New videos of African cultural sites add contemporary context to Rockefeller Wing’s historical artefacts at the Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newly reopened Michael C. Rockefeller Wing features a series of short documentaries by Ethiopian American filmmaker Sosena Solomon, commissioned to add contemporary context to the wing’s historical artifacts from Africa, Oceania, and the ancient Americas. Solomon spent two years traveling to 12 sites across sub-Saharan Africa, creating videos that highlight royal burial grounds in Uganda, ancient rock paintings in Botswana, bronze casters in Benin City, and the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and Tigray in Ethiopia. Three of the videos are displayed on screens in the wing, while others are accessible via QR codes and online.

Comment | Are museums ‘guilt tripping’ their visitors? No, they aren’t doing enough

The article argues that museums are not doing enough to address political realities, colonial histories, and systemic oppression in their exhibitions and wall texts, contrary to critics who claim visitors feel guilt-tripped or bored by such content. The author cites the Victoria and Albert Museum's exhibition "The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence" as a missed opportunity, noting that it privileged opulence without adequately engaging with the violent histories of colonialism, as pointed out by art historian Archishman Sarker and artist Sutapa Biswas.

Portrait of adolescent chaos. “Time Anatomy,” an exhibition by artist and photographer Hana Vojáčková

The exhibition "Time Anatomy" by Czech artist and photographer Hana Vojáčková is presented as part of PHotoESPAÑA 2025's OFF program at the Moneo Brock architecture studio's exhibition space, _2B space to be. The photographic series documents three teenage dancers over five years, capturing them annually in the same poses to reveal the bodily and emotional transformations of adolescence through dance and photography.

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Unveils Inaugural Cinema Exhibition ‘Star Wars in Motion’

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, set to open in Los Angeles on September 22, 2026, has announced its inaugural cinema exhibition titled 'Star Wars in Motion.' The exhibition will feature vehicle designs, props, costumes, and illustrations from the first six films of George Lucas's saga, including Luke's Landspeeder and General Grievous' Wheel Bike. It is one of over 30 installations opening with the museum, which also includes exhibitions on architecture, American life by Thomas Hart Benton, American and European comics, and works by illustrators such as Jessie Willcox Smith, Frank Frazetta, and Norman Rockwell.

New exhibition explores the evolution of St. Pete’s Dalí Museum

A new exhibition titled “The Architecture of the Dalí” will open on May 2 at The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. The show traces the museum's architectural evolution from its origins in a Cleveland factory to its iconic waterfront building, culminating in a preview of expansion concepts including an immersive flyover video. It features three-dimensional models, archival photographs, and newspaper clippings, and pays tribute to founding collectors A. Reynolds and Eleanor R. Morse.

I wanted to hate the new LACMA. Then I went back

The article describes the author's evolving impression of the newly opened David Geffen wing at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), designed by architect Peter Zumthor. Initially visiting at 11am, the author found the $724 million, 110,000 sq ft building to be a "dismal, dated, inelegant brute," with thick bronze windows, dark concrete slabs, and bunker-like galleries. However, returning at 4pm, the author experienced a transformation: golden afternoon light warmed the concrete, illuminated the interiors, and revealed the building as a "brilliant innovation and true gift to the city." The article details the building's 20-year design evolution, challenges including fossil discoveries on site, and Zumthor's public frustrations with the compromised details.

The Architecture of the Void Explores Modern Indian Art at Gallery Dotwalk, New Delhi

Gallery Dotwalk in New Delhi has opened its second exhibition, 'The Architecture of the Void: Lines on a Postcolonial Skeleton,' featuring works on paper by leading modern Indian artists. The show, which runs until May 30, 2026, highlights drawings, watercolors, and etchings from a generation of artists processing India's post-Independence and Partition era.

A Look Back at Newport’s Historic 1974 Sculpture Show

The Preservation Society of Newport County is hosting "Full Circle" at the Rosecliff mansion, an exhibition that revisits the landmark 1974 outdoor sculpture show "Monumenta." The current display features scale models, preparatory drawings, and archival photographs of works by modern masters such as Claes Oldenburg, Alexander Calder, and Willem de Kooning. A significant portion of the show is dedicated to Richard Fleischner, whose site-specific earthwork "Sod Maze" remains the only original piece from the 1974 project still standing in its original Newport location.

Capstone exhibition celebrates Art Museum, Miami, and Ohio’s impact on the Arts

Miami University’s Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum (RCCAM) is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its Art and Architecture History Capstone program with the exhibition "Rooted Here: Networks of Modern and Contemporary Art." The show is entirely student-curated, involving undergraduates in every stage of the process from selection to installation. Divided into four thematic sections, the exhibition explores the Midwest's influence on the global art landscape, featuring works by major figures such as Paul Cadmus, Miriam Schapiro, Nancy Holt, and Jim Dine.

Ethiopia’s Africa Hall wins Modernist conservation award

The World Monuments Fund and Knoll have awarded the 2026 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize to the Australia-based architecture firm Architectus for its conservation of Africa Hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The building, completed in 1961 and designed by Italian architect Arturo Mezzedimi, serves as the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and was commissioned by Emperor Haile Selassie. The decade-long, $57 million restoration project, completed in October 2024, involved local experts, restored original furniture and stained-glass windows by artist Afewerk Tekle, and modernized the structure while preserving its modernist vision. The jury also awarded its first Stewardship Award for Modernist Homes to the Umbrella House in Sarasota, Florida, designed by Paul Rudolph.

Amoako Boafo solo exhibition to open in Venice during 2026 Biennale

Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo will open his first solo exhibition in Italy at the Museo di Palazzo Grimani in Venice this spring, timed to coincide with the 61st Venice Biennale (9 May–22 November 2026). The show, co-organized by Gagosian Gallery, will feature new and recent works inspired by the Renaissance atmosphere of the palazzo and the Venetian portrait tradition. Boafo is creating a series of new pieces specifically for the exhibition, directly referencing the historical context and unique architecture of the museum.

A striking turtle-shaped art gallery has just opened over the sea in Penang

A striking turtle-shaped art gallery, the Lin Xiang Xiong Art Gallery, has opened over the sea in Penang, Malaysia. Designed by Singaporean artist Lin Xiang Xiong, the eight-storey over-water museum at The Light Waterfront is the world's first of its kind, currently in its soft-opening phase. It houses four permanent galleries tracing Lin's six-decade career, plus a special exhibition titled "Picasso and Lin Xiang Xiong: A Dialogue Across Time" that pairs works by Pablo Picasso with Lin's own. The space also includes an Art Seed Garden for education and hosts international exhibitions and forums focused on peace and cross-cultural exchange.

Work in progress: Martin Jennings chosen to create statue of Queen Elizabeth II

The UK government has selected sculptor Martin Jennings to create a statue of Queen Elizabeth II for St James’s Park in London, as part of a larger memorial designed by Norman Foster's architecture firm. The memorial will also include a figurative sculpture of the Queen alongside Prince Philip at Birdcage Walk and a Prince Philip gate. Jennings, known for his bust of the Queen Mother and his coin effigy of King Charles III, describes the project as a work in progress, with a provisional construction budget of £23m–£46m. Final design details are expected next year.

Elaine: The Collection of Elaine Wynn

Elaine Wynn's personal art collection, featuring works by Richard Diebenkorn, Lucian Freud, Joan Mitchell, and J.M.W. Turner, will be auctioned at Christie's 20th and 21st Century Art sales in New York this November. The collection, titled 'Elaine: The Collection of Elaine Wynn,' reflects the taste of the legendary Las Vegas figure known as the 'Queen of Las Vegas' for her transformative influence on the city's art, architecture, and style.

New Alden B. Dow Home and Studio exhibition to highlight acclaimed graphic designer Tim Lewis

The Alden B. Dow Home and Studio in Midland, Michigan, will host a new exhibition titled “A New Vision: The Graphic Art of Tim Lewis” from September 4 to December 31, 2025. The show celebrates the life and career of Tim Lewis, a Midland native and acclaimed graphic designer and illustrator who worked from the 1960s through the 1990s, creating commercial illustrations for major U.S. magazines, album covers for artists like Peter, Paul and Mary, Gordon Lightfoot, and Chuck Berry, and posters for Barbra Streisand’s TV specials. The exhibition includes original artwork and prints, many available for purchase, and opens with a public reception on September 4.

Towering ambition: the Swiss artist Not Vital's Alpine playground

Swiss artist Not Vital, known for his multidisciplinary practice and SCARCH hybrids, owns Schloss Tarasp, an 11th-century castle in the Engadin region of Switzerland, which he bought in 2016. The castle is part of a foundation he established that also includes Parkin Sent, a sculpture park he acquired in 1998, and the 17th-century Planta House Ardez. Vital's installations in the park, such as "Punt dals asens (Donkey Bridge)" (2001) and "JOSÜJO (Disappearing House)" (2007), invite visitors to explore nature, while at the castle he installed "House to Watch the Sunset" (2018), a tower-like sculpture that challenges architectural logic.

In pictures: highlights from Art Basel's city-wide exhibition, Parcours

New York-based curator Stefanie Hessler has organized the second edition of Art Basel's Parcours exhibition, featuring 21 works installed across Basel in unconventional spaces such as hotels, shops, and private apartments. Highlights include Agnieszka Kurant's chemical gardens made from computer-manufacturing metals, Finnegan Shannon's accessible benches with rest-oriented texts, and Hylozoic/Desires' 80-meter fabric installation referencing a colonial-era customs line. The exhibition clusters along Clarastrasse and extends to the Münsterplatz in the Old Town.

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.

ROBERTO BEHAR ROSARIO MARQUARDT WIN THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT THE ELLIES OOLITE ARTS AWARDS

The Argentine artistic duo Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt have received the $75,000 Lifetime Achievement Award at The Ellies Oolite Arts Awards. The pair, founders of R&R STUDIOS, are recognized for their decades-long collaborative practice that merges art, architecture, and public space to create social sculptures.

Nobody Can Defeat Me: The Brazilian Pavilion in Venice Between Spirituality, History and Nature

NOBODY CAN DEFEAT ME THE BRAZILIAN PAVILION IN VENICE BETWEEN SPIRITUALITY HISTORY AND NATURE

The Fundação Bienal de São Paulo has revealed the curatorial project for the Brazilian Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026. Titled 'Comigo ninguém pode' (Nobody Can Defeat Me), the exhibition is curated by Diane Lima and features a major two-person presentation of artists Rosana Paulino and Adriana Varejão, who will occupy the entire pavilion with an installation-based project designed by Daniela Thomas.

QUESTIONING POWER AND COLONIAL STRUCTURES CINTHIA MARCELLE INTERVENES AT SERRALVES

Brazilian artist Cinthia Marcelle has unveiled a major site-specific installation titled "beginning, middle, beginning" at the Serralves Museum in Porto. Developed in collaboration with the architecture collective vão and curated by Inês Grosso, the work transforms the museum’s Central Gallery into a space governed by cycles of repetition. Drawing inspiration from the philosopher and Quilombola leader Nêgo Bispo, the installation challenges Western linear conceptions of time and highlights the persistence of colonial structures in modern social organization.

Apenas meus cabelos são brancos... [Only my hair is white...]

Galerie Lelong in New York is presenting "Lucia Laguna: Apenas meus cabelos são brancos... [Only my hair is white...]," the Brazilian artist's first solo exhibition in the United States, organized in collaboration with Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel. The show features new paintings from her ongoing series "Pequenos formatos" and "Paisagem," which explore the interplay between architecture and nature through vibrant color blocking and geometric forms. Laguna's work reflects her recent move from a suburban home with a garden to an apartment in Rio de Janeiro's Laranjeiras neighborhood, a shift that has prompted compositional changes as her studio space became more condensed and her views of the urban landscape changed.

Casa Sanlorenzo in Venice opens its first exhibition with a focus on ocean pollution

Casa Sanlorenzo, a new cultural space in Venice established by yacht builder Sanlorenzo, has opened its inaugural exhibition titled "Breathtaking." The installation by Italian artist and photographer Fabrizio Ferri addresses ocean plastic and microplastic pollution, featuring large-scale portraits of celebrities including Sting, Helena Christensen, Willem Dafoe, Isabella Rossellini, Susan Sarandon, and Naomi Watts, all depicted covered in plastic and debris. At the center of the installation is a glass coffin filled with seawater, symbolizing the fragility of marine ecosystems. The exhibition was previously shown at the Museo di Storia Naturale in Milan, where it attracted over 40,000 visitors in four days.

A Napoli c’è una mostra ispirata a Emily Dickinson dove è la luce a creare le opere

Diego Perrone's exhibition "There's a certain Slant of light" opens at Galleria Umberto Di Marino in Naples, taking its title from an Emily Dickinson poem. The show features new photographic and painted works born from the artist's observation of light passing through domestic glass objects in Naples, where architecture and daily life are shaped by an interplay of light and shadow. Photographs are enclosed in hand-molded glass frames, while large surfaces created with airbrush, charcoal, and chalk present shadow fields on white backgrounds, forming a visual sequence that unfolds like a film in black and white.

For this 2026 too, the Fuorisalone is full of fashion. Here are the events halfway between fashion and design

Anche per questo 2026 il Fuorisalone è pieno di moda. Ecco gli eventi a metà strada tra fashion e design

The 2026 Fuorisalone in Milan continues to be a major platform for the convergence of fashion and design. Numerous fashion brands are presenting immersive installations, special collections, and cultural formats across the city, transforming urban spaces into narrative environments. Key presentations include YOOX's digital installation with Keta Bart, Gucci's archival project by Demna, Prada's symposium curated by Formafantasma, and new collections from Armani, Fendi, Dior Maison, and Louis Vuitton.

Elevating High Fashion. Issey Miyake and Ensamble Studio Together at Fuorisalone 2026

Valorizzare l’alta sartoria. Issey Miyake e Ensamble Studio insieme al Fuorisalone 2026

Satoshi Kondo, a director at the Miyake Design Studio, has partnered with the Madrid-based architecture firm Ensamble Studio to explore the creative potential of the Paper Log, a byproduct of Issey Miyake's signature pleating process. The collaboration will culminate in an exhibition titled 'The Paper Log: Shell and Core' during the 2026 Fuorisalone in Milan, featuring prototype furniture and sculptural forms made from the compressed paper rolls and unfolded pleated paper.

In Milan during these days of Design Week, it is possible to visit the mythical Villa Pestarini by Franco Albini. The images

A Milano in questi giorni di Design Week è possibile visitare la mitica Villa Pestarini di Franco Albini. Le immagini

Villa Pestarini, the only private residence ever designed by the renowned Italian architect and designer Franco Albini, has opened to the public for the first time in 87 years. The opening is an exceptional event timed with the 2026 Milan Design Week, where the villa serves as one of the venues for the itinerant design platform Alcova.

Trees are a model to follow: A festival in Modena confirms it

Gli alberi sono un modello da seguire. A Modena c’è un festival che lo conferma

The Alberi Festival in Modena transforms the Villaggio Artigiano Ovest into an open-air laboratory focused on the intersection of botany, architecture, and urban planning. Inspired by the seminal 1960s research of Cesare Leonardi and Franca Stagi, the event features exhibitions, installations, and discussion tables centered around the "Officina Botanica," an experimental green regeneration project housed in a former industrial warehouse.

An exhibition at a historic villa in Prato brings together the artificial and the natural

In una villa storica a Prato una mostra che fa incontrare artificiale e naturale

Artist Andrea Marini presents "Anomale Intrusioni" (Anomalous Intrusions) at the historic Villa Rospigliosi in Prato, an exhibition organized by Associazione Chorasis. Curated by Riccardo Farinelli, the show features sculptural interventions that blend conceptual minimalism with the villa's centuries-old architecture and natural landscape. Marini’s works function as "programmed interferences," creating a dialogue between the organic and the artificial through metallic structures and zoomorphic forms that react to the surrounding environment and climate.

The exhibition of the great artist Lucy Orta in a recovered historic palace in Sansepolcro

La mostra della grande artista Lucy Orta in un palazzo storico recuperato a San Sepolcro

British artist Lucy Orta has unveiled a site-specific installation titled "Trame di Comunità" at CasermArcheologica in Sansepolcro, Tuscany, following an artist residency. The work features five tents constructed from hand-woven vintage linen and hemp, inspired by the protective imagery in Piero della Francesca’s "Polyptych of Mercy." These structures are embroidered with the faces of local residents and adorned with 99 terracotta amulets, incorporating oral testimonies and personal reflections gathered from the community during Orta's stay.