Tate director Maria Balshaw will step down from her role in 2026.
Maria Balshaw will step down as director of Tate in 2026, ending a nine-year tenure that began in 2017 and spanned the pandemic, financial strain, and sharp swings in attendance. She led the institution through major exhibitions and initiatives that broadened the canon, including Steve McQueen’s “Year 3” and group shows foregrounding previously overlooked artists, while also taking a public stance against fossil fuel sponsorship. Her leadership coincided with layoffs, labor disputes, and a sustained drop in visitors compared with 2019, pressures intensified by Covid-era losses. Balshaw plans to conclude her time at Tate with Tracey Emin’s exhibition before shifting her focus to working directly with artists and writing.
In 2028, London’s Barbican will close for one year to embark on a $255 million renovation.
The Barbican will close for one year starting in June 2028 as part of a $255 million renovation approved by the City of London Corporation. Construction begins in 2027 and marks the first major renewal in the center’s history, with upgrades planned for public foyers, the terrace, and the conservatory. The closure forms the opening phase of a five-year project scheduled to finish by 2030, ahead of the Barbican’s 50th anniversary in 2032. During the shutdown, the Barbican plans off-site programming with partners, while the London Symphony Orchestra will perform across London and on tour.
Photographer Daveed Baptiste has been awarded the CFDA’s Empowered Vision Award.
Daveed Baptiste has received the 2025 Empowered Vision Award from the CFDA and The Andréa W. and Kenneth C. Frazier Family Foundation. The prize includes a $100,000 grant and an additional year-long mentorship valued at $100,000, aimed at supporting emerging Black designers in expanding their brands globally. Baptiste, whose work spans fashion, textiles, and photography, draws on his experiences from Haiti and Miami to explore themes of race, gender, and class. The award committee highlighted his creativity, disciplined approach, and commitment to building a sustainable, forward-looking fashion brand.
The youths have driven In-N-Out to remove numbers 67 and 69 from their order system.
In-N-Out has quietly removed order numbers 67 and 69 after teens began lingering in restaurants to create commotion when “six-seven” was called, a meme-driven disruption that spread on social media. Employees confirmed the chain now skips from 66 to 68, with 69 also pulled from rotation. The behavior has surfaced beyond fast food, popping up in classrooms and even prompting jokes from public officials, while rival chains have leaned into the trend with promotional pricing built around the number. In-N-Out, by contrast, chose to sidestep the spectacle altogether.
With Bio Pop, Bianca Censori made her performance art debut in Seoul.
Bianca Censori debuted her first performance artwork, Bio Pop, in Seoul this week, presenting a 14-minute, wordless piece staged across a meticulously designed domestic set. Dressed in a red bodysuit, she moved from a kitchen scene into a living room populated by furniture animated by contortionists made to resemble her body, blurring distinctions between object, body, and interior space. The performance framed domestic labor as ritual, with a cake baked and carried as a symbolic offering rather than a functional act. Bio Pop marks the first installment in a planned seven-year performance series that extends Censori’s architectural practice into live, time-based work.
Today’s attractive distractions:
Sotheby’s Creators and Collectors dinner at the Breuer sure looked glitzy.
How much do you know about the custom heels that propel the Rockettes?
Zohran Mamdani is leaving his rent-controlled apartment for the mayoral mansion.
Among Frank Gehry’s greatest masterpieces: his own Santa Monica home.
