The Wall Street Journal has published a listicle titled "The Best Art Exhibitions of 2025: Spectacle and Surprise," curating a selection of standout museum and gallery shows from the past year. The article highlights exhibitions that offered both visual grandeur and unexpected conceptual turns, likely featuring major institutions and emerging venues.
Nantwich Museum is inviting artists to submit up to three pieces of visual artwork on the theme of 'Heritage' for its 2026 Open Art Exhibition. The exhibition will run from March 31 to June 20, 2026, at the museum's Pillory Street venue, with selected works displayed in the Millennium Gallery. Submissions can include paintings, drawings, textiles, black-and-white photographs, or sculpture, and the deadline for applications is January 9, 2026. A cash prize will be awarded to the most popular artwork chosen by visitor votes, and all accepted pieces will receive a unique certificate.
Sotheby’s held a high-profile evening auction featuring major works of modern art, drawing significant attention from collectors and the art world. The event was characterized by record-breaking bids and a theatrical atmosphere, with several iconic pieces selling for tens of millions of dollars, underscoring the enduring appeal of blue-chip modern masters.
The Rivoli Arts District (RAD) in downtown La Crosse is hosting an immersive Halloween-themed art experience called "The Uncanny Exhibit" from October 16 through November 1. The exhibit features 13 rooms, each designed by a different local artist, with interactive installations that combine visual, auditory, and tactile elements to create a multisensory, unsettling atmosphere. Marketing specialist Aidan Schmidtknecht describes it as more artsy and immersive than a traditional haunted house, focusing on atmosphere and weirdness rather than jump scares.
The West Kelowna Art Exhibition will take place on Sunday, October 19, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Westbank Lions Community Centre in West Kelowna, British Columbia. The free event features local artists showcasing original artwork in various mediums, an artisan marketplace, and live smooth jazz music, with most works available for purchase.
The New York Times has published a comprehensive guide to art exhibitions across the United States for the upcoming season, highlighting major museum shows and gallery presentations from coast to coast. The article curates a selection of must-see exhibitions, covering a range of contemporary and historical artists, and provides practical information for art-goers planning their cultural calendar.
Art Basel Paris (24-26 October) is introducing a new early preview slot called Avant Première on Tuesday 21 October from 3pm to 7pm, allowing participating galleries to invite up to six guests for an intimate viewing before the First Choice VIP opening on Wednesday 22 October. The change aligns the Paris fair’s schedule more closely with Art Basel’s flagship event in Switzerland, where First Choice VIPs enter on Tuesday. Galleries can nominate clients regardless of their VIP status, aiming to create a focused business engagement for their closest collectors.
The Postal Museum in London has launched a collaborative project with victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal, working with a group of current and former sub-postmasters to create a lasting legacy documenting the impact of the faulty Horizon IT system. Over 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 based on incorrect data from the software, leading to wrongful convictions, imprisonment, and financial ruin. The museum is partnering with the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, led by high court judge Wyn Williams, and has held initial meetings with twelve sub-postmasters to discuss how to mark the scandal in history.
Florida State University’s annual Art in STEM exhibition is now on view at the Dirac Science Library and online, celebrating its 11th year. The show features 26 artworks created by FSU students and postdoctoral researchers from STEM disciplines, including ecology, neuroscience, geology, and biomedical sciences. Works range from watercolors to digital photography, such as Maya Roselli’s “Life in Technicoral,” a microscopic image of rugose coral. The exhibition is a collaboration among FSU’s Graduate Women in STEM (GWIS), the College of Arts and Sciences, and FSU Libraries, with a people’s choice award to be announced on September 19.
Sydney Contemporary, Australia's largest art fair, saw record attendance and stronger sales in its 2025 edition, recovering from a dip the previous year. The fair, now 12 years old, may surpass its 2022 record of $23 million in sales, though final figures won't be known until mid-week.
The Riverfront Arts Center in Stevens Point is hosting a new immersive exhibition titled "The Studio," opening with a reception on September 18, 2025. The exhibit recreates the studio spaces of eight local artists, including Ravi Barkey (ceramics), Barnplotter (pen plotting), Ryan Gaska (drawing/painting), Erin Prais-Hintz (mosaics), Twinky Satterthwaite (oil, acrylic, pastel), Roz Schuettpelz (quilting/appliqué), Toni Starr (painting/drawing), and Cate Thomding (repurpose/upcycling). The show runs through October 19 and will conclude with a watercolor workshop led by Roberta Laine.
The article announces the opening of the Wynne Prize 2025 exhibition, hosted by the Orange City Council in New South Wales, Australia. The page was inaccessible due to a security verification process, but the title indicates the exhibition is currently on view.
The article argues that AI's most transformative impact on the art market will not come from generating new artworks or NFTs, but from streamlining back-office operations like logistics, insurance, provenance checks, and shipping. It notes that only 3.4% of the $1.7 trillion in privately held art is traded annually, and that antiquated processes deter younger buyers. By automating these friction-heavy tasks, AI could unlock billions in liquidity, potentially raising the turnover rate to 4.4% and injecting over $17 billion into the ecosystem.
The Brill Family Foundation has reopened its call for art submissions for the upcoming exhibition "Symbiosis or Schism: The AI Human Odyssey," extending the original June 13 deadline to August 12. The exhibition invites artists from Santa Barbara and Ventura County to submit AI-themed artwork, with selected pieces displayed from October 2-12 at the Santa Barbara Community Arts Workshop. Selected artists may also be considered for grants of up to $5,000, with organizers seeking works that visually address the theme and highlight the creative process involving AI.
Russia's culture minister Olga Lyubimova met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on June 29, 2025, and signed a 2025-2027 cultural cooperation agreement. Under the deal, North Korea's Mansudae Art Studio—which is under U.N. sanctions—will exhibit its work at a Moscow museum this summer. Lyubimova announced the exchange via Telegram on Monday, confirming the agreement with her DPRK counterpart Sung Jong Gyu.
Nintendo is opening a dedicated Art Gallery on the second floor of its Nintendo Museum in Uji, Kyoto, on September 3, 2025. The gallery will display original character illustrations, concept drawings, and game art from iconic franchises such as Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Splatoon, and Mario Kart, offering visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the artistic development of Nintendo's games. The museum, which opened in October 2024 at a former Nintendo factory, already features historical products, interactive exhibits, and Hanafuda card workshops, with access managed via a lottery system.
Art Basel will host nearly 290 galleries from around the world in Basel, Switzerland, from June 19-22, 2025. Director Maike Cruse expresses confidence in the art market's resilience despite a 12% decline in global art sales last year, citing an uptick in transactions in the middle and low market segments and a surge of new, younger collectors. The fair introduces a new section called Premiere, dedicated to ultra-contemporary works made within the past five years, featuring ten galleries and two first-time Art Basel participants. New EU tax breaks on art purchases, including Germany's VAT reduction from 19% to 7%, could boost sales for the roughly half of exhibitors based in the bloc, though the threat of US tariffs under President Donald Trump creates uncertainty.
Unesco has raised grave concerns for Kyiv's 11th-century Saint Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site, after its facade was damaged by a Russian drone strike on Tuesday. Ukraine's culture minister Mykola Tochytskyi reported that the plastered cornice of the central apse was hit, and while the interior survived intact, vibration from explosions threatens the monument's structural integrity. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, and UNESCO officials have visited to assess damage and discuss emergency conservation. The cathedral, known for its mosaics and frescoes, was added to UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger in 2023.
Frida Juárez, a prominent figure in the art world, has been the subject of a recent article. The piece details her career trajectory, highlighting her contributions to contemporary art and her role in fostering emerging talent. It also mentions her involvement in several high-profile exhibitions and her influence on art discourse in Latin America.
A full-length sculptural relief of Joseph Stalin was reinstalled in Moscow's Taganskaya metro station as part of efforts to restore original designs. The work, a 3D-printed copy of a 1950 original, has been criticized by art historian Elizaveta Likhacheva as poorly made and crudely painted. Visitors have laid flowers at the site, while critics note that over 95 Stalin monuments have been installed under Vladimir Putin's rule, including in occupied Ukrainian territories.