Trump’s Unhinged Attacks on the Smithsonian
By Hyperallergic
In the Trump administration’s latest attack on the Smithsonian Institution, the White House published a 162-page report on July 4 accusing the organization of “extreme political activism” and “anti-White activism.” The document is a severe escalation of President Trump’s ongoing crackdown on diverse narratives and the telling of United States history. His administration goes after specific museum exhibits in the new report, including something as innocuous and well-meaning as a butterfly-shaped protest prop symbolizing resilience among undocumented immigrants.
It seems a fitting time, then, to revisit work that prods, challenges, and even mocks authority from the margins. Don’t miss Natalie Haddad’s interview with the hilarious, irreverent Carmelita Tropicana (aka Alina Troyano), a lesbian performance artist and doyenne of New York’s downtown theater scene who subverts the stereotype of the “Latin spitfire.”
—Valentina Di Liscia, senior editor
More than a year after President Trump ordered his administration to investigate so-called “race-centered ideology” at the Smithsonian Institution, the White House has published a new report accusing museum leadership of promoting “extreme political activism.”
Published on July 4, “Saving America’s Story” was authored by the Trump-appointed Domestic Policy Council. Throughout the 162-page document, the council scrutinizes how the institution’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) portrays topics such as race, immigration, and gender. | Isa Farfan
San Francisco Art Book Fair Celebrates 10 Years
Presented by Minnesota Street Project Foundation, SFABF returns this July, welcoming 160 independent publishers from around the world.
Hyperallergic spoke with artist Alina Troyano about lesbian performance in 1980s Lower East Side, satirizing stereotypes, and embodying her iconic alter ego. | Natalie Haddad
Bard MFA Presents 2026 Thesis Exhibition in Barrytown, NY
“Reassembly: The Class of 2027 Thesis Performances and Exhibition” will be held in the Bard College Massena Exhibition Center from July 11-19, 2026.
An exhibition in London traces how depictions of the monarch projected an image of authority, power, wealth, and the right to be regarded as a god in all but name. | Michael Glover
Shows at MCA Chicago and Wrightwood 659 chart a path from colonial dispossession to the possibilities of dance, music, and community. | Laura Zornosa
A new book gathers essays by the museum’s curators, researchers, librarians, and conservators on everything from Renaissance portraiture to the work of Wendy Red Star. | Anna Lee
Nancy Arthur-McGehee on “Everything Is Not Fine in the Art World”
Characters in fairy tales “are white not by chance, but by design,” Kimberly J. Lau writes in a new book. | Tamar Boyadjian
This article was originally published by Hyperallergic.