Keith Haring, Untitled (1981)
©The Estate of Keith Haring

1981

CAM presents Glass Art. Work acquired for the collection includes artworks by Louise Nevelson, Robert Rauschenburg, Charles Burchfield, and Grace Hartigan. The museum receives its first grant from the New York State Council on the Arts and initiates its Arts in Education program.

A major Neo-Expressionism exhibition, A New Spirit in Painting, is presented at the Royal Academy in London.

Metro Pictures gallery is opened in New York, featuring work by Robert Longo, Cindy Sherman, and Michael Zwack, all co-founders of Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center in Buffalo who have moved to New York. The Castellani Art Museum has already acquired work by these three artists.

Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan are both wounded in assassination attempts.

MTV, the 24 hour-a-day music television station, is launched.

Prince Charles marries Diana Spencer.