As committed chroniclers of the proverbial “art world” — an imperfect term denoting the ecosystem of artists, institutions, and other entities that make the visual art planet go ’round — we at Hyperallergic have noticed a few patterns emerge over the years. For example, why are museums getting so expensive? How come exhibition lighting is so offputting? And for God’s sake, what’s with all the soil art?!
In the spirit of ringing in the new year — and bidding adieu to 2024 — we’ve compiled our Dos and Don’ts for 2025, listing the trends and habits we’d like to leave behind and those we’d like to bring forward. Here’s to another year navigating our strange, lovable, and deeply idiosyncratic art community (hopefully with fewer fair panels this time around … )
In 2025, Let’s Leave Behind …
1. Soil Art — Since Walter De Maria’s classic “Earth Room” (1977), soil has held a certain fascination and allure for art audiences, but now we’re drowning in artworks that love to dig things up and prove to us how environmental they’re being. All this has soiled our spirits on earthy works and we’d prefer something else to make us feel grounded.
2. Scrappy Ceramics by Artists Who Are Not Ceramicists — We’ve all seen them, in hastily organized group shows and certain art fairs — shoddy ceramic “sculptures” reminiscent of a last-minute middle school project you only remembered to tell your parents about the night before it was due. They’re typically the work of artists with good intentions who want to experiment with the medium, but it’s time to accept that this art form requires skill, and not everyone can (or should) take on the challenge.
3. Abstruse Art Terms — “The artist’s oeuvre of speculative futurisms is a catalyst for a praxis of rupture” — did you feel your entire body cringe at that sentence? Let’s treat contrived, obscure art terms like any other vice this new year: Everything in moderation. Don’t get us started on crafty little parentheses within words, usually in service of saying two things at once that both mean nothing — “(mis)understand,” “(re)imagine.” It’s not clever, it’s just annoying.
4. Little Gallery Books — Let us take a moment to consider the ecological disaster that is little gallery books. They’re often small picture flipbooks with a short essay that someone hopefully got paid well to contribute to, but as anyone who has a bookshelf knows, those slim volumes are impossible to find. Not that anyone will ever read them.
5. Gold Flakes — They’re not good on cakes, so why would they be good in art? Believe us: The shinier the gold flakes, the cheaper the artwork looks. Wealthy collectors with abhorrent taste in art might cheer this unnecessary addition, but we prefer art that is rich at heart.
6. Neon Text Art — It was cool back in the early aughts when everyone was into the academic critique of consumerism and mass advertising, but over the years we all caved in, gave up, and moved on. What good is your clever, post-modernish neon text if you’re addicted to your phone, binge every piece of crap on Netflix, and ask ChatGPT to write your press releases? And does anyone even care?
7. The Vessel — We were hoping for a permanent closure of the Hudson Yards Vessel when it shuttered for three years after four people jumped to their deaths from the structure, but no such luck. In October, the Manhattan eyesore reopened with prevention nets, despite public outcry. As Charley Burlock wrote for Hyperallergic, that doesn’t change the fact that the site has become a memorial rather than a public artwork.
8. Unclear Opening Hours — Galleries and museums, for the love of all that is good: Clearly list your opening hours on your website and respect them. That seems obvious, yet art venues that boast values like access and inclusivity often ignore this most basic of principles. (On a related note: please make your websites user-friendly. If we have to click on an unlabeled floating object just to get to a list of current exhibitions, or your home page looks anything like Documenta 15’s website, you’re doing it wrong.)
9. Pseudo-Academic Art Fair Panels — Hosting “panel discussions” and similarly meaningless programming during an art fair is like putting a dress on a pig. No one wants to hear a group of “thought leaders” debate the politics of public art in the age of AI, or the relevance of biennials, or whatever. These talks are typically attended only by the speakers and their three friends who agree with them, perpetuating the art-world echo chamber effect we know all too well.
10. Miserly Food Offerings at Openings — Nary a miniature croissant could be found at the press opening of the Whitney Biennial this year, to the chagrin of many of us who perused the bland artwork offerings on view with a grumbling stomach. No, we don’t expect a three-course meal, but a small snack for a multiple-hour-long event is a nice gesture. And don’t get us started on the increasingly microscopic wine pours at gallery openings.
11. “Gallery-Spreading” — Ever silently wrestle with some guy on the subway over leg space before resigning yourself to bumping up against him the whole ride? “Gallery-spreading” — opening up multiple spaces with essentially the same function within just a few miles of each other — is the art world equivalent.
12. Philip Johnson — Four years ago, when a group of architects and scholars exposed the architect’s creepy racist and white supremacist views — and Harvard University removed his name from a building, and even the Museum of Modern Art, where he was the first director of the Architecture Department, agreed to cover up his name in an exhibition — we really thought Philip Johnson was dunzo. This year, however, The Glass House in Connecticut announced the complete restoration of his little “Brick House” on the property, complete with a reconstruction of Johnson’s private library exhibiting such titles as “Hitler” and “The Third Reich.” Jfc.
13. Expensive Museum Tickets — In the last two years, we’ve seen ticket costs rise at several major museums across the United States, from MoMA to The Met to the Guggenheim to SFMOMA. Tempered by some positive initiatives like the Whitney’s commitment to free admission for attendees 25 and under for the next three years, senior and student discounts, and other options, these price hikes are nevertheless an obstacle for low-income visitors.
14. Art World Social Media “Influencers” — With all due respect to your “personal brand,” we don’t need your vapid hot takes on art, and don’t have any time or energy to waste on your narcissism.
15. Wishy-Washy Billboard Art — Let me guess: Your billboard project opens up a portal for discourse, community-building, and alternative futures. Does it really, though? Unless it offers a thoughtful message, isn’t navel-gazing, and is situated in an area where people will actually see it and reflect on it, these billboards are less public art, more publicity.
In 2025, Let’s Bring Forward …
1. Artists Putting Their Politics Into Action — This fall, author Jhumpa Lahiri turned down an award in protest of the Noguchi Museum’s staff dress code banning the Arab and Palestinian headscarves known as keffiyehs, and earlier in the year, a group of anti-Zionists artists withdrew from a show at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco in a call for divestment from Israel. These were just a few of countless examples of cultural workers putting their money where their mouth is and holding institutions accountable. It takes integrity to pass up a career opportunity to stand up for what’s right, and we commend those in our community who are speaking truth to power. — VD
2. Accessibility in Art Institutions — Canvases hung just a couple of inches lower to accommodate those in wheelchairs, better experiences for color-blind visitors, and fairs centered around artists with disabilities — we’re starting to see some hints of the art world becoming more geared toward accessibility. Let it not be another fad, please.
3. Better Food at Museums — There was a time when all we would expect at a museum restaurant or cafeteria was a dry ham and cheese sandwich or bad coffee, but nowadays we’re finding that the options are better than ever. Whether it’s Untitled at the Whitney Museum of American Art or the new café at the Brooklyn Museum, it is feeling like we don’t have to leave our culinary tastes at the door anymore, as there’s sure to be something to enjoy if we need to take a break with a drink and food.
4. Tribeca, a More Human-Scaled Art Neighborhood — We’ve been dealing with the alienating galleries of Chelsea for too long, and now that Tribeca is slowly snatching the crown as the city’s new gallery district, we’re very relieved that there’s a more human-scaled art neighborhood that allows you to wander dozens of art venues, while not feeling like you’re trekking through an industrial wasteland. And if you thought the High Line park would help humanize Chelsea, I think you’re wrong, as we have just added that one thing New Yorkers hate the most: feckless tourists who can’t wait to tell you that their kid can paint that. Tribeca galleries give us hope that the art community is realizing that audiences want a different kind of art-viewing experience.
5. A More Ethical Arts Journalism Ecosystem — So your show got a great review in Hyperallergic and you want to share it on social media … great! Just don’t screenshot the whole article and upload it as an image on Instagram. Many people don’t realize that online publications depend on readers and traffic, and posting our content in this way only benefits social media platforms. Instead, post a small snippet or image, if you’d like, and direct your followers to a link they can click on to actually read the article on our site. Please share our stories as thoughtfully as we strive to write them.
6. Thoughtful Exhibition Lighting — For a field that prioritizes visual experience, we sure spend a lot of time dodging light reflecting off an artwork’s protective glass in order to, you know, actually look at the work. We see you, museums with anti-glare glass, and we appreciate you.
7. Museums Unearthing Fascinating Collection Items — After languishing in storage for decades, if not longer, there’s a new trend among collecting art institutions to showcase art that has not been allowed to shine in their galleries for ages, if ever. From the exhibition of Bhupen Khakhar’s “Kali” (1965) for the first time ever since it was purchased in 1967 by the Museum of Modern Art, or Thelma Johnson Street’s “Rabbit Man” (1941), which was purchased in 1942 but never shown — both of which are currently on display in MoMA’s Vital Signs show — it’s great to see museums figure out what they aren’t doing right. As Shiva Balaghi outlined in her piece about MoMA’s “Muslim Ban” show back in 2017, the reality is institutions are doing a poor job exhibiting their own collections, and when they do it is often much later, which robs audiences of important access to art that doesn’t always fit into the institutional narratives.
8. More Native Curators and Artists at Museums — There are more Indigenous curators and artists at museums than ever. In the last few years, artists as varied as Shelley Niro, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Jeremey Frey, Robert Houle, Nicholas Galanin, and many others have had retrospectives at major American museums, while artists like Kay WalkingStick have been exhibited at the New York Historical alongside their renown Hudson River School collection to explore the political realities that each body of work evokes. This is a trend we adore. More, please.
9. More Local, Community-Based Art Shows — The year 2024 brought us an open-call exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum featuring more than 200 artists from the borough and a “salon des refusés” at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, presenting the work of hundreds of artists who submitted to the former and didn’t get in. Meanwhile, at the Flushing Town Hall, over 70 Queens artists were included in the notably diverse World’s Borough Exhibition. We love to see more opportunities for emerging artists to show locally, and for us residents to discover them.
10. More Awareness of Age and Ageism — The art world has made some progress in recognizing the contribution of long-overlooked women and queer artists. On our end, we published a series of 23 interviews with queer elders throughout this year’s Pride month. We must continue honoring those who pave the way for future generations.
11. Being Open About Faith — There was a time when talking about religion in the art community was frowned upon. It was a strange taboo, considering so much classroom time in art history programs spent looking at Roman Catholic altarpieces, Early Christian manuscripts, Islamic architecture, or Buddhist or Hindu sculpture. But that unofficial ban seems to be lifting, and while some people like to think of contemporary art as a type of secular spiritualism, the art community is finally relaxing and allowing faith to be a bigger part of the conversation in arts institutions. Faith, like anything, is something we welcome as part of conversations. Back in 2003, I remember interviewing a Jewish-American artist who explained that he wasn’t able to find a traditional gallery to exhibit Judaica. Has that changed today? Not fully, but it most certainly is changing.
12. Museums Appointing Provenance Researchers — The Met Museum hired its first-ever head of Provenance Research this year, after a string of high-profile restitution scandals that led to government seizures of artworks believed to have been looted or otherwise improperly acquired. It’s about time for institutions to have dedicated teams pursuing this work rather than relegating it to overwhelmed and underpaid curators.
13. Playlists for Exhibitions — As interdisciplinary as the art world claims to be, how did it take so long for us to start incorporating music into the gallery-going experience? We think playlists add another dimension to viewing art, a personal touch, as evinced by the soundtrack Manny Vega curated for his exhibition Byzantine Bembé at the Museum of the City of New York this year.
14. QR Codes — Let’s face it, those printed press releases and checklists that galleries hand out always end up in the trash, wasting resources and polluting our precious planet. Art institutions that still don’t use QR codes should join the trend. Your grandchildren will thank you.
15. Audiobook Catalogs — While audiobooks are booming in the publishing industry, the field of art has yet to catch up on this trend — granted, this might be partly because so many artbooks are simply sales catalogues and not really supposed to be read, but that’s another story. Earlier this month, I heard Duke University will be creating an audiobook version of Eunsong Kim’s The Politics of Collecting book (check out our podcast with the author), and I hope it is part of a trend to allow us another way to engage with important volumes that we can listen to while we drive, cook, clean, go for a walk, or toil away in our studios. Audiobooks are great, and as someone who listens to them all the time, it would be great to have more art content to explore.
