Advocacy & Public Policy Committee News v. 12 n. 2, February 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

• Barrón, Susana Canales. “‘FUCK ICE’ Is Peyote-Stitched in 30,000 Beads on LA Utility Poles by Native Artist.” LA Public Press, February 27, 2026. 

• Brodner, Curtis. “Brooklyn Navy Yard Evicts Drone Manufacturer After Months of Protests.” Hyperallergic, February 18, 2026.

• Cascone, Sarah. “Amy Sherald Lands on Time’s 2026 Women of the Year List.” ArtNet, February 26, 2026.

• Cascone, Sarah. “How Activists Are Embracing Craft as a Tool of Anti-ICE Resistance.” ArtNet, February 3, 2026.

• Dalbow, Tara Anne. “The Importance of Making ‘Degenerate’ Art.” Hyperallergic, February 12, 2026.

• Eler, Alicia. “In Minneapolis, Artists Mobilize to Crush ICE.” Hyperallergic, February 4, 2026.

• Farfan, Isa. “Brooklyn ‘Wall of Tears’ Lists Names of Children Killed in Gaza.” Hyperallergic, February 6, 2026.

• Stromberg, Matt. “Frieze LA Meets the Real World.” Hyperallergic, February 28, 2026. 

Copyright & Licensing; Open Access

• Basharis, George. “COPYRIGHT—N.D. Cal.: Photographer Wins Infringement Ruling but Not Damages.” VitalLaw, February 5, 2026. 

• Boisvert, Lauren. 2026. “Legal Battle Continues for Amyl & the Sniffers and L.A. Photographer, Both Citing Copyright Infringement.” VICE, February 4, 2026. 

• Boucher, Brian. “Digital Artist Gets in Hot Water for AI-Generated Works ‘After’ George Condo.” ARTnews, February 24, 2026.

• Milliot, Jim. “Publishers Strike Back Against Google in Infringement Suit.” Publishers Weekly, February 6, 2026. 

• Nicastro, Jack. “Judge Lets ‘Blade Runner 2049’ Copyright Suit against Elon Musk and Tesla Move Forward.” Reason, February 6, 2026. 

• Thuronyi, George. “Beware of Copyright Scams: How to Spot Fraud and Protect Yourself | Copyright.” The Library of Congress, February 5, 2026. 

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access (IDEA)

• Cascone, Sarah. “MFA Boston Denies Targeting Employees of Color in Layoffs.” Museums & Institutions. Artnet News, February 6, 2026. 

• Cassady, Daniel. “Birmingham Museum of Art Asks Public to Help Locate Works by First Black Artist Exhibited at Museum.” ARTnews, February 27, 2026. 

• D’Souza, Aruna. “The Roma Artist Who Refused to Let the Holocaust Be Forgotten.” The New York Times, February 16, 2026. [paywall]

• Hatfield, Kimberly. “Alabama Advocacy Group Expands Its Historical Sites.” The Art Newspaper - International Art News and Events, February 3, 2026. [paywall]

• Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “A New Video Game Lets Players Reclaim Africa’s Stolen Treasures.”  Artnet, February 11, 2026.

Intellectual Freedom/Access to Information

• Di Liscia, Valentina. “University of North Texas Shutters Exhibition of Artworks Critical of ICE.” Hyperallergic, February 13, 2026.

• Di Liscia, Valentina. “University of North Texas Students Withdraw Thesis Shows, Citing Censorship.” Hyperallergic, February 18, 2026. 

• Solomon, Tessa. “In Leaked Transcript, UNT Dean Cites Politics as the Reason Behind Cancelation of Show with Anti-ICE Art Show.” ARTnews, February 24, 2026.

• Regan, Sheila. “Twin Cities Artists Grapple with Censorship in a Time of Turmoil.” MinnPost, February 11, 2026.

• Quinn, Ryan. “UNC Board OKs Definition of What Academic Freedom Is, and Isn’t.” Inside Higher Ed, February 26, 2026. [paywall]

• Weiwei, Ai. “What Will Censorship Look Like in the Age of AI?” ARTnews, February 23, 2026.

Technology and Digital Privacy

• Hussain, Saira. “Victory! Tenth Circuit Finds Fourth Amendment Doesn’t Support Broad Search of Protesters’ Devices and Digital Data.” Electronic Frontier Foundation, February 26, 2026.

• Prada, Luis. “Discord Will Soon Assume You're a Teenager Unless You Verify Your Age.” VICE, February 10, 2026.

• Satter, Raphael, and Alexandra Alper. “Exclusive: US Orders Diplomats to Fight Data Sovereignty Initiatives.” Reuters, February 25, 2026

• Vishnevskiy, Stanislav. “Getting Global Age Assurance Right: What We Got Wrong and What's Changing.” Discord, February 24, 2026.

Miscellaneous

• Boucher, Brian. “Pulitzer-Winning ‘Washington Post’ Art Critic Sebastian Smee Laid Off in Cutbacks, But Philip Kennicott Remains.” ARTnews, February 5, 2026. 

• D’Souza, Aruna. “The Sticky Politics of Wall Texts.” Hyperallergic, February 16, 2026.

• Farfan, Isa. “Ireland Makes Basic Income Program for Artists Permanent.” Hyperallergic, February 24, 2026.

• Small, Zachary. “After Failed Rebrand, Philadelphia Museum of Art Returns to Its Old Name.” The New York Times, February 5, 2026. [paywall]

• Varga, Lisa. “Federal Funding for Libraries Prevails.” American Libraries, February 6, 2026.

Special News Alert: 47th Presidential Administration and Cultural Heritage

• Battaglia, Andy. “Citing George Orwell, Federal Judge Orders Reinstatement of Slavery Display at George Washington’s Presidential House.” ARTnews, February 17, 2026. 

• Boucher, Brian. “In Los Angeles for Frieze Week? Watch Out For a Mobile LED Truck with the Art World’s Jeffrey Epstein Emails.” ARTnews, February 28, 2026.

• Boucher, Brian. “Six National Nonprofits Sue Trump Administration Over Erasing History and Science at National Parks.” ARTnews, February 18, 2026. 

• Cascone, Sarah. “What the Turmoil at the Kennedy Center Means for the Arts.” Artnet, February 12, 2026.

• Cassady, Daniel. “Activists Hang Prince Andrew Arrest Photo in the Louvre, Turning Royal Crisis into a Work of Art.” ARTnews, February 23, 2026. Artnet, February 3, 2026.

• Cassady, Daniel. “Volunteer Group Documents Smithsonian Wall Text as Trump Administration Presses Cultural Review.” ARTnews, February 26, 2026.

• Durón, Maximilíano. “Trump Administration Removes Pride Flag from Stonewall Monument, Elected Officials Reinstated It on Their Own.” ARTnews, February 12, 2026.

• Farfan, Isa. “Judge Orders Trump Administration to Reinstate Exhibits on Slavery.” Hyperallergic, February 17, 2026.

• Farfan, Isa. “Representatives of Pride Flag’s Creator Sue Trump Administration.” Hyperallergic, February 18, 2026.

• Farfan, Isa, and Rhea Nayyar. “David A. Ross Resigns From School of Visual Arts After Epstein Revelations.” Hyperallergic, February 3, 2026. 

• Heckman, Jory. “Marco Rubio out as Acting Head of National Archives.” Federal News Network, February 4, 2026. 

• Mondros, Sam. “DOJ Files Show Jeffrey Epstein’s Unsettling Footprint at SFMOMA.” SF Standard, February 5, 2026.

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