Art Basel’s Parent Company Plans New ‘Ideas Festival’—and More Art Industry News

MCH Group, the parent company of Art Basel, is launching a new global ideas festival called the Futurific Institute in Basel in 2028, backed by billionaires James and Kathryn Murdoch. Art Dubai has postponed its 20th edition due to regional conflict, while several galleries are opening, closing, or changing locations, including Brooke Benington in London and Timothy Taylor in New York. Additionally, Mexico is demanding eBay remove listings for pre-Columbian artifacts, and institutions like the Royal Academy of Arts and MCA Chicago are announcing key leadership changes.

damien hirst will keep making artworks after dies

Damien Hirst, the 59-year-old British artist and one of the world's wealthiest living artists, has revealed a plan to continue creating artworks after his death. In an interview with the London Times, Hirst described a system of 200 notebooks, each representing one year after his demise, which will contain instructions for artworks that collectors can buy the rights to produce. These rights will be tradable certificates, and the works will be signed by his descendants. The scheme allows for back-dating of works, including a sculpture of a pig in formaldehyde conceived in 1991 but never made, which could be fabricated 145 years after his death and dated to 1991. This follows criticism Hirst faced in 2024 for assigning 1990s dates to formaldehyde sculptures actually produced recently, which his company Science Ltd. defended as conceptual artworks dated by conception.

The Palaces of Memory

The Palaces of Memory

The article reports that Israeli and US airstrikes on Isfahan, Iran, damaged several centuries-old palaces and cultural buildings. It draws a parallel to the destruction of cultural heritage in Gaza, suggesting this may be a targeted strategy to erase cultural identity and history, which are seen as threats to occupying forces.

Openings

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mississippi museum of art frank lloyd wright home

The Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) has acquired the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed property Fountainhead in Jackson, Mississippi, following approval from the Jackson Planning and Zoning Board and City Council. Originally designed in 1948 and completed in 1954 for oil speculator J. Willis Hughes, the 3,558-square-foot Usonian home was later restored by architect Robert Parker Adams and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. The museum plans to open the home for public tours, with bus transportation from its main campus, and to establish community partnerships.

climate activists deface christopher columbus painting on day marking his arrival to americas

Two activists from the climate group Futuro Vegetal were arrested on October 12 after throwing biodegradable red paint on José Garnelo's 1892 painting *First Tribute to Christopher Columbus* at the Naval Museum in Madrid. The protest occurred on Spain's National Day, which commemorates Columbus's arrival in the Americas. The activists unfurled a banner reading “October 12, nothing to celebrate. Ecosocial justice” and were charged with crimes against cultural heritage. Separately, about 20 activists from Marea Palestina staged a sit-in around Picasso's *Guernica* at the Reina Sofía Museum, demanding an end to “the genocide against the Palestinian people,” temporarily closing the gallery.

Pedro Reyes’s new Lacma commission sparks criticism in Mexico

Pedro Reyes's new sculpture 'Tlali' (2026), a four-meter-tall Olmec-inspired volcanic-stone female face installed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma), has sparked criticism in Mexico. An open letter signed by nearly 80 cultural figures, published on the art criticism site Cubo Blanco, alleges the work is a new version of a 2021 project that was canceled after backlash. That earlier project, 'Tlalli', was meant to replace a Christopher Columbus statue on Mexico City's Paseo de la Reforma but faced opposition from over 300 cultural figures who argued a male, non-Indigenous artist should not represent Indigenous women. The site later became the 'Glorieta de las Mujeres que Luchan', an anti-monument against gender violence.

mark leckey art school

Artist Mark Leckey piloted a free month-long art course called Music and Video Lab this summer in Redruth, Cornwall, aimed at attracting people aged 18 to 25 who lack access to formal art education. The course, costing £15,000 with support from Arts Council England, was initiated by curator Teresa Gleadowe of CAST and artist Liam Jolly of Auction House, with final works screened at CAST from August 5 through September 3.

A New Contemporary Art Triennial Sets Its 2026 Debut in New York, and Other News

Medina, New York will host its inaugural contemporary art triennial in 2026, running from June 6 to September 7 across more than a dozen indoor and outdoor venues along the Erie Canal. The event will feature over 50 local, domestic, and international artists with site-responsive commissions, and a Medina Triennial Hub will open this September with programming in collaboration with Western New York arts institutions. Initiated by the New York Power Authority and the New York State Canal Corporation, the triennial is co-directed by Kari Conte and Karin Laansoo. In other news, Sotheby's RM will host a major Formula 1 auction titled 'The Champions – Schumacher and F1 Legends' from July 24–30; the Bakehouse Art Complex in Wynwood, Miami plans to build 60 affordable artist apartments; and artist Khaled Sabsabi has been reinstated as Australia's representative for the 2026 Venice Biennale after an external review found Creative Australia mishandled his withdrawal.

The Biggest Week of the Spring?

Hyperallergic's newsletter provides a comprehensive overview of a packed week in New York's art scene. Key events include the reopening of the New Museum after its OMA-designed expansion, the concurrent runs of the Affordable Art Fair and Outsider Art Fair, and the city-wide Asia Art Week. The publication also offers a critical assessment of the 2026 Whitney Biennial and a guide to upcoming spring art fairs.

sharon stone rogues gallery

Sharon Stone has created a new series of figurative paintings titled "Rogues Gallery," which she describes as channeling the spirits of historical figures from different eras and locations, including an enslaved individual who drowned in the East China Sea and Iranian freedom fighter Mahsa Amini. The works, made in 2025, mark a shift from her earlier abstracted landscapes and floral motifs, and were produced in her Los Angeles home studio. Stone, who began painting seriously around 2020 and has previously exhibited at C. Parker Gallery, Allouche Gallery, and Galerie Deschler Berlin, approaches the portraits as a medium for healing and confronting difficult histories, including her own family's potential involvement in enslavement.

christmas identical new banksy murals london housing crisis

Banksy has unveiled two identical murals in London, one near Tottenham Court Road Tube station and another in Queen's Mews, Bayswater. The artwork depicts two children lying on their backs, one pointing skyward, and was confirmed via the artist's Instagram. The piece appears during the Christmas season, but its placement near the landmark Centre Point skyscraper—a symbol of London's housing crisis—suggests a critique of homelessness and unaffordable housing.

trump mamdani roosevelt salisbury portrait

New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani visited President Donald Trump at the White House on November 21, where the two former online adversaries found common ground on issues like crime, rent, and affordable housing. They posed together in front of Frank O. Salisbury's portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which Trump claimed to have rediscovered in White House vaults, though it was previously hung by President Joe Biden. The article traces the history of Salisbury's 1935 painting and its copies, including the official White House version commissioned by Harry S. Truman in 1947.

Iranian galleries close amid protests and communications blackout

Iranian galleries have closed or altered their hours as nationwide protests, sparked by economic turmoil and a crashing currency, escalated into violent unrest. The protests began on 28 December among bazaar traders and spread to artists and gallerists, with many shutting their doors or canceling exhibitions, some under public pressure. A government-imposed internet and communications blackout on 8 January has severely limited information, though one gallerist speaking anonymously described the closures as a unified act of solidarity across society, not merely a response to safety concerns. The gallerist noted that the economy is in its worst condition, with basic necessities unaffordable and even bubble-wrap prices fluctuating wildly. Another gallery founder confirmed that all projects are on hold, and staging exhibitions risks public backlash. Instagram account Galleryinfo.ir faced online criticism for promoting exhibitions during the crisis, while Bavan Gallery reversed its initial stance of "resilience is an art form" and announced it would hold no exhibitions.

wang contemporary ying alexander wang

Designer Alexander Wang and his mother Ying Wang have acquired the historic 58 Bowery building in New York's Chinatown for $9.5 million, marking its first Chinese American ownership. They are transforming the former bank into a cultural venue named Wang Contemporary, which will host exhibitions, performances, and festivals focused on Asian and Asian American creatives, with its inaugural exhibition curated by the art collective MSCHF.

Gardens in Your Pocket

Les jardins en poche

Phaidon has reissued its best-selling book 'Le Musée des jardins' in a new, affordable pocket-sized format. This updated edition offers a global panorama of both historic and contemporary garden design.

berlin artists studio protest

During Berlin Art Week, a group of artists from the Alliance of Endangered Studio Spaces (AbBA) staged a protest at Alexanderplatz on September 16, calling on the Berlin Senate to repurpose abandoned properties for artistic and cultural use. The demonstration highlighted that five studio cooperatives housing about 150 artists were shut down by private owners in 2014 and 2015, with many more studios threatened by foreclosure due to rising rents and gentrification.

Exclusive: Thai gallery removes China-focused artworks after 'pressure' from Beijing

A Thai gallery has removed artworks focused on China from its exhibition after reportedly facing pressure from Beijing. The pieces, which addressed sensitive political themes, were taken down following diplomatic or official intervention, according to the gallery's statement. The incident highlights ongoing tensions between artistic expression and geopolitical influence in Southeast Asia.