\nWinking mother-of-pearl and exuberant paintings dot the walls of a show in Manhattan celebrating work by queer Palestinian, Jordanian, Syrian, and Egyptian artists \u2014 aptly titled after the Arabic preposition meaning “of us\u201d or \u201cfrom us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staff Reporter Rhea Nayyar spoke with some of the artists about the exhibition, which allows them to find one another amid the weaponization and erasure of LGBTQ+ Arab identity. Elias Rischmawi described their work as a “fuck you” to assumptions about their family and queerness; their art, a deeply felt homage to lineage and love, is all the rebuttal they need.<\/p>\n
\u2014Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor<\/em><\/p>\nElias Jes\u00fas Rischmawi, \u201cTriumvirate\u201d (2023) (photo by Studio Kukla, courtesy Participant Inc.)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nQueer Arab Artists on Their Own Terms<\/h3>\n \u201cThe show is about giving the pen back to the writer, giving the paintbrush back to the artist, during this time of genocide.” That’s artist Ridikkuluz on [minna|\u0645\u0646\u0627]of us<\/sup><\/em>, the exhibition they curated in Manhattan, telling Staff Reporter Rhea Nayyar that the show intentionally centers hopeful visions of queer Arab community, intimacy, and heritage.<\/p>\nNews<\/h2>\nThe Pride flag re-raised at Christopher Park (photo Rhea Nayyar\/<\/span>Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nOn Thursday, hundreds of New Yorkers raised the Pride flag at Stonewall National Monument after it was removed at Trump’s directive.<\/li>\n The University of North Texas abruptly closed Mexican-American artist Victor Qui\u00f1onez’s solo show, which included artworks that critique ICE and center his immigrant community.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nPonyo Loves LA!<\/h2>\nInstallation view of <\/span>Studio Ghibli\u2019s PONYO<\/em><\/i> (photo Matt Stromberg\/<\/span>Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nStep Into the World of Studio Ghibli\u2019s Ponyo<\/em><\/h3>\nFans of this beloved aquatic film loosely based on the Little Mermaid<\/em> will be thrilled to learn that the beautifully animated story now has a dedicated exhibition at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles. Matt Stromberg walks us through the show’s interactive guide to the visual art and narrative charm that power the whimsy and wonder at the heart of the classic Studio Ghibli film.<\/p>\nLove in the Time of Turmoil<\/h2>\nAngel in <\/span>Aurora consurgens<\/em><\/i> (image public domain CC0 via <\/span>Wikimedia Commons<\/span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAll About Love From a Black Medieval Angel<\/h3>\n While sifting through the pages of a 15th-century alchemical manuscript, scholar Denva Gallant came across an image that stopped her in her tracks: an angel with dark skin. She discovered that the little winged figure reflected a broader lesson about the alchemical process of transforming one’s soul that treated Blackness “not as a mirror of sin, but the ground from which love itself might take shape,” particularly during turbulent political moments.<\/p>\n
Butch Murphy on Gonzalo Casals and Mauricio Delfin’s “NYC Deserves a Culture Commissioner Who Cares”:<\/p>\n
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Casal and Delfin’s piece this morning writing, “improve community well-being, and create economic opportunities for all” can’t be emphasized enough. But I suspect most readers are not as “New Yorkcentric” as they, given most art is produced, displayed, and appreciated well beyond the borders of NYC. All communities need to support the arts as I believe Casal and Delfin would agree.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Commenting privileges are reserved for paid members. <\/span>Join us today<\/span>!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nOpportunities This Month<\/h2>\nKajita Hanko, \u201cLove Letter\u201d (1906), woodblock print, ink and color on paper (image courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art, gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1959)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nResidencies, fellowships, grants, open calls, and jobs from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, the Rubin Museum, and more in our February 2026 list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers.<\/p>\n
From the Archive<\/h2>\nSylvia Rivera at a 1970 rally for Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, which she founded with Stonewall veteran Marsha P. Johnson (photo via <\/span>Wikimedia Commons<\/span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nTracing Queer History Through NYC\u2019s Public Parks<\/h3>\n The green spaces that served as a refuge for historically oppressed LGBTQ+ groups are at the center of contemporary campaigns to memorialize the movement. | Maya Pontone<\/p>\n
\n\n Daily Newsletter\n <\/li>\n \n Newsletter\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/main><\/p>\n\n\n Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n
Queer Arab Art in Manhattan<\/h1>\n A Texas university shutters a show critiquing ICE, a medievalist\u2019s ode to a 15th-century Black angel, and \u201cPonyo\u201d arrives in LA.<\/p>\n
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Hyperallergic<\/h4>\nFebruary 16, 2026<\/time>\u2014<\/span> 3 min read<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\nWinking mother-of-pearl and exuberant paintings dot the walls of a show in Manhattan celebrating work by queer Palestinian, Jordanian, Syrian, and Egyptian artists \u2014 aptly titled after the Arabic preposition meaning “of us\u201d or \u201cfrom us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staff Reporter Rhea Nayyar spoke with some of the artists about the exhibition, which allows them to find one another amid the weaponization and erasure of LGBTQ+ Arab identity. Elias Rischmawi described their work as a “fuck you” to assumptions about their family and queerness; their art, a deeply felt homage to lineage and love, is all the rebuttal they need.<\/p>\n
\u2014Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor<\/em><\/p>\nElias Jes\u00fas Rischmawi, \u201cTriumvirate\u201d (2023) (photo by Studio Kukla, courtesy Participant Inc.)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nQueer Arab Artists on Their Own Terms<\/h3>\n \u201cThe show is about giving the pen back to the writer, giving the paintbrush back to the artist, during this time of genocide.” That’s artist Ridikkuluz on [minna|\u0645\u0646\u0627]of us<\/sup><\/em>, the exhibition they curated in Manhattan, telling Staff Reporter Rhea Nayyar that the show intentionally centers hopeful visions of queer Arab community, intimacy, and heritage.<\/p>\nNews<\/h2>\nThe Pride flag re-raised at Christopher Park (photo Rhea Nayyar\/<\/span>Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nOn Thursday, hundreds of New Yorkers raised the Pride flag at Stonewall National Monument after it was removed at Trump’s directive.<\/li>\n The University of North Texas abruptly closed Mexican-American artist Victor Qui\u00f1onez’s solo show, which included artworks that critique ICE and center his immigrant community.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nPonyo Loves LA!<\/h2>\nInstallation view of <\/span>Studio Ghibli\u2019s PONYO<\/em><\/i> (photo Matt Stromberg\/<\/span>Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nStep Into the World of Studio Ghibli\u2019s Ponyo<\/em><\/h3>\nFans of this beloved aquatic film loosely based on the Little Mermaid<\/em> will be thrilled to learn that the beautifully animated story now has a dedicated exhibition at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles. Matt Stromberg walks us through the show’s interactive guide to the visual art and narrative charm that power the whimsy and wonder at the heart of the classic Studio Ghibli film.<\/p>\nLove in the Time of Turmoil<\/h2>\nAngel in <\/span>Aurora consurgens<\/em><\/i> (image public domain CC0 via <\/span>Wikimedia Commons<\/span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAll About Love From a Black Medieval Angel<\/h3>\n While sifting through the pages of a 15th-century alchemical manuscript, scholar Denva Gallant came across an image that stopped her in her tracks: an angel with dark skin. She discovered that the little winged figure reflected a broader lesson about the alchemical process of transforming one’s soul that treated Blackness “not as a mirror of sin, but the ground from which love itself might take shape,” particularly during turbulent political moments.<\/p>\n
Butch Murphy on Gonzalo Casals and Mauricio Delfin’s “NYC Deserves a Culture Commissioner Who Cares”:<\/p>\n
\n
Casal and Delfin’s piece this morning writing, “improve community well-being, and create economic opportunities for all” can’t be emphasized enough. But I suspect most readers are not as “New Yorkcentric” as they, given most art is produced, displayed, and appreciated well beyond the borders of NYC. All communities need to support the arts as I believe Casal and Delfin would agree.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Commenting privileges are reserved for paid members. <\/span>Join us today<\/span>!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nOpportunities This Month<\/h2>\nKajita Hanko, \u201cLove Letter\u201d (1906), woodblock print, ink and color on paper (image courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art, gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1959)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nResidencies, fellowships, grants, open calls, and jobs from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, the Rubin Museum, and more in our February 2026 list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers.<\/p>\n
From the Archive<\/h2>\nSylvia Rivera at a 1970 rally for Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, which she founded with Stonewall veteran Marsha P. Johnson (photo via <\/span>Wikimedia Commons<\/span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nTracing Queer History Through NYC\u2019s Public Parks<\/h3>\n The green spaces that served as a refuge for historically oppressed LGBTQ+ groups are at the center of contemporary campaigns to memorialize the movement. | Maya Pontone<\/p>\n
\n\n Daily Newsletter\n <\/li>\n \n Newsletter\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n\nWinking mother-of-pearl and exuberant paintings dot the walls of a show in Manhattan celebrating work by queer Palestinian, Jordanian, Syrian, and Egyptian artists \u2014 aptly titled after the Arabic preposition meaning “of us\u201d or \u201cfrom us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staff Reporter Rhea Nayyar spoke with some of the artists about the exhibition, which allows them to find one another amid the weaponization and erasure of LGBTQ+ Arab identity. Elias Rischmawi described their work as a “fuck you” to assumptions about their family and queerness; their art, a deeply felt homage to lineage and love, is all the rebuttal they need.<\/p>\n
\u2014Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor<\/em><\/p>\nElias Jes\u00fas Rischmawi, \u201cTriumvirate\u201d (2023) (photo by Studio Kukla, courtesy Participant Inc.)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nQueer Arab Artists on Their Own Terms<\/h3>\n \u201cThe show is about giving the pen back to the writer, giving the paintbrush back to the artist, during this time of genocide.” That’s artist Ridikkuluz on [minna|\u0645\u0646\u0627]of us<\/sup><\/em>, the exhibition they curated in Manhattan, telling Staff Reporter Rhea Nayyar that the show intentionally centers hopeful visions of queer Arab community, intimacy, and heritage.<\/p>\nNews<\/h2>\nThe Pride flag re-raised at Christopher Park (photo Rhea Nayyar\/<\/span>Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nOn Thursday, hundreds of New Yorkers raised the Pride flag at Stonewall National Monument after it was removed at Trump’s directive.<\/li>\n The University of North Texas abruptly closed Mexican-American artist Victor Qui\u00f1onez’s solo show, which included artworks that critique ICE and center his immigrant community.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nPonyo Loves LA!<\/h2>\nInstallation view of <\/span>Studio Ghibli\u2019s PONYO<\/em><\/i> (photo Matt Stromberg\/<\/span>Hyperallergic<\/em><\/i>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nStep Into the World of Studio Ghibli\u2019s Ponyo<\/em><\/h3>\nFans of this beloved aquatic film loosely based on the Little Mermaid<\/em> will be thrilled to learn that the beautifully animated story now has a dedicated exhibition at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles. Matt Stromberg walks us through the show’s interactive guide to the visual art and narrative charm that power the whimsy and wonder at the heart of the classic Studio Ghibli film.<\/p>\nLove in the Time of Turmoil<\/h2>\nAngel in <\/span>Aurora consurgens<\/em><\/i> (image public domain CC0 via <\/span>Wikimedia Commons<\/span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAll About Love From a Black Medieval Angel<\/h3>\n While sifting through the pages of a 15th-century alchemical manuscript, scholar Denva Gallant came across an image that stopped her in her tracks: an angel with dark skin. She discovered that the little winged figure reflected a broader lesson about the alchemical process of transforming one’s soul that treated Blackness “not as a mirror of sin, but the ground from which love itself might take shape,” particularly during turbulent political moments.<\/p>\n
Butch Murphy on Gonzalo Casals and Mauricio Delfin’s “NYC Deserves a Culture Commissioner Who Cares”:<\/p>\n
\n
Casal and Delfin’s piece this morning writing, “improve community well-being, and create economic opportunities for all” can’t be emphasized enough. But I suspect most readers are not as “New Yorkcentric” as they, given most art is produced, displayed, and appreciated well beyond the borders of NYC. All communities need to support the arts as I believe Casal and Delfin would agree.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Commenting privileges are reserved for paid members. <\/span>Join us today<\/span>!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nOpportunities This Month<\/h2>\nKajita Hanko, \u201cLove Letter\u201d (1906), woodblock print, ink and color on paper (image courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art, gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1959)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nResidencies, fellowships, grants, open calls, and jobs from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, the Rubin Museum, and more in our February 2026 list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers.<\/p>\n
From the Archive<\/h2>\nSylvia Rivera at a 1970 rally for Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, which she founded with Stonewall veteran Marsha P. Johnson (photo via <\/span>Wikimedia Commons<\/span>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nTracing Queer History Through NYC\u2019s Public Parks<\/h3>\n The green spaces that served as a refuge for historically oppressed LGBTQ+ groups are at the center of contemporary campaigns to memorialize the movement. | Maya Pontone<\/p>\n
\n\n Daily Newsletter\n <\/li>\n \n Newsletter\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n\n\n
Naoto Nakagawa 2026 Is on View at KAPOW<\/h3>\n The Lower East Side gallery presents new works by an artist who has shown in major US museums since the 1960s. The exhibition is open through February 22.<\/p>\n
![\"Hyperallergic\"](\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/content\/images\/size\/w160\/2025\/11\/hyperallergic-favicon-d-blank-r-g-s-500.png\")
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