Rhea Nayyar

Brooklyn, New York

Staff Reporter at Hyperallergic

i have lots of questions! (deeply unprofessional account for professional inquiries)

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Articles

Sebastião Salgado, Unflinching Documentary Photographer, Dies at 81

1 week ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

Brazilian photojournalist and environmentalist Sebastião Salgado died at the age of 81 in Paris on Friday, May 23, as confirmed by his and his wife Lélia Wanick Salgado’s reforestation nonprofit Instituto Terra. Having traveled to over 120 countries, Salgado was perhaps best known for his striking black and white photos documenting humanity’s profound inequalities, Indigenous communities across the Amazon rainforest, and astonishing natural landscapes.
Protest Targets Whitney Museum Board Ties After Canceled Performance

1 week ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

A group of protesters staged a demonstration in the lobby of the Whitney Museum of American Art last Friday evening, May 23, targeting board members “tied to genocide, militarism, and apartheid” and accusing the museum of censorship after it canceled a performance about Palestinian mourning at the Independent Study Program (ISP) earlier this month.
Why Did Pope Leo XIV Invoke Van Gogh in His First Address?

1 week ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

Pope Leo XIV invoked Vincent van Gogh’s “Sower at Sunset” (1888) in his first general audience on Wednesday, May 21, using the painting to illustrate his reflections on the biblical . The Pope ruminated on the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter’s work while speaking to a crowd of some 40,000 people at Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican, where he also called for an end to Israel’s “heartbreaking” attacks on Gaza.
Does the Art World Need a New Art Fair in Qatar?

2 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

Art Basel announced this week that it will host a new fair in the Qatari capital city of Doha, partnering with the state-operated Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and creative and hospitality agency QC+. The forthcoming and inaugural edition of Art Basel Qatar is set to take place at the M7 Cultural Forum of the Qatar Museums in Msheireb Downtown Doha next February.
School of Visual Arts Faculty Are Officially Unionized

2 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

Over 1,000 faculty members at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in Manhattan are officially unionized as of Thursday, May 22, after a two-thirds majority vote in favor. Organizing under United Auto Workers (UAW), the SVA faculty union is prioritizing scheduled pay increases in accordance with inflation, compensation for out-of-classroom labor, and protecting and expanding benefits.
Met Museum Gifted Coveted Trove of 6,500 Photos

2 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

While there’s an evident cool factor emanating from S.J. Moodley’s photo “Boy in a wicker chair” (c. 1978), there’s a lot more to it than just a confident young boy with an eye for the finer things in life. The portrait was one of over a thousand taken in Apartheid-era South Africa by the ethnically Indian photographer nicknamed “Kitty” at his portrait studio between 1972 and 1984.
What Do Visitors Think of Thomas J. Price’s Times Square Sculpture?

3 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

British sculptor Thomas J. Price’s 12-foot-tall bronze statue “Grounded in the Stars” (2023), which monumentalizes a casually dressed Black woman with her hands on her hips, has sparked immense online discussion since it was installed smack-dab in the center of Times Square on April 29.On a rainy Wednesday morning, Hyperallergic set out to hear from people seeing the artwork in person, and their thoughts were considerably different from much of the digital discourse.
Why Is For Freedoms Designing Art for a New Brooklyn Jail?

3 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

As artists and activists continue to organize against the building of new jails in New York City as part of a project to close the notorious and deadly Rikers Island facility, public records reviewed by Hyperallergic show that the art collective For Freedoms received first-phase approval for a series of artworks intended for the forthcoming detention center in Downtown Brooklyn.
Koyo Kouoh, Curator Tapped for 61st Venice Biennale, Dies at 57

3 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh, who was selected to lead the 2026 Venice Biennale, died suddenly at the age of 57 on Saturday, May 10. Her husband, Philippe Mall, confirmed with the New York Times that Kouoh’s death was attributed to her recent cancer diagnosis. Appointed as the next Venice Biennale’s artistic director in December, Kouoh would have been the first African woman to oversee the international exhibition, whose theme and title she was reportedly slated to announce on May 20.
Koyo Kouoh, Curator Tapped for 61st Venice Biennale, Dies at 57

3 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh, who was selected to lead the 2026 Venice Biennale, died suddenly at the age of 57 on Saturday, May 10. Her husband, Philippe Mall, confirmed with the New York Times that Kouoh’s death was attributed to her recent cancer diagnosis. Appointed as the next Venice Biennale’s artistic director in December, Kouoh would have been the first African woman to oversee the international exhibition, whose theme and title she was reportedly slated to announce on May 20.