Weekend reading: May 21 edition

Around Ohio

• Dr. Mark Lomax II has a new documentary out about the creation of his Wex-supported magnum opus 400: An Afrikan Epic.
• Heron 1954–2002, a new video installation by Wex Film/Video Studio editor Alexis McCrimmon, is now on view at Urban Arts Space.
• Also at UAS, Willfully Neglected, an exhibition of works by Mona Gazala and Christian Casas, opens Monday.
• Saturday, you can spend the day exploring Idea Foundry during an open house.
• Front Street Flea is also this Saturday afternoon in the Brewery District.
• And German Village Makers Market is Sunday afternoon. 
• The fashion-inspired show In Vogue is now on view virtually from Open Door Art Studio.
• Bone cartoonist Jeff Smith is running a Kickstarter for his new project, Tuki: Fight for Fire.
• ICYMI, Michael Bush did a virtual artist talk and demo for Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery.
• Gateway to the Arts extended its call for entries for a new season of exhibitions at John Glenn International Airport through May 28
• WOSU-TV’S arts show Broad & High is looking for a new producer.
• Drexel Theatre announced a reopening date.
• And up north, there’s concern growing around Akron Art Museum and high-level jobs that have long been left unfilled.

Around the globe

• An epic work in our 2018 Mickalene Thomas exhibition, Racquel Reclining Wearing Purple Jumpsuit (seen at top of page with artist and subject), just broke an auction record at Christie’s, as did three other works by Black women artists.
• Through May 30, Arab Film Media is hosting a free retrospective of the Palestinian filmmaker and writer Elia Suleiman, familiar to Wex audiences from numerous presentations of his films over the years.
• The rotating virtual cinema program For a Free Palestine: Films by Palestinian Women is also streaming for free through the end of the month.
• Critic A.O. Scott and comedian Sarah Silverman discussed how his pan of her 2005 film Jesus is Magic changed them both.
• A long-unavailable 1981 documentary about the WPA’s support of artists during the Great Depression hit virtual cinemas today.
• The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has announced its tour of the official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama. Plan an early summer road trip to Chicago if you’d like to see them.
• A Carrie Mae Weems work has been acquired by the National Gallery of Art and installed next to the monument to Black Civil War soldiers that inspired it.
• The National Museum of Women in the Arts will close for two years to undergo a $66 million renovation.
• Russian art collector Dasha Zhukova is developing American residential high rises that will include galleries and artist studios.
• A deaf educator offered advice on best practices for incorporating ASL into theater.
• Here’s a rough—but accurate—essay on the state of the arts world.
• But the outlook isn’t totally bleak.
• Actor Charles Grodin passed away at the age of 86. He’s remembered for films like The Heartbreak Kid and Heaven Can Wait, as well as a number of memorable appearances on late night talk shows.
• And actor-comedian Paul Mooney has left us at the age of 79. A regular on Chappelle’s Show, he’s also known as the writer of one of the best and most powerful SNL sketches ever.