Should you sit out the Armory Show? Editor-in-Chief Hakim Bishara’s one-sentence dispatch: it was awfully quiet. Meanwhile, Senior Editor Valentina Di Liscia explores Independent 20th Century, where overlooked and marginalized artists finally get their due in the Breuer Building. More must-reads follow, including the Polish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and a thought-provoking exhibition on handmade dolls repatriated to an Indigenous Australian community.

Christie’s launches a new pop culture division, with items like music memorabilia and film props. Elsewhere, the El Museo del Barrio regrets providing space for a conspiracy-filled 9/11 conference. Tyler Mitchell wins Crystal Bridges’s $250K prize and Sharif Bey takes the Spector Craft Prize.

At the Frist Art Museum, “Shimmer: Dreaming the Posthuman” explores human interconnectedness with the more-than-human world. “What Happens After Repatriation?” investigates the histories and futures of handmade dolls. At the Venice Biennale, whale songs become a means of communication, opening a dialogue on accessibility. An exhibition at the Wellin Museum of Art examines how artists use serial configurations of pictures and text to prompt questions about seeing.

What can photographs say in a world full of images? Damon Winter of the NYT writes about unexpected beauty in the decaying subway system. On TikTok, debates about iced coffee at job interviews spiral into discussions on corporate culture.