Daily Newsletter Surreal scenes from an art week amid protests, lessons from the NEA Four, and Kid Cudi’s Basquiat biopic.

October 26, 2026 — 4 min read

When journalist Naima Morelli arrived in Paris last weekend, she could smell the scent of burning plastic in the air. Thus began her quest to report on the city’s surreal week of exhibitions and blue-chip art fairs, with million-dollar artworks changing hands as students protest deteriorating education and public service systems. Morelli captures the atmosphere, both dystopian and hopeful, in her dispatch below.

In another city with a rich history of protest, New York performance artist Martha Wilson reviews a history of the Culture Wars told in Isaac Butler’s new book The Perfect Moment , reflecting on the work of the NEA Four, David Wojnarowicz, and other artists who defended creative expression in a time not unlike our own.…