Hrag Vartanian
@hrag.bsky.social
Art Critic Futurist 🧬 Editor-at-large, cofounder of @Hyperallergic.com 🗽 Aleppo born, Toronto raised, Brooklyn based w/ @veken.bsky.social
I tweet about art and politics because art doesn't exist in a vacuum.
I tweet about art and politics because art doesn't exist in a vacuum.
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
We've been waiting for the crypto money to drop this election cycle. Now it has, in attack ads against two state senators in Illinois who voted to regulate digital assets.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Crypto super PAC wades into Illinois House primaries
The seven-figure ad buys provide an early view into how the crypto industry will deploy a $190 million war chest to defeat candidates deemed hostile to its policy interests.
www.politico.com
February 17, 2026 at 11:30 PM
We've been waiting for the crypto money to drop this election cycle. Now it has, in attack ads against two state senators in Illinois who voted to regulate digital assets.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
Artist and Turner Prize winner Tai Shani said she has withdrawn a forthcoming monograph with Phaidon, the fine art book publisher owned by Leon Black, in the wake of graphic sexual assault accusations against the private equity billionaire detailed in the Epstein files.
Artist Tai Shani Pulls Phaidon Book Deal Over Leon Black Allegations
Black, who owns the art book publisher, has come under increased scrutiny over gruesome accusations detailed in the latest trove of Epstein files.
hyperallergic.com
February 17, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Artist and Turner Prize winner Tai Shani said she has withdrawn a forthcoming monograph with Phaidon, the fine art book publisher owned by Leon Black, in the wake of graphic sexual assault accusations against the private equity billionaire detailed in the Epstein files.
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
All-timer wikipedia article
September 27, 2025 at 2:41 PM
All-timer wikipedia article
Two Picassos and Two Women
February 16, 2026 at 11:04 PM
Two Picassos and Two Women
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
“The culture that Jeffrey Epstein represents is deeply embedded in the art establishment power structures that force themselves onto the rest of us, creating dynamics that exploit, degrade, and turn us all into cynics.” By @hrag.bsky.social
Epstein Files Expose the Depths of the Art World's Rot
How do we empower arts leaders to reject funding from corrupt individuals in favor of donors who have proven themselves to be civic leaders?
hyperallergic.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:19 PM
“The culture that Jeffrey Epstein represents is deeply embedded in the art establishment power structures that force themselves onto the rest of us, creating dynamics that exploit, degrade, and turn us all into cynics.” By @hrag.bsky.social
The homophobia of not knowing if you can be affectionate with your partner in front of someone because you don’t know if you have the bandwidth for that shit today.
February 15, 2026 at 2:01 PM
The homophobia of not knowing if you can be affectionate with your partner in front of someone because you don’t know if you have the bandwidth for that shit today.
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
CCTV footage appears to show DHS agents posing as people having car trouble in order to lure a target out of his house before arresting them. The target comes out and starts helping them before 3 vehicles surround the scene. The car "experiencing" trouble then drives off with them.
February 14, 2026 at 4:25 PM
CCTV footage appears to show DHS agents posing as people having car trouble in order to lure a target out of his house before arresting them. The target comes out and starts helping them before 3 vehicles surround the scene. The car "experiencing" trouble then drives off with them.
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
In case you were wondering what one of the major lines of attack on AOC will be in 2028, it won't be about Taiwan or populism but about her belief that Israel isn't entitled to free and unlimited military assistance from the US
February 14, 2026 at 11:13 PM
In case you were wondering what one of the major lines of attack on AOC will be in 2028, it won't be about Taiwan or populism but about her belief that Israel isn't entitled to free and unlimited military assistance from the US
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper: “Sudan is the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century.
“I spoke to an aid worker who has worked in conflict zones for 20 years. She said she had never seen sexual violence on this scale. “
“I spoke to an aid worker who has worked in conflict zones for 20 years. She said she had never seen sexual violence on this scale. “
February 14, 2026 at 9:58 PM
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper: “Sudan is the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century.
“I spoke to an aid worker who has worked in conflict zones for 20 years. She said she had never seen sexual violence on this scale. “
“I spoke to an aid worker who has worked in conflict zones for 20 years. She said she had never seen sexual violence on this scale. “
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
Every day, Pulitzer winner @edyong209.bsky.social's courageous decision to quit The Atlantic looks better in hindsight
"I would place it somewhere on the creative nonfiction spectrum." www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/the-...
The Atlantic’s Elizabeth Bruenig on her “hypothetical,” heavily reported measles essay
"We were attracted to the idea of providing a play-by-play of the progression of measles in granular detail."
www.niemanlab.org
February 13, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Every day, Pulitzer winner @edyong209.bsky.social's courageous decision to quit The Atlantic looks better in hindsight
I have to quit Instagram. It’s hell.
February 13, 2026 at 7:42 PM
I have to quit Instagram. It’s hell.
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
Right-wing media coverage of this case followed a clear pattern of hyping dubious claims by DHS that would later turn out to be false.
February 13, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Right-wing media coverage of this case followed a clear pattern of hyping dubious claims by DHS that would later turn out to be false.
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
I’m just going to leave this here
February 13, 2026 at 5:54 PM
I’m just going to leave this here
What did you all expect from The Atlantic? It’s edited my a former IDF prison guard in an apartheid state.
February 13, 2026 at 2:37 AM
What did you all expect from The Atlantic? It’s edited my a former IDF prison guard in an apartheid state.
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
It would be embarrassing under any circumstances to spend a year on this reactionary horseshit, but to have spent the year in which graduate students were sent to concentration camps for op-eds and the federal govt launched a no hold barred attack on academic freedom is just beyond
February 13, 2026 at 1:46 AM
It would be embarrassing under any circumstances to spend a year on this reactionary horseshit, but to have spent the year in which graduate students were sent to concentration camps for op-eds and the federal govt launched a no hold barred attack on academic freedom is just beyond
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
Dear friends on Bluesky, it's been an overwhelming week since the mass layoff at the Post. I'll be continuing the work and would be so grateful if you sign up here to keep up with my future journalism. docs.google.com/forms/d/1dlh...
Ishaan Tharoor — Follow my work
Please share your email address so I can keep you posted.
docs.google.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Dear friends on Bluesky, it's been an overwhelming week since the mass layoff at the Post. I'll be continuing the work and would be so grateful if you sign up here to keep up with my future journalism. docs.google.com/forms/d/1dlh...
Listening to Norman Finkelstein’s lecture at the 18th Palestine Convention by the American Muslims for Palestine and boy is the reality check he’s giving us depressing.
18th Palestine Convention | Gaza is the World
YouTube video by American Muslims for Palestine
youtu.be
February 12, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Listening to Norman Finkelstein’s lecture at the 18th Palestine Convention by the American Muslims for Palestine and boy is the reality check he’s giving us depressing.
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
I'm a Gallup pollster. You can contact them at [email protected] to let them know what you think of this.
February 11, 2026 at 8:10 PM
I'm a Gallup pollster. You can contact them at [email protected] to let them know what you think of this.
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
As someone who more or less agrees with a lot of left-liberal criticism of actually existing socialist foreign policy thinking in the US, I still find it silly that people on here like to pretend that Brett McGurk or Anthony Blinken have less influence than glup shitto who canvasses for PSL
February 10, 2026 at 7:38 PM
As someone who more or less agrees with a lot of left-liberal criticism of actually existing socialist foreign policy thinking in the US, I still find it silly that people on here like to pretend that Brett McGurk or Anthony Blinken have less influence than glup shitto who canvasses for PSL
The US government removed the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument’s official flagpole. Unbelievable 🏳️🌈
Pride Flag Removed From Stonewall Monument at Trump’s Directive
The move comes a year after the National Park Service scrubbed mentions of queer and trans people from its website, prompting protests at the NYC landmark.
hyperallergic.com
February 10, 2026 at 11:01 PM
The US government removed the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument’s official flagpole. Unbelievable 🏳️🌈
The artists for MoMA PS1’s Greater New York have been announced ⤵️
These Are the Artists in MoMA PS1’s Greater New York Show
On its 50th anniversary year, the Queens-based museum tapped 53 local artists for the sixth edition of its cross-borough survey.
hyperallergic.com
February 10, 2026 at 7:13 PM
The artists for MoMA PS1’s Greater New York have been announced ⤵️
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian
Must read: @adambroomberg.bsky.social writes about Israel’s plan to artwash genocide at the Venice Biennale: “This is the danger of the liberal Zionist position. It offers the language of conscience and dialogue while absolving itself of engagement or responsibility.”
Israel's Plan to Artwash Genocide at the Venice Biennale
The artwork at the heart of the pavilion promises to continue the project of denying Palestinian existence.
hyperallergic.com
February 9, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Must read: @adambroomberg.bsky.social writes about Israel’s plan to artwash genocide at the Venice Biennale: “This is the danger of the liberal Zionist position. It offers the language of conscience and dialogue while absolving itself of engagement or responsibility.”
Must read: @adambroomberg.bsky.social writes about Israel’s plan to artwash genocide at the Venice Biennale: “This is the danger of the liberal Zionist position. It offers the language of conscience and dialogue while absolving itself of engagement or responsibility.”
Israel's Plan to Artwash Genocide at the Venice Biennale
The artwork at the heart of the pavilion promises to continue the project of denying Palestinian existence.
hyperallergic.com
February 9, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Must read: @adambroomberg.bsky.social writes about Israel’s plan to artwash genocide at the Venice Biennale: “This is the danger of the liberal Zionist position. It offers the language of conscience and dialogue while absolving itself of engagement or responsibility.”