"Restitutions": Parliament Ready to Give Everything Up

« Restitutions » : le Parlement prêt à tout lâcher

The French Parliament is moving forward with an accelerated legislative process to pass a framework law governing the restitution of cultural property to foreign states. This bill aims to streamline the return of artworks and artifacts deemed to have been illicitly acquired, fulfilling a long-standing promise made by President Emmanuel Macron to address colonial-era acquisitions and other contested heritage.

Hugo the Decorator

Hugo décorateur

An exhibition and accompanying book explore Victor Hugo's lesser-known role as an interior decorator, focusing on the elaborate interiors he created for his homes in Paris and during his exile on the island of Guernsey. Curator Gérard Audinet conducted extensive research to reconstruct these lost environments, which were filled with eclectic objects, artworks by friends, and prestigious gifts.

‘Out of Place’ : The Afterlives of Landscape.

The major retrospective ‘Out of Place’ at ART AFRICA showcases over 200 images by South African photographer Jo Ractliff, spanning four decades of her career. The exhibition traces Ractliff’s evolution from her early 1980s street photography to her mature, atmospheric landscapes that examine the scars of colonialism, apartheid, and regional conflicts in Southern Africa. By focusing on the 'afterlife' of violence rather than the events themselves, the collection highlights her unique ability to capture how history sediments within the physical terrain.

NICOLÁS GÓMEZ ECHEVERRI: “LA TRASCENDENCIA DEL MUSEO ES VULNERABLE A LA IMPOSICIÓN DE MODAS POR PARTE DEL ALGORITMO”

Nicolás Gómez Echeverri, director of the Unidad de Artes y Otras Colecciones at the Banco de la República de Colombia, reflects on the challenges facing museums in Iberoamérica in an interview published for International Museum Day. He oversees institutions including the Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia (MAMU), the Museo Botero, and the Casa de Moneda. Gómez Echeverri describes the museum as a "radar" that captures decentralized artistic practices and integrates them into collective narratives, while emphasizing the need for mediation, public debate, and long-term cultural projects amid economic constraints and the pressures of digital immediacy.

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.

design ralph lauren home naiomi tyler glasses navajo

Siblings Naiomi and Tyler Glasses, Diné weavers from a seven-generation lineage, have collaborated with Ralph Lauren on the Canyon Road Collection, a home goods line featuring traditional Navajo motifs like eye-dazzler diamonds and Spider Woman crosses. The collection, which includes bedding and dishware, marks Naiomi's second artist-in-residence partnership with the brand and aims to translate Indigenous craftsmanship into contemporary design.

brooklyn botanical garden bonsai collection 100 year anniversary

Brooklyn Botanic Garden's bonsai collection is celebrating its 100-year anniversary. The institution and its C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum have launched expanded offerings, added accessible signage, and arranged commemorative activations. The collection, one of the oldest and largest outside Japan, includes over 400 trees that require meticulous care. Horticulture Director Shauna Moore describes bonsai as an invitation to slow down amid New York City's bustle. The garden pioneered bonsai classes in the U.S. after World War II, when returning GIs brought the practice home, and flourished under bonsai master Frank Okamura, who became a key figure in the craft over four decades.

NBMAA chooses its first Hamm Family Curatorial Fellow

The New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA) has appointed Lydia Holleck as its first Hamm Family Curatorial Fellow. This new full-time position is dedicated to researching, exhibiting, and engaging the public with artwork from the museum’s permanent collection that is currently in storage and rarely seen by visitors.

The Body Is Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has published an article titled "The Body Is Art." The content appears to focus on the human body as a subject within art, likely exploring representations and interpretations of the body in the museum's collection.

Smithsonian Exhibition Spotlights Pahari Painting Traditions From The Himalayan Kingdoms

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C., has opened "Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms," an exhibition featuring 48 paintings and colored drawings that trace the evolution of Pahari painting across three key periods between 1620 and 1830. The show highlights the genre’s ties to the region’s landscapes, courtly life, and devotional practices, with works created using opaque watercolors, beetle wings, and gold, many of which have not been publicly displayed before. The exhibition runs until July 26.

See what's new for the Shelburne Museum's free community day

Shelburne Museum will host a free community day on May 9, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., celebrating its 2026 season. The event features three new exhibitions: "Varied and Alive - New and Rarely Seen Treasures from the Collection" (19th to mid-20th century folk art, circus posters, textiles, and more), "On Point - Needlework from the Garthwaite Family Collection" (Vermont schoolgirl needlework and women's education), and "Big River - Ogden Pleissner in Wyoming" (sketches and paintings of the American West). Activities include curator-led tours, artmaking sessions, live music by Marie Hamilton, Owen Leavey, and Deja Nous, a seed swap, and garden talks. The day is organized in collaboration with the Vermont Community Foundation.

NEW PROJECT ON PUERTO RICAN ART AND HISTORY: $200K grant will support the initiative at NBMAA

The New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA) has received a $200,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to support a new project titled "Puerto Rico in Focus: Historical Interventions." The initiative is part of a multi-year museum effort to explore Puerto Rico’s complex relationship with the United States through exhibitions, research, and community programs.

Venue of National Centre for Contemporary Arts on Niakrasava Street to Cease Exhibition Activities in June

The National Centre for Contemporary Arts (NCCA) in Minsk, Belarus, has announced that its venue on Niakrasava Street will cease exhibition activities from June 22, 2026. The institution is set to be liquidated, with its premises and collections transferred to the National Art Museum, while the Niakrasava Street space will be taken over by the Belarusian State Academy of Arts. The closure is linked to the newly appointed chairman of the Union of Artists, Andrei Vasileuski, and reportedly supported by the Culture Ministry.

Rare Pahari Paintings Go On Display In Washington Exhibition

An exhibition titled “Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms” has opened at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, part of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C., running through July 26. The show features 48 rare paintings created for Hindu kings in the Pahari region of northern India between the 1620s and 1830s, highlighting diverse styles from lyrical and naturalistic to boldly colored and abstracted. Key works include pieces acquired from art historian Catherine Glynn Benkaim and collector Ralph Benkaim, some never publicly exhibited before, along with loans from the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Art in Bloom returns to Mia, transforming galleries with floral interpretations

Art in Bloom, the Minneapolis Institute of Art's annual floral showcase, returned from April 23 to 26, 2026, featuring over 160 flower arrangements inspired by artworks from the museum's permanent collection. The free, four-day event, presented by the Friends of the Institute, drew thousands of visitors and included guided tours, family activities, and expanded programming. Floral designers, florists, and garden clubs placed their interpretations alongside original pieces, with this year's centerpiece inspired by a Japanese Presentation vase from the early 20th century, once owned by railroad magnate James J. Hill.

Elizabeth Hawes exhibition shows how forgotten designer influenced radical fashion

The Cincinnati Art Museum will host "Elizabeth Hawes: Radical American Fashion," the first major museum exhibition dedicated to the early 20th-century designer, running from April 24 to August 2. Curated by Cynthia Amnéus, the show features over 50 garments from the 1920s through the 1960s, drawn largely from the museum's collection of 23 Hawes pieces—the second-largest after the Met's Costume Institute. Hawes, a Vassar graduate who worked as a Paris copyist before becoming disillusioned with the fashion industry, advocated for comfort, personal identity, and gender-fluid clothing, and wrote nine books critiquing fashion's commercial cycle.

Exhibition openings to enjoy in May

Bundaberg Regional Galleries in Queensland, Australia, will launch five new exhibitions in May 2025, with opening events spread across the month. The shows include 'Lost in Palm Springs', a national touring exhibition curated by Dr Greer Honeywill featuring 14 artists and thinkers from America and Australia exploring Palm Springs' landscape and mid-century modern architecture; 'Shifting Perspectives: the Self Reconciliation Project' by local artist Avi Amesbury, which uses ceramics and storytelling to examine settler-colonial family history; 'Post Truth' by Gureng Gureng/Gangalu artist Darren Blackburn, addressing the Australian Government's Close the Gap campaign through led-neon signs; 'The Nature of Silk: The Glad Not Sad Book', a family-friendly exhibition of silk art by children's book author Kim Michelle Toft; and 'Metal in Motion' by Kevin Dekker, a collection of sculptures that transform steel, wood, stone and ceramics into dynamic, fluid forms. Opening events will be held at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery and Childers Arts Space, with free admission and no RSVP required.

From gallery to gavel: investment-grade art collection open to public

The Ann Bryant Art Gallery in East London, South Africa, is hosting a public viewing of an investment-grade art collection from a deceased estate before it goes to online auction through Thompson Property Sellers. The collection includes over 800 paintings, 600 collectables, a 1975 VW Beetle, and a 1976 Vespa, featuring works by artists such as Gabriel and Tinus de Jongh, Hargreaves Ntukwana, Amos Langdown, Christian Nice, Chris Tugwell, Jack Lugg, Tony Durheim, and Otto Klar. The event is part of the "Jazz in the City" festival, pairing jazz music with visual art to create a cultural experience.

Cincinnati Art Museum opens new ‘radical fashion’-focused exhibit

The Cincinnati Art Museum is opening a new exhibition titled "Elizabeth Hawes: Radical American Fashion," the first-ever showcase dedicated to the groundbreaking American designer Elizabeth Hawes. The exhibit features over 50 garments from the 1920s to the 1960s, along with sketches, illustrations, and the first publication focused on her career. Hawes, who designed for icons like Lauren Bacall, championed gender-neutral clothing and quality mass manufacturing, ideas ahead of her time. The collection was largely donated by Dorette Kruse Fleischmann, a frequent client, and was curated by Megan Nauer, the museum's acting curator of fashion arts and textiles.

Bailey Art Gallery Exhibit Celebrates Life on the Water

The Bailey Art Gallery in Hobe Sound, Florida, will open a new exhibition on April 24 featuring works by local painter Dan Mackin and photographer M.E. Gruber. Mackin’s highly stylized paintings—created with airbrush and traditional techniques—depict idyllic coastal scenes on canvas, navigation maps, surfboards, and a guitar, and include collaborations with Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. Gruber’s mid-century Kodachrome transparencies, drawn from an archive of over 5,000 images, document the emerging surf culture of Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast. The exhibition will display 50 full-frame prints from this collection.

Through the eyes of artist T.C. Steele: IU’s campus 100 years ago

Indiana University's University Collections at McCalla has opened "Capturing the Campus: T.C. Steele," a collaborative exhibition with the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites that brings together many paintings by Hoosier artist T.C. Steele for the first time in decades. Steele, who served as IU's first artist in residence from 1922 until his death in 1926, created impressionist works depicting campus scenes, portraits of university presidents and faculty, and landscapes that capture what the campus looked like a century ago. The exhibit, which opened April 17, features paintings sorted by geographic location on campus, alongside a historic map, letters, documentaries, and 3D renderings.

Corcoran students commemorate America’s 250th year with interactive art exhibit

Graduate students at the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design, part of George Washington University, have created an interactive exhibition titled “American Made” to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary. The exhibit, on view at the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery until May 14, combines 21 traditional artworks from GW’s collection—including photographs, pottery, and textiles—with interactive elements such as a touchscreen map and audio components. The project was developed collaboratively by students in museum studies and interactive design programs, led by professors Laura Schiavo and Sam Shelton, as part of the school’s annual NEXT Festival. Featured works include Patricia Kennedy-Zafred’s contemporary quilt “Tagged,” which addresses the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

A WHOLE NEW LEVEL OF ARTISTRY 👏 BTS leader RM is set to showcase his artwork from his personal collection in his upcoming exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from October 3 to February 7, 2027. Tap the link in the comment section.

BTS leader RM will present an exhibition of artworks from his personal collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). The show, titled "RM: Resonance," is scheduled to run from October 3, 2026, to February 7, 2027, and will feature a selection of contemporary pieces he has acquired.

The National Museum of Mexican Art’s Special Mission

The National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) in Chicago was founded in 1987 by a group of public school educators, led by Carlos Tortolero, to address a lack of Mexican history and culture in the curriculum. It has grown into a 48,000-square-foot institution with a collection of over 20,000 objects, spanning from Pre-Columbian times to the present, and was the first Latino museum in the U.S. to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

In pictures: jewellery through history and cultures on show in Hong Kong

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute has sent approximately 200 pieces from its jewellery collection to Hong Kong for a major exhibition titled 'Jewels, Gems, and Treasures: Adornment in World Cultures'. The show, hosted at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, spans 5,000 years and includes items from ancient Egypt, Imperial China, Renaissance Europe, and modern designers, highlighting the universal human impulse for adornment.

More Than 100 PPS Student Art Pieces Are on Display at the Portland Art Museum This Summer

The Portland Art Museum is hosting the "HeART of Portland" exhibition, featuring over 100 artworks created by students from all 81 Portland Public Schools. The showcase includes a diverse range of media, from ceramics and rug tufting to screen-printed apparel and zines, and for the first time, the student work is being displayed in a professional gallery space within the museum's main building. The exhibition, which opened on Tax Day, serves as a tangible demonstration of the results of the city's unique arts tax.

New SLAM exhibition brings ancient Rome to life in ‘Ancient Splendor: Roman Art in the Time of Trajan’

The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) has opened “Ancient Splendor: Roman Art in the Time of Trajan,” a major traveling exhibition featuring a seven-foot-tall marble statue of Emperor Trajan and a vast array of artifacts from his reign. Organized in collaboration with the Italian organization StArt and curated by Roman expert Lucrezia Ungaro alongside SLAM’s Hannah Segrave, the show is structured into three thematic sections: the imperial household, the domestic lives of everyday Romans, and the public sphere. To enhance immersion, the museum has integrated sensory elements including scent stations that replicate ancient fragrances and a commissioned soundscape.

Do you hate art museums? Why (and how) to take a 2nd look

Do you hate art museums? Why (and how) to take a 2nd look

The traditional art museum experience often leads to exhaustion and a sense of alienation due to the overwhelming abundance of artworks and the pressure to see everything quickly. This phenomenon, which affects even visitors to world-class institutions like the Vatican or the Uffizi, stems from a 'problem of abundance' rather than a lack of appreciation for the art itself. The author suggests that smaller, more intimate spaces and a slower approach to viewing would make art more accessible and less intimidating for the general public.

National museum partnership brings major American art exhibition to West Texas

The Ellen Noël Art Museum in Odessa, Texas, has announced a significant partnership with the Smithsonian American Art Museum to host a major traveling exhibition. This collaboration brings a curated selection of American masterpieces to the West Texas region, featuring works that span various eras and styles of the nation's artistic heritage.

Hungarian Modernity: the exhibition that sheds light on an overlooked painter at the Petit Palais, our photos

The Petit Palais in Paris is hosting the first French retrospective dedicated to Károly Ferenczy, a seminal figure in Hungarian art history. Running from April 14 to September 6, 2026, the exhibition features nearly 140 paintings and drawings, many on loan from the Hungarian National Gallery and private collections in Budapest. The showcase traces Ferenczy’s stylistic evolution from naturalism to symbolism and impressionism, highlighting his role as a founder of the Nagybánya artists' colony and a pioneer of en plein air painting in Central Europe.