of NEW YORK: A Documentary Film, along with a panel discussion with the series’ creators. (Tues Sept 15) [mcny.org]
- Attend the opening reception for Hank Willis Thomas’s exhibition at the Ford Foundation Live Gallery. (Wed Sept 16) [newyorklivearts.org]
- Celebrate the publication of OCTOBER Files: Glenn Ligon with a reception, book signing, and conversation. (Wed Sept 16) [artistsspace.org]
- Catch a screening of Traces of Home, followed by a Q&A with director Colette Ghunim. (Wed Sept 16) [angelikafilmcenter.com]
- The 12th edition of Pictoplasma NYC presents 10+ lectures by influential artists and upcoming talents, graphic, toy and game designers, and leading animation filmmakers. (Thurs Sept 17) [svatheatre.com]
- Join artist and educator Lindaluz Carrillo for an open bar and hands-on workshop exploring banana leaf weaving. (Thurs Sept 17) [madmuseum.org]
- Art critic Jed Perl will speak at the Art Students League in celebration of his debut novel We Never Called It Frisco (Coffee House Press, 2026). (Thurs Sept 17) [artstudentsleague.org]
- Attend the South Asian Womxn’s Creative Collective (SAWCC) Short Film Night, which includes a Q&A with the directors. (Fri Sept 18) [SAWCC]
- The Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (JCAL) is hosting the opening reception of its group show, You Can Have That Chair, This One Is Taken. (Fri Sept 18) [JCAL]
- Enjoy a free screening of Mārama, as part of the National Museum of the American Indian’s Pacific Island Film Festival. (Fri Sept 18) [americanindian.si.edu]
- Watch the 15th annual Morningside Lights, a procession of handmade lanterns floating through Morningside Park to Columbia’s campus. (Sat Sept 19) [millertheatre.com]
- The Fallow Frames Biennial takes place this weekend, allowing visitors to enjoy site-specific artworks by 24 participating artists. (Sat Sept 19 – Sun Sept 20) [fallowframes.org]
- Attend a special encore screening of Steal This Story, Please! along with a Q&A with journalist Amy Goodman and the film’s directors. (Tues Sept 22) [ifccenter.com]
- Join Materials for the Arts for an opening reception of The Accidental Archive by their artist-in-residence, sTo Len. (Thurs Sept 24) [materialsforthearts.org]
