Steven Nelson
Former dean, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art; UCLA professor emeritus; and left-handed art historian who sees lots of shiny objects.
- Reposted by Steven NelsonI personally do not think some rich man should be able to buy an institution like this like a toy and then break it when he doesn’t want to play with it anymore. bsky.app/profile/benm...
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- Reposted by Steven NelsonHere’s my @thenation.com post on the arrest of Don Lemon, Georgia Fort, the violation of the First Amendment, and Trump’s ongoing attempts to change the face of his victims and spark a race war.
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- The Federal Government is now arresting journalists. www.mediaite.com/media/news/b...
- Kevin Couch lasted at the Kennedy Center for approximately 1.25 Scaramuccis.
- Come to Politics and Prose this Saturday for an event launching the Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts Series Art &. politics-prose.com/lisa-gail-co...
- Reposted by Steven NelsonThis is, quite frankly, complete bullshit. I’ve received more criticism, harassment, and — at one point — calls for my death in the past six months of criticizing this administration than I did in an entire FBI career of investigations, operations, and arrests. And I never wore a goddamn mask.
- Reposted by Steven NelsonTwo Democratic members of Congress attacked in three days. Maxwell Frost was assaulted on Saturday, Ilan Omar tonight.
- ICE blocked from trying to enter Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis without permission. kstp.com/kstp-news/to...
- Reposted by Steven NelsonIf you want to learn about the viciously racist history of Border Patrol, I recommend Kelly Lytle Hernandez's "Migra!" It's really fascinating because Hernandez looks at the class and race implications of border patrol and who joined. www.ucpress.edu/books/migra/...
- As @adamserwer.bsky.social reminds us, "Of the three homicides in Minneapolis this year, two were committed by federal agents."
- Reposted by Steven NelsonCartoon by @mluckovich.bsky.social.
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- “The Department of Homeland Security has, in effect, become a tool of a dictator, our Ministry of Interior. Its sprawling law-enforcement elements have been remade into a paramilitary force…” - Steven A. Cash open.substack.com/pub/steadyst...
- "A university is one of the precious things that can be destroyed.” - Elaine Scarry, "On Beauty and Being Just
- Reposted by Steven Nelson"I insisted that the agents let me assess him. Normally, I would not have been so persistent, but as a physician, I felt a professional and moral obligation to help this man, especially since none of the agents were helping him."
- Alex Pretti was executed by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis.
- Reposted by Steven Nelsonthe nyt style section vs. der spiegel
- What happened in Philadelphia is not an isolated incident. We will see a lot more federal repression and whitewashing of American history as the 250th drags on… share.inquirer.com/g6DTgD
- File under “I supported ICE operations until they affected me.”
- Judges rejecting arrests warrants in Minneapolis ICE protests. www.ms.now/news/minneso...
- Reposted by Steven NelsonICE attacked an observer after they tailed a group of clergy on a spiritual pilgrimage. Our digital producer @sam.vp just so happened to be with the clergy on their journey. He spoke with the observer who was attacked and others who witnessed the assault.
- The @startribune.com is doing great work. Though I live in DC, I subscribed.
- Reposted by Steven NelsonTomorrow's front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 24, 2026
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[Not loaded yet] - We can expect to see a lot more of this as the 250th drags on. share.inquirer.com/IrokXK
- Our country's wounds are self-inflicted. open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
- Sunday in our nation’s capital.
- “Ask anyone who has lived in a country that became an autocracy, and they will tell you some version of a story about walls closing in on them, about space getting smaller and smaller. The space they are talking about is freedom.” - M. Gessen www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/o...
- “Abolition is less an act of demolition than a construction project. It is creative creation, the boundless, boundary-less struggle to make our collective lives better, what Ruth Wilson Gilmore calls “life in rehearsal.” — Robin D. G. Kelley
- "Strangest of all is the liberal pipe dream that local police will stand up against ICE and CBP, when police have collaborated with ICE and been deployed to protect agents from protesters, even in so-called sanctuary cities." An interview with Robin D.G. Kelley www.bostonreview.net/articles/ren...
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- My former colleague, Alison Luchs, is a total badass. washingtonian.com/2026/01/16/t...
- I’m so happy to see Leigh Raiford’s brilliant book, “When Home is a Photograph,” coming out in the Duke University Press series, “The Visual Arts of Africa and Its Diasporas,” which I co-edit with Dr. Kellie Jones.
- Reposted by Steven NelsonI’m seeing posts from people (outside of MN) about how US citizens should carry their passports. And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.” Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.
- “Nigerian Modernism” at Tate Modern is a breathtaking exhibition that details the artists and cultural figures working during much of the 20th century. The work is incredible, and the exhibition expertly curated.
- Reposted by Steven NelsonFrey: "You cannot drag pregnant women through the snow. You're not allowed to take teenagers out of their car and detain them when they are in fact American citizens. That is against the law in every state. That is against our US Constitution."
- The two least helpful pronouncements when responding to the actions of ICE and the Trump administration: 1. We’re better than this. (No, we’re not.) 2. This is not America. (Yes, it is.) Feel free to add more.
- Artist formerly known, “The Cholmondeley sisters and their swaddled babies,” c.1600–1610. This is one of my favorite paintings at Tate Britain.
- Bowing to pressure, the Smithsonian has removed a caption mentioning Trump’s impeachment beside the photograph of him in the National Portrait Gallery.
- Reposted by Steven NelsonThe reactionary centrist logic is simple: if the left does something bad it’s the left’s fault, and if the right does something bad, it’s also the left’s fault for making them do it. It’s a simple formula and once you see it every one of their arguments is the same
- Increasing the pressure on the Smithsonian. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/a...
- Reposted by Steven NelsonTHIS WEEKEND: More than 1,000 marches and vigils are taking place nationwide to honor Renee Nicole Good, demand accountability for ICE’s killing of Renee, and make visible the human cost of ICE’s terror. Please join us: mobilize.us?tag_ids=2913...
- Reposted by Steven NelsonThe past couple days have made it clear that arresting and prosecuting Johnathan Ross isn’t just the right thing to do, it is necessary to prevent future violence by ICE who have interpreted the situation as “we can do that to whoever we want”
- The Washington Opera is leaving the Kennedy Center. Good for them. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/a...
- Reposted by Steven NelsonAOC: “I understand that VP Vance believes shooting a young mother of three in the face three times is an acceptable America that he wants to live in, & I do not — That is a fundamental difference between VP Vance & I — I do not believe the American people should be assassinated in the street”
- Reposted by Steven NelsonFrey: "This notion of inflammatory comments -- c'mon guys. I dropped an F bomb, they killed someone. Which one of those is more inflammatory? I'm going with the killing somebody."
- @amyklobuchar.com's response is collusion.
- By refusing to coordinate with local law enforcement, ICE is not making our community safe. It is making it less safe. www.startribune.com/she-was-an-a...
- Reposted by Steven NelsonMake it viral.
- Reposted by Steven NelsonOnce you understand that you're dealing with murderous liars, you stop entertaining what they say as possibly credible and legitimate. The fight against them is about stopping them from terrorizing and killing by any means, not winning debates about your reality versus theirs.
- Reposted by Steven NelsonForensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.
- Good news. www.tennessean.com/story/news/2...
- Charlotte Higgins’s terrific overview of the administration’s attack on the Smithsonian and the larger context in which cultural institutions are operating. Though I didn’t work for the Smithsonian, I spoke with her on the record concerning some of her questions. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
- Happy Public Domain Day! Thanks to @publicdomainrev.bsky.social for creating this list. publicdomainreview.org/blog/2026/01...
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