Influencers and Only Fans Models Dominating US Artist Visas

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Immigration lawyer Michael Wildes reportedly has a photo hanging on the wall in his office Yoko Ono and John Lennona reminder of a pivotal moment in the history of U.S. artist visas. when nixon When the U.S. government tried to deport Lennon in the 1970s, Wilders’ father successfully argued that Lennon qualified as a “distinguished figure in the arts,” a case that later inspired the creation of the O-1B visa under the 1990 immigration law. The O-1B program, which has been reserved for talented artists for decades, is undergoing a transformation. this financial times Since the pandemic, immigration lawyers say there has been a surge in applications, driven largely by social media influencers and Fans only Model. High follower counts, brand partnerships and digital revenue are increasingly used to demonstrate “commercial success” as one of the key criteria for visas. Proponents argue that these metrics provide clear evidence of differentiation in a crowded field. Critics worry, however, that reliance on algorithmic popularity could dilute the original purpose of the visa, replace artistic merit with measurable concerns, and reshape the definition of creative excellence in U.S. immigration law.

Want Indiana Jones. this british museum An expert is being hired to help recover hundreds of stolen artifacts before they are lost forever, the times wrote. In 2023, museums revealed thousands of items were missing from their collections Greek and Rome collect. professor Tom HarrisonThe newly appointed head of the department has been leading efforts to recover the treasures, which include gold jewellery, semi-precious stones and glass dating back to the 15th century BC. He hopes to recover the gold items before they are melted down, but expects the hunt to continue “until I retire or I’m buried in the ground.” Once the budget is secured, Harrison plans to recruit someone to contact dealers, auction houses and collectors around the world. Currently, the mission relies on a small team of five people who also handle other responsibilities. To date, 654 of an estimated 1,500 missing items have been recovered, while a criminal investigation and civil case have been launched against the former director. Peter Higgs continue.

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British museums have always hidden something African Per tribal rules, women are not allowed to view the artifacts. [The Telegraph]

turkey announce its Saidu Bashir Fortress has been nominated for 2026 European Museum of the Year Award. [Daily Sabah]

The 151-year-old man Stirling Smith Gallery and Museum Scotland is facing a precarious financial crisis, a consultation review has revealed, prompting Parliament to allocate £360,000 for a bailout. [The Courier]

Scientists say it is seven million years old fossil This suggests that our ancestors walked upright much earlier than previously thought, which could reshape the story of human origins. [Science Daily]

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Big museums are far from extinct. Frank GehryHis death last month seemed to ring in the era of blockbuster museums Financial Times (again) wrote. The architect’s Guggenheim Bilbao The salvation of struggling cities that the church believed in a single, ornate cultural object was lost; his long-delayed Guggenheim Museum Abu Dhabi Still under construction, “perhaps a bookend to that era” financial times additional. “When it’s finished (apparently this year, though that’s been said before) it will be a fossil, a dinosaur from another era.” However, big museums are far from dead. This year Los Angeles Two major new art museums are to open. The most outstanding project is Peter Zumthor’s Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)estimated to cost $720 million. Large museums will also open in Europe in 2026. Canal-Pompidou Center exist brusselslocated in a 1930s Citroën garage. and don’t forget Russia; Ziratis a huge private contemporary art museum in Moscow designed to showcase the collection of its founder, Andrei Molchanov and Yelizaveta Molchanovwhich opened last month.