The lion outside of the Art Institute (courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago)
 

• As the #CancelRent movement grows, artists Alina Tenser and Gabo Camnitzer started a strike in their Brooklyn building after their landlord failed to offer tenants protections
   
• BP, which has sponsored the National Portrait Gallery’s BP Portrait Award for 30 years, will no longer have a say in the judging process.
   
• The two famed lions at the Art Institute of Chicago were equipped with oversized surgical masks decorated by the iconic Chicago flag, but one was stolen the same night.
   
• The New York Public Library has released “Missing Sounds of New York,” a playlist of noises that take us back to pre-pandemic days in the city that never sleeps.

A nun speaks to protesters in front of the California State Building in downtown Los Angeles at an immigration march against the Dixon-Arnett Act, January 22, 1972. Photo by Pedro Arias/La Raza Photograph Collection (courtesy the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center)
 

• UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center will conserve over 14,000 photographs and 125 audio recordings to preserve crucial moments of Mexican American religious history.
   
• The British Library uploaded 3-D scans of its collection of celestial and terrestrial globes.

A mural in Cairo celebrating the 25 January 2011 revolution in Egypt (photo by Nicola Pratt)

 

• A digital archive of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, spearheaded by researcher Nicola Pratt, reveals how culture was “an outlet” for political views during the revolution and its aftermath. There are over 200 included objects, from graffiti to theater arts.
   
• Virtual LemonAid, a music and arts festival for COVID-19 relief in New Mexico, will highlight some of the state’s creative talent on Friday, May 8.
   
• Though the Met Gala was canceled, people celebrated online with their own ingenious outfits made from newspaper, Q-tips, and more.
   
• In Boston, artist Eben Haines started a miniature gallery called Shelter In Place. Artists submit works to scale, which are photographed inside the maquette with surprisingly realistic results.
   
• From residencies to COVID-19 relief grants, check out a list of opportunities that artists and creatives can apply for this month.

Transactions

Christie’s is privately selling an Apple-1, the original Apple desktop computer famously made in a Palo Alto garage in 1976. These computers were initially priced at $666.66; now they can go for up to $500,000. 

The first online edition of Frieze New York is upon us, and blue-chip galleries have happily reported robust sales off the bat. The platform has an augmented reality function that allows viewers to see how a work will look in their homes, so please stay tuned for my virtual redecoration.

Christie’s and Beijing-based auction house China Guardian Auctions are planning to hold a series of joint sales, titled 2020+, in Shanghai in September.
 

This Week in the Art World

Lorraine Tarabay is the new board chair of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Australia. | Sydney Morning Herald 

Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight received a Pulitzer Prize. | artnet

A Blade of Grass announced its eight 2020 Fellows for Socially Engaged Art, which include Alfredo Salazar-Caro and the Hidden Voices collective. | Via press release

Museum director Yilmaz Dziewior will curate the German pavilion at the 2021 Venice Biennale. | Artforum 

The Royal Academy of Arts in London announced the appointment of Cathie Pilkington as Keeper. | Artlyst

Stephen Friedman Gallery in London now represents American abstract painter Marina Adams. | Stephen Friedman Gallery

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture named Joy Bivins as its Associate Director of Collections and Research Services. | Via press release

The National Portrait Gallery in London awarded Thai figurative artist Jiab Prachakul the 2020 BP Portrait Award. | artnet

Mrs. announced its representation of artists Elizabeth Atterbury, Sarah Bedford, Chris Bogia, Meghan Brady, Mark Mulroney, Sarah Palmer, and Carolyn Salas. | Via press release

Bille Zangewa has joined the roster of Lehmann Maupin. | Lehmann Maupin

Michigan State University appointed Mónica Ramírez-Montagut as the Director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum. | Artforum
 

In Memoriam

Tony Allen (1940–2020), Nigerian Afrobeat drummer | Rolling Stone

Oscar Chávez (1935–2020), Mexican protest singer | TIME 

Per Olov Enquist (1934–2020), Swedish playwright and novelist | Guardian

Jean Erdman (1916–2020), avant-garde dancer and choreographer | New York Times

Lynn Harrell (1944–2020), American cellist | NPR

Roger Horchow (1928–2020), Broadway Producer | Hollywood Reporter

Li Hui (1977­–2020), Chinese installation artist | ARTnews

Michael McClure (1932–2020), Beat poet | San Francisco Chronicle

Althea McNish (1924–2020), British textile designer | Guardian

Florian Schneider (1947–2020), German musician and Kraftwerk cofounder | Billboard

Matty Simmons (1926–2020), American producer and National Lampoon co-founder | Deadline

Gillian Wise (1936–2020), British abstract painter |Guardian

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