Advocacy & Public Policy Committee News Alerts v. 12 n. 4, April 2026

Advocacy & Public Policy Committee News support the committee's mission to monitor governmental activities and social justice issues affecting the professional interests of ARLIS/NA and to keep the ARLIS/NA membership informed. The monthly alerts are intended to be conversation starters, help members keep up on public policy issues and alert members to new developments. The articles compiled in the News Alerts bring to the forefront recent news from a range of perspectives designed to elicit discussion; they are not compiled to represent the views of ARLIS as an organization or the members of the Advocacy and Public Policy Committee.

Previous issues can be found here: https://www.arlisna.org/news/appc-news-alert 

Art & Activism 

• Artforum. “Entire 2026 Venice Biennale Jury Resigns.” Artforum, April 30, 2026.

• Bromberg, Bella. “Pussy Riot Shows Art by Russia’s Prisoners in New Protest Exhibition.” Hyperallergic, April 27, 2026. 

• DiLiscia, Valentina. “Tania Bruguera on Why Today’s Art Must Be Political.” Hyperallergic, April 30, 2026.

• McMurdock, Marianna. “‘Who Belongs Here?’ Guerrilla Protest Projection Critiques MFA Layoffs.” Boston Art Review, April 3, 2026.

• Nayyar, Rhea. “‘Boycott the Bezos Met Gala’ Posters Emerge Across NYC.” Hyperallergic, April 15, 2026.

• Nayyar, Rhea. “Venice Biennale Awards Jury Won’t Consider Russia and Israel.” Hyperallergic, April 23, 2026. 

• Reizman, Renée. “LA Artists Honor Dolores Huerta’s Defiant Spirit.” Hyperallergic, April 6, 2026.

Copyright & Licensing; Open Access

• Crabapple, Molly. “Is AI the Greatest Art Heist in History?” The Guardian, April 12, 2026.

• Farfan, Isa. “Could Colorado Create the Country’s First Artist Corporation?” Hyperallergic, April 1, 2026. 

• Nayyar, Rhea. “Mexican Artist Alleges Plagiarism of Femicide Project.” Hyperallergic, April 14, 2026.

Funding

• Brennan, Deborah. “San Diego guts arts funding to balance budget as California cities make deep spending cuts.” CalMatters, April 24, 2026.

• Córdova, Kim. “Mayor Wu’s Cut to FY 2027 Arts Budget Reveals Broader History of Underinvestment in the Arts and Leaves Programs in Limbo.” Boston Art Review, April 25, 2026.

• Crown, Judith. “Chicago museums would rather lose federal grants than ‘whitewash’ history.” Chicago Business, April 27, 2026.

• Farfan, Isa. “The US Pavilion Is Taking Online Donations.” Hyperallergic, April 28, 2026.

• Farfan, Isa. “Historic $116M Gift Endows Lending Program at National Gallery of Art.” Hyperallergic, April 22, 2026.

• Peet, Lisa. “New Money: On the Lookout for Alternative Funding Sources.” Library Journal, April 13, 2026.

• Romaine, Siôn, Barbara Albee, Cynthia M. Elliott, and Jamie Gieseck-Ashworth. “Doing Less with Less | Periodicals Price Survey 2026.” Library Journal, April 5, 2026.

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access (IDEA)

• Durón, Maximilíano. “With a New Director, US Latinx Art Forum Plots Its Future.” ARTnews, April 8, 2026.

• Farfan, Isa. “Mexican Cultural Workers Denounce Pedro Reyes Sculpture at LACMA.” Hyperallergic, April 28, 2026.

• Hegert, Natalie. “César Chávez Allegations Trigger Artwork Removals—and Concerns of Cultural Erasure.” Southwest Contemporary, April 30, 2026.

• Native News Online. “Denver Art Museum Announces Royce K. Young Wolf, Ph.D., as Associate Curator of Native Arts.” Native News Online, April 11, 2026.

• Nayyar, Rhea. “An Art Fair for the ‘Global Majority’ Debuts in Brooklyn.” Hyperallergic, April 30, 2026.

• Nayyar, Rhea. “POC Arts Nonprofits Face Severe Staffing Challenges, Survey Finds.” Hyperallergic, April 3, 2026.

• Troyano, Ela. “Remembering Agosto Machado, Keeper of Queer Histories.” Hyperallergic, April 10, 2026.

Intellectual Freedom/Access to Information

• American Library Association. “ALA, SHLB Partners Disappointed with FCC Decision to Impose New E-Rate Bidding Portal.” ALA, April 30, 2026. 

• American Library Association. “American Library Association Releases 2025 Most Challenged Books List as National Library Week Begins.” ALA, April 20, 2026. 

• American Library Association. “State of America's Libraries: A Snapshot of 2025.” ALA, April 18, 2026. 

• Mian, Naib. “Saad Khan Archives the Detritus of Censored Culture.” Hyperallergic, April 8, 2026.

• Solomon, Tessa. “V&A Pulls Catalog Materials Due to Chinese Censorship Laws.” ARTnews, April 15, 2026. 

Miscellaneous

• Cassady, Daniel. “Artsy and Artnet Join Forces Under Beowolff Capital in Art Market Merger.” ARTnews, April 15, 2026.

• Cassady, Daniel. “Diego Rivera’s Grandson Donates 150,000 Objects to Major Mexico City Museum.” ARTnews, April 21, 2026.

• Doran, Anne. “Rare Books Stolen from Former MoMA President Are Returned.” ARTnews, April 20, 2026. 

• Durón, Maximilíano. “After Five Years of Community Building, Social Practice CUNY Initiative to End in 2027.” ARTnews.Com, April 14, 2026.

• Greenberger, Alex. “Artnet Makes Significant Layoffs Following Consolidation with Artsy.” ARTnews, April 16, 2026. 

• Greenberger, Alex. “Hampshire College, Whose Alumni List Includes Many Well-Known Artists, to Close After 51 Years.” ARTnews, April 14, 2026.

• Jacobs, Harrison. “Foundation, a Prominent NFT Platform of the 2021 Boom, Shuts Down After Failed Sale.” Artnet, April 16, 2026.

• Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “Inside the Fight to Keep a Trove of Frida Kahlo Works from Leaving Mexico.” Artnet News, April 7, 2026.

• Miller, Leigh Anne. “AI Model Reveals New Information About Authorship of 17th-Century El Greco Altarpiece.” ARTnews, April 20, 2026. 

• Sansone, Tara. “What If Every City Provided Artists With Free Supplies?” Hyperallergic, April 9, 2026.

• Topal, Hakan. “The Death of the Art School.” Hyperallergic, April 27, 2026. 

Special News Alert: 47th Presidential Administration and Cultural Heritage

• Artforum. “Trump’s $400 Million East Wing Ballroom Plans Temporarily Nixed By Judge.” Artforum, April 1, 2026.

• Artforum. “Trump’s Desire to Control the Smithsonian Institution Extends to Its Board Members.” Artforum, April 3, 2026.

• Boucher, Brian. “Art Transport Hobbled and Prices Surging in Asia Amid US and Israel’s War in Iran.” ARTnews, April 20, 2026.

• Boucher, Brian. “Ex-Staffers Say Holocaust Museum Canceled Programming to Appease Trump.” Artnet, April 6, 2026.

• Boucher, Brian. “Arts Groups Speak Out Against US Trade Representative’s Potential New Tariffs.” Artnet, April 16, 2026. 

• Boucher, Brian. “Three Months Out from Mandated Deadline, Trump’s Sculpture Garden Languishes.” ARTnews, April 20, 2026.

• Cassady, Daniel. “Trump’s White House Ballroom Plan Stalls as Congress Balks.” ARTnews, April 2, 2026.

• Dixon, Jennifer A. “One Year After the Executive Order.” Library Journal, April 7, 2026.

• Nayyar, Rhea. “Trump Threatens to Wipe Out Iranian Civilization.” Hyperallergic, April 7, 2026.

• Pogrebin, Robin. “Seats Left Empty on Smithsonian Board as Strain With White House Persists.” The New York Times, April 3, 2026. [paywall]

• Sargent, Greg. “Trump Library Saga Takes Dark Turn: Where Did Millions in Funding Go?” The New Republic, April, 2026.

• Society of American Archivists. “SAA Statement on Changes Being Made at National Parks and Monuments.” April 8, 2026.

• Society of American Archivists. SAA Statement on DOJ Office of Legal Counsel's Presidential Records Act Opinion." April 3, 2026. 

• Solomon, Tessa. “Institute of Museum and Library Services Saved from Defunding After Legal Challenge.” Artnet, April 10, 2026.

This issue of News Alerts was compiled by Caroline Clavell, Michele Jennings, Stephanie Kays, Torie Quiñonez, Annie Sollinger, Madison Sussman, and Sarah Wade.