…Exploring the role of the prankster as artist, activist and social observer and the significance of the prank in society.
Welcome to Art of the Prank, produced and edited by Joey Skaggs. Here you will find insights, information, news and discussions about art, pranks, hoaxes, culture jamming & reality hacking around the world – past, present and future – mainstream and counter culture. You are invited to contribute to its development. May your journey be filled with more than your expectations.
JOEY SKAGGS SATIRE AND ART ACTIVISM,
1960s TO THE PRESENT AND BEYOND
A new series of short oral history films,
produced and directed by Judy Drosd and Joey Skaggs
ART OF THE PRANK, THE MOVIE:
Andrea Marini’s award winning feature documentary about
New York artist and activist Joey Skaggs
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It’s time for New York City’s 41st Annual April Fools’ Day Parade, April 1, 2026
“What’s Real and What’s Not”
Everyone is invited!
Read the full announcement here!
Assembly:
Grand Army Plaza at 5th Avenue and 59th Street in Manhattan at 12:00 Noon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026
Route:
South on 5th Avenue (with a brief pause in front of Trump Tower)
Final Destination:
Washington Square Park (soon to be renamed Trump Square Park and turned into a miniature golf course), site of the traditional coronation of the King or Queen of Fools–possibly for the last time–as rumors persist that democratic elections may soon be retired.
Contact:
Joey Skaggs, Committee Chair, 212-254-7878, info@joeyskaggs.com
Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, Linkedin
Full Announcement:
http://aprilfoolsdayparade.com
Printable Announcement PDF
Don’t drop the soap!
A Statue of Trump and Epstein Re-enacting ‘Titanic’ Pose Appears on National Mall, by Ashley Ahn, The New York Times, March 12, 2026
The installation is the latest in a series of satirical statues created by an anonymous group of artists called the Secret Handshake.
A gold-colored statue inspired by the “Titanic” pose has appeared on the National Mall — but instead of portraying Jack supporting Rose from behind as she pretends to fly, it depicts President Trump and the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A plaque at the statue’s base read: “The tragic love story between Jack and Rose was built on luxurious travel, raucous parties, and secret nude sketches. This monument honors the bond between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, a friendship seemingly built on luxurious travel, raucous parties and secret nude sketches.”
The statue, which appeared Tuesday and shows Mr. Trump gazing at Mr. Epstein as he held his outstretched arms, is the latest in a series of satirical statues that have appeared in Washington since October 2024, just before the presidential election. Many of the installations, including this one influenced by the movie “Titanic” and Mr. Trump’s friendship with Epstein, were created by an anonymous group of artists called The Secret Handshake. Read the whole article here.
George Orwell was right…
“The US Department of Hate” by Coco Fusco, Noah Fischer, Pablo Helguera, Hyperallergic, February 20, 2026.
The Siren is back for a fourth edition. Read, ponder, and rise up before it’s too late.
The editors of The Siren have been thinking about the parallels between our current political moment and the dystopian world of George Orwell’s novel 1984 for quite a while, but the escalating efforts by the Trump Administration to wage war against immigrants and silence critics compelled us to devote our latest issue to highlighting those connections. After witnessing the killing, torture, and forced expulsion of immigrants by federal agents, as well as the execution of US citizens and the criminalization of activists, we have no choice but to conclude that Orwell’s “Hate Week” has arrived.
We’ve done our best to bring the perspectives of those who are under attack, and who have survived totalitarian regimes, to the foreground. Writers Junot Diaz, Enrique Del Risco, and Pamela Sneed shed light on the ways that authoritarianism is taking over our world. Political cartoonists hailing from Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, the Philippines, and the Americas offer their perspectives on the impact of tyrannical forces in our lives. Read the whole article here.
More from Everyone Hates Elon…
“Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s Arrest Photo Displayed at the Louvre Gallery in Paris” by Melissa Elizabeth, Yahoo!News, February 23, 2026.
Move over, Mona Lisa. There was a new “masterpiece” at the Louvre this week, and it didn’t involve a cryptic smile or centuries-old oil paint. Instead, it featured a very modern, very sweaty, and very stressed-out British royal.
In a scene that felt like a crossover between The Crown and Ocean’s Eleven, a framed photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (the man formerly known as Prince Andrew) was surreptitiously hung on the hallowed walls of the Louvre Museum in Paris. The image wasn’t a regal portrait; it was a gritty, high-definition “arrest photo” of the Duke leaving police custody.
On Sunday, February 22, 2026, visitors wandering through the Louvre’s Denon wing, home to the world’s most priceless treasures, spotted something decidedly out of place. Tucked near some of history’s greatest works was a gold-framed photograph of a man slumped in the back of a Range Rover, looking like he’d just seen a ghost (or perhaps a subpoena). Read the whole article here.
GUILTY… Until proven otherwise.
“He made a fake ICE deportation tip line. Then a kindergarten teacher called.” by Drew Harwell, Washington Post, February 20, 2026.
A Nashville comedian’s deportation hotline, set up as a joke, has gone viral among viewers who say it shows the “banality of evil personified.”
Ben Palmer, a stand-up comic in Nashville, has built a following online with his signature style of elaborate deadpan pranks, stumbling his way onto court TV shows and pyramid-scheme calls to poke fun at the latent absurdities of American life.
Then in January of last year, he had an idea for a new bit: He’d set up a fake tip line that people could use to report anyone they thought was an undocumented immigrant. It was darker than his other stunts, but it felt topical, the kind of challenge he wanted to try. At the very least, he thought, he might get a few calls he could talk about at his next show. Read the whole article here.