It may be because last week I willed myself up at 6 a.m. for yoga three days in a row (brag), but despite my best efforts to squeeze more minutes out of each day, it still feels like I just don’t have the time I need to accomplish all of the things I want to do. But we move!
I was torn between going to see some dance or visual art on Wednesday or taking a dance class myself, and opted for the latter. On Friday, then, I saw ABT Studio Company—the “junior company” of American Ballet Theater—perform at NYU’s Skirball Center.
It is quite encouraging to see such young talent; in the ever-playful “Tarantella,” Paloma Livellara kept a pirouette going for so many rotations that a few members of the audience laughed in disbelief. Ptolemy Gidney, in “Gopak,” elicited a similar reaction with his soaring and precarious (but precisely landed) jumps. Kayla Mak, a Juilliard student whose star has been rising on Instagram and IRL, stood out in two solos: “Crimson Flame,” by ABT dancer Madison Brown—a relatively short but shifting piece with a neoclassical edge—and Yannick Lebrun’s contemporary work “Human,” which is a feat of both expression and athleticism which called to mind Molissa Fenley’s “State of Darkness,” which I saw Cassandra Trenary perform at New York City Center in the fall. I could see Mak following a similar career trajectory as Trenary—who is off to Vienna to join the Wiener Staatsballett in the fall—because of her clear prowess when it comes to controlling her body through sweeping, amorphous shapes. But I’m also curious to see how she develops as a dancer performing some of the more dramatic classical roles; it does take a good actress to play Giselle.
The graceful YeonSeo Choi, too, stood out in a pas de deux, “Beyond the Silence,” by ABT apprentice Brady Farrar (who I just now learned was on Dance Moms?). I love that the repertoire of ABT Studio Company not only challenges the young dancers in the company, but also gives opportunities for emerging choreographers—like Houston Thomas, who retired from the Dresden’s Semperoper Ballett in 2023 to focus on his choreographic career—to cut their teeth. It will be exciting to watch all involved parties as they continue to grow as artists.
On Saturday, I went to the Available Works book fair at WSA, produced by Something Special Studios, where I bought a book of interviews by Bill Powers from Junior Publishing and admired a number of books from te editions; that publisher explained that each book is like an art exhibit within itself.
On Sunday, I watched Andrew DeYoung’s Tim Robinson vehicle Friendship at the Angelika, and pondered what it had to say about male friendships.
Now, the news.
More than 90 employees at the Kennedy Center have organized with the intention of forming a union. Kennedy Center United Arts Workers is being formed in direct opposition to the Trump administration’s efforts to “dismantle mission-essential departments and reshape our arts programming without regard to the interests of program funders, philanthropists, national partners,” and the Center’s audiences, the employees said in a statement, the New York Times reported. Among their demands are a “a return to ethical norms,” including nonpartisan programming and consistent terms for hiring and firing. If employees successfully vote to form the union, it will be organized through United Automobile Workers, which is one of the largest unions in the U.S. and covers a wide range of industries. Unionized employees would include “nonsupervisory employees from artistic programming, education, marketing and development departments, along with administrators of the Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra,” the Washington Post reported.
At least 10 or so cast members of the Kennedy Center’s upcoming production of Les Miserables are planning on sitting out of the show on June 11, when Trump is expected to attend. Sources told CNN that the cast was “given the option to not perform,” leading both leads and ensemble members to make their decision. Current Kennedy Center director Richard Grenell told CNN in a statement that he thinks these performers should be blackmailed: “…we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn’t hire.”
An Onion headline published last week makes a proposal that honestly doesn’t feel too far off from the realm of possibility: “Trump Casts Cabinet In ‘Les Misérables’ Amid Kennedy Center Boycott.”
Meanwhile, the Kennedy Center is hosting a free screening of a Christian film, King of Kings—which is explicitly about Jesus—as it pushes to expand its so-called “family-friendly” programming, on June 1. F*x News reports that Grenell is behind this programming choice.
I am going to the Netherlands in a little less than three weeks, and I will be adding this new museum to my itinerary. Fenix is a just-opened art museum in Rotterdam that is focused entirely on the theme of migration. The museum’s founder Wim Pijbes says that the institution is not “about politics,” in spite of its opening at a time when the Trump administration promises mass deportations and even the Netherlands has recently introduced “strictest asylum policy” in the country’s history, the New York Times reported. This is because Pijbes views migration not as a political issue, but more a fact of life encompassing both hopeful and tragic stories. (Personally, I think such facts of life are also intrinsically political, but I digress.) I am curious how the museum explores this theme, and if it may have any impact on the beliefs and understanding of those who visit it.
A clinical study suggests that dancing tango for 20 min can be just as effective—and potentially more effective—in healing nerve damage that is a common side effect of chemotherapy. More research is needed to confirm the extent of its benefits, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
Science also says that if you want to reduce crime, build more libraries.
Lots of drama over Giacometti lately. Crypto bro Justin Sun—who bought and ate that $6.24 million banana—is feuding with fellow billionaire David Geffen over a 1947 sculpture by the Swiss sculptor, “Le Nez,” which Sun purchased from Sotheby’s for $78.3 million in 2021, The Art Newspaper reported. Sun claims that his former art advisor Sydney Xiong sneakily sold the sculpture to Geffen against his wishes, for a paltry $10.5 million cash, along with two paintings. It is all quite dramatic, but based on the volatility of Sun’s current financials (given that he is, after all, in crypto) and some deleted texts, the lawsuit is not looking to be in his favor.
Meanwhile, another Giacometti sculpture, “Grande tête mince (Grande tête de Diego)” failed to sell at Sotheby’s Modern auction on Tuesday. It had been estimated to sell at upwards of $70 million, but was withdrawn when bids did not exceed $64.25 million, the New York Times reported. Some art world experts say that this one auction flop shouldn’t be a bellwether of the market as a while, but others point out that a piece by Andy Warhol, “Big Electric Chair” was also withdrawn from a Christie’s auction on Monday. “…it’s clear that the air is incredibly thin at the upper pricing band of the market, even for masterworks by tried and true names,” said Alex Glauber, the president of the Association of Professional Art Advisors.
I love this concept for an exhibition: “Out of Focus,” at Paris’s Musée de l'Orangerie explores the idea of blurriness in art from 1945 onward. On through August 18, the exhibit explores the “means of expression in a world where instability reigns and visibility is clouded,” starting first with an introduction of 19th-century paintings in which blurriness figures, before progressing to modern and contemporary works (including photographs) with increasingly political dimensions. You can read Le Monde’s full review here.
What does a more empathetic museum look like? I like this question posed by Cultured. Contributing architecture editor Karen Wong unpacks what makes a few spaces work. I especially liked this thought from Dutch architect Florian Idenburg, who is currently designing the Williams College Museum of Art: “Spaces can invite participation rather than dictate behavior.”
Here is your fun fact of the week to share: Wes Anderson’s new film, The Phoenician Scheme, which comes out May 30, features René Magritte’s 1942 painting, “The Equator,” as well as a Renoir and several Old Masters. This is thanks to the efforts of curator Jasper Sharp, who worked with Anderson on the film and had to get the paintings’ owners to agree to lend them out. Previous Anderson films, like The Grand Budapest Hotel feature paintings inspired by artists like Egon Schiele and Hans Holbein the Elder, but this is the first time the director has gotten the real thing—an impressive feat.
ELLE published a list of the nine creatives “shaping culture in 2025,” including American Ballet Theater principal Chloe Misseldine, opera star Julia Bullock, pianist Khatia Buniatishvili, conductor Joana Mallwitz, and more. Mostly I am jealous that I did not work on this package, but I am also really encouraged to see a mainstream fashion magazine dipping into highbrow arts and exposing these talents to a potentially new audience.
The Authors Guild is suing DOGE and the National Endowment for the Humanities in a class action lawsuit for terminating millions in committed grants, ArtNews reports. Plaintiffs argue that DOGE and NEH’s actions are a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, which basically means that DOGE overstepped and blurred the lines of what agencies can really do to branches of government that have congressional oversight.
Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has signed a collaboration deal with Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), The Art Newspaper reports. Research, preservation, and artifact-sharing will center around the ancient city of Dadan, which the Saudi government promotes as a tenet of its national identity. TAN points out the the country has long been accused of “using culture to launder a reputation for human rights abuses such as the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018.”
Uh oh. Experts in Denmark say that a type of mold is sweeping across the country’s museums and archives, though it’s not just a Denmark problem. The white mold has been identified in 12 museums across the country, though it’s notoriously hard to identify, especially before it’s visible. “It seems they [the fungi] prefer cultural heritage. I’ve never seen them anywhere else,” says Camilla Jul Bastholm, the National Museum of Denmark’s head conservator. The Guardian reports that the Danish Museums Association is doing more research on how to combat the mold, while the National Museum is moving “116,000 shelf metres” of artifacts into a warehouse to fight the spread.
Why do so many top opera stars hail from Lithuania? It’s simple, a Financial Times feature finds: the small country prioritizes music education and “democratic talent-screening” practices. It also has three full-time music theaters and a nationwide sentiment that opera is anything but elitist. Says tenor Edgaras Montvidas: “Somehow classical music is closer to our culture, whatever class you are from. Every opera performance [in Lithuania] sells out. People are investing in their souls.” Supporting the arts, what a concept!
Famed art dealer Larry Gagosian has purchased the East Hampton bookstore BookHampton. He plans to maintain it as a general bookstore, with a slight slant toward art and design, ArtNews reports. ▲