…Exploring the role of the prankster as artist, activist and social observer and the significance of the prank in society.
60 years ago, in 1966 on Easter Sunday, Joey Skaggs dragged his iconoclastic sculpture of a naked and decayed figure of Jesus Christ on a crucifix into Tompkins Square Park on the lower east side. It was his personal statement about the war in Vietnam and the hypocrisy of religion.
This was the beginning of Skaggs’ career as an artist who used the streets as his theater.
New York City’s greatest pranks, from fantastical parades to a phony Mets star, by Samantha Max, Gothamist, April 1, 2026
Artist and activist Joey Skaggs has been inviting members of the New York City media to his annual April Fools’ Day parade along Fifth Avenue since 1986.
Press releases archived on Skaggs’ website describe the event as an attempt to “bring people back in touch with their inherent foolishness” and celebrate “the public’s right to laugh in the face of authority.” Past parades have included a President Donald Trump look-alike contest and a Y2K-themed end-of-the-world party. This year’s press release invites participants to ponder “what’s real and what’s not” at a parade led by the president himself, followed by a screening of the “Melania mockumentary” and a reading of all redacted names in the Jeffrey Epstein files, other than victims.
50 years ago on April 1, 1976, in response to a subpoena issued by the New York State Attorney General, Joey Skaggs revealed that his Cathouse for Dogs (doggy bordello) was a satirical media performance hoax.
Sometimes you need a cloak of invisibility, sometimes you need a coat of armor, and sometimes you just need to go naked! I encourage any attempt to provoke positive change.
Social Malpractice in the Age of Cultural Compliance, by Ed Woodham, Hyperallergic, March 25, 2026.
What happens when the language of social practice becomes a tool of the very systems it once hoped to challenge?
We are living in a strangely apocalyptic moment where a perverse logic runs the machinery of public life while insisting everything is just fine. Around the world, political systems are tightening control over commerce, education, culture, and communication. Independent critical thinking is increasingly treated as subversive rather than a civic virtue. Public space, once the laboratory for egalitarian expression, is shrinking under surveillance, privatization, and corporate branding.
So where does socially engaged art fit into a world progressively hostile to independent thought? Read the whole article here.
The New York April Fools’ Committee Proudly Announces
NEW YORK CITY’S 41st ANNUAL APRIL FOOLS’ DAY PARADE, 2026
“What’s Real and What’s Not”
WHAT:
An emergency civic drill disguised as a parade. The public is invited to participate in or out of costume, with or without a float.
WHEN:
Wednesday, April 1, 2026
Noon Assembly | Step-off shortly after
WHERE:
– Assembly: Fifth Avenue & 59th Street
– Route: Fifth Avenue (brief stop at Trump Tower)
– Finale: Washington Square Park
WHO:
– Self-appointed Grand Marshal: President Donald J. Trump
– Theme Song: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”
– Marching Band: Recently pardoned January 6 participants
WHY:
Because truth is optional, elections are negotiable, and democracy is now a limited-time offer.
VISUALS:
– Collapsed Statue of Liberty float
– Rusted “Drill Baby Drill” oil derrick
– AI oracle dispensing nonsense
– Barbed-wire cage to collect illegals along the route
– Flyover confetti drop of shredded Constitution
– Demolition Derby with celebrity and political look-alikes on e-bikes
WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK FINALE:
– Crowning of the King of Fools
– Recalled Food BBQ
– Immunization Lottery
– Greenland Resettlement Kiosk
– Public reading of all formerly redacted names from the Epstein Files
SPONSORS:
Select billionaire members of the President’s Board of Peace
PARADE ANNOUNCEMENT
PARADE ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO
CONTACT:
Joey Skaggs, Committee Chair
212-254-7878 | info@joeyskaggs.com
aprilfoolsdayparade.com