• Join Puck

    Directly Supporting Authors

    A new economic model in which writers are also partners in the business.

    Personalized Subscriptions

    Customize your settings to receive the newsletters you want from the authors you follow.

    Stay in the Know

    Connect directly with Puck talent through email and exclusive events.

  • What is puck? Newsletters Authors Podcasts Events Gift Puck Careers

Washington’s Other Culture Wars

The Stars We Do Not See, a new show at the National Gallery, offers a reflection on the past and modernism that seems perfectly at home in the capital these days.

National Gallery of Art
'The Stars We Do Not See' has a consistent theme: It shows how Indigenous art in Australia has been used to preserve Aboriginal culture, but also crucial evidence of land rights. Photo: Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art
Marion Maneker
January 11, 2026

Join Puck to listen to this article

Yesterday, a useful analogy dawned on me as I walked along the National Mall in Washington, D.C., trying to get back to my car before the meter ran out. I was dodging the puddles that had formed in the pea stones and trying to stay dry under my small-but-sturdy hotel umbrella, still thinking about The Stars We Do Not See—a show of Australian Aboriginal art from the National Gallery of Victoria, in Melbourne, currently on display in the National Gallery’s East Building.