Latest news with #ModernArtMuseum
IOL News
06-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
BRICS nations voice 'serious concerns' over Trump tariffs
A workers walks in the open area of the Modern Art Museum (MAM) where the BRICS summit 2025 will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 3, 2025. Image: Mauro PIMENTEL/AFP BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday are expected to decry US President Donald Trump's "indiscriminate" trade tariffs, saying they are illegal and risk hurting the global economy. Emerging nations, which represent about half the world's population and 40 percent of global economic output, have united over "serious concerns" about US import tariffs, according to a draft summit statement obtained by AFP on Saturday. Since coming to office in January, Trump has threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties. President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, where he will attend the XVII #BRICSSummit on 6 - 7 July 2025 in Rio de Janeiro. Image: GCIS Video Player is loading. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ His latest salvo comes in the form of letters informing trading partners of new tariff rates that will soon enter into force. The draft summit declaration does not mention the United States or its president by name, and could yet be amended by leaders gathering for talks Sunday and Monday. But it is a clear political shot directed at Washington from 11 emerging nations, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. "We voice serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organization) rules," the draft text says. It warns that such measures "threaten to further reduce global trade" and are "affecting the prospects for global economic development." Xi no show Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to Western power. But the summit's political punch will be depleted by the absence of China's Xi Jinping, who is skipping the annual meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president. That absence has prompted fevered speculation in some quarters. "The simplest explanation may hold the most explanatory power. Xi recently hosted Lula in Beijing," said Ryan Hass, a former China director at the US National Security Council who is now with the Brookings Institution think tank. The Chinese leader will not be the only notable absentee. War crime-indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin is also opting to stay away, but will participate via video link, according to the Kremlin. Hass said Putin's non-attendance and the fact that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be a guest of honor in Brazil could also be factors in Xi's absence. "Xi does not want to appear upstaged by Modi," who will receive a state lunch, he said. "I expect Xi's decision to delegate attendance to Premier Li (Qiang) rests amidst these factors." Still, the Xi no-show is a blow to host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who wants Brazil to play a bigger role on the world stage. In the year to November 2025, Brazil will have hosted a G20 summit, a BRICS summit, and COP30 international climate talks, all before heading into fiercely contested presidential elections next year, in which he is expected to run. Lula warmly welcomed leaders and dignitaries on Saturday, including China's Premier Li Qiang, as the leftist president hosted a pre-summit business forum in Rio. "Faced with the resurgence of protectionism, it is up to emerging countries to defend the multilateral trade regime and reform the international financial architecture," Lula told the event. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose nation is still reeling from a 12-day conflict with Israel, is also skipping the meeting and will be represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. A source familiar with the negotiations said Iran had sought a tougher condemnation of Israel and the United States over their recent bombing of Iranian military, nuclear and other sites. But one diplomatic source said the text would give the "same message" that BRICS delivered last month. Then Iran's allies expressed "grave concern" about strikes against Iran, but did not explicitly mention Israel or the United States. Artificial intelligence and health will also be on the agenda at the summit. Original members of the bloc Brazil, Russia, India, and China have been joined by South Africa and, more recently, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia.
eNCA
06-07-2025
- Business
- eNCA
Is the BRICS Summit just talk - or is it delivering on its promises?
A banner of the BRICS summit is displayed at the Modern Art Museum (MAM) where the BRICS Summit 2025 will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 4, 2025. JOHANNESBURG - As global leaders gather once again for the BRICS Summit, questions are mounting over whether the annual event is producing meaningful results — or merely a stage for lofty declarations and diplomatic photo ops. The group is made up of founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and was formed to provide a counterweight to Western-dominated global structures. But nearly two decades since its inception, some still ask whether the bloc is achieving what it set out to do? This year's summit comes at a time when global inequality, trade tensions, and the energy transition are front and centre, especially for developing nations. For African countries and South Africa in particular, there's a growing interest in whether BRICS can do more than just talk. Is it able to shift trade patterns, increase investment and help the continent benefit from its vast resources? Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the BRICS Business Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 5, 2025. BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro from Sunday are expected to decry Donald Trump's hardline trade policies, but are struggling to bridge divides over crises roiling the Middle East. Daniel RAMALHO / AFP Former Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim believes it can. Speaking ahead of the summit, she noted that 'BRICS is not just about talk — it's about trading.' Her comments highlight a key success of the bloc. China, a founding BRICS member, has been Africa's largest trading partner for over 15 years, with trade between the two valued at more than $280 billion. There's also growing evidence that BRICS nations are bypassing traditional Western systems to trade in local currencies, promote cooperation in the Global South and fund infrastructure through the New Development Bank. And these are not small shifts — they point to a steady and measured transformation of global economic relationships. Attendees stand at the entrance to the BRICS Business Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 5, 2025. BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro from Sunday are expected to decry Donald Trump's hardline trade policies, but are struggling to bridge divides over crises roiling the Middle East. Daniel RAMALHO / AFP Despite its expansion, still the scepticism persists. The lack of binding agreements and divergent political systems within the bloc, and internal disagreements often raise doubts about the bloc's ability to act as a unified force. But critics may be overlooking a key point. BRICS was never designed to be a military alliance or a monolithic power bloc. Its strength lies in its ability to create space — for dialogue, for new partnerships and for reshaping the rules of global engagement on more equal terms. As the 2025 summit unfolds in Brazil, it's clear that BRICS still has a lot to prove. But the numbers, the deals, and the growing influence of its member states suggest that this is more than just a talking shop. For Africa — where the stakes of global inequality are most visible — BRICS remains a platform with the potential to shift outcomes, not just opinions.
France 24
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
New exhibition explores little-known collaboration between Matisse and daughter Marguerite
France 06:44 Issued on: From the show French painter Henri Matisse was one of the undisputed masters of 20th-century art, particularly known for his incredible use of colour. You may know Matisse's work but you are probably less familiar with his daughter Marguerite. A new exhibition on now at Paris's Modern Art Museum is trying to change that. It's called "Matisse and Marguerite: Through Her Father's Eyes". The co-curator of the show, Charlotte Barat-Mabille, tells us all about their relationship.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A Very Trumpian Moral Panic Has Struck the Art World
Last November, less than two weeks after Donald Trump was elected president for a second time, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, launched an exhibit featuring some of America's foremost photographers, including Nan Goldin and Sally Mann. 'Diaries of Home' collected works by female and nonbinary artists 'who explore the multilayered concepts of family' and 'challenge documentary photography by pushing it into conceptual, performative, and theatrical realms,' according to the exhibit précis, which noted that it 'features mature themes that may be sensitive for some viewers.' The opening of 'Diaries of Home' was uncontroversial, but come January, a chilling scene unfolded at the museum. Armed with a warrant, Fort Worth police reportedly seized five photos from the exhibit and put them under lock and key—all because a few Republican officials and pearl-clutching Christian activists had taken offense. It's a tableau reminiscent of an autocracy, yet it's happening in America today. Caught in the maw of vague laws, government overreach, and moral panic, art museums have become the latest battleground in an escalating assault on cultural institutions. The photos in question came from Mann's 1990 collection Immediate Family, a groundbreaking series documenting her family's life on their rural Virginia farm. None of the photos in 'Immediate Family' depict sexual conduct. But 13 of them show her children in the nude, and some were included in 'Diaries of Home.' One photograph depicts a magnified portrait of her nude son's torso, covered in what appears to be a melted popsicle; others show her nude daughter leaping onto a picnic table, lying on a bed next to a bedwetting stain, or resting with a flower on her torso. 'Immediate Family' is Mann's most famous collection, in part because of the controversy it generated when it debuted 35 years ago. But these enigmatic, provocative black-and-white images are also rightly celebrated for exploring the complexities of childhood, family, and the American South. The Met and the Whitney hold works from 'Immediate Family' in their collections, and Time named her 'America's best photographer' in 2001, writing that Mann captured a 'combination of spontaneous and carefully arranged moments of childhood repose and revealingly—sometimes unnervingly—imaginative play.… No other collection of family photographs is remotely like it, in both its naked candor and the fervor of its maternal curiosity and care.' A quarter-century later, Texas police officers treat some of the photographs that led to Mann's acclaim as evidence in a criminal investigation. And the images only came to their attention thanks to a controversy manufactured by conservative political activists. In late December, a 'concerned citizen' complained about 'Diaries of Home' to the Tarrant County Citizens Defending Freedom, a Christian MAGA group, as well as to the conservative news site The Dallas Express (which titled its first story on the subject, 'EXCLUSIVE: Is the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Promoting Child Porn?'). The Express subsequently located one other 'appalled' resident, and eventually got the attention of far-right Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare, who told the outlet, 'There are images on display at this museum that are grossly inappropriate at best. They should be taken down immediately and investigated by law enforcement for any and all potential criminal violations. Children must be protected, and decency must prevail.' A couple of other elected Republicans hopped on the outrage bandwagon, as did the D.C.-based Danbury Institute, an extreme anti-abortion group, which launched a petition stating that 'the exhibit as a whole effectively works to normalize pedophilia, child sexual abuse, the LGBTQ lifestyle, and the breakdown of the God-ordained definition of family.' But then O'Hare, whose elected office is similar to that of a city mayor, escalated matters by filing a criminal complaint alleging the nude photographs constituted 'child pornography' and demanding that Fort Worth police remove them from public view. The police did just that, and today they refuse to return the photos as they investigate potential child sexual abuse. Though the confiscation has caught the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, no lawsuits have been filed over it. Though a legal battle is far from certain, it has the potential to reshape how the courts view provocative art—for better or be clear, Mann's photos are not the product of child sexual abuse. Over the three decades since she released 'Immediate Family,' they have never led police to charge her with a crime. Yet they have been ensnared in a legal and cultural debate that pits artistic freedom and the First Amendment against subjective morality and governmental overreach in defining child pornography. The First Amendment does not protect child pornography, an exception that the Supreme Court carved out in the 1982 case New York v. Ferber. But the court did so with a clear intent: to combat the exploitation of children. The justices took care to distinguish child pornography from legitimate artistic works and family photographs. As Mann herself observed in 2015, 'All too often, nudity, even that of children, is mistaken for sexuality, and images are mistaken for actions.' But over the decades, lower court judges have alarmingly expanded the legal definition of child pornography, particularly through the controversial Dost test. Developed by a California district court in 1986 and embraced by most federal courts after Ferber, this vague test allows images to be classified as child pornography based on whether they might be perceived as 'lascivious' by hypothetical deviant viewers. The test's subjectivity and capaciousness can transform innocent images into criminal material when viewed through a pedophilic lens; as one federal court noted in 1999, it could turn even a 'Sears catalog into pornography' in the eyes of a sexual deviant. Indeed, under Dost, federal courts have found fully clothed depictions of children to meet the definition of child pornography. Centering whether a pedophile might find a particular image arousing forces a sexualized view onto nonsexual imagery, effectively doing the very thing it purports to prevent: sexualizing children. This approach not only threatens artistic expression but diminishes the gravity of child abuse. 'Sexual exploitation of a minor, including under the guise of art, should never be tolerated,' O'Hare contends. But conflating sexual exploitation with Mann's textured examinations of childhood reveals a profound misunderstanding of both art and abuse. Notably, Mann's children have grown up to become staunch defenders of their mother's work and their participation in it, with her daughter dismissing the controversy over 'Immediate Family' as 'puritanical idiocy.' The Dost test provides convenient cover for puritanical politicians to suppress artistic expression. Consider O'Hare, who now governs the nation's fifteenth-largest county after campaigning as a Christian culture warrior. The test creates enough legal ambiguity from him to cloak his political theater with the appearance of legitimate criminal law enforcement. Even if the police return the art, Dost dangles like a sword of Damocles over the museum, threatening to fall at any moment based on the subjective judgments or political ambitions of local officials. Mann is an easy scapegoat, but the censorship championed by O'Hare and his allies won't stop at a single artist. Some of the Christian groups backing O'Hare also object to art depicting adult nudity, same-sex relationships, and gender nonconformity. By insisting public art should uphold biblical 'moral standards' rather than showcase 'radical perversion,' they reveal their ignorance of art's actual content or context. One wonders if they will soon demand fig leaves for Michelangelo's David, or perhaps a tasteful sweater vest for Botticelli's Venus. The Mann controversy reflects the convergence of rooted trends and new developments. Artists and curators in recent years have already been self-censoring work involving children, at times removing it from view in anticipation that it might be misconstrued and lead to prosecution for crimes that carry draconian penalties. More frequently, museums are quietly excluding art from exhibitions from the jump. Leading curators, for example, have deliberately left out Robert Mapplethorpe's portraits of children from his 1990 collection 'A Perfect Moment' from their exhibitions and websites in retrospectives on his work. These long-term cultural currents now collide with a new administration in Washington. President Trump's return to the White House has emboldened Christian nationalists to advocate for state censorship and Victorian-era prudery. Efforts to revive the Comstock Act—a once obscure anti-obscenity statute that many in the anti-abortion movement hope to weaponize against medication abortion and birth control—represent the vanguard of this revanchism. But this cultural counterrevolution has broader aims beyond reproductive rights, seeking to narrow representation of race, gender, and sexuality in public spaces, museums, and educational institutions. One crucial buffer protecting Mann's work has been prosecutorial discretion, a long-standing common law tradition that explains why one doesn't usually hear about museum raids. This guardrail has been fraying in the MAGA era, and the prosecutors in Trump's current administration show increasing willingness to bulldoze through established norms. Ed Martin, the Trump-appointed acting U.S. attorney in D.C., has taken the unprecedented step of seeking a grand jury investigation into Senator Chuck Schumer over his criticism of the Supreme Court—signaling how once-unthinkable prosecutorial overreach might soon extend to cultural institutions. We now face the very real possibility that federal child pornography laws could be exploited by prosecutors advancing the president's personal vendettas and his base's theocratic preoccupations. This perilous moment requires both legal reform and cultural reflection. Most crucially, the Supreme Court must offer guidance on what constitutes a 'lascivious' image and what differentiates such an image from constitutionally protected artistic depictions of children, clothed or otherwise. This definition should foreground the actual depiction of the child in a photograph, not the potential reaction of the photographer or a consumer. This change will require rolling back the judicially created Dost test and existing lower court precedent that permits interpretation of images through the voyeuristic gaze of a pedophile. In recent years, the Supreme Court has declined to hear multiple cases that could have curtailed or eliminated the Dost test, devoting its attention to a mix of high-profile cases advancing the goals of the conservative legal movement and technical ones lacking public salience. Ultimately, debates over controversial art belong not in courts but in the cultural sphere—in galleries, academic journals, and public discourse. Mann's art has always had its thoughtful detractors, some of whom view 'Immediate Family' as an ethically dubious spectacle. But they have defended its place in museums and the artistic canon, engaging in the nuanced dialogue that sustains and enriches art criticism. Writing for The New Republic in 2015, Cara Parks observed that Mann's photography can simultaneously be 'arrestingly beautiful' and 'troubling.' Like much good art, it is precisely this unresolved tension—the inability to neatly categorize Mann's work, the coexistence of conflicting narratives—that gives it power and cultural significance. It's the religious crusaders and political opportunists we should truly fear—those who seek to weaponize state power to enforce their own moral preferences. They increasingly have the ear of elected Republicans in Washington and across the country as they seek to impose a singular vision on a pluralistic society. The seizure of Mann's photographs endangers much more than one artist's legacy or one museum's autonomy; it's a threat to First Amendment protections and to important art that dares to challenge us.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Honolulu Museum of Art CEO departing for Texas
COURTESY HOMA Halona Norton-Westbrook, director and CEO of the Honolulu Museum of Art, is departing after five years in the position. She has been named the new director of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas. COURTESY HOMA Halona Norton-Westbrook, director and CEO of the Honolulu Museum of Art, is departing after five years in the position. She has been named the new director of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas. The Honolulu Museum of Art's director and CEO, Halona Norton-Westbrook, is departing after five years in the position. Norton-Westbrook has been named the new director of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, starting July 1, according to a news release from the museum. She has led HoMA since January 2020, and will remain through May 16. A search is underway for her replacement by the board of trustees, with the assistance of a professional search firm. 'Halona Norton-Westbrook's steadfast leadership has guided the Honolulu Museum of Art through a period of positive transformational change, ' said Mike Watanabe, HoMA's board chair, in a news release. 'Under her guidance, HoMA has recruited top talent to key positions, reconceptualized the Museum's teaching curriculum and built deeper connections through partnerships, programs and exhibitions that reflect diverse perspectives. We look forward to building on these many achievements to serve the greater Honolulu community, who are the inspiration behind all of our efforts.' During her five-year tenure, Norton-Westbrook led HoMA through a successful reaccreditation process from the American Alliance of Museums and created the museum's first comprehensive strategic plan. She also spearheaded the $4 million restoration and expansion project of HoMA's historic Art School. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. Museum attendance increased 70 % from pre-pandemic numbers, despite declining visitations worldwide, and museum engagement grew significantly through art school classes and activities, tours and experiences. Recent initiatives include a pilot program promoting brain health in an art-making setting in partnership with the Brain Health Applied Research Institute, and Art for Life, a program engaging adults ages 55 and older in artistic creation. HoMA has also been a venue for the, the state's largest thematic exhibition of contemporary art, since its debut. The triennial, which features exhibits across Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island, continues through May 4. 'Leading the Honolulu Museum of Art for the past five years has been a dream and an honor, ' said Norton-Westbrook in a statement. 'As a nearly 100-year-old institution, there are countless individuals who have played a role in the Honolulu Museum of Art's legacy. I'm thankful to have been part of a brilliant team of museum professionals and volunteers who continue to evaluate and evolve how a 21st-century museum can best serve its community. I'm proud of all that we have accomplished together to provide inclusive and meaningful experiences for our visitors.' 5 Comments By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our. Having trouble with comments ? .
