“2024 Edition: Ranking the 20 Least Influential Figures in the Art World”

# The Power of Recognition: Highlighting the “Most Powerless” in Art and Culture

Each year, many magazines and organizations publish power lists—glitzy roundups spotlighting those at the peak of cultural influence. These lists often celebrate wealth, prestige, and the well-connected as symbols of success. But what about those individuals, communities, and creations that exist outside the limelight, carrying stories of struggle, perseverance, and hope? Often ignored, these are the people and objects that challenge structural inequities, push boundaries, and create meaningful change in shadows cast by the powerful.

Hyperallergic—a platform dedicated to critical perspectives on art—takes an annual opportunity to recognize them in its “20 Most Powerless” list. Unlike traditional lists, this one advocates for greater visibility and equity for those whose stories reveal the fissures in our systems while illustrating the power of resilience. Below, we explore some of the featured names and topics from this year’s edition, shedding light on the often invisible dynamics at play in the worlds of art, culture, and society at large.

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## 1. **Hurricane-Devastated Asheville Arts Scene**
When Hurricane Helene ravaged Asheville, North Carolina, its iconic River Arts District—a creative hub housing the studios of over 300 artists—was left in ruins. The storm’s impact underscored the vulnerability of regional art communities to climate change and natural disasters. Beyond the economic toll, the destruction symbolized the loss of a cultural spirit that had come to define Asheville. For many artists whose livelihood had been tied to the district, rebuilding remains an uphill battle.

## 2. **Sudanese Artists in Conflict Zones**
Amid Sudan’s ongoing civil war, the arts community has found itself caught between survival and preservation of cultural expression. Displacement, violence, and the lack of global attention have sidelined the voices of Sudanese creatives struggling to tell their stories. And yet, even against this backdrop of unfathomable hardship, many artists have continued to produce work—acts of defiance that stand as testaments to the unyielding spirit of art as a force for change.

## 3. **Haitian-American Artists and Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric**
Haitian-American communities have long been subjected to systemic racism and xenophobia in the United States. Compounding this is the inflammatory rhetoric from certain political figures, which has resulted in further discrimination and threats. Haitian artists, descendants of a legacy of revolution and resilience, are creating works that challenge oppression and highlight the vibrant cultural contributions of the diaspora.

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## Women’s Bodies as Battlegrounds: Feminist Sculptures Under Attack

Sculptures featuring women as central subjects had a particularly rough year. From Shahzia Sikander’s “Witness” being defaced on the University of Houston’s campus to an Austrian cathedral’s “Virgin Mary in Labor” installation being vandalized, these violent acts highlight persistent misogyny in cultural discourse. Sikander chose to leave her sculpture’s decapitation unrepaired, rather than erase the evidence of hate, emphasizing the broader societal challenges women face.

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## 4. **Palestinian Artists and the Cost of Visibility**
Palestinian creatives have faced both systemic oppression and violent consequences in areas of conflict. Artists such as Heba Zagout and Mahasen Al-Khatib lost their lives during Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, turning their deaths into symbols of the human cost of long-standing geopolitical tensions. Their works, however, live on as urgent calls for humanitarian understanding and justice.

## 5. **The Quiet Rebellion at the Noguchi Museum**
The termination of gallery attendants at New York’s Noguchi Museum after they protested a ban on the wearing of keffiyehs—a symbol of Palestinian solidarity—sparked a firestorm of controversies. The museum’s move provoked backlash, including protests from artists, writers, and cultural advocates, placing Isamu Noguchi’s celebrated legacy at odds with the institution bearing his name.

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## Powerless Symbols and Forgotten Histories

### The Decline of Iconic Objects
Art history’s famed motifs seem to have lost their place in both society’s collective imagination and the contemporary gallery scene. For instance:

– **William the Ancient Egyptian Hippo**, a beloved artifact at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was overshadowed this year by viral internet memes starring waddling live hippos like Moo Deng.
– Similarly, **apples**, once the apple of art’s eye, have lost favor to their cheekier banana counterparts—thanks in no small part to Maurizio Cattelan’s duct-taped conceptual piece.

These cultural shifts reveal society’s fickle relationship with objects and symbols, influenced more by spectacle than substance.

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## 6. **Art History Majors and Rising Unemployment**
Studying art history may be a passion, but this year proved it remains a precarious career choice. Data revealed it is among the