A pop-up exhibition in Tribeca, New York, has transformed Mriya Gallery into the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Reading Room, displaying over 3,000 bound volumes of printed Epstein files. Organized by the Washington, DC-based Institute for Primary Facts, the room holds 3,437 volumes encompassing 3.5 million pages of released documents, printed over about a month. The free exhibition runs until 21 May and requires advance booking.
China's National Cultural Heritage Administration has mandated a comprehensive, item-by-item inventory of all state-run museum collections following a major scandal at the Nanjing Museum. The audit aims to verify that objects listed in official records physically exist in storage, a direct response to the discovery that donated national treasures, including a valuable Ming dynasty painting, were improperly transferred or sold into the private market over decades.
Can Tefaf Maastricht keep up with the experience economy?
The 39th Tefaf Maastricht fair opened, showcasing high-quality pre-20th century art and antiques, from Monet paintings to a 1st-century Egyptian vase. However, the fair faces an existential question about the relevance of older art in a market where Old Masters specialists are declining and contemporary art sales are volatile.
The second edition of the Malta Biennale is facing accusations of censorship from the abortion rights nonprofit Women on Waves. The organization claims that organizers first demanded the removal of the word "pills" from a banner reading "Need Abortion Pills?" before ultimately attempting to dismantle the installation entirely, citing a failure to meet "aesthetic quality standards." While the Biennale's communications director maintains the work remains in place and frames the dispute as a matter of "curatorial direction," activists provided video evidence of an attempted removal and argue the intervention is a suppression of critical health information.
The San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), a 149-year-old institution, announced last month that it would shut down its degree programs and stop enrolling new students after the current semester, signaling what many believed was the end of the school. However, the board of trustees has now voted to keep the school open in a limited capacity, suspending degree programs but offering studio art classes, public education programs, and grant-funded exhibitions while launching a campaign to reinvent its business model and raise philanthropic funds.
The article profiles acclaimed portraitist Nasir Shehzad, who has spent over four decades preserving and advancing the art of portraiture and cinematic painting in Abbottabad, Pakistan. His artistic journey began in childhood and gained early recognition through scouting competitions in the 1980s, leading him to professional cinematic painting by 1989. Shehzad has since become a central figure in the local art community through mentorship, founding his own creative platform, and participating in numerous exhibitions and residencies across the country, including recent shows at major institutions like the Lahore Museum and Pakistan National Council of the Arts.
Artist Leticia R. Bajuyo presents "Signal Convergence," a large-scale installation at Oklahoma City University's Nona Jean Hulsey Art Gallery that transforms discarded CDs and DVDs into immersive sculptural works. The exhibition runs from May 15 through Sept. 18, featuring horn-like structures built from thousands of discs, and includes a special collaborative performance on Sept. 10 with OCU music theory professor Kate Sekula using a theremin to direct sound through the installation.
A new wave of gallerists in Singapore is emerging, creating platforms to elevate the city-state's contemporary artists. These young dealers are opening spaces that prioritize local talent, offering exhibition opportunities and market access in a scene historically dominated by international blue-chip galleries. The article profiles several of these gallerists and their efforts to build a sustainable ecosystem for Singaporean artists.
The creative initiative Roadside, founded by artist Ali Arshad, is challenging the traditional gallery model in Pakistan by hosting pop-up exhibitions in unconventional public spaces. Their latest show, "Anighst Preeminent Prosaics," transformed Iqbal House, a pre-partition bungalow in Lahore, into a multi-sensory art experience featuring 14 artists. By placing works in sites ranging from barber shops to parking lots, the initiative seeks to dismantle the elitist barriers of the "white cube" and engage a broader demographic, including the working class and Gen Z.
Diné artist Eric-Paul Riege has launched his largest exhibition to date, titled “ojo|-|ólǫ́,” at the Henry Art Gallery. The show features large-scale soft sculptures, wearable art, and multimedia installations that reinterpret traditional Navajo symbols like the weaving comb and the hogan. Central to the exhibition is Riege’s rejection of traditional museum barriers; he encourages visitors to touch the tactile, plush works to honor the many hands involved in the production of his materials.
Curators Maureen Ragalie and John Brogan have launched "The Art Thingy Part 1," a one-day experimental exhibition at Task Creative in Cudahy, Wisconsin. Featuring works by five artists—Heidi Parkes, Julie Brogan, Meg Lionel Murphy, Anita Ragusa, and Phoenix S. Brown—the show is framed as a "notes-app inspired experiment" that envisions an art market governed by creators rather than traditional institutional gatekeepers.
A new exhibition titled 'Not A Pretty Landscape' opens at Kaleider Studios in Exeter from January 31 to February 1, featuring 15 artists who present contemporary and unconventional views of the South West, deliberately avoiding traditional coastal and rural landscapes. Curated by Exeter-based artist Claire Le Day, the show emerged from an open call with no rules or experience requirements, only the condition that no pretty landscapes be submitted. Artists keep 100% of their profits, and most will be present to meet visitors and manage sales. Featured artists include Jo Beer, whose portraits have been recognized by the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.
Artist Sung Tieu has sold her work *Declaration of Donation* (2025) for €25,000 to fund a new board member at KW Institute of Contemporary Art in Berlin. The work, a contract engraved on four A4-sized mirrors, stipulates that the proceeds cover the five-year term of curator and academic Mi You, whom Tieu nominated to the board. The sale directly challenges KW’s board structure, which requires a €5,000 annual fee from each member—a key revenue stream for the institution amid Berlin’s arts funding cuts. Tieu’s piece argues that such fees perpetuate exclusion and economic gatekeeping, and that institutional change requires structural shifts, not mere declarations of inclusivity.
A collective of 26 local artists has opened a new fine art gallery called Twenty-Four North East in Sunderland city centre, transforming the former Sweet Home Alabama shop on Fawcett Street. The gallery launched with a busy opening night attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of Sunderland, featuring works ranging from screw art by Darren Timby to SAFC fan scenes by Chris Cummings and pieces by Dr Ron Lawson, creator of the Molly sculpture. The gallery operates Tuesday to Saturday, selling original fine art from £90, prints, and cards, and plans to host workshops.
The article profiles photographer and innkeeper Ray Reiss, offering a glimpse into his personal art collection. It explores the unique intersection of his dual careers, highlighting how his work as an innkeeper influences his perspective as a collector and how his photographic eye informs the pieces he acquires.
The Lansing area lost the Lansing Art Gallery this year, but the local arts scene remains vibrant with several other venues. The Michigan History Museum offers immersive exhibits on state history, including the special exhibition “Black Bottom Street View” about Detroit’s historic neighborhood. The MSU Museum is undergoing an 18-month renovation but hosts a pop-up exhibition “Physical Spells [The Wor(l)d in the Atom]” featuring artist Violeta López López. The Nelson Gallery in downtown Lansing continues to showcase local contemporary art and plans holiday events, while Struk Studio, founded in 2023 by David Such, offers a contemporary mixed bag of works.
Jewyo Rhii, a Seoul-born artist from the first generation to come of age during South Korea's dramatic political shifts in the 1980s, has been selected for this year's Korean Artists Today project. Her work, which began as personal explorations of misplacement and survival using ephemeral materials and found objects, evolved around ten years ago into collaborative projects like Love Your Depot (2019), a series of storage-unit-like installations that question the lifespan of artworks. Rhii's practice includes object-oriented performance pieces such as Ten Years Please (2007-17) and Lie on the Han River (2003-06), and she has shown at institutions including the Queens Museum, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Seoul, and the Venice Biennale.
The Woodlands Art Gallery & Studios in Texas hosted the opening reception for “Dreaming through the Woods,” a retirement exhibition featuring artist and gallery owner Emily P. Chiles. The show, held on May 15, 2025, marks one of Chiles's final exhibitions as she steps away from running the gallery to focus on her own artwork. The gallery will remain open by appointment until August 15, with a final group show scheduled for June 21 featuring artist Adam Hesse, alongside a pop-up exhibition by Julia Kravets.
Rapper Ferg, also known as Darold Brown, has opened his SoHo loft to reveal his debut solo painting exhibition, "CHOSEN." The show, curated by Anne-Laure Lemaitre and Larry Warsh of No More Rulers, features a body of work that includes figuration, abstraction, and mixed media, all rooted in personal memory and family influence. The exhibition grew out of Ferg's decision to paint the cover art for his album "DAROLD" himself, marking his first self-portrait and a return to the visual art he practiced as a teen.
A novel cigarette tax in the Cleveland area has generated $270 million for cultural organizations, funding everything from museums to performing arts venues. The tax, designed to support the arts while discouraging smoking, has become a significant revenue source for the region's cultural sector.
An outdoor installation titled "Climate Clock" has opened along a forest trail outside Oulu, Finland, featuring lichen, mechanical artwork, and a barrel of snowflakes. The project uses natural and artificial elements to visualize the passage of time and environmental change.
A descendant of one of Majorca's oldest families has preserved and now showcases a unique, sprawling collage within her 18th-century family estate. The artwork was created over hundreds of summer holidays by her mother and aunt, who meticulously assembled it using materials like magazine clippings, postcards, and fabric.
A guerrilla art installation called the "Jeffrey Epstein Walk of Shame" appeared in Washington, DC's Farragut Square. It consists of sidewalk stickers resembling Hollywood stars, bearing the names and images of twenty public figures linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including Prince Andrew, Ghislaine Maxwell, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Gates, and Bill Clinton. Each sticker features a QR code linking to Department of Justice evidence or the Epstein Files.
An exhibition of young Estonian artists has opened at the Art & Tonic gallery in Tallinn, showcasing 92 works selected from 269 submissions for the "Osta noort kunsti" ("Buy Young Art") spring auction. The auction, organized by gallery owner Reigo Kuivjõgi, features starting prices set by the artists themselves, ranging from €1 to €2,000, with past final prices reaching over €20,000. The exhibition runs free of charge from May 1 to May 14, with the live auction on May 15.
Marietta College's Art Department is presenting its Art and Design Capstone Exhibition, featuring work by graduating seniors in graphic design and studio art. The show opened January 13 and runs through March 4 at the Atrium Gallery in the Hermann Fine Arts Center, with an artist reception on January 24. Projects include paintings, digital designs, branding, and textile works, such as Jazlyn Ingold's multi-canvas oil painting "Fragmented Skies" and Renee Mulvaney's mobile app concept "Studiio."
Artist Raque Ford discusses her recent exhibitions, "The Barkeeper’s Friend" at Greene Naftali and "Cry Baby" at Kunstverein Gartenhaus, highlighting her unique approach to language and materiality. Ford utilizes industrial materials like reflective acrylic, Mylar, and thermal printers to transform pop lyrics, overheard speech, and diaristic fragments into physical installations. Her work explores the tension between public performance and private interiority, often using scale to manipulate the viewer's emotional response to text.
Archway Gallery, the longest-running artist-owned cooperative in Texas, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a landmark exhibition titled “Fifty Forward.” Founded in 1976 by 12 local artists seeking to bypass traditional gatekeeping, the gallery has survived five decades of economic shifts and environmental challenges through a robust cooperative structure. The anniversary programming includes a "Homecoming" show at its original location, the Jung Center, alongside concerts, poetry readings, and a juried exhibition.
An exhibition at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork, Ireland, is showcasing the work of artists from the Crawford Supported Studios program. The program provides studio space, materials, and professional support for artists with intellectual disabilities, fostering their creative development and professional practice.
Greenlander artist Inuuteq Storch, who gained international recognition for his takeover of the Danish pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, discusses the impact of Donald Trump's renewed claims about taking over Greenland. Storch, whose work focuses on everyday life in Greenland, expresses concern that the political rhetoric could disrupt the quiet, preserved way of life in his community. He is currently showing a new iteration of his Venice exhibition at the Hasselblad Center in Gothenburg, Sweden, and has a major show at MoMA PS1. Storch's practice includes archiving historical images, such as those by Greenland's first photographer John Møller, and using his art to address colonial legacies and resistance.
A new report commissioned by the grant-giving body Anonymous Was A Woman and authored by journalists Charlotte Burns and Julia Halperin reveals that museums and galleries are failing women artists, particularly those over 65. Based on a survey of 1,263 female artists (91% based in the US), the report finds that 63% cite a lack of museum backing and 59% cite a lack of gallery support as hindering their careers. As a result, 55% of all respondents are selling work independently, with women over 65 leading the way—59% have sold directly to collectors in the past five years. The report also highlights that female artists work 49 hours per week but spend only 38% of that time making art, with the rest consumed by administrative tasks and other paid work, and that art sales provide only 16-18% of household income.