Exhibitions, workshops, festivals… 7 family cultural outings in Paris to grow creativity during the holidays

Expos, ateliers, festivals… 7 sorties culturelles en famille à Paris pour faire pousser la créativité durant les vacances

Paris and the Île-de-France region are hosting a diverse array of family-oriented cultural events for the spring 2026 holiday season. Key highlights include the inauguration of the Manufacture at the Fondation Cartier, a Japanese-themed spring festival at le 19M, and the relocation of the Centre Pompidou’s Studio 13/16 for teenagers to the Gaîté Lyrique. Other notable activities include aerospace-themed workshops at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace and the fifth anniversary of the Atelier Rodin.

Cinga Samson Conjures Mystery and the Sublime in Large-Scale Oil Paintings

South African artist Cinga Samson is currently presenting a series of large-scale oil paintings in a solo exhibition titled "Ukuphuthelwa" at White Cube in New York. The works feature dreamlike, nocturnal tableaux characterized by deep pigments, spectral figures with all-white eyes, and symbolic animals that bridge the earthly and divine. The title, which translates from isiXhosa as "unable to sleep," frames sleeplessness as a state of heightened spiritual alertness rather than a medical condition.

culture aesop new york creatives holidays

Aesop, the skincare and fragrance company, has released a collection of festive holiday kits designed for creatives, focusing on hand and workspace care. The kits include themed sets like “Party in the Greenhouse” and “Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen,” featuring products such as geranium-infused balms and pumice hand wash. Cultured magazine partnered with Aesop to highlight the creative spaces of New York artists and chefs, including Fernando Mastrangelo, Flynn McGarry, and Eny Lee Parker, who opened their studios and kitchens to showcase their rituals.

148 News Roundup: Career Moves, Infrastructure, Controversies, Public Domain

Curator and writer Reuben Keehan has been appointed artistic director of the forthcoming Kontempo – Center for Contemporary Art in Manila, a new institution developed by the Ayala Foundation. Keehan will relocate from Australia, ending his 15-year tenure as curator of contemporary art at Brisbane’s Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art. In other career moves, Manuel Rabaté has become CEO and director of New Delhi’s Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, bringing over 25 years of museum leadership including his previous role as inaugural director of Louvre Abu Dhabi. Additionally, the Kochi Biennale Foundation has named board member and Mumbai-based artist Jitish Kallat as president of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, succeeding Bose Krishnamachari who resigned in January.

Architectural Competition for Louvre ‘New Renaissance’ Project Reportedly Set to Relaunch in May

The international architectural competition for the Louvre Museum's $778 million 'New Renaissance' renovation project is set to relaunch in mid-May, according to a report in Le Figaro. The jury will convene on May 13 to assess proposals from five shortlisted firms, ending a period of uncertainty and delays caused by staff unrest, leadership upheaval following a major jewel theft, and the French municipal elections. The project, championed by President Emmanuel Macron, aims to modernize the museum and reduce overcrowding.

IMLS Spared in Legal Battle—But Threat of Budget Cuts Looms

The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a settlement with the American Library Association and the AFSCME union, effectively halting President Donald Trump’s executive attempt to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Following a series of legal defeats where courts ruled that only Congress has the authority to eliminate federal agencies, the administration withdrew its appeal and reinstated previously terminated grants. However, the threat remains as the proposed 2027 federal budget once again seeks to zero out funding for the IMLS, the NEA, and the NEH.

David Geffen Settles Divorce With David Armstrong After Bitter Legal Fight

Billionaire art collector and entertainment mogul David Geffen has reached a private settlement with his estranged husband, David Armstrong, ending a contentious legal battle. The divorce proceedings gained significant public attention due to the absence of a prenuptial agreement and serious allegations of exploitation and psychological manipulation leveled by Armstrong. While the financial terms remain confidential, the settlement concludes months of litigation over spousal support and asset division following their two-year marriage.

jonathan anderson dior magdalene odundo

Jonathan Anderson presented his debut haute couture collection for Dior, the Spring 2026 line, at Paris Fashion Week. The runway was transformed into a garden with suspended flowers, blending floral motifs with an edgy, exploratory aesthetic. Anderson drew inspiration from ceramicist Magdalene Odundo, whose sinuous forms influenced the collection's sculptural tension, and referenced 18th-century miniatures by Rosalba Carriera and John Smart for couture jewelry. The collection is now on view at the Musée Rodin in a week-long presentation titled "Grammar of Forms," alongside works by Christian Dior and Odundo.

yasha grobman appointed director israel museum

Yasha Grobman, an architect and researcher, has been appointed director general of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, ending a prolonged leadership crisis. He succeeds Suzanne Landau, who stepped down after serving as interim director since September 2023. Grobman, a former dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning at the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, has been publicly critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and has spoken at protests in Haifa opposing the war in Gaza. His appointment follows a discreet search by a board-appointed committee and comes as the museum faces financial strain, reduced hours, and a decline in international activity.

marie antoinette arts patronage

Marie Antoinette, the final queen of France, is the subject of a blockbuster exhibition titled "Marie Antoinette Style" at London's V&A museum, running through March 22. The show highlights her boldly modern taste, her patronage of women artists like Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun and Anne Vallayer-Coster, and her role as the first French queen to own and redecorate her own palace, the Petit Trianon. The article details how she used her influence to secure Vigée Le Brun's admission to the Académie Royale and pressured the Louvre to exhibit Vallayer-Coster's work, while also exploring how her extravagant spending earned her the epithet "Madame Déficit" and contributed to her downfall during the French Revolution.

las vegas museum of art francis kere designs

The Las Vegas Museum of Art (LVMA) has unveiled architectural designs by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Francis Kéré for its first standalone museum, a 60,000-square-foot building at Symphony Park in downtown Las Vegas. The design incorporates local stone, baobab trees, and a canopy for shade, drawing inspiration from the Mojave Desert and the city's culture, with a central staircase evoking a canyon. The museum, supported by a land donation from the city and a partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), has raised over half of its $200 million goal and is slated to open in 2029.

kansas church tiffany window sale

First Presbyterian Church in Topeka, Kansas, is selling one of its ten Tiffany stained-glass windows at Sotheby's Design sale on December 10. The Jonathan Thomas Memorial Window, a rare medallion window designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany himself in 1910, carries an estimate of $1.5 million to $2 million. The church cites the high cost of maintaining its historic building and the Tiffany windows—sending just one window for repair cost over $50,000—as the reason for the sale. The auction also features a magnolia floor lamp designed by Agnes Northrup, estimated at $2 million to $3 million.

hauser wirth to open sicily location in historic palazzo

Hauser & Wirth has announced plans to open its first Italian location in Palermo, Sicily, housed in the historic Palazzo Forcella De Seta. The gallery purchased roughly 20,000 square feet of the neo-Gothic palace, which previously served as a venue for Manifesta 12 in 2018 and was once home to Galleria Mediterranea, the city’s first private art gallery. The deal closed in November, but the local government and Italy’s Ministry of Culture retain a 60-day right of public pre-emption due to the building’s status as a historic monument. If that right is not exercised, work could begin in 2026, with completion expected by 2030.

caravaggio top 10 paintings ranked

Artnet News published a ranked list of Caravaggio's top 10 paintings, highlighting works such as 'Victorious Cupid' (1601–02), 'The Cardsharps' (c. 1594), 'Young Sick Bacchus' (c. 1593), 'The Incredulity of Saint Thomas' (1602), 'Supper at Emmaus' (1601), 'Narcissus' (1597–99), and 'Boy Bitten by a Lizard' (1594–96). The article scores each painting on storytelling, behind-the-scenes intrigue, and sheer audacity, and notes that 'Victorious Cupid' recently went on view in the U.K. for the first time.

layoffs metropolitan museum art

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has laid off 79 employees and furloughed 181 workers, with 93 staff members taking early retirement, citing a $150 million deficit exacerbated by the pandemic. The museum's director Max Hollein and CEO Daniel H. Weiss announced the cuts in an email, noting that salaries comprise 65% of the annual budget. This is the second round of layoffs since April, when 81 employees lost their jobs, and the museum has also implemented pay reductions for top executives and frozen hiring. The workforce has shrunk by about 20%, from 2,000 to 1,600 staff, with 48% of those laid off being people of color. The Met aims to reopen on August 29 with reduced hours, pending government approval.

taylor swift fate of ophelia painting john everett millais

Taylor Swift's new album 'The Life of a Showgirl' includes a song titled 'The Fate of Ophelia,' which references the tragic character from Shakespeare's 'Hamlet.' The article draws a parallel between Swift's song and John Everett Millais's Pre-Raphaelite painting 'Ophelia' (1851–52), which depicts the character before her death. The Tate, which owns the painting, posted about the work to discuss the death of its model, Elizabeth Siddal, in 1862. Swift's album cover, showing her floating in water, has been compared to the Millais painting, but the song reimagines Ophelia's narrative with a happy ending tied to her relationship with Travis Kelce.

ucca centre for contemporary art allegedly withheld wages

The UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing allegedly withheld staff wages for six months from January to June, according to the South China Morning Post. The institution, founded by the late Belgian collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens in 2007, has faced financial challenges including lower ticket sales, higher international freight costs, stricter rental demands from its landlord in Beijing's 798 Art District, and difficulty collecting payments from international partners. Its Shanghai branch, UCCA Edge, has seen no activity since June after an exhibition co-presented with the Saudi Ministry of Culture. Director Philip Tinari acknowledged a difficult year for museums in China, citing a slower consumer economy, and said the UCCA is working on long-term funding solutions.

uk museums defend corporate funding

A group of officials overseeing major UK cultural institutions, including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the National Gallery, have signed a public letter defending corporate sponsorship. Published in the Financial Times, the letter calls for an end to "relentless negativity" around private sector partnerships and is backed by ten organizations, including the Science Museum Group. It follows protests over Baillie Gifford's sponsorship of literary festivals due to its ties to fossil fuels and Israel, which led nine festivals to end partnerships in 2023.

museum removes maori artist new zealand flag diane prince

The Suter Art Gallery in Nelson, New Zealand, removed an artwork by Māori artist Diane Prince after public outcry. The piece, a new version of her 1995 work *Flagging the Future*, featured the New Zealand flag printed with the words “PLEASE WALK ON ME” and was part of a solo show organized by Pātaka Art + Museum. Local resident Ruth Tipu protested by picking up the flag daily, citing distress over the flag being walked on, especially given her grandfather’s service in the Māori Battalion. The museum cited an escalation in hostile discourse as the reason for removal, while affirming support for freedom of expression.

trump inauguration donors major art patrons warren stephens

Major art collectors Warren Stephens, Ken Griffin, Paul Singer, and Charles and Helen Schwab were among the top individual donors to President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration fundraising committee, according to data from the Federal Election Commission and Open Secrets. Stephens, a major donor to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art, gave $4 million, the largest individual contribution, while Griffin, Singer, and the Schwabs each donated $1 million or more. The article also details additional political donations from these collectors, including Griffin's $100 million in conservative election spending, and notes that many large corporations like Amazon and BlackRock also contributed.

‘We can all coexist’: artist Es Devlin uses selfies to unite UK in portrait of a nation

Artist Es Devlin has created a new installation at the National Portrait Gallery in London titled 'A National Portrait for the National Portrait Gallery,' made in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture Lab. The work invites people across the UK to upload selfies, which are transformed into charcoal-and-chalk-style portraits using an AI model trained on Devlin's own hand-drawn works. These portraits then appear on a constantly evolving projected carousel, blending and dissolving into one another. Devlin, known for designing visual worlds for Beyoncé, Adele, and the London Olympics closing ceremony, describes the piece as a non-verbal space for coexistence amid national division.

literature hans ulrich obrist curator book

Hans Ulrich Obrist, the prolific Swiss curator and artistic director of Serpentine Galleries, discusses his lifelong passion for books in a new interview timed to the U.S. release of his memoir "Life in Progress." Obrist reveals his daily ritual of buying a book, which has amassed an archive of over 40,000 volumes housed at LUMA Arles, and shares current reading recommendations including Kenneth O. Stanley's "Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned." He also reflects on the serendipitous origins of his Instagram Post-it note project, inspired by philosopher Umberto Eco and artist-poet Etel Adnan.

about last week an orbit through the highs and sighs of new yorks art fair multiverse

Writer and critic Domenick Ammirati chronicles a whirlwind week in New York during Frieze Week, visiting art fairs, exhibitions, and social events. Highlights include Jeff Koons' Hulk sculptures at Gagosian's Frieze booth, discovering painter Karol Palczak at Emalin gallery, and attending the group painting show "R U Still Painting???" curated by the collective FALCON in a raw Midtown office space. Ammirati notes a subdued, less intoxicated atmosphere compared to previous years, reflecting a broader unease in the art world.

In Performance Series, Artists Tackle the Nature of Images, and Reality, in the Face of AI

At Giorno Poetry Systems (GPS) in New York, a three-day program titled “Exert: The Physics of Metaphysics” featured performances and readings by artists including Mark Leckey, Hari Kunzru, and Gideon Jacobs. The works explored how emerging technologies like AI, VR, and AR are reshaping perceptions of reality and simulation, with Kunzru reading from a novel-in-progress about a man navigating a world where simulation encroaches on everyday life, and Jacobs presenting a performance lecture blending theater, essay, and AI-generated video.

Mind the baby! Visitors to the Japanese Venice Biennale pavilion will be asked to look after dolls

Ei Arakawa-Nash, a Japanese-born artist who no longer holds Japanese citizenship, will represent Japan at the Venice Biennale with an exhibition titled "Grass Babies, Moon Babies." The pavilion will feature over 100 baby dolls that visitors are invited to adopt and carry, engaging in caregiving tasks such as changing a nappy. Each doll corresponds to a historically significant date tied to minority communities, linking intimate acts of care to broader historical narratives. The project also includes a collaboration with the Korean Pavilion, marking the first such partnership between the two national pavilions in Biennale history.

Which Country’s Art Market Came Out on Top in 2025?

The United States solidified its position as the world's leading art market in 2025, with fine-art auction sales rising 25.3 percent to reach $5.4 billion. Despite early volatility caused by trade tariffs, a surging stock market and cooling inflation fueled a massive November auction season in New York, where nine of the year's ten most expensive artworks were sold. In contrast, China's market contracted by nearly 11 percent due to a persistent property crisis, while the United Kingdom and France saw significant growth, with Paris benefiting from the momentum of Art Basel Paris.

hong kong adrian cheng web3 blockchain immersive experiences

Adrian Cheng, the mega-collector and regular on ARTnews' Top 200 Collectors list, has announced his new venture ALMAD Group after resigning as CEO of his family's Hong Kong property firm New World Development Co. (NWD) last year. The company will focus on digital assets, blockchain technologies, and immersive digital experiences across entertainment, sports, and media in mainland China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. ALMAD has absorbed Cheng's art-meets-commerce platform K11 by AC, which includes the K11 Craft and Guild Foundation, the K11 Art Foundation, and the K11 Art Malls that pair luxury retail with exhibitions by artists like Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami.

maurizio cattelan scavenger hunt joseph beuys felt suit

Maurizio Cattelan has partnered with the online art platform Avant Arte for a project centered on a new sculptural self-portrait titled *We Are The Revolution* (2025), which references Joseph Beuys's felt suit. The work lampoons the self-importance of contemporary art while reflecting on the artist's evolving role. Limited to 1,000 resin editions priced at €1,500 each, the release involves a randomized draw and a scavenger hunt in New York, Amsterdam, and London, where sculptures will be hidden in market stalls, bodegas, and an antiques dealership from September 30 to October 7. Prices range from $0.99 to €9,999 depending on location.

philip falcone blce art loans picasso hirst ruling

The New York Supreme Court ruled against former hedge fund manager Philip Falcone in a case brought against pawnbroker BLCE over loans secured by artworks and a diamond ring. Judge Lyle E. Frank sided with BLCE's counter-claims of fraud and breach of contract, finding that Falcone made misrepresentations when securing loans with the same artworks—including pieces by Pablo Picasso, Damien Hirst, and Richard Prince—from multiple lenders. Falcone had claimed the ring was "wrongfully foreclosed," but the court determined he failed to raise genuine issues of material fact.

sean combs diddy may lose kerry james marshall painting

Sean Combs, also known as Diddy, may lose a prized Kerry James Marshall painting, *Past Times* (1997), among other assets if found guilty of sex trafficking charges, which he has denied. The painting was purchased at Sotheby's in 2018 for $21.1 million, setting an auction record for Marshall. Reports indicate Combs had been actively collecting art since 2014 with adviser Maria Brito, but with multiple civil suits pending, speculation has grown that he might be forced to sell.