Rocío Sáenz: Wild Order

ROCÍO SÁENZ: ORDEN SALVAJE

Mexican artist Rocío Sáenz presents "Orden salvaje" (Wild Order) at the Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara (MUSA), an exhibition featuring over 60 works created over three years. Spanning painting, ceramics, photography, and drawing, the collection explores the tension between beauty and horror, specifically addressing the harrowing reality of forced disappearances in Mexico. The exhibition is designed as an open studio, showcasing the artist's creative process alongside finished pieces that utilize black humor and satire to navigate themes of death and reconstruction.

There are 21 artists supporting the new voyage of the Global Sumud Flotilla that set sail from Sicily with painted sails

Ci sono 21 artisti a sostegno del nuovo viaggio della Global Sumud Flotilla salpata dalla Sicilia con vele dipinte

A new humanitarian mission by the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail on April 26 from Augusta, Sicily, with 59 Italian and Spanish boats heading toward Gaza. The flotilla, which follows a first attempt in September 2025 that ended with activists arrested by the Israeli military, aims to deliver humanitarian aid by early May. Twenty-one artists have joined the initiative, called Vele d'Arte, painting the sails of the boats with symbolic artworks. Among the participating artists are Gio Pistone, Antonio Curcio, Escif, Lydia Giordano, Glenda Costa, Millo, Elia Novecento, MP5, Matteo Todeschini, Alleg, Sam3, Okuda, Antonella Santonocito, Fabrizio Foti, Igor Scalisi Palmiteri, Andrea Sposari, and Salvo Ligama. The project was conceived by Carlo Alberto Giardina, who hopes the energy painted on the sails will transform into positive forces.

Venice Biennale Scraps “Golden Lion” Awards as Turmoil Continues

The 61st Venice Biennale has scrapped its traditional Golden Lion awards, replacing them with public-voted “Visitor Lions” after the entire award jury resigned on April 30. The jury had previously announced its intention to exclude countries whose leaders are charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, effectively targeting Russia and Israel. The Biennale Foundation, however, stated that all official national pavilions—including Russia and Israel—will be eligible for the new Visitor Lions, citing principles of inclusion and equal treatment. The awards ceremony has been moved from May 9 to November 22, the final day of the Biennale, to allow ticket holders to vote throughout the event.

New School Faculty React to Plans to Lay Off 15% of Workforce

The New School announced plans to lay off 15% of its full-time faculty and staff by mid-June, a move driven by a projected $48 million deficit and a 20% enrollment decline since 2021. The cuts are part of a broader workforce reduction strategy that has already included voluntary buyouts. The restructuring will disproportionately affect the New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, which are undergoing major mergers and program discontinuations, while the Parsons School of Design faces fewer cuts.

Graduating art students explore change within and around through the senior studio

Six senior art students at the University of Idaho presented their Bachelor of Fine Arts capstone works at the Ridenbaugh Gallery in an exhibition titled "Senior Studio," running from November 18 to December 12. The students—Kieran Heywood, Adelia Hopper, Sofia Nuss, Tyler Ready, and Austin Eike—each explored personal and societal themes through various media, including watercolor, felt, ceramics, and 3D printing. Heywood's work addressed grief and loss of a parent, Hopper's felt creatures examined gender non-conformity, Nuss painted nostalgic childhood memories, Ready critiqued militarism and fascism, and Eike focused on pharmaceutical addiction. Associate professor Aaron Johnson mentored the students to ensure their portfolios met professional gallery standards.

‘The pain has become unbearable’: Tel Aviv Museum of Art workers stage daily protest outside the institution

Since early April, employees of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art have been staging a daily 30-minute protest outside the museum's two public entrances before opening hours. Initiated by senior curator of Israeli art Dalit Matatyahu, the protest brings together staff with diverse stances on the war, the hostage crisis, and the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The demonstration takes place at the intersection of the museum and Hostages Square, a site already central to hostage-family activism. Participants include chief curator Mira Lapidot and contemporary art curator Shahar Molcho, who describe the protest as a moral response to the unbearable transition from the charged square to museum work.

How Myanmar's art community rallied after a deadly earthquake

Following the devastating 7.7 earthquake on 28 March in Myanmar, the country's art community—both at home and in exile—has mobilized fundraising efforts to support relief and rebuilding, deliberately bypassing the ruling Tatmadaw junta. Curator Kyel Sin Lin is auctioning a work by prominent artist Htein Lin depicting the epicenter Sagaing and the collapsed Ava Bridge, while galleries in Yangon such as The Collector Art Gallery, Sar Ga Gallery, and Nawaday Tharlar Gallery are holding earthquake relief sales. In Hong Kong, 10 Chancery Lane raised $13,000 through a fundraising night and online sale of works by Moe Satt and Htein Lin, and Karin Weber Gallery is selling a painting by Burmese Modernist San Win to benefit the educational non-profit Prospect Burma.

Machine love. Video game, AI and contemporary art

The Mori Art Museum in Tokyo presents 'Machine Love: Video Game, AI and Contemporary Art,' an exhibition featuring around 50 works that employ game engines, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. The show includes pieces using generative AI to explore new aesthetics, digital identities, and hyperrealistic landscapes, while addressing themes such as life, death, ethics, environmental crisis, and diversity.

Venice Biennale chief under pressure

Venedig-Biennale-Chef unter Druck

Just before the opening of the Venice Art Biennale, its president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco is facing mounting criticism after the entire jury resigned. Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli accused Buttafuoco of pursuing a form of "parallel foreign policy" by readmitting Russia to the six-month exhibition, calling him a "victim of a pacifist fantasy." The opening ceremony and the traditional Golden Lion awards have been canceled; prizes will now be decided by visitor vote at the end of the Biennale in November.

Press Photos of the Year Chosen

Pressefotos des Jahres gewählt

Carol Guzy won the World Press Photo competition for 2025 with her image "Separated by ICE," taken for the Miami Herald. The photograph depicts children clinging to their father's shirt during a court hearing in New York, after he was unexpectedly detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The jury selected the image from nearly 57,000 entries by about 3,700 photographers. Two other finalists were recognized: Saber Nuraldin for documenting the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and Victor J. Blue for covering the trial of perpetrators who kidnapped and abused women during Guatemala's civil war.

This is the Press Photo of the Year

Das ist das Pressefoto des Jahres

The World Press Photo competition has named Carol Guzy's photograph "Separated by ICE" as the World Press Photo of the Year. The image, taken for the Miami Herald in August 2025, shows children clinging to their father's shirt during a court hearing in New York after he was unexpectedly detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The jury praised the photo as a stark documentation of family separation resulting from U.S. immigration policy. Two other finalists were recognized: Saber Nuraldin's image of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Victor J. Blue's photo documenting the Achi women from Guatemala who sought justice for wartime abuses.

State Secretary Dismissed in Dispute Over Funding

Staatssekretär im Streit um Fördermittel entlassen

Berlin's culture administration has dismissed State Secretary Oliver Friederici, who was responsible for distributing funds for projects combating antisemitism. The move follows a prolonged controversy over the allocation of millions of euros in grants, with allegations of unclear criteria and potential political influence from the CDU party.

Under pressure, the Venice Biennale jury resigns and is replaced by a public vote

Sous pression, le jury de la Biennale de Venise démissionne et est remplacé par un vote du public

On April 30, just days before the Venice Biennale's public opening on May 9, the entire international jury responsible for awarding the Golden and Silver Lions resigned. The jury—comprising Solange Farkas, Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi—had been caught in a escalating controversy after Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco reinstated Russia, which had been excluded since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The European Union threatened to suspend or cancel its €2 million subsidy if Russia remained included. The jury attempted to exclude countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court arrest warrants, effectively targeting Russia and Israel, but ultimately resigned under pressure from both external diplomatic turmoil and internal institutional opposition to any discrimination between pavilions.

NEVERCREW Explores Our Tenuous Relationship with Nature in Huge Murals

The artist duo NEVERCREW, composed of Christian Rebecchi and Pablo Togni, has unveiled a series of large-scale murals across Europe that confront the deteriorating relationship between humanity and the natural world. Their recent works, including the mural "Souvenir" in Vienna and "Switch" in Wuppertal, utilize surrealist imagery—such as polar bears merged with plastic toy components or whales encased in architectural structures—to illustrate how nature is increasingly viewed as an artificial, distant object rather than an integrated system.

‘Rightstarter’ art exhibit at Antioch revisits hip-hop’s golden era

The Herndon Gallery at Antioch College is opening a group exhibition titled 'Rightstarter: Resistance, Rap and the Golden Era,' curated by artist Joshua Whitaker. The show, launching with a reception on May 9, explores the rap counterculture of the late 1980s and early 1990s, featuring works by artists from Dayton and beyond. It includes drawings, paintings, sculpture, installations, video, and performance, with a live jazz performance by G. Scott Jones and the Freedom Ensemble. The exhibition highlights how hip-hop served as a platform for social commentary against the backdrop of Reaganomics, the crack epidemic, the war on drugs, and the AIDS crisis.

Artworks by Palestinian artists killed in war displayed in Scottish exhibition

An exhibition at POD! community art gallery in Dundee, Scotland, features works by three Palestinian artists: Maysa Yousef, who is alive and exhibiting, and two others—Dorgham Qreaiqea and Heba Zaqout—who were killed in Israel's military campaign in Gaza. The display also includes artwork by children in Gaza who participated in art therapy workshops led by Yousef, who describes art as a means of survival and resistance amid ongoing violence and trauma.

New El Camino art exhibit offers hope and insight into depression and anxiety

El Camino College Art Gallery is hosting an exhibition titled "Kieva Campbell: The Sister I Never Met," featuring paintings by artist Kieva Campbell that tell the story of her sister April Savino, a teen runaway who struggled with depression and died by suicide in 1987. The show, on view through spring 2026, includes workshops and interactive stations led by participant Carrie Lockwood, who presents a coloring book called "A Book About Me" to help visitors explore emotions. The exhibition aims to address youth mental health through art.

Call to step up to end violence against women - Ballarat Times

The Ballarat community has launched the 16 Days of Activism campaign to end violence against women, beginning on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (November 25) and running until Human Rights Day (December 10). The campaign includes a '16 Ways for 16 Days' trail map with daily activities, and features the 'Transforming Pain into Power' art exhibition at Ballarat Library, Barkly Square, and Art Space Ballarat, showcasing works by local artists speaking out against gendered violence. Survivor Marita Forsyth's artwork depicts her perpetrators in a burning car, symbolizing her empowerment.

This Indian creative has just opened a new gallery in the UK that uses art to heal

Deep Kailey, a former Vogue India fashion editor turned artistic director, has opened a new 7,500-square-foot gallery in Slough, UK, under the not-for-profit arts platform Without Shape Without Form. The inaugural exhibition, 'Reflections – Sangat and the Self' (on view until May 2, 2026), features works by South Asian artists Jasmir Creed and Roo Dhissou, alongside participatory installations like The Whisper Box and 'Focus, Form and Repeat', all designed to encourage mindfulness, meditation, and community gathering.

Chashama provides affordable studio space to painters, sculptors and other artists

Chashama, a nonprofit founded by Anita Durst in 1995, transforms vacant real estate into affordable studio and gallery spaces for artists. The article highlights the Matawan, New Jersey location, which has 11 studios rented at below-market rates to painters, sculptors, photographers, and other creatives. Artists like Justin DeMattico and Konrad Korzunowicz have found essential workspace and community there, with 24-hour access and opportunities to exhibit. Chashama has repurposed $100 million worth of unused space across New York and New Jersey, hosting over 350 events annually.

Gaza Biennale, featuring works by artists from the war-torn strip, will come to New York City

The Gaza Biennale, a 60-artist exhibition featuring works by artists from Gaza, will debut in New York City from September 10-14 at Recess, a non-profit art space in Brooklyn, with a smaller iteration remaining on view through December 20. The biennale is a decentralized event taking place across 19 venues in 12 cities worldwide, including new pavilions in Toronto, Washington, DC, and New York. It builds on previous editions in London, Athens, Istanbul, Padua, Valencia, and elsewhere, showcasing art made from humble materials like garment scraps and old aid boxes, and includes works by 22 Gaza-based artists in its New York iteration.

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.

Art exhibit to show the realities of homelessness in Kansas City

Artist Daniel Montoute will present "Living in Tents," an exhibition of paintings, found objects, and mixed media works at the Shirley Stiles Gallery in Kansas City starting August 18, 2025. The show depicts the realities of homelessness in the Kansas City area, featuring imagery of tents, shopping carts, and people sleeping in alleyways. Montoute, who moved to Kansas City in 2023 to join the Pendleton ArtsBlock artist community, was struck by the prevalence of homelessness. All exhibition pieces will be donated to reStart Inc., an emergency shelter, and auctioned at its annual fundraising gala on September 11.

Syracuse’s ArtRage Gallery hosts new exhibit exploring global plastic crisis

ArtRage Gallery in Syracuse is hosting a new exhibition titled 'A Rising Tide of Plastic in Art,' featuring works by members of the international collective Project Vortex. The show includes sculptures, photographs, and installations created from reclaimed plastic waste, with artists like Alejandro Durán, Nicole Hixon, Anne Percoco, and Blue McRight transforming debris into commentary on pollution.

The week around the world in 20 pictures

The Guardian's weekly photo feature presents a global visual summary of the past seven days, compiled by leading photojournalists. The selection includes powerful and sometimes distressing images covering major international events, from the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and a Russian drone attack in Kharkiv to a Saharan dust storm in Crete and the launch of NASA's Artemis II mission.

Façade collapse and vandalism at the Saint-Roch church in Paris

Effondrement de façade et vandalisme à l'église Saint-Roch de Paris

A significant portion of the cornice on the right side of the façade of the historic Saint-Roch church in Paris collapsed on March 9, 2026. Fortunately, no one was injured. The incident follows a pattern of similar structural failures at Parisian churches like Saint-Paul, Saint-Merry, and Saint-Augustin. Almost simultaneously, the church was targeted by vandals who severely damaged a gilded wooden altar in the shape of the Ark of the Covenant, a work from 1840 designed by architect Charles Lelong, just before its planned restoration was set to begin.

spain valladolid medieval church apse collapse 1234769931

A section of the apse of the 12th-century Romanesque-Mudejar Church of Our Lady of the Castle (also known as the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption) in Muriel de Zapardiel, Valladolid, Spain, collapsed on Monday morning. The protected Bien de Interés Cultural was immediately closed to the public, with no injuries reported. Heritage experts attribute the collapse to long-standing structural issues such as humidity, cracks, and brickwork erosion, compounded by years of insufficient maintenance. The Archbishopric of Valladolid, which owns the church, stated that inspections last summer had not indicated imminent risk, while regional culture minister Gonzalo Santonja visited the site and called for further analysis.

san francisco california college of the arts close 2027 1234769731

California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco will close by the end of the 2026-2027 academic year. Founded in 1907, the financially struggling nonprofit art school has entered an agreement to sell its campus to Vanderbilt University, which plans to establish undergraduate and graduate programs there, including art and design, and operate a CCA Institute that will house the Wattis Institute of Contemporary Arts and maintain CCA archives. The closure follows years of financial crisis, including a $20 million budget deficit in 2024 and declining enrollment, despite a $22.5 million gift from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's foundation in March 2025.

miami beach free water taxi program 1234763931

Miami Beach is launching a free water taxi program for the second year, starting December 1, to shuttle passengers between the island and mainland every ten to fifteen minutes, with connecting shuttles to the Convention Center and Collins Avenue. The initiative comes as severe traffic congestion during Miami Art Week has driven some exhibitors away from NADA’s inland fairgrounds, with dealers reporting that collectors often abandon trips midway due to gridlock.

heritage experts call for international task force to oversee palmyra restoration 1234760263

Heritage experts, international officials, and Syrian residents gathered in Switzerland for the first comprehensive conference on restoring the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra since the end of Bashar Al Assad's regime. Organized by UNESCO and the Aliph Foundation, the group recommended establishing an international expert task force to remove Palmyra from UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger. Rehabilitation efforts will focus on the Palmyra museum, restoration of artifacts at the Damascus Museum, and repair of the footbridge, with work expected to begin in January 2026.