Museum Power Plays, Digital Dreams Collapse

A major shift is underway at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Even before planning began for the David Geffen Galleries, LACMA chief executive and director Michael Govan had been pushing curators to think beyond strict departmental lines—pairing, for instance, contemporary photography with ancient textiles, or Latin American sculpture with South Asian design. Britt Salvesen says the “values and gains” of breaking down silos became obvious, and the new curvilinear building is designed to help collapse old hierarchies. A framework first proposed by junior curators—organizing around bodies of water—now structures the galleries, with seas and oceans as conduits for the movement of objects and ideas. Anchor works include Todd Gray’s 27-foot Octavia’s Gaze (2025) and a 19th-century Kashmir map shawl.

In Spain, a long-running dispute over the 12th-century Sijena murals is flaring again. The murals—painted for the chapter house arches at the Royal Monastery of Sijena in Aragón and often called the “Sistine Chapel of Romanesque art”—were damaged during the Spanish Civil War after anarchists set fire to the monastery. They were removed to Barcelona in 1936 for restoration and have been on public display at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya since 1961, now shown in a sealed section of the Oval Hall on specially made arches. After years of litigation, Spain’s supreme court ordered MNAC in May last year to return the works, but the museum didn’t meet the one-month deadline, saying condition evaluations were needed. MNAC says its stance is based on technical arguments and scientific analysis.

A flashpoint in that Sijena fight came with a music event in MNAC’s Oval Hall featuring Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía, planned as a presentation for her new album, Lux. Jorge Español, a lawyer for the municipality of Villanueva de Sijena, asked for the event to be canceled, arguing vibrations could harm the fragile murals, but the concert went ahead. MNAC director Pepe Serra later mocked the idea publicly while presenting the museum’s 2026 programme in December, saying, “Whoever says this needs to see a doctor,” and also questioning the notion the paintings could be easily “squeezed” into 74 pieces. Español responded furiously, threatening a defamation suit and demanding €ninety thousand for “moral damages.” Aragón’s director of culture, Pedro Olloqui, accused Serra of “intolerable contempt.” MNAC says the sealed Sijena rooms are isolated from events.

In Hungary, arts figures are reacting to a major political shift: Viktor Orbán was swept from power on Sunday evening after 16 years, with a landslide victory for Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party. In Budapest, celebrations spilled into the streets. Gallerist Margit Valkó of Kisterem says she’s among “the extremely happy part of the crowd,” while artist János Sugár describes “an enormous sense of relief,” recalling people hugging, crying, opening champagne, and partying—not just in Budapest. During Orbán’s tenure, critics accused his government of eroding institutional independence and targeting LGBTQ+ rights, including a controversial 2021 “child protection” law later cited in 2023 to dismiss the director of the Hungarian National Museum. Sugár sums up Orbán’s cultural policy as “anti-contemporary,” “uncultivated,” and hostile to critical content.

Hungary’s art scene is also watching what comes next under Magyar, a centre-right politician and former Fidesz member—prompting some analysts to temper expectations of rapid change. Still, Magyar has already announced plans to suspend Hungary’s state-controlled media, which he called a “factory of lies.” Valkó is focused on the “ideologically burdened” Hungarian Academy of Arts, an institution empowered and funded under Fidesz and seen by critics as an instrument of conservative cultural agenda-setting. Others are hoping for broad structural repair. Attila Pőcze of Vintage Galéria says the independent scene “strongly hope[s] for dialogue with civil society,” reconstruction of cultural institutions, and reinforcement of the “independent and critical cultural scene.” Sugár hopes institutions regain autonomy, international relations can be rebuilt, and the cultural sphere can recover “vibrancy and bustle.”

In Germany, jurors from the Kunstfonds Foundation have publicly denounced Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer after he requested the names of its current members. In a statement first reported by Der Spiegel, the jury called Weimer’s March 2025 request “political interference” with potential to infringe artistic freedom—especially since independent committees traditionally select awardees. The jurors also questioned Weimer’s nonpartisanship, pointing to his involvement with the German Booksellers’ Award. According to reporting cited in the statement, Weimer, appointed in 2025, contacted the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution seeking to exclude three bookstores deemed too left-wing, later citing “findings relevant to the protection of the constitution.” The jurors say the episode “has shaken our fundamental understanding of democratic cultural funding,” and they reject “any attempt to influence us,” citing Article 5(3) of Germany’s Basic Law.

Kunstfonds jurors say the climate around cultural funding is already affecting artists’ behavior: they report receiving fewer applications than usual, with applicants refraining not because their work violates democratic order, but because “the boundaries of discourse have already shifted due to political pressure.” Their statement lands amid broader debates in Germany about censorship and cultural policy, including controversies tied to criticism of Israel. Last year, American artist Fareed Armaly declined the Käthe Kollwitz Prize, citing what he called a “disturbing trend of censorship in Germany” and a “highly politicised, reactionary shift” aimed at silencing advocates for Palestinian rights under international law. The jurors also point to a 2024 parliamentary declaration aimed at combating antisemitism, criticized in part for suggesting public grants may be conditioned on acceptance of the IHRA definition of antisemitism. The letter ends by warning today’s interventions could be exploited by anti-democratic forces tomorrow.

In Minneapolis, the Walker Art Center has severed ties with Cardamom, the restaurant that has operated in the museum since 2021 under chef Daniel del Prado. The break followed Cardamom’s decision to lay off 16 hosts and servers and move to a QR code ordering system. Walker director Mary Ceruti said the move “does not align with our core values,” adding that the museum was “caught by surprise” and that the Walker’s vision had been a full-service dining option to complement the museum experience. Cardamom, for its part, said the decision was driven by industry shifts: a spokesperson told a local NBC affiliate the restaurant was never profitable and was not immune to challenges for restaurants in Minneapolis. A protest was planned outside the Walker, and the restaurant is slated to shutter within 60 to 90 days as the museum seeks proposals for a replacement.

The NFT sector lost another major player: Foundation, the curated Ethereum-based marketplace that rose during the 2021 digital art boom, is shutting down after a failed sale. Cofounder and CEO Kayvon Tehranian announced in an open letter on X that Foundation’s sale to Blackdove collapsed, leaving “no viable way to keep operating.” Foundation has begun a wind-down process, keeping the infrastructure underpinning NFTs and digital assets active for a one-year window while urging users to migrate off the platform. Founded in February 2021 by Tehranian and Matthew Vernon, Foundation used an invite-only model and hosted notable auctions including Chris Torres’s Nyan Cat—selling for the then-equivalent of about six hundred thousand dollars—and Edward Snowden’s Stay Free, produced with the Freedom of the Press Foundation, which fetched two thousand two hundred twenty four ETH. Tehranian said in January that Foundation had facilitated two hundred thirty dollars million in sales since launch.

Blackdove confirmed the deal’s breakdown in a post from Foundation’s X profile, saying it decided to “pause” its acquisition and return management to Tehranian because full due diligence could only be completed after operational handover. During that phase, Blackdove said it became clear that building its own marketplace made more sense. Foundation’s closure arrives amid a brutal stretch for NFT platforms: Nifty Gateway announced in January it would cease operations, and NFT sales have dropped sharply since 2021, according to crypto news site CCN. The broader contraction has reached major institutions too: Christie’s shuttered its digital art department last fall, and Sotheby’s reduced its Metaverse team in 2024. Tehranian framed the shutdown as a reminder of decentralization’s importance, writing that moments like this “validate” Foundation’s commitment to it, even as he acknowledged the market left no other viable buyers worth pursuing.

Artnet has made significant layoffs following consolidation with Artsy under the same leadership. Sources told ARTnews the cuts heavily impacted Artnet’s editorial arm, Artnet News, with senior reporters Sarah Cascone and Eileen Kinsella—both on staff more than a decade—among those no longer there. Andrew Russeth will reportedly serve as interim editor of Artnet News, which has historically operated out of New York, London, and Berlin. Sources also said the Berlin team that helps facilitate Artnet’s online sales efforts was severely impacted. In a joint statement, a spokesperson for Artnet and Artsy confirmed layoffs at both companies, saying organizational changes eliminated some roles, and added that Artnet’s German entity is being wound down as a separate business decision. Jeffrey Yin, CEO of Artsy, was appointed leader of Artnet as well, as the companies emphasized their combined reach.

In New York, MoMA PS1 is marking its 50th anniversary year with the sixth edition of Greater New York, its quinquennial survey of artists living and working across the five boroughs. ARTnews notes it’s the first Greater New York since the Covid-era 2021 edition, and this time PS1 relied entirely on its in-house curatorial staff rather than outside organizers. The show includes 53 artists. Senior editors Maximilíano Durón and Alex Greenberger split on whether the exhibition’s fascination with vulnerability reads as hopeful or sad. Durón points to Kenneth Tam’s 2026 video I’M STAYING HOPEFUL AND STRONG (For Bilal and Salah), featuring taxi drivers Salaheldin Elcharfa and his brother Bilal, and touching on the taxi medallion crisis. Greenberger highlights fragile materials across the show, including Louis Osmosis’s assemblages and Mekko Harjo’s bar-like installation I have eaten and made friends (The Devouring Hill), with confetti, karaoke, and traces of revelry.

Hyperallergic’s response to Greater New York lands differently, calling the show gritty, stunning, and gutting—and emphasizing that it rejects a glossy, out-of-towner’s version of the city in favor of a view from inside. The review notes the exhibition opened April 16 at MoMA PS1 in Queens and returns for the sixth time since 2000, aligning with the museum’s 50th anniversary. Editor-at-large Hrag Vartanian praises the in-house curatorial approach led by Connie Butler, Ruba Katrib, and their team, arguing it delivers an optimistic take and avoids the feel of an outside curator “trying to prove themselves.” Associate editor Lisa Yin Zhang describes an initially joyous experience, later noticing minor flaws in installation choices and artist groupings, while appreciating the show’s “human” range of feeling and scrappiness. Staff writer Rhea Nayyar highlights “grounded optimism” and the convergence of visual, historical, and diasporic culture—while noting directional signage made it easy to miss work.

Hyperallergic also profiles artist Rawya El Chab and her performance series Crossing the Water. The latest segment, the publication reports, chronicles life under military occupation after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and forms the second part of a three-part series unfolding around the rise and fall of the Lebanese Left in the 1980s amid the Civil War, Palestinian resistance movements, and the Israeli invasion and occupation. El Chab, 45, connected her Brooklyn teaching experiences—children in Sunset Park growing quiet out of fear of ICE—with memories of Beirut under Syrian and later Israeli occupation, describing a sensed force “censoring our speech.” In an early scene of Crossing the Water (2025) at The Brick last winter, she rows across the River Styx and tells the audience, “Don’t worry… It’s not the first time I die.” The work uses shifting roles, props, and puppets to tell family and political histories.

That’s the download for today. Links to every story are in the show notes—meet me back here tomorrow for more. Chinga la migra

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