NIKITA GALE

RUFUS! MY FAVORITE. It would be impossible to list all of the reasons why. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to tag along for 10 years of the co-parenting ride with my dear friend Nico @verohneek , a special human that Rufus selected 14 years ago. At a fighting weight of 9lbs, Rufus was tiny in body but his spirit was infinite. I know he is here with me now. A psychic said that he was even older than we thought, somewhere between 18 and 20. He was a true lover. He made me feel safe from real and perceived threats. I loved smelling the top of his head and rubbing our noses together. I loved taking naps with him lying on my chest and feeling the breath from his little nostrils grazing my chin. I loved watching him sleep. I loved howling with him. I loved texting Nico things I needed to tell him. I loved staring into his huge beautiful brown eyes. I am grateful for all of the ways I got to appreciate his brief but longer than average visit to the material world. A few weeks before he transitioned, Rufus visited me in a dream as we slept next to each other. He was really big, like the size of a golden retriever. I was giving him a bath and he had the voice of a toddler. He kept saying something over and over to me that sounded like “I love you! I’m going to be okay!” I can only interpret this as him preparing me for the days ahead. I recently encountered a quote by Terry Tempest Williams that says “Grief dares us to love once more.” What a gift. Rufus, immaterial boy, I will love you forever.

THIS IS THE FINAL WEEK TO SEE *99 DREAMS* @barakat_contemporary // CLOSING JAN 25!! 감사합니다 🧡🩷

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! AND MAN THIS PAST YEAR HAS DEFINITELY BEEN THE WORST OF MY LIFE! BUT LOOK WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I LEFT THE HOUSE TODAY! A REAL MOTHERFUCKIN’ RAINBOW! I’VE SEEN MORE RAINBOWS IN THIS SHITTY YEAR THAN ANY OTHER YEAR I CAN RECALL AND I DO NOT BELIEVE IN COINCIDENCES! WOW. GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF THE RAINBOWS IN MY LIFE. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. I LOVE YOU!

RECENT RAINBOWS 🌈 // TOKYO 🩵 SEOUL

안녕하세요!!! 🔥🫖🔥🫖🔥🫖🔥🫖🔥🫖🔥🫖🔥🫖🔥🫖🔥 MY NEW SOLO EXHIBITION *99 DREAMS* OPENS IN SEOUL SK TOMORROW NOVEMBER 5TH AT BARAKAT CONTEMPORARY @barakat_contemporary @themjkim @hs_barakat @stuff.josephine.makes 감사합니다!!!

THE HEADSET MICROPHONE—POPULARLY KNOWN AS THE “MADONNA MIC”—HAS BECOME A STANDARD TOOL IN LIVE PERFORMANCE, ALLOWING VOCAL CLARITY AND FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT. THOUGH OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH MADONNA’S 1990 BLOND AMBITION TOUR, ITS ORIGINS TRACE BACK TO KATE BUSH IN 1979. DURING HER “TOUR OF LIFE,” BUSH FACED A UNIQUE CHALLENGE: SINGING LIVE WHILE PERFORMING COMPLEX CHOREOGRAPHY. TO SOLVE THIS, SHE AND SOUND ENGINEER MARTIN FISHER CREATED AN EARLY HEADSET MIC FROM A COAT HANGER AND TAPE—A GROUNDBREAKING SOLUTION THAT ALLOWED HANDS-FREE PERFORMANCE. A DECADE LATER, MADONNA’S ICONIC USE OF A MORE ADVANCED VERSION DURING HER 1990 “BLOND AMBITION TOUR” CEMENTED THE DEVICE’S PLACE IN POP CULTURE. THE HEADSET MIC SOON BECAME KNOWN AS THE “MADONNA MIC,” AND LATER, WITH ARTISTS LIKE BRITNEY SPEARS, AS THE “BRITNEY MIC.” WE SHOULD REALLY BE CALLING IT THE “JANET MIC” BUT THAT’S A DIFFERENT POST. Photo credit: Rob Verhorst/Redferns (Kate Bush); Kevin Mazur/WireImage (Britney Spears at the 2001 VMAs); Gie Knaeps/Getty (Madonna at Feyenoord Stadion, Rotterdam in 1990); Michael Jackson opening night of History Tour in Prague in 1995; Lucy Schaly (Janet Jackson State of the World Tour in Pittsburg in 2017); Kevin Mazur/Getty Images (Lady Gaga performing at Coachella in 2025). #musictechnology #livemusic #katebush #madonna #headsetmic #performance #musichistory #womeninsteam

Since its founding in 1968, the @studiomuseum has pulled off a balancing act that has eluded many of its peers: simultaneously cultivating an intimate relationship with its neighbors and serving as a beacon for boundary-pushing contemporary art internationally. For the past seven years, however, America’s leading institution dedicated to the work of artists of African descent has been closed to the public while laying the groundwork for a new chapter. On Nov. 15, it will open a seven-floor, 82,000-square-foot building designed by Adjaye Associates and executed by Cooper Robertson. In the art world, the Studio Museum is best known for cultivating a range of emerging talents—both artistic and curatorial—who go on to seed institutions around the globe. To mark its reopening, CULTURED convened three prominent conceptual artists who had significant early support from the museum: @nikitagale , @camillenorment , and @sable_elyse . Each was featured in the museum’s distinctive twist on a biennial, a series affectionately referred to as the “F” shows because their titles all begin with the letter. Norment, 55, an Oslo-based multimedia artist and composer, appeared in the first “F” show, “Freestyle,” in 2001 and is creating a new installation made of brass tubing and a chorus of voices for the grand reopening. The LA-based Gale, 41, showed a critical early work—an installation featuring two guitars that made a droning noise—in the exhibition “Fictions” in 2017. And 39-year-old Smith, based in New York and also featured in “Fictions,” was an artist-in-residence in 2018 and worked in the Studio Museum’s education department from 2013 to 2016. At the link in bio, they reflect on how the museum has shaped their lives and careers. Words by @juliahalperin

“I HOPE THAT YOUR ROOM FILLED WITH PEOPLE GROWS EVERY DAY” @ladygaga 🩵

THE WORD "ARENA," COMMONLY USED TODAY TO DESCRIBE SPORTS STADIUMS AND PERFORMANCE SPACES, ORIGINATES FROM THE LATIN WORD HARENA (ALSO SPELLED ARENA), WHICH MEANS “SAND.” IN ANCIENT ROME, THIS REFERRED SPECIFICALLY TO THE SAND SPREAD OVER THE FLOORS OF AMPHITHEATERS LIKE THE COLOSSEUM. THE SAND SERVED A PRACTICAL FUNCTION: IT HELPED ABSORB BLOOD AND OTHER FLUIDS DURING GLADIATORIAL GAMES, ANIMAL HUNTS, AND PUBLIC EXECUTIONS. THIS MADE IT EASIER TO MAINTAIN A CLEAN AND MANAGEABLE SURFACE DURING AND AFTER EVENTS. AS USAGE EVOLVED, ARENA CAME TO REFER NOT JUST TO THE SAND ITSELF, BUT TO THE ENTIRE SPACE IN WHICH THESE PUBLIC SPECTACLES TOOK PLACE. OVER TIME, THE TERM BROADENED FURTHER, COMING TO DESCRIBE ANY ENCLOSED SPACE DESIGNED FOR VIEWING PUBLIC EVENTS, REGARDLESS OF THE MATERIAL COVERING ITS FLOOR. IN MODERN CONTEXTS, "ARENA" IS USED TO DESCRIBE EVERYTHING FROM SPORTS STADIUMS TO POLITICAL AND METAPHORICAL ARENAS OF COMPETITION OR DEBATE. DESPITE THE SHIFT IN MEANING, THE WORD RETAINS A LINK TO ITS HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL ORIGINS. LOST ARENA 1, 2025 Velvet, river sand, cast iron powder, travertine, aluminum 73"h x 49" w x 5" d 183cm x 125cm x 13cm @petzelgallery

DOROTHY DANDRIDGE “COW-COW BOOGIE” 1942

BABE WAKE UP IT’S A [JUPITER IN CANCER]

IN RECENT MONTHS *DRRRUMMERRRRRR* (2019 - present) HAS BEEN INCLUDED IN A NUMBER OF EXCITING EXHIBITIONS: *ALOHA NŌ* – THIS YEAR’S HAWAII TRIENNIAL IN HONOLULU HAWAII CURATED BY @wassan16 @choi.binna @noellekahanu *ENERGIES* ELEVATION 1049 @luma_arles BIENNIAL CURATED BY Steffani Hessler @swissinstitute *IMPOSSIBLE MUSIC* @tuftsartgalleries CURATED BY CANDICE HOPKINS @candicebhopkins AND RAVEN CHACON @ravenchcn AND ORGANIZED BY THE ICA PITTSBURGH (FORMERLY MILLER ICA), PITTSBURGH. ORGANIZED AT TUAG BY DINA DEITSCH. IT IS CURRENTLY ON VIEW IN THE GROUP EXHIBITION *FREQUENCIES* AT MOCA TUSCON @mocatucson UNTIL JUNE 29TH CURATED BY BHAVISHA PANCHIA @future_laxmi AND ALEXIS WILKINSON @alexiswilkinson IMAGES ABOVE ARE FROM A SOLO PRESENTATION OF THIS WORK @nestruimte AT THE END OF 2024. I LOVE THIS WORK SO MUCH. I MADE IT FOR MY FIRST SOLO SHOW TITLED *HOT WORLD* WITH @reyes_finn IN DETROIT IN 2019. IT EXISTS AS A SET OF INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSTALLATION IN A VARIETY OF CONTEXTS AND SETTINGS AND SCALES SO IT GETS TO LIVE A LOT OF LIVES! 💧💦🌊 🩵 I T E R A T I O N 🩵🌊💦💧 All images courtesy Petzel Gallery @petzelgallery and Nest Photos by Lotte van Uittert, 2024