Not in Our Name

"In one installation in Massachusetts, Mary and an infant Jesus are absent, replaced by a sign that reads, "ICE was here." In another one in Chicago, a sign declares, "Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding." More such nativity scenes are popping up across the country as people of conscience protest against Homeland Security's persecution of helpless individuals, sending the message: not in our name."

"Said to have stolen art from 30 museums and private collections, he somehow managed to walk off with a Rembrandt from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1975. Art crime professor Erin L. Thompson reviews Anthony M. Amore's new book about the story of this "criminal genius." The Rembrandt Thief Who Came Out On TopMyles Connor is one of the very few people alive to have come out ahead after lifting an artwork from the wall of a museum."

Nativity scenes across the United States have been transformed into sites of protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with installations omitting Mary and Jesus or posting signs such as "ICE was here" and "Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding." Activists use altered creches to denounce Homeland Security's treatment of immigrants and to declare local opposition. London’s ten best art exhibitions of 2025 include shows by Kerry James Marshall, Jenny Saville, and Leigh Bowery, and feature surprising presentations like Henri Michaux’s mescaline-influenced drawings. The story of prolific art thief Myles Connor, who stole a Rembrandt from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1975, illustrates enduring high-profile art crime.

Read at Hyperallergic