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The law, which goes into effect in 2028, removes the labels of Democrat and Republican from candidates in five of Georgia’s major metroplexes, all of which are either Democratic strongholds or have leaned Democratic in recent elections.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed House Bill 369 into law on Tuesday, a controversial new bill that makes some local elections in major counties near the Atlanta metroplex nonpartisan. The law, which goes into effect in 2028, singles out Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb and Clayton Counties respectively.
Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton are widely considered Democratic strongholds in the state, whereas Gwinnett and Cobb have leaned toward Democratic candidates in recent election cycles. The races immediately affected include those of district attorneys, county commissioners, tax commissioners and other local offices.
Democratic leadership in the state has continuously voiced its displeasure with the bill, citing its limited scope to predominantly Black areas.
“If the intent is truly fairness and election integrity, why are only five counties singled out instead of all 159 in Georgia?” DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said in an interview with CBS News.
Supporters of the bill argue that it promotes voting based on a candidate’s performance rather than the political party they are affiliated with. Still, the bill’s critics, including three district attorneys, have questioned its merit, with Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin Gatson calling it “a deliberate act of voter disenfranchisement.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston issued a joint statement on Tuesday opposing the bill and threatening legal action along with Gatson to have the bill overturned.
“House Bill 369 is clearly unconstitutional, and we are appalled at Governor Brian Kemp’s decision to sign it into law,” the statement read. “This is a blatant attempt by Republicans to give their candidates an edge in Democratic counties by hiding their party affiliation from voters.”
It continued: “Worse, they make clear their bad faith and unconstitutional motives by applying this legislation to only 5 of the 159 counties in Georgia: Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett. Those five counties have elected African American Democratic women to serve as their District Attorney. We are committed to defending the rights of our constituents and upholding the Constitution, so we will be taking legal action to have this illegal bill overturned. Sadly, thanks to the irresponsible actions of the Republican majorities in the legislature and Governor Kemp, taxpayers will be the ones footing the bill to defend it in court.”
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See this graduation playlist that features modern hits and motivational anthems that celebrate success, achievement, and leveling up in life.
Graduation is more than just a ceremony, it’s a celebration of growth, perseverance, and everything it took to get to this moment. This playlist brings together songs that capture accomplishment, success, and the feeling of finally leveling up in life, from motivational anthems to feel-good celebration records.
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Whether you’re walking across the stage, turning up with friends and family, or reflecting on the journey, these tracks set the perfect tone for honoring how far you’ve come and everything that’s still ahead.
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Take A look at this 2026 Graduation celebration playlist:
Fat Joe, Remy Ma – All The Way Up ft. French Montana, Infared
All The Way Up is a celebratory anthem about reaching success, staying confident, and maintaining momentum after coming from the bottom. 
Drake – God’s Plan
God’s Plan is about success, gratitude, and recognizing the impact of blessings while navigating fame and responsibility.
Post Malone – Congratulations ft. Quavo
Congratulations is about overcoming struggles, achieving success, and proving doubters wrong after years of hard work
Nipsey Hussle – Victory Lap feat. Stacy Barthe
Victory Lap is about enjoying the rewards of years of hard work, persistence, and staying dedicated to success despite obstacles.
Drake – Started From the Bottom
Started From the Bottom is about Drake reflecting on his rise from humble beginnings to major success through hard work and determination. 
Nicki Minaj – Moment 4 Life ft. Drake
Moment 4 Life is about celebrating success, living in the moment, and appreciating the hard work it took to achieve dreams.
Pharrell Williams – Happy
Happy is an upbeat anthem about choosing joy, positivity, and happiness regardless of life’s challenges.
Drake – We Made It ft. Soulja Boy
We Made It is about overcoming obstacles, achieving success, and celebrating the journey from struggle to accomplishment.
Kanye West – Stronger
Stronger is about resilience, self-confidence, and becoming stronger through challenges and setbacks.
Meek Mill -Dreams And Nightmares 
Dreams and Nightmares is about Meek Mill reflecting on his journey from hardship and struggle to fame and success. 
JAŸ-Z – Empire State Of Mind ft. Alicia Keys
Empire State of Mind is about ambition, hustle, and achieving success.
Bruno Mars – 24K Magic
24K Magic is a high-energy celebration of success, luxury, and good times, centered around enjoying the rewards of hard work.
DJ Khaled – All I Do Is Win ft. T-Pain, Ludacris, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg
All I Do Is Win is a victory anthem about success, confidence, and consistently coming out on top no matter the obstacles.
Kanye West – Good Life ft. T-Pain
Good Life is about celebrating success, freedom, and enjoying the rewards that come after overcoming struggles and hard work.
Big Sean – Blessings ft. Drake, Kanye West
Blessings is about gratitude, success, and recognizing how far you’ve come despite challenges and doubt.
Jay Rock – WIN
Win is a hard-hitting victory anthem about staying focused, overcoming obstacles, and refusing to lose no matter the pressure.
Wiz Khalifa – Work Hard Play Hard
Work Hard, Play Hard is about grinding relentlessly to achieve success and then fully enjoying the rewards that come with it.
Beyoncé – ENERGY
Energy is an upbeat track about confidence, presence, and moving with unstoppable energy while embracing self-assurance.
Drake – Trophies
Trophies is a triumphant celebration of success, dominance, and earning recognition after consistent hard work and wins. 
Kanye West – Can’t Tell Me Nothing
Can’t Tell Me Nothing is a defiant anthem about independence, confidence, and ignoring critics while staying focused on personal success.
Marvin Sapp – Never Would Have Made It
Never Would Have Made It is a powerful gospel testimony about faith, perseverance, and gratitude for overcoming struggles that once felt impossible.
The Gap Band- Outstanding

Outstanding is a smooth, feel-good funk classic about admiration, love, and celebrating someone who stands out in every way.
Yung L.A. – Ain’t I ft. Young Dro, T.I.
Ain’t I is a Southern hip-hop track centered around confidence, success, and showing off the rewards of grinding and leveling up.
Drake, 21 Savage – Rich Flex
Rich Flex is a confident, high-energy track about wealth, success, and unapologetically enjoying the rewards of grinding and making it.
Beyoncé – BREAK MY SOUL 
Break My Soul is an empowering anthem about releasing stress, reclaiming joy, and breaking free from burnout and pressure.

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Lois Mailou Jones in her studio Photo: Marc Vaux Studio, courtesy the Afro American Newspapers Archives/Afro Charities
The Getty Foundation has awarded an additional $1.8m to its Black Visual Arts Archives initiative. The programme helps institutions process, digitise, preserve and activate archival collections related to Black artists, arts organisations and visual arts history in the US. The funding supports access to artist papers, exhibition records, photography, educational materials, home movies, quilt archives and institutional records, along with exhibitions, public programming and digital platforms.
The initiative is national in scope and focuses on improving public access to Black visual arts archives across libraries, museums and universities. Grantees include Afro Charities, the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History in Atlanta, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Morgan State University’s Beulah M. Davis Special Collections Department, the South Side Community Art Center in Chicago, the University of Chicago’s South Side Home Movie Project (SSHMP) and the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland.
“One of the beautiful things about working with this initiative is that my eyes have been opened to the diversity of archival resources that are out there,” says Miguel de Baca, the Getty Foundation’s senior programme officer, who directed the launch of the initiative in 2022. This latest round of grants brings the Getty’s total funding for the programme to $4.5m across 20 awards and marks the initiative’s third cohort. De Baca adds that empowering these archival projects not only provides access but helps connect institutions, archivists and scholars to one another.
“Deep in the ethos of this project has always been to give greater visibility to personal archives, rather than isolating materials,” says Jacqueline Stewart, the founder of SSHMP, which has been operating for 21 years with a focus on digitising personal archives and community histories. With support from the Getty, SSHMP is conducting a deep thematic dive into Black cultural history on Chicago’s South Side, with a particular emphasis on artistic practices. Most notably, its staff recently discovered footage of the original Wall of Respect mural in the background of footage taken in April 1968, when riots erupted after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
A yet unidentified woman inspects film in Ramon Williams’s studio (around 1946), from the South Side Home Movie Project’s Ramon Williams Collection
Courtesy the South Side Home Movie Project, University of Chicago
In an era when Black history is being systematically erased from the walls of institutions and government websites, the work of preserving and making Black archives accessible to the public is both important and profound.
“This is what the Black press emerges out of—the desire to tell its own story and to cover its own people, since the dominant press wasn’t doing that,” says Savannah Wood, the director of Afro Charities. The nonprofit was founded in 1963 to manage the Afro newspaper in Baltimore. Funding will go to creating public access for the 133 years of historic newspaper archives documenting Black lives and news, including 3 million photographs.
The Afro archives give a unique up-close and personal view into Black life that is not found in mainstream newspapers. “Part of the work that we’re doing is to surface those stories through these archives, so that we have a fuller art-historical picture of who these people were,” says Wood, adding to the canon of not only Black journalism but journalism at large.
“That is a critical aspect of pushing back against what we see happening in terms of public funding and federal funding,” Stewart says. “To help each other think together institutionally about how to sustain our work and how to be mission-driven, because we know that the landscape of funding is always shifting.”
By connecting projects like SSHMP and Afro Charities to a broader network of institutions, the initiative helps create opportunities for stronger community building and the exchange of shared knowledge and best practices.
Almost half of the funding will go towards preserving Modernist buildings designed by Black architects
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is helping 30 congregations shore up their buildings and share their stories, with their communities and the world
Libraries, museums and archives throughout the US will use the funds to make their collections more accessible through digitisation and—at least in one case—a VR game
Robert Louis Brandon Edwards has been working to convert a vehicle that carried Black Americans north during the Great Migration

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Titled “Blocc Party: An Insecure Podcast,” the new show will relive the cultural phenomenon with former cast members, writers and more.
What happens after you create an impactful HBO series that fans still beg to come back? Issa Rae has been navigating that space well since “Insecure” concluded in 2021, not only as a groundbreaking series but also as one of the last “appointment television” shows around.
With a new podcast, Issa and showrunner Prentice Penny are not only looking back at the legacy of “Insecure,” but the stories and gems that were never told.
Until now.
On Wednesday, Issa’s HooRae Productions launched “Blocc Party: An Insecure Podcast” featuring both her and Penny looking back at the early days of the show. At one point during reflecting on the show’s end, Issa admits that closing a chapter of her life and one of the more impactful shows on television left her with every emotion.
“It was ending the show itself, like stopping filming, was devastating but also a relief,” she told Penny. “Like you know, I fronted the entire season, like can’t wait for this sh-t to be over. Talking big sh-t. And literally, I think it was you and Yvonne who were done at the same time. I don’t know that I’ve ever cried so much in my life.”
“Insecure” also began a renewed interest in shows led by Black women on HBO. When the show premiered in 2016, the last show that had a Black woman in leading roles was “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” starring Jill Scott and Anika Noni Rose. Based on the popular book series, the show only lasted for six episodes on HBO before it was canceled in 2010. The demand was there and Issa hoped to deliver after the 2008 TV writer’s strike that led to the demise of several Black TV shows like “Girlfriends.”
“It was the Obama years of like wanting like hey where are all the black people?” Penny remarked.
While fans will no doubt go down memory lane with Issa and Penny through the new podcast, the longtime creator has already got something making waves on TikTok.
According to The Wrap, her microseries “Screen Time” has accumulated nearly 75 million views since it launched on April 29. The first 27 episodes of the series, which are 1-minute in length, are all available on TikTok and PrimeDrama. The second act will arrive on May 22.

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The talented Queen Latifah will lend her eyes and ears to the upcoming 30th season of The Voice as one of the judges for the show.
Queen Latifah is still one of the busiest individuals in the culture, with acting gigs and endorsements always in play. Now, it’s being reported that Queen Latifah will join the judges’ panel of music competition series The Voice for its upcoming 30th season.
According to a press release from NBC/Peacock, Queen Latifah will make her debut this fall on The Voice, joining current judges Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine. Also making their debut on the panel is country star, Riley Green.
Latifah’s credentials are well-established, extending into music, fashion, movies, and television. The Emmy Award and Golden Globe-winning actress also holds a National Medal of the Arts and owns the distinction of being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, among other honors.
Green has been involved with The Voice in times past for the show’s 26th and 28th seasons in a pair of finale performances. Mainstays Clarkson and Levine will undoubtedly show Latifah and Green the ropes to be a proper judge as the next potential music star gives it their all to impress the panel.
As this is a milestone season for The Voice, fans can expect surprise guests and appearances from former coaches and mentors, along with looking back on the past winners and their journey in music.
The Voice will make its return this fall.
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Photo: Getty
Queen Latifah To Join ‘The Voice’ For Its 30th Season was originally published on hiphopwired.com

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The event, which aired on Netflix, featured jokes about Sheryl Underwood’s late husband, Hart’s affairs and more. But Hinchcliffe’s joke about George Floyd “looking up” at Hart prompted immediate outcry on social media.
Comedian Lil Rel Howery has spent a time or two roasting someone, whether in his neighborhood, cutting his teeth in Chicago comedy or on stage for his specials. But after watching “The Roast of Kevin Hart,” Howery had time to address a few things he found of ill taste.
In a three-minute video uploaded to Instagram and reposted on other social platforms, Howery explained why he didn’t attend the roast or any of the “Netflix Is A Joke” events, as he was filming a movie. After circling back and taking in the roast, he saluted comedians and individuals he found to have done their job like Regina Hall, Katt Williams and Hart himself.
However, one of the more distasteful roast jokes rubbed Howery the wrong way.
“What I am annoyed by, and I’m just keeping it one hundred y’all… I don’t understand, it’s one thing to roast the people that’s there,” he began. “It’s one thing to roast the people who may be in the audience. Roasting someone No. 1 that’s dead, No. 2 that’s not there, No. 3 that the implications of why you shouldn’t joke about that … Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke about George Floyd didn’t make f-cking sense to me. It was no reason to bring George Floyd into this. It was just disgusting.”
He continued, “The audience was OK boo’ing Draymond Green every time his name was mentioned. Y’all could boo! But you don’t boo Tony Hinchcliffe right after that? I get it man, I’m OK not being part of this clique bullsh-t that’s going on in comedy. I 100 percent would have booed that muthaf-ka and probably walked out. That’s all I’m saying, y’all.”
A post shared by Lil Rel Howery (@comedianlilrel)
Hinchcliffe’s joke had immediately drawn ire from fellow comedians like Loni Love and Melissa Fredricks, the wife of Kevin “KevOnStage” Fredericks, who argued that the “anti-Black” jokes told during the event weren’t funny. It also drew a swift response from Floyd’s family, who shared in a statement, “We are trying to rebuild things for our community and make things better in our community,” they continued before adding a slight but pointed jab of their own. “Let’s try to be a little bit more positive — and not sit up there doing colon inspections by white comedians.”
Howery contested that sometimes the general public could be “too sensitive” to certain matters, but he drew the line at Floyd, who died six years ago at the hands of a former Minneapolis police officer.
“Why can’t we just agree that bringing up George Floyd in the way he did it was f-cked up and not funny and not needed? It wasn’t even needed! I ain’t like that sh-t,” Howery concluded.

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May 9, 2026
The restaurant is a revival of the Southwest side’s culinary and cultural scene.
Two native Atlanta sisters have opened a unique restaurant and cafe to feed the city’s Southwest area.
Nako and Narie Roberson have created a new cultural movement with Bosk, a burger spot and cafe that helps residents feel at home through delicious bites and a local persona. As new entrepreneurs to the restaurant scene, they created “Big Oomp Studio Kitchen” as a tribute to a famed record shop on Atlanta’s southwest side.
As a new pillar in the community, they chose to take on an area marginalized by Atlanta’s rapid development. Now, they have curated meals that center this community and its homegrown residents, honoring their roots with each recipe. Fans and critics have already praised its menu selections, with Atlanta figures such as Kandi Burruss and Mayor Andre Dickens stopping by to snag a plate.
A post shared by BOSK (@boskatl)
The Roberson sisters spoke with BLACK ENTERPRISE about how this eatery came to life, and their dedication to Southwest Atlanta as a new cultural institution. As for the reason behind opening on this side of town, Narie explained how career shifts prompted her to take a chance not only on herself, but also on her surrounding neighborhood.
“I was at a place in my career, I have a hair background, where I wanted to do something different,” she tells BE. “And I just kept driving by [the building] and, at one point on the sign, it said it only had one space left available. I had called my dad. I’m like,’ I know you don’t want to do nothing else, but I know you always wanted a restaurant. It’s this place. They’re building this development right here by my house. Like, I’ll stop doing hair. I’ll see it through full throttle, you know, construction to employees, to working in there every day. You know, like, just take a chance on me.’”
Narie not only led the operations but also oversaw the construction from the ground up. Working through the labor and delivery of her own son, she learned the ins and outs of general contracting to fulfill this dream.
However, BOSK, which also stands for Building On Success Kindly, doesn’t stop at flipping burgers. Just next door, the entrepreneurial sisters developed a second business. The establishment, called BOSK Cafe, is a love letter to reading, community, and their sisterhood.
With over $1 million invested in BOSK’s success, the women have lofty plans and a widespread taste for its offerings. They aim to explore new menu items beyond traditional Southern eats, developed by their chef, a childhood friend, to appeal to varied palettes. New features include wine tastings, cigar smoking, and tapas, all to showcase their versatility in the culinary scene.
Her sister, Nako, added, “My dad invested in us, no loans. We don’t owe nobody. So this is straight, straight, family business. Sacrificing and trusting us. No debt.”
However, what remains the same is their storied love for Southwest Atlanta. Home of famous “ATLien” hotspots like Cascade skating rink and West End Mall, the area has a livable history that the Robersons take immense pride in. Although some might argue that a million-dollar investment in the neighborhood’s dining options would yield little return, the sisters take a different view, calling the location crucial to the restaurant’s essence.
“We’re SWATS. We’re ATL for real,” continued Nako. “We wouldn’t have put this nowhere else. Although people feel like it still isn’t the ideal location…we want that nostalgia feeling.”
The Robersons want to prove that the Southwest side has something to say, and eat. Since its opening, the menu has garnered a reputation for its burgers, with variations including the “Cascade,” “Dirty South,” and “AUC.” And, their “Sobu” salad, which stands for South of Buckhead, and other soul food delights have also captivated diverse eaters.
As customers, from postal workers to local politicians, pour in, the familial atmosphere at BOSK is a part of its charm that keeps tables filled.
“So with us trying to bring a more elevated experience to the side of Atlanta, we’re just trying to bring people over here,” they continued. [We want] to let people know that even though this [area] does have the stigma around it, that this is the hood or, you know, things like that, you don’t have to go on a highway to have a good time. Why can’t we be in our community?”
While their journey has hurdled some challenges, the Roberson women believe these obstacles have made them better business owners in the long run. They remain an integral part of their community as they run BOSK daily, a tip they say is crucial to sustaining a new business.
“My advice I can give to any business owner is face on the place…I don’t think that any restaurant owner in the first 5 years of their business should be parlaying somewhere else,” added Narie.
“You need to be right here, whether you are in the position to pay yourself, to be gone, or not. You need to be in this restaurant every single day. If you can’t be here from open to close, you at least need to spend 6 or 7 hours of the open hours here. Not only to let your customers know that you’re here, you ain’t walking out of here with nothing. And also, too, that your customers see that you’re here. You know, like, we’re here. We’re invested.”
As they continue to invest in this legendary part of Atlanta’s cultural ecosystem, the sisters and BOSK are becoming beacons of representation and pride for the Southwest community.
“I still kind of get emotional sometimes when I walk over there, and I see tons of people just sitting down,” added Nako. “It makes me feel like we brought community back to Southwest Atlanta, and I’m very incredibly thankful.”
BOSK is celebrating Mother’s Day early. On May 9, the establishment is hosting A Toast to Her: An Intimate Mother’s Day Wine Tasting Experience. The event kicks off at 7PM; guest will not only enjoy a curated wine tasting, but also light bites from the kitchen, good music and great vibes.
RELATED CONTENT: National Black Arts Festival Presents ‘Rappers Delight,’ An Immersive Block Party To Commemorate 50 Years of Hip Hop
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The controversy lands as the vulnerable Republican faces a tough midterm re-election fight.
Virginia Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans is under fire after she agreed with a radio host who told House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to keep his “cotton-picking hands off of Virginia” during a Monday interview.
As theGrio has reported, Jeffries has faced an escalating pattern of racially charged attacks in recent months, including from President Trump himself, and Virginia’s redistricting battle has increasingly become a flashpoint for broader fights over Black political representation. NBC News reported that the controversy erupted after she responded to host Rich Herrera’s phrase with “That’s right. Ditto. Yes, yes to that.”
This is precisely what’s wrong with Democrats. Every lie and distortion is intended to distract from getting their hats handed to them and the Virginia Supreme Court’s clear message: stop trying to rig our elections.

The radio host should not have used that language and I do not…
Kiggans later posted on X that she was agreeing with Herrera’s broader point that Jeffries should stay out of Virginia politics, not with the specific language. The defense did little to quiet the backlash. “The radio host should not have used that language and I do not — and did not — condone it. It was obvious to anyone listening that I was agreeing Hakeem Jefferies should stay out of Virginia,” she said.
Democrats were not satisfied. Rep. Katherine Clark, the No. 2 House Democrat, called on Kiggans to resign. Christie Stephenson, the top spokesperson for Jeffries, said in a statement that Kiggans displayed a “stunning failure of judgment and leadership” for a “so-called moderate” lawmaker. “Extremists who endorse disgusting, vile and racist language are pathetic. Jen Kiggans has no interest in our nation’s progress toward a multi-racial democracy and apparently craves a return to the days of Jim Crow racial oppression in the South,” Stephenson said.
The controversy comes at a difficult moment for Kiggans politically. She is one of Democrats’ top targets in the November midterm elections, and is expected to face a rematch against former Rep. Elaine Luria, the retired Navy commander she defeated in 2022. Luria condemned the comments directly. “I grew up in the South. I know what these racist dog whistles mean,” she said on X, calling on Kiggans to publicly apologize and denounce the remarks.

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Ella Mai is back with the Do You Still Love Me Tour and this is the setlist we need.
Ella Mai is back with the Do You Still Love Me Tour across the U.S., Europe and the UK. Fans are gearing up to see her live and this is the setlist we need. Check it out inside.  
If Ella Mai’s recent Saint Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival performance is any indication of what she is bringing to arenas, the people who have tickets already should consider themselves among the most blessed individuals on the planet right now.
As Billboard reported, the Do You Still Love Me Tour is a nearly 40-date trek visiting major cities across the U.S., Europe and the UK, with rising R&B singers Ama and Girlfriend joining as supporting acts. The tour is set to kick off on Jul. 7 in Toronto. 
This is a special tour as it marks Mai’s first outing since welcoming her baby boy with NBA star Jayson Tatum. She’s returning to the stage with a whole new chapter of her life, likely informing everything she is about to perform. That kind of emotional weight translates directly into a live show and we predict that every person in those stadium seats will feel it. 
What makes this tour especially significant is the shift in how she is approaching the production. Ella Mai has always been a vocals-first performer, the kind of singer who could stand still at a microphone and make you forget everything else in the room. But she is leveling up this time. 
“This is the first time that we’re doing a production,” he told Billboard backstage after her Saint Lucia performance. “We want to step it up a bit.” 
She goes on to share that with this album, she wanted to immerse her fans in her world. The singer also got deeply personal about why this particular album and this particular tour matter so much to her. 
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“We’re gonna basically bring that to life on the tour, and I’m excited to get on stage and sing new music and have people sing it back to me. And even if they don’t sing it back to me, this new album means so much to me that being able to share it alone is going to be incredible.” 
That is the kind of artist energy that turns a concert into an experience you carry with you for years. 
The album fueling this entire run is already proving itself on the charts. In February, Do You Still Love Me? debuted at No. 44 on the Billboard 200. It reached No. 14 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums thanks to the Adult R&B radio hits “Tell Her” and “Little Things.” With it being executively produced by Mustard, the 14-track album marks the official follow-up to the “Trip” singer’s sophomore record Heart of My Sleeve.
Ella has thoughts about the bigger picture for R&B as a genre right now. 
“It’s just such a great time for the genre, and it’s incredible to see since it gets so much flak,” she said. “Nobody asks why today’s rock doesn’t sound like the 90s. Every other genre, I feel, is allowed to evolve and become its own thing in its time. There’s a real R&B resurgence going on right now. And it’s always been there, actually, you just might have to look a bit harder than usual.” 
This summer Ella is about to make it impossible to look anywhere else. 
Because you open with your biggest record and let people know immediately where they are.
To confirm that the classics are getting their full respect tonight.
For the day one fans who remember exactly where they were when this song first dropped.
Because no Ella Mai show is complete without it.
The first major moment from Do You Still Love Me? with full production behind it.
This should be performed intimately before building into the full arrangement.
She already previewed in Saint Lucia and clearly connects with a live crowd.
For the section of the night where the whole room goes quiet and just listens.
The mid-show gut punch that reminds everyone why they fell in love with her voice in the first place.
Kind of a deep cut, but worth a moment in the setlist.
A great song to bring the energy back up before the finish.
As the penultimate song to remind the room who they came to see.
One final time as an encore with full lights, full band, full voice — leaving the audience standing up on their feet. 
What songs would you add to Ella’s setlist? Comment below.
RELATED: Raymond & Brown Tour: Our Dream Usher & Chris Brown Setlist
Ella Mai’s ‘Do You Still Love Me’ Tour: Here’s The Setlist We Need was originally published on globalgrind.com

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The Museum of Image and Sound, Rio de Janeiro Photo: Karoline Freitas, courtesy the Museum of Image and Sound
The Museum of Image and Sound (MIS-RJ) on Rio de Janeiro’s waterfront finally opens tomorrow (8 May) after more than 16 years of development. The 10,000-sq.-m museum is expected to become a national landmark, featuring eight floors, including a rooftop and two basement levels. The building’s façade, made from interlocking aluminium and glass panels, provides visitors with panoramic views of Copacabana Beach.
Plans for a museum on Avenida Atlântica, one of Rio’s main thoroughfares, were first announced in 2009. The architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro was contracted to design the project, which honours the renowned Brazilian landscape architect and artist Roberto Burle Marx. It evokes the sinuous black-and-white stone sidewalk he designed for Copacabana in the 1970s that became emblematic of the city.
The MIS-RJ project has been embroiled in controversy from the start, sparking conversations around urban redevelopment as the state government sought to sanitise Rio’s image ahead of events like the 2014 Fifa World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. The site previously housed a nightclub, founded in the 1980s, that was notorious for prostitution. When it was bulldozed in 2010, the move prompted backlash from people who argued that this would force sex workers onto the streets; at the time, workers spoke to Brazilian media outlets about their fears of displacement and income loss.
The museum has stalled several times since it broke ground in 2011 and cycled through the jurisdiction of several governments, causing setbacks as administrations changed hands and shifted their priorities. The government suspended funding for the project in 2016 as it encountered more complex challenges, including an ongoing economic downturn exacerbated by the aftermath of the impeachment of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff that same year.
Work on the museum only resumed in 2021, after being virtually abandoned, with the current state government committing to completing the 329.2m reais ($62.5m) project with a mix of public and private funds. Its corporate donors include the Brazilian bank Itaú, the mining company Vale and the media company Rede Globo.
Danielle Barros, the Rio de Janeiro state secretary for culture, says the MIS-RJ’s completion marks a major milestone for her department, which has focused on bolstering cultural institutions throughout the state. “The resumption of the construction was a commitment of governor Cláudio Castro’s administration, which recognises the importance of this historic institution as a cultural legacy for Brazil,” Barros tells The Art Newspaper. “We understand this is an icon of Brazilian art. The MIS-RJ was conceived as a living museum, where contemporary cultural production will be continually incorporated into the collection, ensuring its ongoing relevance over time.”
Inside the new Museum of Image and Sound, Rio de Janeiro Photo: Karoline Freitas, courtesy the Museum of Image and Sound
The MIS-RJ was originally founded in 1965 in a 20th-century building at the Praça XV. The structure was constructed as a makeshift pavilion for an exhibition celebrating the centenary of Brazilian independence, featuring artists like Candido Portinari and Eliseu Visconti. The building remains under the stewardship of the MIS-RJ foundation, which has shifted operations to its headquarters at a site in the downtown neighbourhood of Lapa acquired in 1990.
The foundation that oversees the MIS-RJ holds a collection spanning more than 650,000 audiovisual and other objects, including works of art, recordings, films, photographs, musical instruments and the archives of Brazilian artists and musicians—among them the groundbreakers Gilberto Gil, Tom Jobim and Chico Buarque.
There has been a major focus on making the collection digitally accessible, with the launch of a comprehensive online database that provides access to its collection. In the past, facilities to accommodate researchers were insufficient. While the Copacabana site will focus on exhibitions and public-facing programmes, the Lapa space will continue to house the MIS-RJ’s collection storage and research centre.
“Since the start of the project, every administration that has overseen the foundation has made sure to keep the collection in appropriate conditions for preservation and use,” says Cesar Miranda Ribeiro, the president of the MIS-RJ foundation. “Over this period, the institution has also advanced in terms of content, incorporating new collections into its archive and expanding curatorial possibilities.”
A view of Copacabana Beach with Roberto Burle Marx’s iconic sidewalk Photo: Mteixeira62, via Wikimedia Commons
The government and foundation have collectively received about 3m reais ($600,000) in corporate funding to revitalise the original MIS-RJ building and double its storage capacity. This next stage of the project will be announced once bidding for a contractor has been finalised in the coming months.
The MIS-RJ’s inaugural exhibition features a selection of works that speak to how Rio became an international destination. These include pieces by 20th-century Brazilian photographers like Augusto Malta and Guilherme Santos, which capture a nascent Copacabana and the beginnings of construction on the waterfront—such as the first iteration of its stone-lined promenade.
The museum had a soft opening on 9 April with the temporary exhibition Architecture on Stage: MIS Copa Before Image and Sound, which gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the complex architecture and engineering of the building. Visitation was limited and by appointment only, with priority given to students of architecture, history and museology.
A financial assessment conducted during the development of the project suggests that the museum could generate 373m reais ($71m) annually for the state, surpassing a full return on investment in its first year of operation. Admission will cost 260 reais ($50) but will be free for local residents. According to organisers, when a study asked tourists whether they might stay an extra day in the city to visit the MIS-RJ, 22% of respondents said they would.
Meanwhile, the museum partners with a Chinese tech firm to digitise its catalogued collection
New far-right president wants to remove the country’s ministry of culture

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Authorities said jump drives containing unreleased songs and sensitive tour materials were taken during a 2025 vehicle break-in in Atlanta.
A Georgia man accused of stealing unreleased music and confidential tour materials connected to Beyoncé has pleaded guilty and been sentenced in connection with the 2025 theft.
According to WDRW, Kelvin Evans pleaded guilty to entering an automobile with the intent to commit theft and criminal trespass. The plea came after Evans had previously rejected a plea agreement in March 2026 and initially maintained his innocence.
On May 12, Evans waived his right to a trial and was sentenced to five years. Under the sentence, he will serve two years in prison, while the remaining time will be completed on probation. He was also ordered to avoid contact with the victims involved in the case and stay away from the location where the theft occurred.
The incident dates back to July 8, 2025, when members of Beyoncé’s tour team reported a break-in involving a rented vehicle parked inside a garage on Krog Street NE in Atlanta. At the time, the singer was in the city performing four shows at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as part of her “Cowboy Carter” tour.
Authorities said several valuable items were stolen from the vehicle, including jump drives containing unreleased Beyoncé music, show plans and a MacBook Pro laptop. The missing digital files reportedly included unpublished tracks and sensitive production material tied to the tour.
Investigators later connected Evans to the crime using surveillance footage and vehicle tracking evidence. Police said a vehicle allegedly used during the theft was captured on security cameras near the scene. Evans was first arrested in August 2025 for violating parole before being formally charged in connection with the theft the following month.
The case drew significant public attention because of the involvement of unreleased music from one of the world’s biggest recording artists. While authorities have not publicly confirmed whether all stolen materials were recovered, the guilty plea officially closes one of the more unusual celebrity-related theft investigations tied to a major concert tour in recent years.
Beyoncé has not publicly commented on the sentencing.
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First-time participants at Frieze New York include Europa, Sargent’s Daughters, Soft Opening, Ulrik and W-galería Photo: Casey Kelbaugh; courtesy Frieze
Frieze New York returns with a broader international presence, but the fair remains firmly anchored in its home city, where nearly half of exhibitors have a base.
The 15th edition of Frieze New York (until 17 May) brings 67 galleries from more than 25 countries to the Shed. The fair’s reach continues to expand, particularly with increased participation from Latin America, its organisers note. But the concentration of New York-based galleries underscores the city’s enduring place at the centre of the global art market.
This year’s edition includes several first-time participants, among them Europa, Ulrik and Sargent’s Daughters from New York, Soft Opening from London and W-Galería from Buenos Aires. The fair’s ambitions to include international voices is clear from the large Latin American contingent, with 14 galleries from the region taking part.
“I’ve watched the evolution of the fair over the years,” says Christine Messineo, Frieze’s director of fairs for the Americas. “I’m really proud of how international it feels now. This year, it felt particularly important to foreground that sensibility.” She points to strong participation from Brazil, Argentina and across Latin America as evidence of that shift.
Still, New York remains the fair’s defining context. For the city’s top blue-chip galleries, Frieze New York is a chance to present work on its home turf, in many cases just blocks away from their Chelsea spaces. Recent data underlines the city’s continued dominance in the global art market. The latest Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report, released in March, found that the global market grew by 4% in 2025, to $59.6bn in sales, following two years of decline. The US continues to lead, accounting for around 43% of global art sales, and more of those transactions happen in New York than any other city in the country. That makes Frieze New York and the concurrent gallery programming and fairs surrounding it even more important to the larger art world.
“Frieze fairs play a catalytic role. There’s this momentum across the city and, in New York specifically, it anchors a much larger cultural moment,” says Samanthe Rubell, Pace Gallery’s president. “There’s this opportunity to demonstrate what your gallery and artists represent, and how they sit within the contemporary landscape and the greatest art city in the world.”
Leo Villareal, Golden Game (Medium) 9, 2026 Courtesy of the artist and Pace Gallery
Pace is showing works by Maya Lin and Leo Villareal at the fair, pairing two artists with strong histories of making public work. Around five blocks south of its Frieze stand, the gallery marks the important week on New York’s art world calendar by opening solo exhibitions dedicated to Emily Kam Kngwarray, Julian Schnabel, David Hockney and Paul Thek.
Collector confidence has improved following several solid auction seasons and reports of strong sales at recent major fairs, even as geopolitical instability, war and tariffs continue to shape larger economic conditions. The market appears to be in a state of careful recovery.
“In the past few months, it’s notably strong, especially heading into Frieze,” Rubell says. “So much of that momentum is being generated from established collectors who went on pause and have come back to the surface, rather than a significant influx of new collectors. The market seems less local and more globally tied together, despite all of the geopolitical uncertainty.”
Alongside its established galleries, Frieze New York continues to position itself as a platform for younger dealers through its Focus sector for galleries founded less than 12 years ago. Among them is Sargent’s Daughters, the Tribeca gallery founded by Allegra LaViola, which makes its debut at the fair this year. The gallery presents a solo stand of sculptures by the Mexico City-based artist Yeni Mao. His practice combines industrial materials with organic references, producing objects that are at once highly finished and viscerally charged.
“His work is metal and has a sort of dark energy coursing through it but is very related to the body,” LaViola says. “So, while the works are at once extremely polished and almost cold in the materials that he’s using, the subject matter is very alive, because he’s constantly referencing the body and our animal nature.”
Yeni Mao, fig 46.2 you belong to me, 2026 Courtesy the artist and Sargent’s Daughters
One work, incorporating a cast cow tongue, often provokes a strong response in viewers, she says. “The cow tongue is a different size than a human tongue, but your brain kind of recognises it as something, and then as it gradually penetrates your consciousness, you understand that it’s an animal’s tongue. That’s somewhat revolting,” LaViola says. “He is using that inherent instinctual revulsion to disrupt the idea that we are somehow separate from animals.” Works on the stand are priced between $8,000 and $20,000.
For smaller galleries, New York fairs can offer strong visibility and rapid-
fire engagement, even for dealers with a presence in the city.
“There are just people who, despite being in New York, either don’t come to the gallery or come to the gallery and don’t buy anything from a show. But they very often do buy things at art fairs,” LaViola says. “Doing an art fair is always a nice way to reconnect with people in a very short period of time. You have a high volume of eyeballs on the work, and you’re talking to a lot of people. And I think because an art fair does have that commercial element to it, they are thinking about the sales, too.”
Even with the recent signs of momentum in the art trade, the commercial outlooks for Frieze New York, the many concurrent fairs around Manhattan and the marquee spring auctions remain difficult to predict. External factors continue to shape the market in complex ways.
“It’s not as though there’s a crystal ball,” Messineo says. “But if we look at our most recent experience with Frieze Los Angeles, there was a clear sense of resilience and eagerness to engage in the art market.”
Dealers hope the fair will create some momentum during a sluggish season
Around one-fifth of participating galleries are either first-time participants or returning to the fair after a hiatus
Messineo, who previously worked for Bortolami and Hannah Hoffman galleries, will head up Frieze Los Angeles and Frieze New York following the departure of Bettina Korek and Loring Randolph
The fair, now in its second iteration since being acquired by Frieze, remains New York’s largest

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The announcement comes after GameStop’s CEO, Ryan Cohen, embarrassed himself when he failed to make sense of the proposed bid for eBay.
After considering GameStop’s offer, eBay flat out said N A H!
When news first broke that GameStop was making a legit, unsolicited bid to purchase eBay, financial analysts and everyone who knows GameStop is no longer the company it used to be were baffled by the decision.
Well, based on the New York Times reporting, while the company did acknowledge GameStop’s bid, they never took it seriously. They officially rejected the cash-and-stock deal reportedly worth about $55 billion, adding that they found the offer to be “neither credible nor attractive.”
Damn.
The announcement comes after GameStop’s CEO, Ryan Cohen, embarrassed himself when he failed to make sense of the proposed bid for eBay, in which he and his company offered $125 per share in a cash-and-stock deal. 
Cohen faced immediate pushback from experts because eBay is larger than the once-popular video game retailer, with a market cap of roughly $48 billion, while GameStop’s is about $10.3 billion.
“The Board, with the support of its independent advisors, has thoroughly reviewed your proposal and has determined to reject it,” Paul Pressler, the chairman of eBay’s board, said in a letter. “We have concluded that your proposal is neither credible nor attractive.”
Welp.
As expected, the jokes are flowing like the store credit GameStop loves to give its customers for the stuff they pawn at the company’s remaining retail locations.
The internet has no chill.
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TheGrio teams up with the African American Literature Book Club to shine a brighter light on Black authors and the books that deserve to be seen.
Troy Johnson has been fighting for Black books since before most people knew what a website was.
In 1997, the Harlem-raised entrepreneur sat down to teach himself e-commerce and ended up building something far more enduring, the African American Literature Book Club, better known as AALBC, now one of the most trusted independent platforms for Black literature on the internet. Nearly three decades later, Johnson is still coding, still curating his custom website, and still refusing to let the algorithm decide which Black stories get told.
Now, he’s bringing that mission to a new audience at TheGrio. TheGrio has partnered with AALBC and the BLK Bestsellers List, a data-driven monthly ranking of the top-selling books by Black authors, to give those titles and the writers behind them a bigger stage. It’s a partnership rooted in a shared belief that Black books don’t have a demand problem. They have a visibility problem, and Black people can build their own platforms to amplify our stories.
Johnson sat down with theGrio’s Chief Content Officer, Natasha S. Alford, to talk about the structural barriers Black authors still face, what the most successful books on the BLK list have in common, and why, after 30 years, he’s still fighting for Black books to get the love they deserve.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Natasha: Troy, could you speak to some of the challenges that you have observed that Black authors face today?
Troy: Visibility has always been a challenge, but there are things within the industry that structurally, that make it harder for Black books to be seen. When I created my website, there were book sites that I aspired to be like. Those sites are all gone. I’ll make a bold statement and say I think my site is the only one that’s custom-built. Pretty much all the other book websites are templates. As a result, you know it’s harder for books to be covered because there’s just not the variety of websites that existed in the past.
The nature of the way we use the web has changed because it’s controlled by a handful of sites. To many people, the World Wide Web is Amazon and a couple of social media sites. It’s shrinking because the big multinational conglomerates have swept all the way out of the room. That makes it harder for a variety of books to be seen. And it seems that though many of us have abandoned some of the traditional means of getting the word out about books that still works.
My newsletter is the same newsletter that I was using in 1998, and it still works just as effectively. Even creators are producing on the social platform as opposed to their own platform. Because of that, everything is on the platform, and the algorithm is optimized to enhance engagement. So a lot of the content that I create is not scandalous, it is not salacious, and it’s not celebrity-driven, typically. So as a result, it’s not gonna feed the algorithm.
So, the challenge for books is how do you fight the algorithm? How do you reach an audience that’s increasingly under the control of a handful of sites? That’s the challenge, at least for book discovery. And I think that’s the power behind the BLK list.
I’m really excited about, you know, our partnership. But I’ve talked to authors, you know, one in particular said, ‘Hey, I’m selling a lot of books, but I’m on nobody’s bestsellers list.’ Despite that, it’s still making it, but it could do so much better if others knew about it. When I share the list with people in the industry, they’re like, ‘Oh, I never heard of this author. I never heard of this book.’ It’s the same thing with me. I discover books every month that I just didn’t know about. So it’s a great tool for booksellers and anybody interested in finding new books.
Natasha: I look at your list, and it fills me with hope, both as a journalist and also an author. It’s a reminder that people do read books and they do show up. What would you say to authors to inspire or encourage them in terms of their craft?
Troy: Try to create the best book that you can. There are things that authors need to do, obviously, study their craft. There are more books being created in the last five years than when I first started. I would be twirling my thumbs waiting for the next black book to come out. This was before the technology existed for people to produce their own books inexpensively and easily. So, there just wasn’t a lot of books coming out. Now I can’t keep track of all of them, all the print-on-demand and self-published books.
One of the things that’s important for authors to recognize is to have your book edited. Hire a professional designer. There are a lot books being produced by AI, being sold on Amazon, and not disclosed. There’s all kinds of things happening that we still need to have the human involved in creating this stuff. Because once the human is out, the picture, then it’s a whole other thing…
Natasha: Absolutely. You’re in the thick of things with the BLK Bestsellers List and seeing which books have stayed at the top, and which ones resonate with audiences. What do you think? Is there a unifying theme across which ones do well?
Troy: A book like James by Percival Everett– it’s probably one of the top-selling books that I’ve been able to track. It’s one of top-selling novels during that period. But it also sat on the New York Times list for months and months. Those books will always reach an audience because they’re just excellent books.
But there are others. There are books like Sadeqa Johnson’s book, “Keeper of the Lost Children”- excellent books. Sebo Campbell’s book “Sky Full of Elephants,” which our club just read. It’s gotten some coverage, but I don’t think it hit the Times list. I’m not sure if it hit anybody’s list, but it’s a tremendous novel, really smart. I thought it was a profound read.
On the nonfiction side, there was a book by an author I was previously unfamiliar with, Kimberly D. Moore. There’s a study guide for the Bible- it’s one of the top-selling books by a Black writer in the country. It’s been on a list pretty much every month that I’ve been producing the list.
On the poetry side, there’s a brother named R.H. Sin, again someone else I’ve never heard of, but he’s got a number of books that have hit the list. There’s an idea that poetry doesn’t sell or doesn’t sell as well. It probably would sell more if people were just aware of some of the authors who are doing well.
Then you have classic authors like Sharon Draper, whose middle-grade novel, “Out of My Mind.” It’s been doing really well. So in terms of what, I think, I don’t think there’s a single formula. On the major lists, celebrity memoir is going to hit the big list… folks like Michelle Obama, her memoir, Beyonce’s mom had a memoir, those books are going to hit the list because they’re well-known and they’re celebrities.
But for the lists like BLK lists, I think there’s no one formula other than something that’s well-written. Something that’s produced well and is resonating well enough.
Check theGrio’s Book Club section to learn which books have topped the BLK Bestsellers List monthly and follow us at @theGrio on Instagram for more interview clips and special segments with Black authors!

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A scene from the American Revolutionary War: Franz Xaver Habermann’s Triumphal Entry of Royal Troops into New York (around 1776)
Museum of the City of New York

This 4 July marks the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia—then the seat of the fledgling United States—an occasion being both celebrated and contested nationwide. Although a rare copy of the Declaration document handwritten by Thomas Jefferson will be on show from 1 to 7 July at the New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman branch, the commemoration is already underway in some of the city’s other institutions.
While the Trump administration may be reshaping the Smithsonian and the very definition of patriotism, New York’s America 250 programming is advancing an inclusive, prismatic view of the anniversary, from Dutch Golden Age paintings to contemporary Native American art.
National anniversaries can easily lend themselves to geographic silos, but several New York exhibitions are taking a transatlantic approach. One of them is the New York Historical’s Old Masters, New Amsterdam (until 30 August). One of several America 250 shows at the museum this year, this exhibition combines museums loans with works from the Leiden Collection—philanthropist Thomas Kaplan’s self-described “lending library” of 17th-century Netherlandish masterpieces (which is also set to be offered for fractional ownership).
The exhibition foregrounds a less examined, yet foundational perspective on early American history: the lives and ambitions of New York’s original Dutch colonists. Its aim is to offer a cross-section of early settler society, from doctors and accountants to ordinary working people.
Arthur K. Wheelock Jr, a senior adviser to the Leiden Collection, says the works on view capture “the sights and sounds of people and the activities that gave life to New Amsterdam, ones that have persisted to the present day”.
For Russell Shorto, the director of the New Amsterdam Project and the co-curator of the exhibition, the “modern conception of the self” is central to these scenes. “Previously, in Europe, your ‘self’ was essentially defined by your roles in society … but in this era, the Dutch began to look at themselves as having something unique at their core,” he says. He adds that diary-keeping, memoir-writing and a “mania for portraiture” all “helped to seed the American belief in the importance of ordinary people, which, a century later, would become central to the Revolution”.
Goya disturbingly depicted the 1808-14 Peninsular War, one of many that swept Europe in the wake of the French Revolution, which was inspired partly by the American Revolution
Photo by Alfonso Lozano

The Hispanic Society Museum & Library moves the American story further forward in Goya and the Age of Revolution (until 28 June), an exhibition which approaches the semiquincentennial through the lens of intertwined revolutions. “The American Revolution inspired the French Revolution (1789), an event which the Spanish king Charles IV and his ministers watched with great anxiety. In 1808, Napoleon coerced the unfortunate monarch to abdicate and then invaded the Iberian Peninsula, unleashing a brutal civil war (1808-14),” says Patrick Lenaghan, the society’s head of prints and photographs. “As a witness … Goya experienced first-hand how the ideals of liberty and equality led to acts of uncompromising brutality.”
That upheaval inspired some of Goya’s most indelible images of violence and human suffering, particularly his print series The Disasters of War (1810-20), posthumously published in 1863. “The series presents not just a searing indictment of war and its brutality but also a frank depiction of the horrifying price civilians pay,” Lenaghan says. He adds that the series’ “attack on entrenched power and superstition warrants a closer look today”.
Another group of exhibitions turns to the birth of the US by investigating what American art means through time. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a focused installation in its American Wing, Revolution! (until 2 August), which recasts the history of that upheaval through everything from portraits of revolutionaries such as Benjamin Franklin and George Washington to the British fusillades that mowed down American patriots, and Native American pipes.
The Museum of the City of New York is pursuing similar questions in a more immersive register. The Occupied City (until April 2027) places fine and decorative arts from the museum’s collection within period-specific environments that include a tavern, a vignette of Alexander Hamilton’s office and a coffeehouse. The last of these features a portrait of King George III alongside a “No Stamp Act” teapot celebrating the 1766 repeal of the Stamp Act of 1765, the much-maligned British tax on American colonists.
Interactive elements include an installation allowing visitors to topple a VR version of the statue of George III that once stood at Bowling Green. Elisabeth Sherman, the museum’s chief curator and deputy director, says these spaces extend the museum’s period-room tradition and make “the distant past more present for contemporary audiences”.
The show spotlights the intertwined histories of New York’s diverse demographics during this turbulent period, including its women, Native and enslaved residents. Although the exhibition received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the museum has encountered no pushback in its messaging, allowing it to show that all people who lived through the revolution “are not so different in their needs and desires as we are”, Sherman adds.
House Made of Dawn: Art by Native Americans, 1880-Now at the New York Historical (until 16 August) carries this approach into the present. The show takes its title from the Hsu-Tang Collection (part of which has been promised to the institution) and from N. Scott Momaday’s 1969 novel House Made of Dawn. It examines the legacy of American history not only through Indigenous artists and subjects but also through the ways in which Native history has been depicted and taught.
Wendy Nālani E. Ikemoto, the vice president and chief curator of the New York Historical, identifies the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in New Mexico as forming a “key pillar” for the exhibition. “Amid the 1960s art-school boom, the IAIA became a vital space for Native artists working across a variety of Indigenous and contemporary art practices and helped to usher in a dynamic new era of expression … particularly in contrast to the assimilationist model that continued to shape federal Native education policy at the time,” she says.
Patriotic Indian (1975) by Fritz Scholder, a Native American artist who created it to show “the Indian Real, not Red” as part of a series of stereotype-challenging prints shortly before the US launched its bicentennial celebrations
Agent of the artist’s Estate and the Scholder Collection, courtesy of New York Historical

Among the works Ikemoto highlights is Fritz Scholder’s American Landscape (1976), in which the artist recasts Edgar Samuel Paxson’s painting Custer’s Last Stand (1899) in the colours of the American flag. “In doing so, Scholder exposes how this particular understanding of the event—as an exemplar of heroic frontier valour—has been emblazoned in the American psyche and how dominant perspectives on American history have become mythologised,” she says.
Several of the themes that Ikemoto describes—“land as a living presence, the search for identity, and history as a force that shapes the present”—resonate across the city’s America 250 exhibitions this year. For better and worse, those themes are also evergreen.
Museum invites three artists to serve as co-authors of collection displays and enlists 10 local experts to help generate inclusive stories
Donor of artefacts asked New York museum to present them as “American art rather than tribal art”

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