As this year comes to a close and we gear up for the next, let’s take a moment to look back at Hyperallergic’s greatest hits from 2024. From our coverage of the Olympic games in Paris to the US presidential election, this year has generated plenty of fodder for art discourse, memes, and more. We’re proud of our coverage of the art world this year and that we’ve published so many stories that have resonated with you.
This list is only a sample of the work Hyperallergic publishes daily. Over the past year alone, we published over 2,000 stories from over 250 writers, sent over 50 million individual emails, and reached over seven million visitors on the site and many millions more on social media. In 2024, we put out hundreds of film, book, and exhibition reviews, interviewed about two dozen queer elders, expanded the number of published obituaries, and hosted exciting new member events.
Don’t forget to also check out our roundup of this year’s best exhibitions around the world, New York City art shows, art books, films, memes, and more.
None of this would have been possible without the Hyperallergic Members who support our work. This year has been especially challenging, but our membership program has allowed us to continue our work and given us hope for a new way forward in 2025. If you are not already a member, please consider supporting our independent journalism in 2025 by joining today.
Hyperallergic’s 20 Most Read Stories of 2024
(in descending order by total views)
1. The Olympics Drag Scene Got Christian Art History Right by Emma Cieslik
Critics of the opening ceremony betrayed their ignorance of Christianity’s pagan roots — and the real reason behind their ire toward the show.
2. The Unsung Labor of New York’s Henna Artists by Uzma Afreen
“I don’t think many people see henna as an actual art or service that is in demand or valued,” said 29-year-old henna artist Sabeen Marghoob.
3. MoMA Shutters as 500+ Protesters Infiltrate Atrium in Support of Palestine by Rhea Nayyar
Organizers unveiled a banner that read “MoMA Trustees Fund Genocide, Apartheid, and Settler Colonialism.”
4. The Dark Clouds Closing In on Mark Rothko by Anthony Majanlahti
A retrospective exhibition in Paris holds so much beauty that visitors may miss how the artist, exhausted, painted himself into a corner.
5. That Time Carl Andre Wrote Me a Letter by Coco Fusco
He copyrighted the letter and ended it with “for your eyes only,” as if to say, don’t even think of showing this to anybody.
6. What Are Those Giant Painted Heads Floating in the Seine? by Rhea Nayyar
Some of the Louvre’s most famous works inspired a series of half-submerged installations for the Olympic games.
7. Nan Goldin Speaks Out on Censorship of Berlin Show by Hanno Hauenstein
“I felt disavowed by the museum,” the artist said of the Neue Nationalgalerie in an interview published for the first time in English in Hyperallergic.
8. Five Roadside Folk Art Wonders in Rural Wisconsin by Isabella Segalovich
Countless displays of intense and idiosyncratic brilliance are nestled in the grassy hills of the Midwest state.
9. Caravaggio Made Darkness Visible by Ed Simon
In his violent, carnal visions, sparks of divinity may glow even from within the blackest confines of our fallen reality.
10. Artist Crushes Tesla With Colossal Olmec Head Sculpture by Maya Pontone
Chavis Mármol told Hyperallergic that he wanted to “crush an object that represents a sinister figure like Elon Mollusk.”
11. Artists “Make LA Graffiti History” by Painting on Abandoned High-Rises by Matt Stromberg
“Shit is a skyscraper playground,” said one artist who helped tag at least 27 stories of an unfinished luxury development.
12. William Kentridge Sees the Universe in a Pot of Coffee by Debra Brehmer
The artist tells Hyperallergic about how the isolation of COVID-19 led to a streaming series set wholly within the bounds of his studio.
13. How Memes Unravel the Image of Trump as Martyr by Hakim Bishara
While cultural critics slobber over the former president’s media savviness, meme-makers are here to burst their disingenuous bubble.
14. Artist’s Monument to Women Beheaded at University of Houston by Rhea Nayyar
It’s unclear whether the attack on Shahzia Sikander’s sculpture is related to protests by anti-abortion groups, which previously denounced it as “satanic.”
15. Orhan Pamuk’s Secret Paintings of Time by Kaveh Akbar
Poet Kaveh Akbar speaks with the Nobel Prize-winning Turkish novelist about his book of journal entries and paintings, authors who also make art, and the delight of writing fiction.
16. The Meme Glorification of Luigi Mangione by Isa Farfan
Gen-Z’s shared generational status with the suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin and frustrations with the US healthcare system have led to an outpouring of sardonic reactions.
17. My Grandma’s Doilies Are Not a Joke by Elena Kanagy-Loux
When will art institutions finally pay respect to our foremothers’ artistry?
18. The Insidious False History of Gladiator II by Sarah E. Bond
The film’s casting of Africa and Africans as largely rebellious, uncivil, and above all outside of the bounds of the Roman empire is incorrect and dangerous.
19. Hildegard von Bingen’s Eternal Garden by Ed Simon
The 12th-century mystic continues to attract devotees among both Catholic clergy and New Age gurus, Christian traditionalists and radical feminists.
20. Can Santa Fe’s Indian Market Free Itself From the Settler Gaze? by Sháńdíín Brown and Zach Feuer
Despite its role as a hub for Native artists, SWAIA hasn’t entirely moved past its origins in White settler obsession with Native authenticity.
