Location, location, location: behind the Art Basel floor plan beef

Air de Paris, a veteran contemporary gallery that has exhibited at Art Basel since 1999, announced its withdrawal from the upcoming edition after a dispute over its assigned stand. Co-founders Florence Bonnefous and Edouard Merino made their exit public by posting emails online via Provence, a French publishing house, calling the stand assignment process “brutal and unfair.” Art Basel’s chief artistic officer Vincenzo de Bellis defended the decision, noting that 58 galleries had their stands moved this year due to the launch of a new section called Premiere and the need to improve visitor flow and aesthetic dialogue between exhibitors.

Tongue River Theory. davi de jesus do nascimento by Mateus Nunes

Brazilian artist davi de jesus do nascimento explores the intersection of poetry, memory, and the geography of the São Francisco River. Born in Pirapora, Minas Gerais, the artist’s work is deeply informed by his family's history of displacement due to the Sobradinho dam and the tragic loss of his mother to the river. His practice spans painting, installation, and performance, all rooted in a linguistic and philosophical framework he calls "Tongue River Theory."

Walters’ Latin American art exhibit lost $70K in Trump cuts. It’s opening anyway.

The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore is opening its inaugural installation of Latin American art despite losing $70,000 in federal funding due to cuts by the Trump administration. The lost funds represented 6% of the $1,160,000 installation cost, and the museum had little opportunity to raise replacement money. The exhibition features an earthenware burial urn and other works, proceeding as planned despite the financial shortfall.

TROPICAL HYPERSTITION A SPACE OF MEMORY AND RESISTANCE AT THE BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2026

Panama will present its second National Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, featuring a large-scale installation and performance titled 'Tropical Hyperstition' by the artistic duo Antonio José Guzmán and Iva Jankovic (Mensajeros del Sol). The project, curated by Ana Elizabeth González and Mónica Kupfer, is organized by Panama's Ministry of Culture and several cultural foundations.

Expat women in Estonia share experiences through museum exhibition

An exhibition titled "Vahepealsuse lävel. Kõik teed tõid Eestimaale" ("At the Threshold of In-Betweenness. All Roads Lead to Estonia") has opened at the People's Museum of Tallinn (Tallinna Rahvaste Muuseum). Curated by Ouddhena Teern, an artist originally from Malaysia who moved to Estonia in 2019, the show explores themes of migration, identity, memory, and belonging. It features works using batik, mixed media, and tie-dye, alongside contributions from expat women who shared personal stories and objects of sentimental value.

20 Years of Art Refuge 2006-2026

An exhibition titled '20 Years of Art Refuge 2006-2026' opens May 13th in London, celebrating two decades of the UK-registered charity Art Refuge. The show features photographs, maps, films, and objects documenting the charity's work with displaced people in Nepal, France, the UK, and elsewhere, including recent projects '24X24 DUNKERQUE' and 'MADE TOGETHER'. Visitors can also participate in pop-up versions of The Community Table, a creative psychosocial support initiative.

Wild Skies Gallery exhibit opening party goes Saturday

Wild Skies Art Gallery, located in the Renaissance Edmonton Airport Hotel, is hosting an opening party for Brandi Hofer's new exhibition "Bloom, Everything is Temporary" on Saturday, May 9, from 2 to 4 p.m. The show runs until July 9 and features Hofer's mixed-media portraiture that combines recycled materials with organic forms, exploring themes of impermanence, transformation, and emotional memory. Hofer will attend the event, which includes an interactive art-making component and refreshments.

Maitland exhibit: Textures of Middle East come to life in paintings woven with cultural memory

Mär Martinez's first solo museum exhibition, “A loom, a fence, a wire, a thread,” opens at The Art & History Museums of Maitland, featuring paintings inspired by traditional Turkish and Middle Eastern textile practices. The works, developed during her 2024-2025 Fulbright research in Istanbul, weave together her Cuban and Syrian heritage, exploring themes of cultural memory, displacement, and resilience through imagery of carpets, barbed wire, and urban barriers.

UCF Alum and Fulbright scholar Mär Martinez exhibition in Maitland, FL

Contemporary painter Mär Martinez, a Fulbright scholar and UCF alum, presents her first solo museum exhibition, “A loom, a fence, a wire, a thread,” at the Art & History Museums of Maitland (A&H) in Maitland, Florida. The show features works developed during her 2024–25 Fulbright research in Istanbul and builds on ideas from her 2021–2023 Studio Artist Residency at A&H. Inspired by traditional Turkish and Middle Eastern textile practices, Martinez explores themes of urban life, surveillance, and cultural memory, using imagery from nighttime walks through Istanbul—fences, checkpoints, and barbed wire—combined with historic textile patterns. Her Cuban and Arab heritage and family’s experience of displacement inform her work, with weaving serving as a metaphor for endurance and resistance. The opening night is free to the public, with live music, food, and a cash bar.

Artist Zareh in the Spotlight

Litavie Art Gallery in Glendale presented a solo exhibition titled 'Where Motion Becomes Memory' by artist Zareh from April 2 to 11. The opening night featured remarks from artist Seta Injeyan, who analyzed Zareh's work, and the event was documented with photos of Zareh alongside Injeyan and art critic Peter Frank.

Three exhibits: Figures, charcoal and celebration

Artist and curator Kat Knutsen has launched "Curious Figure 3," the third iteration of an exhibition series dedicated to the human form. Now hosted at the Star Store building in New Bedford, the show features 42 artists from across 21 states, including notable works by Joe Vaux and Judith Peck. The exhibition's move to the Star Store follows the displacement of the Co-Creative Center from its original location due to private development.

Tillies art gallery opens in Provincetown May 1

Tillies Art & Provisions is set to open on May 1 at 512 Commercial Street in Provincetown’s East End. Located in a historic 19th-century grocery store building, the new gallery and community space will debut with a group exhibition curated by Barbara Cohen featuring 17 established local artists. The venue plans to host a diverse seasonal program including art exhibitions, readings, and musical performances.

Dalit History Month: Vaanam's Dalit art exhibit tells 'The Whole Story'

The Neelam Cultural Centre and Neelam Arts Collective have launched "The Whole Story," a significant Dalit art exhibition at the Lalit Kala Akademi in Chennai. Featuring works by 36 artists from across India, the show is a cornerstone of the fifth Vaanam Art Festival held during Dalit History Month. The exhibition showcases a diverse range of visual practices—from Yuvadharani’s multidisciplinary pieces to S Venkatesan’s explorations of urban displacement—all centered on themes of caste, memory, and resistance.

No Lost Generation Hosts Beautiful, Poignant Exhibition of Afghan Refugee Artists’ Work

Georgetown University’s student organization No Lost Generation (NLG) partnered with the Afghan artist collective ArtLords to host a five-day exhibition at the Intercultural Center galleria. Curated by Omaid Sharifi, the showcase featured works by three Afghan refugee artists—Abdul Hakim Maqsoodi, Mohammad Younus Qani, and Fatima Wojohat—centered around the theme of "nawroz" (new day). The collection spanned traditional Afghan miniatures, scenes of displacement, and portraits exploring the resilience of female refugees.

Parted Light opening at Wynter Gallery; artist talk set

The Wynter Gallery in Lambertville, New Jersey, is debuting "Parted Light," a solo exhibition by Detroit-based photographer Tejasvir. The collection features photographs taken in Pakistan that explore the memory, legacy, and cultural identity of a once-unified Punjab. The exhibition opens on April 10, followed by an intimate artist talk on April 12 where Tejasvir will discuss his personal journey and the existential themes behind the work.

Artist confronts experience as Sixties Scoop adoptee in Salmon Arm exhibition

Indigenous artist Scott Kwah is set to debut a deeply personal exhibition titled "A.R.E.N.A. babies" at the Salmon Arm Art Gallery, running from April 11 to June 16, 2026. The installation centers on 18 hand-cast concrete figures seated on vintage chairs that emit audio of fragmented, childlike voices questioning their origins and loss of language. The work directly confronts Kwah’s history as a survivor of the Sixties Scoop, specifically referencing the Adoption Resource Exchange of North America (ARENA) program that facilitated the cross-border displacement of Indigenous children.

UW’s Art Lofts open “Ghost Writer: someone who writes something for someone else”

The University of Wisconsin's Art Lofts Main Gallery opened the MFA qualifier exhibition "Ghost Writer: Someone Who Writes Something for Someone Else" by artist Daniella Thach on February 4, 2026. The exhibition explores Thach's Cambodian American identity and the merging of timelines across familial memory, aiming to shed light on the 50th anniversary of the Cambodian genocide.

‘Sugar felt like the perfect thread’: Tara Long on her sweet new installation

Tara Long's new installation *La Esquinita (little corner)* has taken over all three spaces at Locust Projects in Miami, transforming the gallery into a shop for sweets and souvenirs with over 500 miniature sculptures for sale. The immersive environment, her first major solo show, unfolds in three acts—seduction, exposure, and collapse—centered on a crumbling room-sized frosted cake. The exhibition draws parallels between Florida's early 20th-century Big Sugar land grab and today's Big Tech boom, reflecting on cycles of extraction and survival in Long's hometown. A pop-up speakeasy will run on Friday and Saturday nights (5 and 6 December).

53 oil paintings in a Palestinian exhibit were lost in the 1940s. A new exhibit on display in Brookline reimagines what could have been.

A traveling exhibition titled "The Lost Paintings, A Prelude to Return" is on view at the Brookline Arts Center and Unbound Visual Arts in Brighton through December 17. The show reimagines 53 oil paintings by Palestinian-Lebanese artist Maroun Tomb, which were lost in the chaos of the Nakba and the 1948 Arab-Israeli war after his 1947 exhibition opened in Haifa on the same day the UN adopted the Partition Plan. Curators Rula Khoury, Haidi Motola, and Joëlle Tomb—Maroun's granddaughter—commissioned 53 contemporary artists from Palestine and the diaspora to create new works inspired by the original titles, using mediums including textiles, prints, paintings, sculptures, and video.

Artists open their doors to the public at Gowanus Open Studios, Oct. 18-19

Gowanus Open Studios returns on October 18-19, inviting the public into the studios of hundreds of local artists across dozens of locations in Brooklyn. The event, organized by Arts Gowanus, features individual studio visits, group shows, and two featured exhibitions: "Add/Subtract" curated by Tegan Brozyna, and a retrospective of the late Samuel Heller. Highlights include the first affordable artist studios secured through the 2021 Gowanus rezoning, with about 22 new subsidized spaces opening at The Shop BK and Society Brooklyn, where artists like Mayowa Nwadike now work after winning a lottery for affordable space.

Milwaukee art gallery owner working tirelessly to keep her space open amid potential foreclosure

Fatima Laster, owner of the 5 Points Art Gallery & Studios in Milwaukee’s 5 Points neighborhood, is facing potential foreclosure on the building she purchased in 2018. She acquired the property through the city’s ARCH loan program and financed it with a five-year loan from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Impact Investing program. The balloon payment of $260,000 is due by December 1, 2025. Laster has been fundraising to save the space, which has hosted hundreds of artists and thousands of visitors. Her current immersive installation, “Interrupted: Cash for Homes,” replicates her grandparents’ home and addresses gentrification and housing displacement on Milwaukee’s north side.

Solo exhibition for local artist

Martin Dominguez of Warwick, Uruguay, presents his solo exhibition “PLACEment” at Orange Hall Gallery, SUNY Orange, from September 26 through November 21, 2025, coinciding with Hispanic Heritage Month. The show features paintings, sculptures, and hand-crafted stop-motion film sets that explore the immigrant experience through themes of displacement, resilience, and belonging. An opening reception on September 26 includes pianist Darius Beckford.

‘Lakay’ exhibit marks debut of Brooklyn’s first BIPOC-owned artist co-working studio

Atelier Artist, a new BIPOC-owned and -operated co-working studio in Central Brooklyn, launched its inaugural exhibition titled 'Lakay' on September 14. The show features a dozen artists from the studio's residency program, highlighting emerging and established voices from the Caribbean diaspora. Co-founders Jonathan Pierre Lafleur and Franck Henry Godefroy, along with creative director Mc Alexander Ciceron, emphasize that the space provides affordable 24/7 studio access, monthly exhibitions, and community programming such as healing circles and open mics. The exhibition is hosted at Brooklyn Commons' Clock Tower Loft in Prospect Lefferts Gardens.

25 Artists in Gaza Stage Exhibition of New Works Expressing Grief Amid Genocide

In July 2025, 25 artists in Gaza staged an exhibition titled "Aphenix" inside a coffee shop in Gaza City, organized by Mohaned Asayas, a student at Al-Aqsa University. The exhibition featured 55 new works created during a month-long workshop that provided a rare space for artistic expression amid the ongoing war, offering materials like soft charcoal, pastel, and acrylic. Artists such as Bisan Al Amasy produced pieces addressing themes of starvation, displacement, bombardment, and loss, using symbolic imagery like a fatigued donkey to represent Gaza City.

Welcome Home: A Pop-up Art Exhibition

A pop-up art exhibition in Philadelphia explores the dismantling of Isaiah Zagar's public mural *Skin of the Bride* (c. 1990-2001), a ceramic-and-tile mosaic originally housed in a community arts center. The building was sold in 2017, purchased by a real estate developer in 2023, and despite efforts to protect the mural as a historic site, it is slated for demolition. The Magic Gardens team selectively removed certain tiles, including Mexican folk art, while leaving others behind, altering the artwork's visual integrity. The exhibition presents fragments of Zagar's work alongside a video installation and a multimedia piece reflecting on memory and placemaking.

Easthampton artists, priced out of studio building, exhibit new work and defiance

A group of about 40 artists from Easthampton, Massachusetts, have mounted a new exhibition titled “Cottage Street Studios, Past and Present” at Easthampton City Arts, nearly a year after rising rents forced many of them out of their longtime studio building at One Cottage Street. The former factory, owned by nonprofit Riverside Industries, had housed a mix of painters, potters, and woodworkers for half a century, but a management change led to rent increases that doubled some tenants’ costs, prompting roughly half of the 80 artists to leave. Fiber artist Andrea Zax organized the show as a defiant act of community reconnection, while artists like Piper Foreso and Matthew Simons described the scattering as devastating to their creative ecosystem.

For Some Immigrant Artists, This Is No Time to Retreat

The New York Times article profiles several immigrant artists in the United States who are responding to heightened anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy changes by doubling down on their creative practices and public engagement. Rather than retreating, these artists are using their work to assert their presence, explore themes of displacement and belonging, and challenge xenophobic narratives. The piece highlights specific artists and their recent projects, exhibitions, and statements that directly confront the current political climate.

Museums Tell Stories of American Independence

The New York Times article explores how museums across the United States are presenting exhibitions and narratives that examine the complex history of American independence, moving beyond traditional patriotic accounts to include perspectives on slavery, indigenous displacement, and ongoing struggles for freedom. These exhibitions incorporate diverse voices and artifacts to offer a more nuanced understanding of the nation's founding and its legacy.

Cambodian artists highlight Khmer culture at free exhibit in St. Paul

Cambodian artists are celebrating Khmer New Year with the free exhibit “My Soul of Gold” at Xia Gallery & Cafe in St. Paul, Minnesota, running through April 27, 2025. The show features portraits of cyclo drivers and elders by photographer Hao Taing, paintings by Cambodian American artist Sara Gregor, and traditional wedding dresses, all exploring themes of heritage, war, and displacement. Inspired by kintsugi, the exhibit uses art to “fill in the cracks” left by the Khmer Rouge regime and historical erasure. Separately, documentary photographer Drew Arrieta is debuting “Infinite Bonds” at Resource gallery in Minneapolis, blending photography, audio, and personal objects to explore intimate relationships.

Is Art Dying Along With Work?

Stirbt die Kunst mit der Arbeit?

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence raises a fundamental paradox for the future of creativity: while automation could theoretically free humans from labor to pursue artistic endeavors, it simultaneously threatens the economic foundations of the art world. If AI-driven job displacement leads to a widespread loss of disposable income, the commercial market that sustains professional artists could effectively collapse.