American Federation of Arts

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American Federation of Arts

Nonprofit organization founded in 1909 that develops traveling exhibitions for presentation in museum

The American Federation of Arts is the leader in traveling exhibitions internationally. A nonprofit organization founded in 1909, the AFA is dedicated to enriching the public’s experience and understanding of the visual arts through organizing and touring art exhibitions for presentation in museums around the world, publishing exhibition catalogues featuring important scholarly research, and developing educational programs. For more information about the AFA, visit www.amfedarts.org.

04/23/2026

What an incredible afternoon this past Tuesday at our latest Director’s Dialogue, featuring Director of The Frick Collction Axel Rüger in conversation with AFA Director & CEO Pauline Forlenza ✨

From stewardship and scholarship to accessibility and public engagement, their discussion offered fresh insight into the behind-the-scenes work of the Frick following its recent reopening.

A special thank you to Axel for sharing his perspective and helping make the event so engaging. We’re grateful to everyone who joined us. A huge thank you as well to for hosting.

Couldn’t make it? A recording is available on our website (link in bio). Be sure to check our events page for more upcoming public programs.

All photos by Marc Tousignant —

04/22/2026

"Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature's Underworld" offers a compelling exploration of the bond between humans and the natural world. Renowned for their rigorous research and scientific approach to art, Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman examine the far-reaching consequences of human activity on fragile ecosystems.

Infused with allegory and dark humor, their works blur the boundaries between natural history and vivid imagination. In works like this, environments are not simply observed; they are constructed, disrupted, and ultimately held up as mirrors of human impact.

By juxtaposing beauty with decay, order with collapse, Dion and Rockman prompt viewers to confront our collective responsibility in the face of ongoing environmental crisis.

This Earth Day, we’re reminded that art can do more than reflect our environments, it can challenge us to see them differently, and to act.

We hope you're able to get outside and appreciate this beautiful world today! 🌎

Image credits -
Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman (with Aaron
Delehanty, Loud Cow Studio)
"American Landscape," 2022
Mixed-media diorama with taxidermy, found objects,
and painted background
96 in x 16 ft. x 87 in.
Courtesy the artists and American Federation of Arts

04/17/2026

We are thrilled to announce Connie Butler (.butler ) as the moderator in discussion with Firelei Báez ( ) for the American Federation of Arts’ 2026 Spring Luncheon! 🌷🎨✨

Currently the Agnes Gund Director of MoMA PS1, Butler has shaped influential exhibitions such as Ceremonies Out of the Air: Ralph Lemon (2024) and the upcoming Greater New York (2026).

Prior to joining MoMA PS1, Butler served as Chief Curator at the Hammer Museum, where she organized landmark exhibitions such as Witch Hunt (2021), Lari Pittman: Declaration of Independence (2019), and Mark Bradford: Scorched Earth (2015).

A leading voice in feminist art history and curatorial practice, Butler brings a deep commitment to artists who challenge dominant narratives—making her an ideal interlocutor for Báez, whose richly layered works reimagine histories of the Caribbean, diaspora, and Black identity through painting, drawing, and installation.

Join us in NYC this spring for what promises to be a thought-provoking and inspiring dialogue. We hope to see you there! 🎉

04/15/2026

Make a tax-deductible gift today. Your support helps us bring exceptional art to communities across the country.

From Norfolk to Seattle, "Farm to Table" traveled nearly 3,000 miles—carefully packed, condition-checked, and reinstalled at every stop along the way.

Behind each mile is a network of curators, registrars, art handlers, educators, and partner museums working together to make art happen.

Our national reach begins with supporters like you.

Image Credits -
- James Tissot (French, 1836-1902) "The Artists' Wives," 1885
- Courtesy of the Chrysler Museum of Art.
- Courtesy of the Frist Museum of Art.
- Courtesy of the Cincinnati Art Museum. Photo by Rob Deslongchamps
- Courtesy of the Seattle Art Museum. Photo by Chloe Collyer

04/13/2026

Featured artist of the American Federation of Arts 2026 Spring Luncheon, Firelei Báez brings layered histories and imagined futures into powerful dialogue.

In "Olamina (How do we learn to love each other while we are embattled)", Báez reimagines Lauren Olamina, the young heroine of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, as a figure of resilience, vision, and care.

Surrounded by lush, blooming forms, the work centers feminine resistance, reminding us that even in moments of uncertainty, rest, care, and imagination remain powerful tools for building new worlds.

🎫 To learn more or RSVP for the Spring Luncheon on May 20th, visit the link in bio or email us at [email protected]!

Image Credit:
- Olamina (How do we learn to love each other while we are embattled), 2022 Oil and acrylic on archival printed canvas 86 3/8 x 114 1/2 in. 219.4 x 290.8 cm. Purchase, Civic Practice Partnership Artist Residency, Anonymous, and Lila Acheson Wallace Gifts, 2023
- Photo of Firelei Báez. Photo by Christopher Garcia Valle

04/08/2026

A visionary in form and movement, Zaha Hadid (1950 - 2016) reshaped the language of contemporary design through architecture. Known for pushing the boundaries of structure and material, her work moves beyond buildings into a broader exploration of space, technology, and the future of design.

Featured in Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks, Hadid’s influence extends into footwear, where sculptural silhouettes and innovative materials reflect her signature approach.

Image Credits:
- Zaha Hadid at the Serpentine North Gallery, Kensington Gardens, London, 2013
- Photos of the Heydar Aliyev Center, deisgned by Zaha Hadid. 2013. Images by Iwan Baan.
- F_WD XP4_Mavy, 202. Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum Image © 2023 Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto Photo: Kailee Mandel
Courtesy American Federation of Arts and the
Bata Shoe Museum
- Photo of Zaha Hadid. 1983. Photograph: Garry Weaser/The Guardian
- Photo of Zaha Hadid in Heydar Aliyev Cultural center in Baku. 2013.

04/03/2026

📣 Our upcoming Director’s Dialogue with Axel Rüger() is now sold out!

We’re looking forward to welcoming a full room for what promises to be a thoughtful conversation on museum leadership today.

Stay tuned for more programs to come!

04/01/2026

🌷 Spring in New York is something special, an energy that has carried across decades. 🌷

In "Sixth Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, New York, 1948", photographer Todd Webb () captures a vivid slice of midtown life through a detailed panoramic montage. Stretching over six feet in length, the work documents storefronts like the Hanover House Hotel alongside the everyday rhythm of the city.

This remarkable image will be featured in our upcoming exhibition, "Presence: The Photography Collection of Judy Glickman Lauder", on view beginning July at the . 🖼️🎨

Image Credit:
Todd Webb (American, 1905–2000) Sixth Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, New York, 1948 8 gelatin silver prints, 15 1/4 x 15 5/8 in. Each Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Promised Gift from the Judy Glickman Lauder Collection, 7.2015a-h © Todd Webb Archive
- Portrait of Todd Webb, Courtesy of Evans Gallery and Estate of Todd & Lucille Webb, Portland, Maine

03/31/2026

We can't think a better way to close out Womens' History Month than a trip to the blockbuster exhibition, "Abstract Expressionists: The Women" at the !

🖼:
- Installation Photos of "Abstract Expressionists: The Women" Courtesy of the Muscarelle Museum
- Emiko Nakano, Composition in Yellow, 1957. Oil on canvas, 34 x 46 in. Courtesy of the Levett Collection and FAMM. Photo: Fraser Marr.
- Elaine de Kooning, The Bull, 1959. Acrylic and collage on Masonite, 30 ½ x 35 /4 in. © Elaine de Kooning Trust. Courtesy of the Levett Collection and FAMM. Photo: Fraser Marr.
- Ethel Schwabacher, Woman: Red Sea, Dead Sea, 1951. Oil on canvas, 30 x 37 in. © Estate of Ethel Schwabacher. Courtesy of Berry Campbell Gallery, the Levett Collection, and FAMM. Photo: Fraser Marr.

03/26/2026

Exciting News! We’re honored to announce that we’ve received a grant from ’s FY2026 Cultural Development Fund (CDF)!! Art and culture are the heart and soul of New York, and we’re proud to be among the nearly 1,200 groups receiving city support this year thanks to the partnership between the NYC Mayor’s Office and the City Council.

This investment in our work will help us bring accessible, affordable cultural programs to our community. Our CDF grant will support our 2026 public program series.

08/17/2023

Coming Vroom 🏍

Our next special exhibition, "Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960," explores women’s ongoing negotiation of the demands of fashion, function, and feminine decorum. It is the first exhibition to consider the evolution of women’s sporting and leisure attire, revealing how clothing was designed to accommodate a variety of activities ranging from horseback riding to golfing to motorcycling. As both athletes and spectators, the innovative and stylish attire women wore helped break down the barriers that had isolated them from the then-male-dominated sporting world.

Open October 14, 2023–January 14, 2024. Tickets coming soon!

LEARN MORE | bit.ly/SportTaft

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Motorcycling ensemble, detail, 1930s Photo: Brian Sanderson © FIDM Museum Courtesy American Federation of Arts

08/08/2023

Happy 🐈‍⬛. This charming feline is from the exhibition catalogue for the past AFA-organized exhibition Designing the New: Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow Style.

Here, artist Talwin Morris memorializes his family's dead cat and shows that he was a fan of Aubrey Beardsley's daring graphic style, evoked through exaggerated and serpentine lines.

Morris in fact clipped favorite examples of Beardsley's work from contemporary magazines of the day.

🐈‍⬛ In Memoriam - Senex, 1894
Talwin Morris (1865 - 1911)
Ink on paper
10 15/16 X 4 3/4 in.
Given to Glasgow Museums by Mrs. Alice Talwin Morris
1964 (PR.1977.13.s)

Address

305 E 47th Street Fl 10
New York, NY
10017

Telephone

+12129887700

Website

http://www.amfedarts.org/

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