Artists and architects are increasingly designing and creating elaborate, artistic birdhouses, elevating a common backyard object into a subject of creative expression and public art. This movement reflects a broader trend of engaging with nature and public space, blurring the lines between functional design, sculpture, and environmental commentary.
The Cincinnati Art Museum has announced its first full-scale scholarly exhibition of works by Cincinnati-based artist Charley Harper, titled "The Art of Charley Harper: Creatures Wild and Tame." The exhibition will run from October 16, 2026, through March 7, 2027, featuring around 150 works, including ten large paintings commissioned by the U.S. National Park Service that were only briefly displayed in Washington, D.C., in the 1990s. The show is presented in partnership with the Charley Harper Art Studio and marks the artist's first museum retrospective.
I futuri professionisti della cultura in Africa saranno formati da sei musei italiani
The fourth edition of the International School of Cultural Heritage (Scuola Internazionale del Patrimonio Culturale) is underway, with 23 cultural professionals from 12 African nations participating in a hands-on training program hosted by six Italian museums. After online modules and a week of lectures in Rome, the residential phase runs from April 27 to May 22, 2025, placing participants at the Museo delle Civiltà (MUCIV), the Archaeological Parks of Praeneste and Gabii, the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto (MArTA), the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN), the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria (MArRC), and the National Archaeological Museum of Agro Falisco and Forte Sangallo in Civita Castellana. The program, titled "Managing Art Collections: from ancient to contemporary," focuses on collection management, conservation, and public programming, linking archaeological heritage with contemporary practices.
Treviso è una città dipinta. La Fondazione Benetton racconta tutto nelle sue ricerche
The Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche has unveiled the results of its decade-long multidisciplinary project, "Treviso urbs picta," which documents the extensive history of frescoed facades in Treviso, Italy. Spanning the 13th to the 21st centuries, the initiative has produced a comprehensive database of 614 buildings, a scholarly publication, and a topographical map. The project includes a digital archive featuring professional photography and historical mapping to track the evolution and current state of the city's unique painted architecture.
La Tribune de l'Art reports that a fundraising campaign has been launched to restore the refectory of the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris, specifically the salle de l'Europe. This room features 17th-century murals attributed to Michel Corneille le Jeune, depicting battles from the Franco-Dutch War (1673–1675), including the sieges of Maastricht, Huy, and Limbourg, as well as allegorical scenes of Louis XIV. The restoration is organized by the Musée de l'Armée, which manages the site.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, now in its 61st year, has returned to Brighton Museum and Art Gallery on loan from the Natural History Museum. The exhibition runs from 9 May to 6 September and features over 60,000 entries from photographers across 113 countries and territories, judged anonymously on creativity, originality, and technical excellence.
The Detroit Zoo is hosting the internationally renowned "Birds in Art" exhibition from April 1 to September 7, 2026. Organized by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the showcase features 60 original paintings, sculptures, and graphics by contemporary artists from around the world. The exhibition includes interactive elements and a dedicated reading nook designed to engage visitors of all ages with avian-themed artworks.
The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is launching 'Ancient Splendor: Roman Art in the Time of Trajan,' a major exhibition featuring approximately 160 artifacts including imperial portraiture, mosaics, jewelry, and frescoes. Curated by Lucrezia Ungaro and Hannah Segrave, the show utilizes theatrical design and sensory elements like scents to immerse visitors in the Roman world. The exhibition is bolstered by significant loans from prestigious Italian institutions, including the Vatican Museums and the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
Topkapı Palace in Istanbul has opened a new Tile Art Gallery in its Mabeyn section, featuring a restored historic passage that connects the Mabeyn area with the Harem-i Hümayun. The gallery, called the Mabeyn Yolu (Route) Tile Art Gallery, showcases the stylistic and technical evolution of Ottoman tile art from Iznik to Kütahya, displaying tiles that were previously kept in storage. National Palaces President Professor Yasin Yıldız announced that the project took nearly three years and includes tiles bearing the names of Ottoman sultans from Osman Gazi to Sultan Selim II, as well as couplets from the 11th-century poem "Qasida al-Munfarija."
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened "The Brooklyn Bridge Up Close," a special installation featuring seven original drawings of the Brooklyn Bridge from the New York City Municipal Archives, many unseen for forty years. The drawings, created by engineer John A. Roebling and his successors, were examined through The Met’s Scientific Research Partnerships program, a grant-funded initiative providing free scientific support to art institutions nationwide. The installation highlights the multiyear collaboration between The Met and the Municipal Archives.
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will hold its official opening ceremony on November 1, more than 30 years after its initial proposal. The centerpiece of the inauguration is the Tutankhamun Gallery, featuring the famous gold funerary mask under bulletproof glass and a full-scale reproduction of the king's tomb. Designed by German studio Atelier Brückner, the gallery offers two narrative paths: one tracing Tutankhamun's life and reign, the other following Howard Carter's 1922 discovery. The museum, located near the Giza pyramids, has already been partially open to visitors, with conservation labs operating since 2010 and contemporary programming running for two years.
Friedrich I of Baden-Württemberg upgraded his summer residence, Ludwigsburg Palace in Germany, after allying with Napoleon and becoming king. Four prized rooms, including the unusually complete drapery bedchamber, are set to reopen in 2026 after substantial restoration. The bedchamber features original turquoise silks, now faded blue-green, and over 6,000 tassels, presenting a major conservation challenge. Textile conservator Anu-Susanna Ventelä notes it is likely the only palace in Europe with such an intact drapery room. The project is part of a larger revamp of 35 rooms funded by the State of Baden-Württemberg, with conservators consulting historical inventories to restore furnishings to their original layout.
The official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), originally scheduled for July 3, has been postponed again due to the outbreak of war between Israel and Iran. Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced the delay on Saturday, with the tourism and antiquities ministry citing "current regional developments" and stating the full launch will now occur in the last quarter of this year. The museum is already partially open, including its conservation studios (operating since 2010), contemporary program (since 2023), and most Egyptian galleries with the grand staircase, but the Tutankhamen galleries are being held back for the formal opening.
The Taos Art Museum has completed an expansion project that enhances both the display and preservation of its collection. The renovation includes new gallery spaces, improved climate control systems, and upgraded storage facilities, allowing the museum to better showcase its holdings of Taos Society of Artists works and other regional art.
More than 160 treasures from the tomb of King Tutankhamun have been transferred from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, ahead of its long-awaited opening on 3 July. The items include a ceremonial chair inlaid with ivory and gold and an accompanying footstool decorated with gilded motifs. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities states the move is part of a plan to display the entire Tutankhamun collection together for the first time. The famous golden mask and golden coffins remain at the Cairo museum for now and will be the last items moved.
Grove Gallery in Evanston, Illinois, is hosting its annual water conservation exhibition, 'Horizons: the Waterscapes,' opening Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. and running through May 24. The show features ten artists, including Louise LeBourgeois, Mark Collins, and Ted Glasoe, whose works explore water-themed subjects across various styles. Twenty percent of all sales revenue will be donated to the Alliance for the Great Lakes, a nonprofit focused on protecting the Great Lakes. The exhibition includes paintings, photographs, and prints, with a talk by LeBourgeois scheduled for May 17.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) invites the public to 'MANA', a contemporary art exhibition organized by the Silaw Artist Collective at the NCCA Gallery in Manila from May 7 to 30, 2026. Curated by Eghai Roxas, the show features works by 15 artists including Melvin Culaba, Henri Cainglet, and Derick Macutay, exploring the tension between commodification and environmental conservation, with a focus on the Masungi Georeserve landscape.
The Arts Center at Johns Creek, Georgia, is hosting 'Upcycled: Reclaimed and Reimagined,' an exhibition running through May 16 that features artworks made from discarded objects. Curator Althea Foster organized the show to coincide with Earth Day, highlighting pieces such as Tracy Douchy's bulldog sculpture 'Watchdog' (made from old wrist watches) and Mary Jablonski's 'Grizzly Watching' (constructed from repurposed paper). The exhibit has drawn double the usual foot traffic from local residents.
The Southwest Art Gallery and Science Center in Dickinson, North Dakota, is presenting a women’s Western art exhibition titled “Women Artists of the Western Plains” from May 7 through June 12. The show features 88 artworks including paintings, bronze sculptures, and historic saddles by regional artists Daphne Clark, Afton Ray Rossol, Barb Kalenze Kraft, Oksana Zvyagelskiy, Trish Stevenson, and Kelsey Jacobson. A public reception will be held May 14 with wine, cheese, and classical guitar. The exhibition was organized in collaboration with the Long X Arts Foundation and includes works by sculptor Linda Little and saddles from the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Photoville, co-founded by Laura Roumanos, Sam Barzilay, and Dave Shelley, partners with the South Street Seaport Museum to present Australian conservation and nature photographer Jon McCormack's outdoor exhibition "Elements of Wonder: When Nature Becomes Art" from April 22 to June 14, 2026, in New York City. The free, public show features a decade-long environmental photography project spanning five continents, drawn from McCormack's book "Patterns: Art of the Natural World," capturing natural patterns at scales from microscopic mineral formations to aerial landscapes.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition has opened at Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery (SMAG) in Shropshire, UK, running until 20 June 2026. On loan from the Natural History Museum in London, the show features over 60,000 entries judged anonymously by an international panel, including a striking image of a lioness and cobra by Gabriella Comi. Alongside the main exhibition, a community photography competition highlights local Shropshire photographers focusing on 'Wildlife on your doorstep'.
A new art gallery is set to open within Pensthorpe, a nature reserve in Norfolk, on May 25, in partnership with local artist Claire Frances Smith. Housed in the former education building, the gallery will display Smith's original landscape paintings and giclée prints in a relaxed, interiors-led setting, and will also host seasonal painting workshops, starting with an En Plein Air Masterclass on June 30. The reserve's education centre will be relocated and enhanced over the summer.
The article explores the Shekhawati region of northern Rajasthan, India, known as the world's largest open-air art gallery. It focuses on the 18th–20th century merchant havelis (mansions) hand-painted with intricate frescoes, many of which are now being restored as heritage hotels. The author recounts a personal stay at Malji Ka Kamra, a restored haveli in Mandawa, describing its blend of Italianate and Rajput architecture and the overwhelming frescoes covering every surface, depicting portraits, floral motifs, and scenes of daily life.
Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo inaugurated a three-day painting exhibition titled “The Meanderings” by Pradeep Wahule, an Indian Forest Service officer and Conservator of Forests, at Kala Kendra Jammu. The event, organized under the Department of Culture, featured around 40 artworks displayed at the Master Sansar Chand Gallery, with Brij Mohan Sharma as Special Guest and remarks from officials including Sarvesh Rai, Harvinder Kour, and Dr. Javaid Rahi. Curator Rashmi Rao noted this is the sixth state where she has managed the show.
The Lynnwood Event Center is hosting a free 'Meet the Artists' reception on April 14 to celebrate its current exhibition, "Flight Patterns: The Art & Motion of Winged Life." The event features a diverse range of works including painting, sculpture, and glass that explore themes of migration and transformation. Highlights include a live participatory installation by artist Alexandra Nason, where guests can decorate aluminum butterflies for a modular sculpture, and an educational presence by the conservation nonprofit Birds Connect Seattle.
Guatemalan authorities, acting on a court order, raided and closed the Museo de Arte Colonial in Antigua, forcing the emergency relocation of 287 artworks from their home of 89 years. The collection, including fragile 17th- to 19th-century paintings and sculptures, is now in temporary storage in Guatemala City, though six large-scale works deemed too delicate to move remain in the shuttered, unsecured building.
The Rio Grande International Study Center has announced the three judges for the 2026 Birds of the Brush art exhibition, part of the Laredo Birding Festival. The judges are Kassandra Romero, an artist and educator; Anakaren Escamilla, a Laredo-based artist focused on healing and feminine strength; and Raul Delgado, an avid bird photographer and member of the Monte Mucho Audubon Society. The free public event will take place February 5 at the Laredo Center for the Arts, featuring aviary-themed works from artists of all ages and skill levels.
Cecilia Giménez, the Spanish woman who accidentally became famous in 2012 for her botched restoration of a 19th-century fresco of Ecce Homo by Elías García Martínez, has died. The painting, housed in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza, was severely deteriorated when Giménez, then 81, attempted to repaint it with the permission of the local priest. Her amateur restoration transformed the original into a viral internet meme dubbed "Monkey Christ," drawing global ridicule but also unexpected tourism to the quiet town of Borja.
The exhibition "Painting Miniatures by Slaven Vidović" opened on Saturday at the Split Art Gallery, presenting for the first time works from the previously unknown artistic oeuvre of Slaven Vidović, the son of painter Emanuel Vidović. Curated by Iris Slade, the show features eighty works on paper created during the 1920s, drawn from the legacy of Vidović's daughter Zjenja Čulić. Due to the fragility of the originals, high-quality prints are displayed instead. Vidović, a prominent physician and art collector, studied medicine in Prague from 1919 to 1926, where he developed a passion for capturing everyday life in working-class districts, night bars, and cafes, drawing on styles including Fauvism, Cubism, Dadaism, Expressionism, and Neorealism.
Topkapi Palace in Istanbul has opened the Mabeyn Route Tile Art Gallery, a new permanent exhibition space inside a historic corridor that once connected the imperial reception area with the Imperial Harem. The gallery displays around 250 ceramic tiles, tracing the stylistic and technical evolution of Ottoman tile art from Iznik to Kutahya, with many pieces previously kept in storage and rarely seen by the public. The corridor was restored as part of a long-term program by the National Palaces Administration, and the gallery also features large-scale tiles inscribed with the names of Ottoman sultans and verses from a 11th-century poem.