UK’s Brighton & Hove Museums to return 45 artefacts to Botswana

Brighton & Hove Museums in southern England will return 45 artefacts to Botswana. The objects, including clothing, accessories and hunting implements, were acquired by English reverend William Charles Willoughby in the 1890s and will be housed at the Khama III Memorial Museum in Serowe, where they will form part of a permanent exhibition opening on 27 May. A team from Brighton & Hove Museums is working with Botswanan curators on the return, which is scheduled for April.

What Brakes Through: “Teresa Tyszkiewicz. Stories That Tell Themselves” at Profile Foundation.

Teresa Tyszkiewicz's exhibition "Stories That Tell Themselves" at Profile Foundation in Warsaw showcases the Polish artist's process-driven practice spanning video, performance, and relief-like paintings made with pins, nails, metal plates, ropes, and fabrics. Curated by Bożena Czubak, the show highlights Tyszkiewicz's use of the body as a medium—often naked and immersed in organic materials—to explore emotions, intuition, and unconscious desires, as seen in works like the 1980 film "Grain." The artist, who began her career in the late 1970s alongside Polish neo-avantgarde filmmakers but rejected their conceptual tendencies, developed a tactile, laborious approach that invites sensory engagement.

First Friday Art Walk showcases student exhibitions

The May First Friday Art Walk in downtown Springfield features student exhibitions from Drury University, Missouri State University, and Ozarks Technical Community College, alongside Route 66-themed shows. Seventeen venues participate in the self-guided tour, with college artists displaying work at four locations, including the Robert & Margaret Carolla Arts Exhibition Center, Brick City Gallery, the Pool Arts Center, and Ozarks Technical Community College's Art and Design Department. The Route 66 Centennial Traveling Exhibit, created by documentary filmmaker Katrina Parks, is on display at the Historic Gillioz Theatre, and photographers Vance Clark and Andrew Mann present their 'Unique Lens' exhibit at the Park Central Branch Library.

Area artists invited to submit work for summer library exhibit

The Mansfield Public Art Commission and the Mansfield Richland County Main Public Library are collaborating on a prehistoric-themed art exhibition titled "Unearth a Story," part of the library's summer reading program. The exhibition is open to all ages, with categories for youth, teens, and adults, and accepts submissions in various media including painting, photography, digital art, textiles, and mixed media. The deadline for digital submissions is May 29, with accepted artists notified by June 1 and the exhibition opening June 15.

New space dedicated to Oleg Prokofiev—whose abstract art was censored by Soviet Russia—opens in London

A new art space called Prokofiev Studio has opened in Hackney, London, dedicated to the Russian artist Oleg Prokofiev. Its inaugural exhibition, 'Bending Time,' presents abstract works from the 1950s that were banned under Soviet censorship and long thought lost. The space was founded by Prokofiev’s children, including composer Gabriel Prokofiev, in collaboration with curator Anzhela Popova. The works were rediscovered in 1994 when Prokofiev returned to his former Moscow home and found them preserved by the new owner.

Bavarian State Police Return Saint Figures to the Czech Republic

LKA gibt Heiligenfiguren an Tschechien zurück

Bavarian state police (LKA) have returned five stolen religious sculptures—saints and angel figures—to Czech authorities. The artworks, some dating back centuries, were stolen from Czech churches as early as 1993 and later offered for online sale in Bavaria and Berlin. The handover ceremony took place in Prague, coordinated with Germany's Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media (BKM).

Nancy Holt review – cosmic thrills as the universe’s hidden power is unleashed

The Guardian reviews a major UK exhibition of land artist Nancy Holt (1938-2014) at Goodwood in West Sussex, the largest show of her work to date. The exhibition features two large outdoor installations—Ventilation System, a metallic tubular structure resembling building lungs, and Hydra’s Head, six concrete pools arranged like the Hydra constellation in a chalk quarry—alongside indoor photographs, diagrams, and light works. The review praises the cosmic scale and bodily connection of the outdoor pieces but finds the indoor works less effective at conveying Holt’s themes of universal vastness and interconnectedness.

Quels sont les musées ouverts ce 1er mai 2026 à Paris ?

Beaux Arts Magazine has published a guide to museums open in Paris on May 1, 2026, a public holiday in France. The article lists cultural venues across several arrondissements, including the Musée de l’Illusion, Musée en Herbe (with a Pokémon exhibition), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (zoo only), Musée Maillol (featuring Philippe Geluck's cat), Musée Jacquemart-André (with a Spanish Baroque exhibition), Musée Grévin, and the Atelier des Lumières (with a Renaissance immersive experience). Each entry includes addresses, dates, and highlights.

“Trading in the Unknown” : the exhibition marking the new edition of the Reiffers Initiatives Prize

The fifth edition of the Reiffers Initiatives Prize has opened in Paris with the exhibition "Trafiquer l'inconnu" ("Trading in the Unknown"), running until June 6, 2026, at the Reiffers Art Initiatives center. The group show features eight emerging artists based in France: Khaled Jarada, Louis Le Kim, Stanislava Kovalcikova, Arthur Marie, Eva Helene Pade, Ibrahim Meïté Sikely, Minh Lan Tran, and Manon Wertenbroek. Curated by Bernard Blistène, former director of the National Museum of Modern Art – Centre Pompidou, the exhibition presents works spanning painting, archival imagery, and explorations of the body. Stanislava Kovalcikova was named the winner of this edition, and Khaled Jarada received a new Special Mention from the jury.

Museum diplomacy in action at ICOM UK 2026: museums in a changing world

ICOM UK hosted its 2026 annual conference in Oxford, bringing together delegates from over 20 countries to explore the theme of 'Museum Diplomacy.' Keynote speaker Dr. Sascha Priewe of the Aga Khan Museum and ICOM Canada framed the current geopolitical moment as a 'GZERO World,' where no country is willing or able to lead globally, and discussed how sanctions, export controls, and shifting alliances are straining international museum collaborations. Sessions featured case studies from the Science Museum Group and International Arts & Artists, emphasizing that trust and networks, not grand gestures, are essential for enduring partnerships.

FAD News: Serpentine x FLAG Art Foundation Prize Announces Star-Studded Selection Committee

The Serpentine x FLAG Art Foundation Prize has announced its selection committee for the inaugural award, the largest contemporary art prize in the UK given to a single artist. The five-person jury includes Michelle Kuo (Chief Curator at Large and Publisher at MoMA), Venus Lau (director of Museum MACAN), Hans Ulrich Obrist, Jon Rider, and artist Rirkrit Tiravanija. The committee met in London on 23rd April to select the first recipient, who will be announced on 12th May. The prize awards £200,000 biennially over ten years, totaling £1 million across five artists, with each recipient developing a new body of work culminating in exhibitions at Serpentine in London and The FLAG Art Foundation in New York.

Klimt, Modigliani, and Freud Lead $200M Lewis Collection at Sotheby’s London

Sotheby’s London will auction a collection of 50 masterpieces from billionaire Joe Lewis and his daughter Vivienne in June 2025, expected to exceed $200 million. Highlights include Gustav Klimt’s 1902 portrait of Gertha Felsőványi (estimate £20–30 million), Lucian Freud’s never-auctioned *Woman in a Grey Sweater* (1988), and Amedeo Modigliani’s *Homme à la Pipe* (1918), making its auction debut after 45 years unseen. The sale follows a successful March auction of School of London works from the same collection, which brought $47.7 million.

Exhibition | Olivia Sterling, 'Jelly' at Dirimart Pera, Istanbul, Turkiye

Dirimart presents Olivia Sterling's first solo exhibition in Istanbul, titled 'Jelly,' at its Pera location from May 7 to June 14, 2026. The show explores themes of race, power, and desire through scenes involving food, the body, and stains, using fruit and dark colors as metaphors for consumption and objectification. Sterling's paintings incorporate letters that expose how race is constructed through language, while the title 'Jelly' evokes flexibility, fluidity, and a grotesque bodily quality that mirrors the instability of identity and social conventions.

The art of politics: how global conflicts are playing out in this year's Venice Biennale

Israel is making a controversial return to the 2025 Venice Art Biennale after its pavilion was locked in 2024 with a note demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. The artist representing Israel, Belu-Simion Fainaru, will present his project "Rose of Nothingness" in the Arsenale, while Russia also returns to the Biennale after its Giardini pavilion was reassigned to Bolivia in 2024. The Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) has renewed calls for a boycott and is organizing strike action to disrupt the event, accusing Israel of genocide.

The 11 Exhibitions to See in May 2026

ArtReview's editors have curated a list of 11 must-see exhibitions worldwide for May 2026, excluding Venice. Highlights include Audie Murray's solo show at april april in Pittsburgh, featuring works made with her own hair and breast milk; Delcy Morelos's monumental earthwork 'origo' at the Barbican Sculpture Court in London; and Bold Tendencies' 20th anniversary season in Peckham, titled 'Euphoria', with new commissions across multiple disciplines.

Possible new Banksy appears in London

Möglicherweise neuer Banksy in London aufgetaucht

A life-sized statue has suddenly appeared on Waterloo Place in central London, depicting a figure stepping off a pedestal into the void with a flag blowing in its face. The base bears the signature "Banksy," leading to speculation that the anonymous street artist is behind the work. However, as of the morning, Banksy had not posted the piece on Instagram as he typically does, leaving its authenticity unconfirmed.

Cultural Losses Across West Asia

Since February 28, 2026, US-Israeli strikes on Iran have escalated into a major military confrontation across the Middle East, causing heavy casualties and infrastructure damage. Multiple UNESCO World Heritage sites have been hit, including Tehran's Golestan Palace (damaged on March 2), Isfahan's Chehel Sotoun palace and Naqsh-e Jahan Square (attacked March 9), and Tel Aviv's White City Bauhaus architecture, which suffered severe damage from Iranian counterattacks.

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.

148 News: Awards & Obituaries

This article from ArtAsiaPacific reports on three recent art awards. Iraqi artist Ali Eyal received the Hammer Museum's $100,000 Mohn Award for emerging artists in Los Angeles. Japanese artist Mari Katayama won the inaugural ¥10 million Mori Art Award from the Mori Contemporary Art Foundation in Tokyo. Korean media artist Jeamin Cha secured the Hermès Foundation's 21st Missulsang, receiving KRW 30 million and production support for a solo exhibition at Atelier Hermès in Seoul in 2027.

Inside Burger Collection: Tadanori Yokoo: A Visionary Renegade

The article profiles Tadanori Yokoo, the 89-year-old Japanese artist and graphic designer, who remains active despite a recent bout of Covid-19. It details his early life in Nishiwaki, his failed attempts to enter art school and the postal service, and his eventual career in commercial printing, which shaped his innovative approach to graphic design and painting. The piece highlights his ongoing exhibition at Tokyo's Setagaya Art Museum and his enduring influence in Japan's cultural world, including the Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art in Kobe.

Editor’s Letter: Still, Listening

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, opens in May 2026, shifting focus from Eurocentric narratives to quieter, relational, and improvisational voices from the Global South. ArtAsiaPacific's May/June issue honors Kouoh's vision with features on artists including Gala Porras-Kim (a 2025 MacArthur Fellow), Khaled Sabsabi (representing Australia), and others like Liang Yuanwei, Yuko Mohri, Mona Hatoum, Tadanori Yokoo, Gayane Umerova, Li Yi-Fan, Hyeree Ro, and Ei Arakawa-Nash, with contributions from a curatorial team that carried Kouoh's work forward after her death in 2025.

Previews: 61st Venice Biennale: In Minor Keys

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, opens amid global turmoil and internal controversy. Kouoh, who passed away in May 2025, conceived the exhibition around the metaphor of a "creole garden," emphasizing deep affinities between 111 artists from diverse locations such as Dakar, Beirut, and Salvador. The Biennale is overshadowed by recent geopolitical events, including US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, and faces protests: over 70 participating artists signed an open letter opposing the participation of Israel, Russia, and the US, while the Australian pavilion saw the reinstatement of Khaled Sabsabi after being dropped, and South Africa withdrew its official pavilion over Gabrielle Goliath's femicide project, which she will still present independently.

Khaled Sabsabi: Splintered Worlds

Khaled Sabsabi, a Lebanese Australian artist, explores the intersection of spirituality and perception through video and mixed-media installations rooted in Sufism. His work, such as the 18-minute video *Lefke Morning* (2012–18), captures the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order's dawn meditations, using blurred imagery and soundscapes to challenge Islamophobic media tropes and evoke a sense of unity. Sabsabi's practice also draws on hip-hop, which he performed as "Peacefender" in the 1980s, using music to address social issues and support marginalized communities in Western Sydney.

Whispering Gallery: The Cratable Hedge and the Colonial Hangover

The article questions the appointment of James Taylor-Foster as the incoming director of Para Site in Hong Kong, noting his background as a curator of architecture and design rather than contemporary art, and his lack of prior engagement with Asia's curatorial scene. It also reports that Philip Tinari, former director of UCCA in Beijing, has been appointed to lead Tai Kwun, replacing Pi Li, who has become founding director of the Tencent-funded Róng Museum of Art in Shenzhen.

New Currents: Liu Shuai

Liu Shuai, a multimedia artist from Shandong province, China, presented an interactive installation titled "The Kiss" (2025) at VILLA tbh in Shanghai during the 15th Shanghai Biennale (2025–26). The work, co-created with carpenter bees, features bamboo stalks punctured by the insects and transformed into hanging instruments. It was part of the biennale's "City Projects" and housed in Liu's temporary studio within the Shanghai Botanical Garden, offering a poetic exploration of interspecies collaboration.

New Currents: Jungeun Park

Jungeun Park, an artist based between New York and Seoul, creates sculptures that blend glass, ceramics, and textiles to evoke raw biological forms and alien organic matter. Her 2025 graduate presentation at the Rhode Island School of Design featured works like *Skin Mite (demodex)* (2024), sewn from old pillowcases, and *Period Chalice* (2024), made from resin, metal chain, metal ring, water, and strawberry syrup, which transform the repulsive into something tender and strange.

Art Fair Report: Stress Test

Art Basel Hong Kong 2026 drew 91,500 visitors and featured 240 galleries at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, alongside over 100 galleries at Art Central, three new boutique fairs, four new art spaces, multiple auction previews, and dozens of institutional shows and gallery openings. Despite a challenging 2025 that saw mega-galleries Pace and Perrotin close their Hong Kong spaces and auction results hit an eight-year low, blue-chip galleries reported strong sales, including David Zwirner’s USD 3.8 million sale of Liu Ye’s "Snow White" (2006) and Hauser & Wirth’s USD 2.95 million sale of a Louise Bourgeois work. The prevailing sentiment among collectors and gallerists was cautious optimism, with the phrase "Are you surviving?" overheard frequently.

Hyeree Ro: What Bears

Hyeree Ro is preparing for the 2026 Venice Biennale, where she will present the work "Bearing (2026)" as part of the Korean Pavilion, titled "Liberation Space: Fortress/Nest." The article follows Ro in her temporary Brooklyn studio, where she works with salvaged objects and materials that migrate across multiple works over years—such as a sheet of organza purchased in 2023 that later appeared in "Niro (2024)" and "Carry (2025)" before being repurposed as the pavilion's fabric walls. Her practice is defined by a nomadic, accumulative material logic: objects enter without a fixed destination and gain meaning through repeated reuse.

Zurbarán review: Even the godless will be enraptured by this drama

The article reviews a major exhibition of 17th-century Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán, highlighting his dramatic religious works such as a stark crucifixion, a depiction of St. Peter crucified upside down, and a series of saintly princesses. It notes the exhibition's effective hanging, the artist's use of vivid color and theatrical lighting, and includes recently attributed works like a mysterious giant head. The review emphasizes the blend of high drama, emotion, and Catholic piety in Zurbarán's paintings, as well as his still lifes that rival those of Velázquez.

'Fantastical' opens May 7 at Riverfront Arts Center in Stevens Point

The Riverfront Arts Center in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, will open a new exhibition titled 'Fantastical' on May 7, celebrating imagination and creativity. The opening reception runs from 4:30 to 7 p.m. and includes food, refreshments, flow arts performances, tarot readings, music, and a chance to meet the artists. The exhibition is open to all artists aged 18 and older, with submissions accepted on April 30 and May 1, and runs through June 14.