A plein air art contest is being held in Alton, Illinois, from May 1–31, 2026. Artists over 16 are invited to create works on-site at up to eight Rivers Project recreation areas. For a $25 submission fee, they can enter their work for prizes, and all submissions will be exhibited at the National Great Rivers Museum through August.
Nigeria is preparing for its return to the Venice Biennale in 2028 with a fundamentally different approach, framing its participation as a structural intervention rather than mere inclusion. Curator Richard Vedelago, in conversation with Suzette Bell-Roberts, outlines a strategy focused on ownership, authorship, and building a self-sustaining cultural ecosystem, moving beyond seeking validation from global art structures.
A traveling art exhibition called Hear/Say, part of the Tea on THC campaign, will open May 27 at the Center for Creativity in Fort Collins, Colorado, and run through May 31. The exhibition combines scientific research with visual art—including painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, and installation—to spark public conversations about the health impacts of high-potency cannabis. It is organized by the Colorado School of Public Health and Initium Health following Colorado House Bill 1317, which mandated research and public outreach on high-potency THC products. A free opening reception is scheduled for May 29, with additional events planned in Colorado Springs in June.
The article announces a series of regional events in the Adirondacks, including the Adirondack Paddlefest, the Gloversville Downtown Art Walk, a writing workshop with bestselling author Kate Fagan, an artist reception for Robert Coppen's exhibit "Upstate New York in Paintings" at the Old Forge Library, a touring production of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's "Happy End" presented by Seagle Festival and partners, and the Ausable River Two-Fly Challenge fishing tournament. These events span mid-May 2025 and are open to the public.
A joint painting exhibition titled 'Creations of a Colourful Mind' by three artists—Marja van Kampen, Olivia O’Keeffe, and Martina Furlong—has opened at The Old Market House Arts Centre in Dungarvan, Waterford. The national touring exhibition, which previously appeared in counties Cork, Clare, Tipperary, Wicklow, Wexford, and Laois, marks the trio's tenth collaborative show, following their success at the Tramore Coastguard Cultural Centre last spring.
The Providence Chalk Art Festival will take place on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at the Providence Rink in Rhode Island. For one day, the rink's concrete surface becomes an open-air gallery where artists of all ages and skill levels create chalk artworks in designated squares. Visitors can watch professional chalk artists at work, walk among the colorful street art, and even participate by creating their own chalk designs in special areas set aside for kids and amateurs. The event also features live music, food vendors, and family-friendly activities, all free to attend.
Dallas's Katy Trail, a popular urban greenway, will debut new public art installations in 2027, integrating fresh artworks alongside the trail's existing recreational amenities. The project aims to enhance the trail experience by adding visual art elements to the natural and built environment.
The Lawrence S. Ting Foundation is presenting the fourth Children's Art Exhibition 2026, titled "Empower Light," opening on April 24 in Ho Chi Minh City and later in Hanoi. The exhibition features nearly 50 artworks and handcrafted pieces from students at eight special education schools and centers across Vietnam, curated by visual artist Ngo Dinh Bao Chau. It also includes picture books from a competition for children with disabilities and interactive activities.
North Carolina Central University's Art Museum hosted the "New Horizons" Exhibition, a juried showcase of student work across disciplines like fashion, studio art, graphic design, and animation. The event, which ran from March 22 to April 26, featured nearly 50 student artists and community members, with participants explaining their creative processes and the meanings behind pieces like Natna Kesete's "This Can't Be America."
Cledie Taylor, a pioneering Detroit artist, gallerist, and educator who championed the city's Black artisans and shaped its art curriculum, has died at the age of 100. Born in Arkansas in 1926, she moved to Detroit as a child and became a central figure in the local art scene, co-founding the influential artist collective Arts Extended in the 1950s.
Homestead Fine Art Gallery in downtown Berthoud has established itself as a vital community hub, currently representing 23 local artists from Northern Colorado. The gallery recently hosted its third annual student art show, featuring works from Berthoud High School students and concluding with a public awards reception. Managed by volunteer Executive Director Jim Fronapfel, the space operates on a cooperative model where artists juried into the gallery rent space and contribute volunteer hours to maintain operations.
The Carmen Durazo Cultural Arts Center, in partnership with the Calexico Recreation Department, has launched the "Creative Young Minds" exhibition. The showcase features diverse works including paintings, photography, ceramics, and mixed media from 51 student artists hailing from Calexico, El Centro, Imperial, Brawley, and Mexicali. The opening ceremony was attended by local dignitaries and the Mexican consul, highlighting the cross-border cultural participation of the region's youth.
Solana Beach art gallery and custom frame shop Once Upon a Frame is set to host an opening reception for Southern California artist Paul Kauffman on April 18. The exhibition, titled “In The Presence of Color,” will showcase Kauffman’s recent paintings and include a live painting demonstration, music, and refreshments. The show explores the artist's unique background, balancing his experiences in a Catholic seminary with his time working in a family carnival.
The Arts Council Korea (ARKO) is accepting applications for its ARKO Art Studio residency program in Seoul, which will host 10 visual artists—six international and four local—for two rounds in 2025. Selected artists receive private studio space in Pyeongchang-dong, cultural tours, mentorship, networking events, and studio visits with curators, culminating in a two-month group exhibition at the ARKO Art Center. The application deadline is February 18, with successful applicants announced on March 11.
The University of New Hampshire Gallery of Art opened its Spring 2026 exhibition, InGathering, on January 20, with a reception held on January 23. Curated by UNH alum Alex Leith, the show features ten artists including several UNH alumni, with works ranging from oil paintings to glass blowing. The exhibition was organized on short notice after a construction-related scheduling gap, and emphasizes themes of community, nourishment, and shared energy.
CookieRun: Kingdom, the mobile game franchise, is opening a new art exhibition titled "Legacy of the Kingdom" at the Ara Art Center in Insa-dong, Jongno District, central Seoul, running from Friday through April 23. The exhibition features 10 high-quality collaborative artworks by Korea's master artisans, including lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl (najeon chilgi) by Sohn Dae-hyun, a buncheong vase by Park Sang-jin, and gold-leaf work by Kim Gi-ho, alongside interactive media art by Nerdy Artist Union. Visitors can use special wristbands to trigger projections and visual effects. Devsisters CEO Cho Kil-hyeon announced plans to expand the exhibition to the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, Taiwan, and Thailand, given that 70% of players are from outside Korea.
The Seaport Art Walk in New Bedford, Massachusetts, is now accepting artist proposals for its 2026 edition, which will run from July 9 to October 31, 2026. The juried outdoor exhibition, themed “Good Trouble” in honor of the late Rep. John Lewis and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, invites submissions of temporary sculptures, murals, or photography exploring civil disobedience, community organizing, and cultural resistance. Proposals are due by February 23, 2026, with stipends ranging from $250 to $2,500 per artwork.
Andi Crist presents her first solo museum exhibition, “Live, Laugh, Labor: Thoughts on Usefulness and Other Myths,” at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art, on view until January 11, 2026. The show explores the hidden labor behind art production through works like “How to Hang a Painting,” a cast-aluminum instructional piece, and includes preparatory sketches, a recreated “The Door,” and ceramic works such as “Good Idea/Bad Idea (trash can)” and “Target Practice.” Crist, who identifies as a creative, designer, fabricator, art handler, and comic, uses humor and self-deprecation to expose the messy realities of making art.
Ridgeline High School in Millville, Utah, is presenting its seventh annual student art exhibition, "A Little Glimpse," at the Lyndsley Wilkerson Gallery in the Sorenson Legacy Foundation Center for Clinical Excellence on the Utah State University campus. The show, running from November 7, 2025, through January 8, 2026, features advanced student works in ceramics, 2-D media such as watercolor, oil paint, pencil, ink, and pastels, as well as wire sculptures. Students participate in the entire process from creation to installation, with an opening reception for families and the community.
An art exhibition called The Crow Gallery is opening in Westport, County Mayo, during the Westival 2025 arts and music festival. Housed in the vacant The Local public house on Castlebar Street, the show features work from local artists with disabilities and participants of an Open Call centered on disability justice. The exhibition explores perceptions of disability, challenges ableism, and aims to spark dialogue about inclusion. It is the first phase of a long-term project to establish a permanent gallery, coffee shop, gift shop, and artist studios where disabled and non-disabled artists collaborate, with people with disabilities leading the space. The project was inspired by local artist Maitiu Quinn and Amber Walsh, and is driven by Anna Wall, who participated in Social Entrepreneurs Ireland's Ideas Academy and a Mayo County Council Arts Office workshop facilitated by artist Kari Cahill.
The City of Boulder has opened applications for local artists to display and sell their artwork at three recreation centers—North Boulder Recreation Center, East Boulder Community Center, and South Boulder Recreation Center—through a 2026 exhibition program. Artists working in painting, photography, mixed media, and other mediums are encouraged to apply by October 8, with selected works displayed for at least one month in these public community hubs.
San Antonio Parks and Recreation, alongside the San Antonio Street Art Initiative, announced the creation of Texas' first-ever street art park at Healy Murphy Park on the East Side. The park features a breakdancing pad with a mosaic designed by J Muzacz and crafted by over 100 community members, San Antonio's first street-art basketball court, and the "Dream Walls"—ten concrete walls that will be painted by 10 local artists during the Oct. 4 opening ceremony. The walls will be repainted annually during LOGIT to keep the park evolving.
The Center for Creativity in Redwood City, California, is launching a new fall series called Art+Sound on Broadway, held on three Sunday afternoons in September and October 2025. The series combines live concerts by local musicians, a juried visual arts exhibition titled "Art of the Community: Redwood City 2025," and hands-on art-making activities led by local artists. Performers include Alex and Maya Valdivia, Melissa Modifer, Andy Z, The Corner Laughers, Ol' Blue Genes, and Redwood Souls, while artists such as Elizabeth Gomez, Gadget, and Corinne Feldman lead community workshops. The series is funded by a grant from the Redwood City Arts Commission and takes place on a pedestrian-only block of Broadway outside the historic Hotel Sequoia, where the Center for Creativity is temporarily housed until 2027.
Auburn Parks and Recreation is hosting the Artist’s Harvest Gallery Reception, Costume Sale and Market on October 9, 2025, from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center (JDCAC) in Auburn, Alabama. The event features autumn- and Halloween-themed artwork by local artists, a market with handcrafted goods from JDCAC-affiliated artists, and a costume sale by the Auburn Area Community Theatre. Artists can submit family-friendly works for the exhibition at no cost, with registration closing September 19.
Local artists in Auburn, Alabama, are invited to submit autumn- or Halloween-themed artwork for the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center’s Artist’s Harvest Exhibition. Registration opens September 2 and closes September 19, with artwork drop-off due by 8:30 p.m. that same day. The exhibition runs from October 1 to November 4, and a reception and market will be held on October 9, featuring food, music, and handcrafted items for sale by center-affiliated artists.
The Sandra Art4All Art Studio, founded by Sandra Hampton in 2016, is presenting its sixth annual Proud 2 Create summer show at The Margate School, opening August 13. The exhibition features 12 local artists with learning impairments and disabilities, including Autism, Charge Syndrome, Hearing Impairment, and Cerebral Palsy, showcasing over 180 original artworks in various media such as drawings, paintings, and photographs. The artists range in age from 13 to 54, and the opening event runs from 4pm to 8pm with many artists in attendance.
The City of Lawrence has rebranded its annual public art showcase from the 'Outdoor Downtown Sculpture Exhibition' to the 'Unmistakable Public Art Exhibition,' reflecting an expanded definition of public art beyond traditional sculptures and murals. Nine local artists were selected for this year's exhibition, including Alicia Kelly, whose piece 'Hanging In, Hanging Out' features digitally printed Tyvek banners on the Vermont Street parking garage, designed to evoke an 'alternate dimension' of playful, meditative patterns. The exhibition, opening September 26, also includes a performance piece and an artist using paper pulp to 'paint trees' in local parks.
The Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State has opened a new exhibition titled “Shaping American Histories, Dreaming American Futures,” on view through July 27. The show features works that explore diverse American histories, including Billy Morrow Jackson's lithograph “The Tattooed Man,” which references the 1963 Birmingham church bombing. Visitors are invited to contribute reflections on a community response wall, answering questions about the nation's past, present, and future via sticky notes.
The Chungnam Provincial Council is hosting a folk painting exhibition titled "Taking a Rest in Folk Paintings" at Daum Art Hall in its council building from July 1 to July 31. The exhibition features six artists from Hyuhyuhan Minhwa Studio—Kang Mi-ae, Kim Eung-mi, Kim Myung-sook, Koo Min-seo, Park Jin-sook, and Woo Soo-ji—displaying works such as Vase Paintings, Lotus Paintings, Ilwolobongdo, and Tiger Paintings that reflect traditional Korean folk art symbolism.
The New York Times published an article titled "How Art Stars Are Made" that explores the mechanisms and processes behind the creation of celebrated artists in the contemporary art world. The piece likely examines the roles of galleries, critics, collectors, and institutions in elevating certain artists to stardom.