Emerging Zambian Artists Take the Spotlight at Imvelo Studios

Imvelo Studios, a Zambian gallery, has opened a group exhibition titled "Rise and Shine" featuring emerging Zambian artists across diverse mediums, including painting, sculpture, and printmaking. Curated by gallery founder Ng’onga Silupya, the show highlights artists such as Jeremiah Ludaka, Boyd Bishonga, Kaluba B. Chilawa, Hassan Yasini, Clare Chilemu, and Hezroth Simanda, whose works employ abstraction, Neo-Expressionism, and traditional techniques to explore themes of youth, cultural identity, and social commentary.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Announces a Major Gift of Nearly 2000 Photographs

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) has received a major donation of nearly 2,000 photographs from the Joy of Giving Something Inc. (JGS), a nonprofit dedicated to photographic arts. The gift, drawn from the collection of late financier Howard Stein, spans the 19th century to the present and includes works by over 450 artists, with highlights from Eugène Atget, Nadar, Alfred Stieglitz, Dora Maar, László Moholy-Nagy, Man Ray, Berenice Abbott, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Mary Ellen Mark, and contemporary figures like Adam Fuss and Cindy Sherman. The donation also includes a grant for cataloging and housing, and comes as the VMFA plans five new photography galleries opening in 2027.

How the British Museum is preparing for the arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry

Comment le British Museum prépare l’arrivée de la tapisserie de Bayeux

The British Museum will display the Bayeux Tapestry from September 10, 2025, to July 11, 2027, in its Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery, coinciding with the closure of the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux for renovation. The 68.38-meter embroidery will be shown flat for the first time in over two centuries, in a custom-designed case with low lighting and continuous visitor flow. Tickets go on sale July 1, 2026, priced between £25 and £33, with free entry for under-16s. The exhibition includes loans such as the Junius II manuscript from the Bodleian Library and coins from the Chew Valley hoard, plus an outdoor installation by Andy Sturgeon. The UK government has provided an £800 million indemnity guarantee.

A Journey Through the Work of Lucía Pizzani on the Occasion of Her First Institutional Exhibition in London

UN RECORRIDO POR LA OBRA DE LUCÍA PIZZANI A PROPÓSITO DE SU PRIMERA MUESTRA INSTITUCIONAL EN LONDRES

Venezuelan artist Lucía Pizzani presents her first institutional exhibition in the United Kingdom, titled "Faunal Succession," at Focal Point Gallery in London, running through May 30. The show features new works created in collaboration with artists Cecilia Bonilla, Jaime Gili, and Javier Weyler, as well as community groups and local schools, reimagining the Essex coastline through the concept of deep time. The exhibition links geological transformation with contemporary issues such as climate change, migration, and social change, as explored in an interview with curator Inês Costa.

In Vancouver, artists imagine life after climate change

The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) has opened 'Future Geographies: Art in the Century of Climate Change,' an exhibition curated by Eva Respini that brings together artists from British Columbia, Canada, and beyond to imagine futures shaped by the climate crisis. The show features dozens of works created within the last 25 years, including large sculptures from repurposed waste like Liz Larner's 'Meerschaum Drift' and Brian Jungen's whale skeleton 'Cetology' made from plastic patio chairs, as well as John Akomfrah's three-channel film 'Vertigo Sea.' The exhibition runs at the VAG until January 10 before traveling to the Art Gallery of Ontario in March.

25th Biennale of Sydney – Rememory

The 25th Biennale of Sydney, titled 'Rememory,' opened on March 14, 2026, across multiple venues including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, White Bay Power Station, and the Sydney Opera House. Artistic director Hoor Al Qasimi curated the event around the concept of 'rememory,' inspired by Toni Morrison's novel *Beloved*, featuring over 143 works by 83 artists and collectives from 37 countries. The biennale centers First Nations voices and diasporic communities, with standout pieces like the Ngurrara Artists' *Ngurrara Canvas II* (1997) and works by Yaritji Young. However, the event has faced controversy due to Al Qasimi's opposition to the war in Gaza, leading to criticism from donors and board members, as well as logistical disruptions from the Iran war affecting the curator and artists.

The art of chaos

The 61st Venice International Art Biennale has opened in Venice, running until November, amid unprecedented turmoil. The main exhibition, "In Minor Keys," was curated by Koyo Kouoh, who died of cancer shortly after presenting her vision featuring 111 artists including Carsten Höller, Alvaro Barrington, and Laurie Anderson. Her death has eliminated the Lifetime Achievement Award this year. Additionally, the Biennale faces a funding crisis as the EU threatens to withdraw its €2 million subsidy over Russia's participation with 38 artists following the invasion of Ukraine. Iran, Nigeria, and Israel are absent from their pavilions, while the US Pavilion, now organized by the American Arts Conservancy under inexperienced leadership, features self-taught artist Alma Allen.

The fate of 'Guernica', a political icon born under bombs, traced in virtual reality at the Musée Picasso

Le destin de « Guernica », icône politique née sous les bombes, retracé en réalité virtuelle au musée Picasso

The Musée Picasso-Paris is launching a virtual reality experience that traces the epic journey of Pablo Picasso's "Guernica," one of the most iconic political paintings of the 20th century. Guided by the voices of writer Juan Larrea and photographer Dora Maar, visitors are transported to Picasso's Paris studio and the bombed ruins of Gernika, reliving the creation of the masterpiece commissioned for the Spanish Republic's pavilion at the 1937 International Exposition in Paris. The VR experience covers the painting's genesis, its global tour, and its eventual exile at MoMA in New York until 1981.

Don’t miss Ashraf Talaat’s “The Circus” photo exhibition at the Russian Cultural Centre

The article is a roundup of current and upcoming art exhibitions in Cairo, Egypt, spanning May 2025 through June 2026. Highlights include Mostafa El-Razzaz's "Fractals of Art and Soul" at Bibliothek Arkan Plaza, Mahmoud Hamdi's "Journey to the Core" at Difaf, a retrospective for Said El-Sadr and his students at Gezira Arts Centre, and the Egyptian debut of "Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" at District 5 by Marakez in New Cairo. Also featured are a Swiss-Egyptian photography exhibition on glaciers and the Nile at the Goethe Institute, a Colombian embassy exhibition, a Korean embassy show, and a permanent ceramics display at Al-Fustat Centre.

Block Museum exhibition features contemporary art by five MFA candidates

Northwestern University's Block Museum of Art is hosting the exhibition "We can make any two stories touch," featuring contemporary works by five second-year MFA candidates in the art theory and practice department: Lamia Abukhadra, Pegah Bahador, naakita f.k., Przemek Pyszczek, and Gabby Banks. The show, running through June 14, includes portraits, films, and mixed-media pieces. Gabby Banks presents three portraits of living Black figurative painters Kerry James Marshall, Jordan Casteel, and Amy Sherald, painted in their respective styles. Przemek Pyszczek explores legacy with works like "My Father Winning Gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics (No Boycott Version)" and a wooden Olivier salad sculpture. naakita f.k. addresses resource extraction in "Porous Bodies," using dust from deep-sea mining and copper mine samples from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Georgia State’s Welch School Presents Exhibition Celebrating Legacy of Artist Larry M. Walker

Georgia State University's Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design will present "Where Being Takes Root: Works by Southern Artists From the Larry M. and Gwendolyn E. Walker Collection," a landmark exhibition running from June 4 to October 15 in the Welch School Galleries. The show celebrates the legacy of artist and professor emeritus Larry M. Walker (1935–2023), whose personal collection of over 300 works was donated to the university after his death. Curated by Lauren Jackson Harris, the exhibition features artists including Charles White, Radcliffe Bailey, Kevin Cole, Bethany Collins, Benny Andrews, David Driskell, Steve Prince, and Kara Walker, with a dedicated Walker Family Gallery showcasing works by Larry Walker, his wife Gwen, and their children Dana, Larry Jr., and Kara Walker.

Adelaide’s Tarnanthi is going on tour

Tarnanthi, the Art Gallery of South Australia's annual exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, is launching a national tour titled 'Tarnanthi on Tour: Too Deadly' starting July. The touring exhibition features over 30 works from the past decade of the festival, many conceived for Tarnanthi and never seen outside Adelaide. It will visit six regional galleries across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia over the next two years, including Rockhampton Museum of Art, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Ngununggula, Caboolture Art Gallery, Geelong Gallery, and Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery.

See exhibition by Erin Jane Nelson, ‘Living and Working,’ at UAB’s AEIVA through Sept. 26

The Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts (AEIVA) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham presents “Living and Working,” a survey exhibition of artist Erin Jane Nelson, running through September 26. This is Nelson’s largest solo exhibition to date and her first survey, spanning a decade of her practice across photography, textiles, and ceramics. The exhibition will travel to the Knoxville Museum of Art in August 2027, and AEIVA is co-publishing an exhibition catalog with Institute 193. The opening reception is May 21, and free community programming includes summer drop-in tours, a pinhole camera workshop, Science Nights in partnership with the Birmingham Zoo, and a chamber music event.

Tough Stuff: Women in The American Glass Studio

The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) opened "Tough Stuff: Women in the American Glass Studio" on May 16, 2026, as part of its 75th anniversary celebration. This is the first survey exhibition dedicated to women artists who shaped the American Studio Glass Movement from the 1960s onward, featuring over 200 works by artists including Claire Falkenstein, Audrey Handler, Margie Jervis, Susie Krasnican, Kathleen Mulcahy, Ginny Ruffner, Ruth Tamura, and Toots Zynsky. The exhibition draws from CMoG’s permanent collection, the Rakow Research Library, and loans from the artists, and is complemented by an oral history initiative preserving first-person accounts.

브루클린뮤지엄: 패션디자이너 아이리스 반 페르펜전 'Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses'(5/16-12/6)

The Brooklyn Museum will present the North American debut of "Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses" from May 16 to December 6, 2026. The exhibition features over 140 haute couture creations by Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, displayed alongside contemporary art, design objects, and scientific artifacts. It explores her fusion of traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology, sustainability, and themes from nature and science. The show first opened at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2023 and has traveled to QAGOMA, ArtScience Museum Singapore, and Kunsthal Rotterdam. The Brooklyn presentation coincides with the museum's annual Brooklyn Artists Ball, where Van Herpen will be honored.

Vancouver Art Gallery's "Future Geographies" Exhibit Explores How Art Responds to Climate Change

The Vancouver Art Gallery has opened "Future Geographies: Art in the Century of Climate Change," an exhibition curated by Eva Respini, the gallery's interim co-CEO and curator at large. Featuring over 30 artists and 35 works—including sculptures, paintings, video installations, and photographs—the show explores climate change through themes of living knowledge, consumed earth, speculative worlds, and material memory. Highlights include Brian Jungen's whale-skeleton sculpture made from plastic chairs and Clarissa Tossin's multimedia weaving of Amazon boxes. The exhibition also incorporates sustainability in its organization, using recycled cardboard for labels, overland shipping for loans, and commissioning local artists.

South London Gallery marks its 135th anniversary with SLG Forever exhibition at Christie’s

The South London Gallery (SLG) is celebrating its 135th anniversary with 'SLG Forever,' a special fundraising exhibition in partnership with Christie’s. Open to the public in London from 5–25 June 2026, with an online component until 30 September, the show features donated works by over 25 major British and international artists, including Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Edmund de Waal, Yinka Shonibare, and Firelei Báez. The exhibition launches alongside the SLG Forever campaign, which aims to raise £2 million to support building upgrades, new commissions, and the expansion of the gallery’s Communities & Learning programmes.

Christie's presents SLG Forever a special selling exhibition in partnership with the South London Gallery raising vital funds in its 135th anniversary - Christie's

Christie's is partnering with the South London Gallery (SLG) for a special selling exhibition titled 'SLG Forever,' running at Christie's London from 5 to 25 June 2026 and online until 30 September. Over 25 renowned artists—including Firelei Báez, Tracey Emin, Frank Bowling, Antony Gormley, and Yinka Shonibare—have donated works to raise funds for the SLG's 135th anniversary campaign, which aims to collect £2 million. The exhibition coincides with London Gallery Weekend and features artists with strong ties to the SLG, many of whom have had solo shows or studios nearby.

Bright future for the next generation of artistic talent

Hong Kong Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui visited Venice to support the Hong Kong Collateral Event at the 61st Venice Biennale, themed “Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice.” The exhibition features artists Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui, with five installations exploring poetic rhythms in everyday life, curated by the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA). Law also viewed American artist Nick Cave’s sculpture *Amalga (Plot)* and announced the Venice Biennale Internship Programme 2026, which will send six arts-background interns to Venice for a six-week residency.

India pavilion returns to the Venice Art Biennale 2026 with a bang after seven-year hiatus

India has returned to the Venice Art Biennale with a national pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition, after a seven-year hiatus. The pavilion, titled "Geographies of Distance: Remembering Home," is presented by India's Ministry of Culture in partnership with the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre and Serendipity Arts Foundation, curated by Amin Jaffer. It features five artists—Alwar Balasubramaniam, Sumakshi Singh, Ranjani Shettar, Skarma Sonam Tashi, and Asim Waqif—whose works explore themes of home, loss, displacement, and cultural memory through materials like soil, thread, bamboo, and clay.

Finally, Culture Minister Giuli visited the Italy Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale and made peace with President Buttafuoco

Finalmente il Ministro della Cultura Giuli ha visitato il Padiglione Italia alla Biennale di Venezia 2026 e ha fatto pace con il Presidente Buttafuoco

Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli finally visited the Italy Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale alongside Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, marking their first public appearance together after earlier tensions led Giuli to skip the opening ceremony. During the visit, Buttafuoco proposed that the work of artist Chiara Camoni, whose exhibition "Con te con tutto" is curated by Cecilia Canziani, should find a permanent home after the Biennale ends, sparking discussion about the future of pavilion artworks.

As Democracy Falters, a New York Museum Champions Activism

The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) in East Harlem will open the Puffin Foundation Center for Social Activism this fall, replacing its existing Puffin Foundation Gallery. The expanded center, funded by an $8 million donation from the Puffin Foundation, will feature a new version of the permanent exhibition "Activist New York," along with temporary shows, public programs, and an annual fellowship. The inaugural temporary exhibition, "Halumii Ktapihna: Lenape Legacies and Future," marks the 400th anniversary of Manhattan's purchase from Indigenous peoples.

Major Exhibition Creates World Class Art Trail Across North Yorkshire

An exhibition featuring works by 50 leading contemporary artists will be staged across four venues in North Yorkshire, England, from April to September 2025, as part of the 20th anniversary of the Aesthetica Art Prize. The venues include Skipton Town Hall, the Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate, Scarborough Art Gallery, and Woodend Gallery, with free entry at most sites. The exhibition is a joint venture between Aesthetica and Culture North Yorkshire, the council's culture and archive service, and is divided into four thematic parts: Future(s), Perception, Intervention, and Transformation.

US SCULPTURES AMID CONTROVERSY AT THE VENICE BIENNALE

The United States Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale features sculptor Alma Allen's exhibition "Call Me the Breeze," which opened with no clear funding just ten days prior. Unlike previous pavilions supported by major foundations like Ford and Mellon, Allen's show relies on a $375,000 US government contribution and public donations via the American Arts Conservancy. The selection process was unconventional: the State Department, which took over after Trump's NEA budget cuts, imposed restrictions on DEI policies and required proposals promoting "American exceptionalism." Curator Jeffrey Uslip directly approached Allen without a formal proposal, leading the artist's two galleries—Olney Gleason and Mendes Wood DM—to drop him when he accepted the commission.

What not to miss from the new edition of The Phair, the photography fair in Turin

Cosa non perdere della nuova edizione di The Phair, la fiera della fotografia di Torino

The seventh edition of The Phair, a photography fair in Turin, Italy, opened on Thursday, May 21, at the Sala Fucine of the Officine Grandi Riparazioni. Founded by Roberto Casiraghi and Paola Rampini, the fair features 42 national and international galleries. Highlights include a surprising automotive partnership at the entrance, and standout presentations from Red Lab Gallery (Ezio D’Agostino and Carlotta Valente), Alberto Damian Gallery (Paolo Gioli), Roccavintage (Costanza Gastaldi), Tucci Russo (Giulio Paolini), Raw Messina (Kri Babusci), and Galleria Umberto Benappi (Ugo Mulas). Other notable artists include Arnulf Rainer, Anton Corbijn, Luigi Ontani, and Simon Starling.

Palate Cleansers at Frieze NY

Hyperallergic's coverage of Frieze New York and concurrent art fairs in the city frames the experience as overwhelming yet punctuated by standout works. Senior Editor Valentina Di Liscia compares the fair to an assembly-line salad, finding reprieve in art that evokes lush canopies, diaphanous portraiture, and ancestral gardens. The issue also includes dispatches from Future Fair, 1-54, TEFAF, NADA, and Independent Art Fair, alongside a tribute to Austrian performance artist Valie Export, who died at age 85, remembered for her radical feminist guerrilla performances that challenged the male gaze.

Archives : MAMM : Lauren Greenfield : Generation Wealth

The Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow (MAMM) presents 'Generation Wealth' by American documentary photographer and director Lauren Greenfield as part of the XII Moscow International Biennale 'Fashion and Style in Photography 2021'. The exhibition, opening May 21, 2021, includes over 200 photographs, documentary films, and interviews drawn from Greenfield's 25-year investigation into global consumer culture, wealth aspiration, and the transformation of happiness. It marks Greenfield's third exhibition at MAMM, following previous shows in 2000 and 2004.

In Venice two new cultural realities in the Civic Museums circuit: a contemporary art center is born in Mestre and the Wagner Museum enters the network

A Venezia due nuove realtà culturali nel circuito dei Musei Civici: nasce un centro d’arte contemporanea a Mestre e entra nella rete il Museo Wagner

The Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia (MUVE) has opened a new contemporary art museum called MUVEC (Casa delle Contemporaneità) at the Centro Candiani in Mestre, inaugurated on April 24. Simultaneously, MUVE has signed an agreement with the Casinò di Venezia and the Associazione Richard Wagner to bring the Museo Wagner in Ca' Vendramin Calergi into its network starting in 2027, expanding the MUVE circuit to 14 museums (excluding MUVEC). MUVEC features a permanent collection spanning from 1948 to the present, drawn from the Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Venezia Ca' Pesaro, and will host temporary exhibitions including a 2026 show on Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka and the body.

130+ Artists Illuminate the Vast Creative Possibilities of the Nightlight

DUDD LITE, a collaboration between design collective Dudd Haus and The Future Perfect gallery, presents over 130 artist-designed nightlights on view through June 26. Curated from nearly 400 open-call submissions, the exhibition transforms a mundane household object into a canvas for small-scale sculptures made from stained glass, wood, sea shells, ceramic, cotton, and more. Featured artists include James Burial, Chris Wolston, Nicholas Holmes, and Mikei Huang, among others.

韓国国立現代美術館 果川館で「Road movie: Art between Korea and Japan since 1945」が開幕

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Gwacheon, South Korea, opened "Road movie: Art between Korea and Japan since 1945" on May 14, 2026. This exhibition is a touring version of the collaborative show "Always by Your Side: 80 Years of Art between Japan and Korea," which was held at the Yokohama Museum of Art from December 6, 2025, to March 22, 2026. Marking the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea in 1965, the exhibition traces eight decades of artistic exchange from 1945 to the present. It features around 200 works by 43 artists, including Cho Yang-gyu, Kwak In-sik, Nam Hwa-yeon, Nam June Paik, Lee Ufan, Lee Bul, Takashi Murakami, and others, organized into five sections. The show also incorporates six outdoor sculptures installed at the museum's opening in 1986 and 1987, highlighting how the institution itself fostered cross-border artistic dialogue.