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CULTURAL HERITAGE

FRANCE TO RETURN LOOTED ARTIFACTS, KIND OF

Earlier this month, France enacted a new law for returning stolen cultural artifacts during its colonial era. Until now, every item in French public collections required its own act of parliament before repatriation. For context, its public collection contains 150k+ stolen artifacts from Africa alone, yet only 30 have been returned since 2017. No doubt the persistent pressure from Benin, Mali, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and other former colonies are behind this change. While imperfect, the law will further push museums/collectors to confront how pillaged artifacts entered their collections. 

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DANCE x FASHION

LUXURY BRANDS BECOMING DANCE PATRONS

As public arts funding tightens, luxury houses are becoming a larger source of support for dance. Van Cleef & Arpels launched Dance Reflections in 2020 to support contemporary dance and has since expanded the initiative through festivals in London, New York, Seoul, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and Kyoto. Meanwhile, Chanel includes choreographers among the eligible recipients of its Next Prize, which awards €100K to global creatives.

Luxury brands have long used cultural patronage to build proximity to the avant-garde, but this shift signals dance becoming a prestige vehicle for brands seeking cultural authority.

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MEDIA OVERSIGHT

DISNEY VS FCC, AGAIN

The Federal Communications Commission is investigating Disney after The View hosted Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico. Under Section 315 of the Communications Act, broadcasters that give airtime to one candidate must provide equal opportunities to opposing candidates, unless the appearance falls within a statutory news exemption. Disney maintains the program cleared that hurdle in 2002 as a bona fide news interview program. 

If the FCC reopens that exemption, broadcasters are likely to avoid political guests altogether rather than face equal-time obligations for programs that mix news, commentary, and entertainment.

THE DETAILS

ARCHITECTURE

THE BROKEN PROMISES OF SOCIAL PROGRESS

This summer, the Hyde Park Art Center exhibits Jeff Carter’s The Singer Pavillion, which studies the last remaining building from the former Michael Reese Hospital complex in Bronzeville, a major South Side medical campus shaped in part by a Walter Gropius design collaboration. The building once housed psychiatric care, but now stands as a relic of a demolished institution built under the Modernist promise of public health and social progress.

Using materials pulled from the abandoned building itself, the exhibition examines how the vestiges of civic architecture of a bygone era now reflects the failure of institutions and pervasiveness of inequality.

EXHIBITION DETAILS

ORGANIZING

BOGGS FREEDOM SCHOOL

The James and Grace Lee Boggs Foundation is accepting applications for a two-week training program for organizers ages 18–25. The program runs July 5-18 in Detroit and focuses on movement-building and political education.

ROLLING DEADLINE | APPLY ASAP

OPEN CALL

DIGITAL LIBRARIANSHIP IN AN ERODING DEMOCRACY

The Journal of Critical Digital Librarianship is seeking proposals on digital librarianship, democracy, archives, access, and public knowledge under political strain.

DDEADLINE MAY 29 | SUBMIT

FUNDING

$10K FOR VISUAL STORYTELLING ON FAMILY

Working Assumptions awards six $10K Project Grants for photography and photo-based projects that reframe how audiences understand family. Open to visual storytelling projects across journalistic, artistic, therapeutic, educational, or research contexts.

DEADLINE JUNE 1 | APPLY

RESIDENCY

$4K FOR DETROIT UNION ARTISTS

Union Hall Arts is launching its Detroit pilot residency for rank-and-file union members. Selected artists receive a $4k stipend for a 1 month residency supporting creative work.

DEADLINE JUNE 1 | APPLY

ART X TECH

DEMO2026 RETURNS

DEMO2026 is back June 3-5 with three days of multidisciplinary talks, performances, installations across art, design, and technology.

JUNE 3-5 | NYC | TICKETS

RESIDENCY

PROJECTART DETROIT TEACHING ARTIST RESIDENCY

ProjectArt is accepting Detroit-based applications for its 2026–2027 Teaching Artist Residency. Selected artists teach paid after-school art classes in public libraries while funding their own studio practice.

DEADLINE JUNE 9 | APPLY

CRITICISM + URBANISM

$7.5K FOR NEW CITY CRITICS

New City Critics, hosted by Urban Design Forum and The Architectural League of New York, supports emerging critics writing about cities, design, architecture, and public life. Fellows receive $7.5k for the 9 month program and produce new critical writing through Urban Omnibus.

DEADLINE JUNE 11 | DETAILS

FELLOWSHIP

$60K FOR JUST TECH WORK

The Social Science Research Council’s Just Tech Fellowship offers up to $60k in unrestricted support for researchers, artists working at the intersection of technology and public life.

DEADLINE JUNE 28 | APPLY