The mega gallery is struggling, Ebony L. Haynes joins Marian Goodman Gallery, longtime Manifesta director steps down, and more in Art Movements.
Art Movements, published every Thursday afternoon, is a roundup of must-know news, appointments, awards, and other happenings in today’s chaotic art world.
Rich People Problems
The beleaguered Pace Gallery is in the news again, this time after its United Kingdom tax filings revealed that it lost $5.4 million last year and has a $19.2 million debt-for-equity swap in the works with its US parent company. The filings also outlined plans made in 2025 to cut costs and reduce full-time positions.
The reports come in the wake of an abrupt downsizing over the summer, when the gallery laid off 50 workers and slashed 50 artists from its roster in one fell swoop. (Multiple Pace employees told Hyperallergic that they learned of the cuts only when the New York Times broke the story in early June; one artist said the gallery demonstrated “a callous breach of trust.”) Additionally, Pace closed its Hong Kong gallery last October after 12 years and is still looking for a smaller space for its London outpost, which put its 8,600-square-foot location on the rental market in June.
Ebony L. Haynes Departs Zwirner
Nine months after Marian Goodman’s passing at age 97, her namesake gallery has appointed Ebony L. Haynes as its inaugural senior director and global head of curatorial affairs. Haynes steps into the role after six years at David Zwirner, where she founded and led 52 Walker as a space run entirely by Black staffers. Under her leadership, the Tribeca gallery exhibited work by artists including Arthur Jafa, Cauleen Smith, Pope.L, and Gordon Matta-Clark. Marian Goodman Gallery also announced Rose Lord and Junette Teng, two of its longtime partners, as co-presidents.
What Else Happened?
- Estrellita B. Brodsky, Michael Govan, and Hank Willis Thomas received the annual Cultural Leadership Awards from the American Federation of Arts (AFA).
- Hedwig Fijen stepped down as director of Manifesta after 33 years at the biennial’s helm. Emilia van Lynden and Catherine Nichols, appointed general director and artistic director, respectively, will jointly organize the next edition in 2028.
- Ade Omotosho, former assistant curator at the Dallas Museum of Art, was named associate curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem.
- Nolan Jimbo, former assistant curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, was appointed Arnhold associate curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
- Ido Radon won the Betty Bowen Award, which includes a solo show at the Seattle Art Museum in 2028.
- The Sundance Institute Cultural Impact Residency was awarded to documentary filmmakers Sara Chishti and Amin Pakparvar; fiction writer-directors Gabby Beans, Lydia Matata, and Rippin Sindher; and fiction film and episodic writers Pedro Eiras and Makisa Francis.
- The Vilcek Foundation awarded a total of $212,000 to 12 nonprofits across the United States, including the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles and Rhode Island Latino Arts. See the full list here.
Wildcard: A Blue Wave in Brooklyn
It has indeed been a beautiful week in the neighborhood. Brad Lander spent Halloween in a house costume made by his daughter, Rose, days before securing New York District 10’s House seat in the midterm elections on Tuesday; Queens-based organizer and artist Claire Valdez also won her race, becoming the first Native person to represent the state in Congress.
As one commenter observed, you gotta dress for the job you want!