With tears in their eyes, 201 new U.S. citizens sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the student center building at UNT Dallas this month.

Person after person from one of more than 50 countries stood while the crowd clapped and cheered. More than 200 men and women took an oath of allegiance during a citizenship ceremony on Thursday afternoon at the student center building at UNT Dallas.

For some, the journey to U.S. citizenship has taken decades. Others started the process only months ago.

But the naturalization ceremony did more than transform their legal status, according to attendees. It ushered in a profound sense of security and belonging for them and their families.

“It was long for me since I became a permanent resident in 2017,″ said Marcel Stady, from Canada. “Just even having the ability to vote now and just feel more welcome now.”

Representatives from the consulates of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Canada, and Peru, along with various community leaders were in attendance to witness and support the naturalization ceremony.

“This is the biggest ceremony of naturalization that we have held in the university,” said Mara Queiroz Vaughn, a Spanish lecturer at UNT Dallas, who was appointed as one of eight citizenship ambassadors nationwide in 2022.

For some, the journey to U.S. citizenship was fraught with challenges.

Maria Idalia Martinez, from Guanajuato, Mexico, decided to gain her citizenship after spending 20 years as a permanent resident. She said she felt nervous at first but learned to prepare herself for the road ahead.

“I did it for my children and my grandchildren,” she said. “They have their roots here and they are not going back to Mexico. This is their country, and now this is my country, too.”

For Angelica Gonzales, from Mexico, the path to becoming a citizen was hard, battling stereotypes that people like her aren’t educated.

“Racism still exists to this day,” she said. “I think it is a privilege and honor to my family to have me as a citizen now because my parents are really humble.”

In 2017, Queiroz Vaughn and other community members created “Spanish in the Community,” a non-credit class at UNT Dallas, which helps people prepare for the citizenship process.

“We are launching for the first time that the program will become hybrid for those who can’t attend in person because of a job,” Vaughn said. “People can start with the non-credit class as soon as they are eligible for citizenship.”

Organizations such as The National Educational Service Centers, and Proyecto Inmigrante, among others, collaborate with Vaughn to make the classes free for residents.

UNT Dallas offers classes as part of the program to obtain a GED and learn English for professionals.

“For these classes, all that is needed is an identification card and a phone number,” said Vaughn.

Pinault Collection explores Arte Povera at Bourse de Commerce

The Pinault Collection hosts a major exhibition at the Bourse de Commerce, dedicated to Arte Povera. This exhibition showcases over 250 historical and contemporary works from this influential Italian art movement of the 1960s, delving into both its Italian roots and international impact. Featuring works by key figures such as Giovanni Anselmo, Alighiero Boetti, Mario Merz, and Marisa Merz, the show is set against the backdrop of the Bourse de Commerce, which has been reimagined by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. Designed as a landscape that highlights the infinite poetics of Arte Povera, the display is curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, a leading expert on the movement. It brings together about 50 iconic works from the Pinault Collection alongside pieces from other prestigious public and private collections.

what: Arte Povera
when: 9 October 2024 – 20 January 2025
where: Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, 2 Rue de Viarmes, 75001

Giuseppe Penone, Alpi marittime – Ho intrecciato tre alberi, Alpi marittime – L’albero ricorderà il contatto, Alpi marittime – I miei anni collegati da un filo di rame, 1968-1985. Pinault Collection. installation view at Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli-Turin, 1991 | image by Gérard Rondeau © ADAGP, Paris, 2024.

Musée Picasso Paris Delves Into Jackson Pollock’s Early Years

The national Musée Picasso Paris hosts the temporary exhibition, Jackson Pollock: The Early Years (1934-1947). This is the first Pollock exhibition in France since 2008 and focuses on his early works, highlighting the influence of regionalism, Mexican muralists, Native American art, and the European avant-garde, including Pablo Picasso. The exhibition explores key moments in Pollock’s development, showcasing his experimentation with painting, materials, printmaking, and sculpture. It features around 100 works from prestigious institutions like New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Tate, and the Centre Pompidou.

what: Jackson Pollock: The Early Years (1934-1947)
when: 15 October 2024 – 19 January 2025
where: Musée Picasso, 5 Rue de Thorigny, 75003 Paris

Jackson Pollock, Untitled (1938-1941), oil on canvas, The Art Institute of Chicago © Pollock-Krasner Foundation / ADAGP, Paris 2024

Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris – The Flowers of Yves Saint Laurent

The Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris presents The Flowers of Yves Saint Laurent, a joint exhibition with the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech. Curated by Olivier Saillard and Gaël Mamine, the exhibition explores the designer’s deep fascination with flowers, a key source of inspiration in his work. Over 30 garments and drawings highlight the symbiosis between nature, literature, and fashion, with floral motifs featured throughout. The exhibition also includes works by American artist Sam Falls, whose floral prints on canvas complement Saint Laurent’s haute couture creations, celebrating the timeless beauty of flowers in art and fashion.

what: The Flowers of Yves Saint Laurent
when: 20 September 2024 – 4 May 2025
where: Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris, 5 Av. Marceau, 75116 Paris

image courtesy of Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris

KADIST x Centre Pompidou

The exhibition Apophenia, Interruptions: Artists and Artificial Intelligence at work marks the second chapter of a three-year collaboration between KADIST and the Centre Pompidou, focusing on the intersections of artificial intelligence and contemporary artistic production. As the inaugural project of the KADIST Nomadic Collection—a program establishing long-term partnerships between the foundation and international museums—the exhibition features new commissions and recent works by international artists integrating AI into their creative processes while critically examining its impact. Featured artists include Éric Baudelaire, Mat Dryhurst and Holly Herndon, Auriea Harvey, Interspecifics, Agnieszka Kurant, and Ho Rui An. The exhibition is curated by Joseph del Pesco (International Director, KADIST) and Marcella Lista (Chief Curator, New Media Collections Department, Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne).

what: Apophenia, Interruptions: Artists and Artificial Intelligence at work
when: 25 September 2024 – 6 January 2025
where: Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Place Georges-Pompidou, 75004 Paris

Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst, I’m Here, 17.12.2022, 5:44 (video still), 2023

KADIST x Palais de Tokyo

KADIST Paris and Palais de Tokyo present a joint exhibition as part of the Lithuanian Season in France, showcasing the works of a dozen artists spanning several generations. While most of the featured artists are Lithuanian, others are based in the region or in France. This project arises in response to the geopolitical upheaval caused by the war in Ukraine, reflecting on the ruptures and dislocations it has generated in time and space. Two years into the invasion, the exhibition probes what form of normality remains possible within the conflict zone as history seems to repeat itself. Running concurrently at KADIST Paris and Palais de Tokyo in autumn 2024, the exhibition concludes with a final edition at the Vilnius Contemporary Art Center in 2025. The show is curated by Neringa Bumblienė (CAC Vilnius) and Emilie Villez (KADIST Paris).

what: Borders are nocturnal animals / Sienos yra naktiniai gyvūnai
when: 12 October 2024 – 5 January 2025
where: KADIST Paris and Palais de Tokyo (France)

Deimantas Narkevicius (detail of installation), The Fifer, 2019 – Courtesy of Maureen Paley, London and the artist

Arts AlUla x AFALULA

On the occasion of Art Basel Paris, Arts AlUla and AFALULA present Orbis Tertius, the first exhibition in France featuring artists from AlUla’s residency program. Showcasing the works of 20 contemporary artists who have participated in the oasis city’s residency, the exhibition includes 43 pieces, 13 of which are brand-new productions. Taking its name from the writings of Jorge Luis Borges, the exhibition is inspired by the author’s idealist philosophy. Building on their research in a region with a millennia-old history—marked by archaeological remains of pre-Islamic civilizations and innovative urban planning—the featured artists delve into various realms of possibility. They weave ancestral stories with futuristic narratives, merging myths and legends with scientific knowledge. The exhibition is curated by Arnaud Morand, Head of Art and Creative Industries at AFALULA.

what: Orbis Tertius
when: 15 – 20 October 2024
where: 5 rue Saint-Merri, 75004 Paris

image courtesy of Arts AlUla and AFALULA

Fondation Galeries Lafayette presents total by Martine Syms

In her first French retrospective, American artist Martine Syms transforms the Lafayette Anticipations – Fondation Galeries Lafayette into a unique, hybrid space resembling a store, merging elements from her Los Angeles studio with a public setting. This immersive environment blurs the boundaries between public and private, intimate and collective, offering a reflection on culture and the spaces that shape it. Through reproductions of her studio and art pieces available for sale, Syms explores existential questions, turning the space into a ‘theater of the everyday,’ where everyday roles and societal controls are put on display. The exhibition, dubbed Total, delves into themes of surveillance and identity construction, questioning the constant capture of our image and how it shapes our reality. By blending personal references, historical archives, and cultural representations of blackness and feminism, Syms critiques consumerism as both performance and identity, challenging us to reflect on how our desires are shaped by culture and media.

what: Total
when: from 16 October 2024
where: Lafayette Anticipations – Fondation Galeries Lafayette, 9 Rue du Plâtre, 75004 Paris

Martine Syms, Loser Back Home © Martine Syms. Courtesy of the artist and Sprüth Magers, Los Angeles | image by Robert Wedemeyer

Sturtevant ZIP ZAP! at Thaddaeus Ropac

To mark 100 years of American artist Sturtevant’s birth, Sturtevant: ZIP ZAP! celebrates her pioneering five-decade career at Thaddaeus Ropac Paris Marais. The exhibition focuses on her bold 1995 repetition of the visual artist Félix González-Torres’s Untitled (Go-Go Dancing Platform). Visitors can trace Sturtevant’s evolution, from her early 1966 painting exhibited in Paris to her later video works that critique the speed and saturation of postmodern imagery. This retrospective offers a unique opportunity to engage with Sturtevant’s body of work and her fearless approach to rethinking and challenging the nature of art itself.

what: Sturtevant: ZIP ZAP!
when: 12 October – 21 December 2024
where: Thaddaeus Ropac Paris Marais, 7 Rue Debelleyme, 75003 Paris

image courtesy of Thaddaeus Ropac

Mystic Sugar by Paulina Olowska at pace gallery

Pace Gallery showcases Mystic Sugar, an exhibition curated by artist Paulina Olowska. Running from October 18 to 20 at the Grand Palais, the booth (A30) will feature works by Louise Nevelson, Kiki Smith, Lucas Samaras, and Olowska. The exhibition explores themes of mysticism, femininity, and transformation, reinterpreting the witch as a symbol of liberation and connection to nature. Olowska, known for highlighting forgotten cultures, brings together various media, including paintings, sculptures, and textiles, to examine the work of the featured artists. Mystic Sugar emphasizes the witch as an embodiment of feminine freedom, moving away from patriarchal norms toward the mystical and unseen. The works, using natural materials, evoke emotional and sensory responses, celebrating a deep connection with nature and self-liberation.

what: Mystic Sugar
when: 16 – 20 October, 2024
where: Pace Paris, 10 Av. de Messine, 75008 Paris

image courtesy of Pace Gallery

Galerie Kreo presents iconic contemporary works

On the occasion of Design Miami.Paris, Galerie Kreo presents contemporary works by Virgil Abloh, Guillaume Bardet, Ronan Bouroullec, Pierre Charpin, Jean-Baptiste Fastrez, Front, Olivier Gagnère, Jaime Hayon, Alessandro Mendini and Marc Newson, as well as exceptional vintage pieces by Pierre Paulin, Gino Sarfatti and Studio B.B.P.R.

what: Galerie Kreo at Design Miami.Paris
when: 16 – 20 October, 2024
where: Room 1, L’hôtel de Maisons 51, rue de l’Université 75007 Paris

image courtesy of Galerie Kreo

Prométhée by RoWin’Atelier at Galerie SCENE OUVERTE’s new space

Galerie SCENE OUVERTE inaugurates a new exhibition space in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris, with the solo show Prométhée by the renowned architecture and design studio RoWin’Atelier, running from October 11 to November 23, 2024. The exhibition features a new limited series of tables, lamps, and vases, marking a significant shift in RoWin’Atelier’s practice. For the first time, the studio moves beyond design to delve into craftsmanship, showcasing their fascination with the transformative power of fire and heat on materials like ceramic, lava stone, bronze, and glass. 

what: Prométhée
when: 11 October – 23 November 2024
where: Galerie SCENE OUVERTE, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris

PILE Haute & Basse Series by RoWin’ Atelier | image by Paul Hennebelle, courtesy of Galerie Scene Ouverte

Justin Morin unveils FLEURS DU MAL installation

French artist Justin Morin presents FLEURS DU MAL, a new project featuring ‘tattooed flowers,’ where flower petals become canvases for figurative drawings inspired by 1970s shoujo mangas (mangas for young girls), known for their romantic and dramatic themes. These delicate, ephemeral creations highlight the flower’s symbolic association with vanity in art history. FLEURS DU MAL is a hybrid installation and ephemeral boutique, where visitors can purchase tattooed flowers in a recreated flower shop setting. The exhibition also includes vases showcasing Mariya, a character Morin introduced in his 2021 solo show Ballerina at Last Resort Gallery in Copenhagen.

what: FLEURS DU MAL
when: 14 – 19 October 2024
where: 45 rue Saint-Roch 75001 Paris

FLEURS DU MAL by Justin Morin

project info: 

name: Art Basel Paris | @artbasel
location: Grand Palais, 75008 Paris
dates: 18 – 20 October 2024

name: Design Miami.Paris | @designmiami
location: L’hôtel de Maison, Paris
dates: 16 – 20 October 2024

Age: 32 years old (12th season)

Height, Weight: 6’11, 240 lbs

2023-24 Averages: 1.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game on 41.9%/33.3%/60.5% splits (43 games)

Career Averages: 7.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game on 52%/22%/72.7% shooting splits (552 games)

Even if Atlanta ends up being his last stop, Cody Zeller has carved out quite an impressive career for himself.

The veteran big man has never been at the top of the league’s center rankings, but he finds ways to impact the game and be helpful for his team. Whether that’s giving full effort on the boards, finishing plays or setting hard screens, he has earned his keep as a respectable veteran player,.

However, it’s unlikely that he will be able to make much of an impact for the Hawks.

The Hawks are very deep at center. Capela, Nance and Okongwu are a very capable trio of big men who will not limit the Hawks from running anything. Neither are elite at any particular skillset, but they are all capable starters in their role. Zeller is clearly a step behind all three. He has lost some of the athleticism of his younger days to compete on defense. Furthermore, he is not much of a three-point shooter, so he cannot fall back on that skill to supplement some of his decline. Atlanta also signed free-agent center Tony Bradley to a new deal.

General manager Landry Fields was fairly candid in his assessment of Zeller’s role on the team in 2024-25. He said this at Media Day:

“It’s still an evaluation right now as it relates to our roster and how that’s going to shape up going into training camp. “We’re in talks with his camp. Just kind of seeing what that’s going to look like for the future.” 

Due to him not playing in the Hawks preseason opener vs Indiana, it seems pretty clear that Zeller is going to be released as part of a buyout. That being said, there is still a chance that the Hawks decide to hold onto him. Okongwu has not yet recovered from his toe injury and the Hawks are an injury to Nance or Capela away from really needing Zeller for the start of the regular season.

If he does stick around for the Hawks, I would expect Zeller to be a part-time player. He does not have the athleticism to hold up as a starting center in the NBA anymore, but he can put forth a solid effort in 10-15 minutes of action. He can be a solid roll man in pick-and-roll actions with Trae Young, which is probably his main pathway towards being a useful offensive player for Atlanta.

On defense, I’m very skeptical that he can offer more than his size at this stage in his career. He’s 6’11 and the tallest person on the roster for the Hawks, but I am not sure if that can translate into real defensive impact.

Best-Case Scenario: Zeller steps into the backup role due to injuries and fits as a helpful veteran presence for Atlanta. He competes hard on defense, sets good screens and hits the occasional three when the defense ignores him.

Worst-Case Scenario:  N/A since the most likely outcome is Zeller being bought out. The worst-case scenario might be that he sticks on the roster and has to play due to injuries, but is not very effective.