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

San Francisco Art Institute Becomes Free Experimental Studio Program

3 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

Two years ago, the once-lofty San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) filed for bankruptcy amid mounting debts, a failed merger with the University of San Francisco, and the decision to close its doors after matriculating the final class of 2022. The situation was so dire that the college’s administration even considered selling its crown jewel, Diego Rivera’s iconic mural “The Making of a Fresco, Showing the Building of a City” (1931), before ultimately suspending educational operations.
Artist Covers Transphobic Billboard With Giant Dachshund Drawing

3 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

Weeks after the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruled that a woman can only be defined on the basis of biological sex, one artist has taken a stand against a transphobic billboard with the power of a really large Dachshund named Saveloy.
Museum Displays 200-Year-Old Condom Printed With Erotic Image

3 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

Let’s get inky! A 19th-century condom etched with an erotic print is now on view at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in a display of various historical objects surrounding sex work and sexual health. Depicting an exposed nun pointing at three aroused clergymen, the condom is made of sheep intestine and dated to approximately 1830, when it was likely a souvenir from a luxury brothel in France. Beneath the etching is the inscription “Voilà mon choix,” which translates to “This is my choice” in English.
Whitney Museum Suspends Independent Study Program

3 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

Weeks after cancelling a performance on Palestinian mourning organized by the Independent Study Program’s (ISP) current Curatorial cohort, the Whitney Museum of American Art has suspended the program for the 2025–26 year, per a museum statement to Hyperallergic today, June 2. The ISP’s associate director position, most recently held by Sara Nadal-Melsió, “will not be maintained,” the museum said.
An Archive of Lesbian History Right in the Heart of Brooklyn

3 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

This article is part of Hyperallergic’s 2025 Pride Month series, spotlighting moments from New York’s LGBTQ+ art history throughout June. A rich collection pertaining to lesbian life, activism, and scholarship hides in plain sight in Park Slope, nestled between the residential brownstones about a stone’s throw away from Prospect Park.
Trump Says He Fired National Portrait Gallery Director Over DEI Support

4 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he has terminated Kim Sajet from her role as director of the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in Washington, DC. However, it remains unclear whether Trump has the authority to fire Sajet, since the Smithsonian Institution that oversees the museum functions as an independent federally backed agency that is not controlled by any of the three government branches.
A New Banksy Mural Is a Beacon of

4 weeks ago | hyperallergic.com | Rhea Nayyar

Famed anonymous street artist Banksy has broken his six-month silence this morning, claiming credit via an Instagram post for a new black and white mural on a textured wall at yet another undisclosed location. In his signature fashion of responding to the existing environment, Banksy stenciled the silhouette of a lighthouse against a cream-colored wall, having it serve as the makeshift shadow of a sidewalk bollard that closely resembles a person.
Sebastião Salgado, Unflinching Documentary Photographer, Dies at 81

1 month 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 month 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 month 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.