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.

Jury of the Venice Biennale Resigns

Jury der Venedig-Biennale tritt zurück

The entire jury of the Venice Biennale, appointed by artistic director Koyo Kouoh, has resigned with immediate effect. In a statement released on Thursday, the jury members—including chair Solange Oliveira Farkas, Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi—cited a prior declaration from April 22 in which they announced they would not award Golden or Silver Lions to artists from countries whose political leadership is currently indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity. Although no specific countries were named, the move implicitly targets Russia (President Vladimir Putin) and Israel (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu), both subject to ICC arrest warrants. The resignation comes amid escalating tensions over Russia's participation in the Biennale despite EU sanctions, which had already led to a freeze of EU funding and widespread protests.

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.

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.

From Minor Keys to Uproar: The Crisis of the Venice Biennale

DE LAS MINOR KEYS AL ESTRUENDO: LA CRISIS DE LA BIENAL DE VENECIA

The 61st Venice Biennale is engulfed in a structural crisis, marked by geopolitical tensions over the inclusion of Russia (amid its invasion of Ukraine) and Israel (amid the Gaza genocide). The Biennale Foundation, led by Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, defended their participation on legalistic grounds, sparking outrage from over 200 artists, curators, and cultural workers who demanded Israel's exclusion, aligning with Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA). The international jury, chaired by Solange Farkas and including Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi, resigned collectively on April 30 after deciding not to award prizes to countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court arrest warrants. This led to the cancellation of the traditional Golden and Silver Lions, replaced by audience-voted "Visitor Lions," with awards deferred until November. The European Commission suspended a €2 million subsidy over Russia's participation, and Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli notably skipped the May 9 opening.

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.

Collapse Finance, Part 1: Introduction

The global financial landscape is undergoing a structural shift toward "collapse finance," where institutions designed to manage risk are increasingly profiting from and accelerating systemic instability. Amid geopolitical turmoil and the abandonment of green initiatives, traditional concepts of market security are unravelling, replaced by a system that monetizes uncertainty through instruments like catastrophe bonds and volatile cryptocurrencies.

Ten artists accuse Arusha Gallery of non-payment of nearly half a million pounds

Ten artists have accused Arusha Gallery, which operates in Edinburgh and London, of failing to pay them nearly half a million pounds for sold works, with some waiting months or years for payment. Artist Charlotte Keates claims she is owed approximately £430,000 from sales dating back to 2023, while gallery owner Bella Arusha Collins King disputes the amount and asserts the gallery is entitled to a 50% cut from a collaboration Keates entered with Hermès. The gallery acknowledges missing payments, citing a downturn in the art market and the unexpected death of co-owner Guy Rowland Maxwell Bargery in January.

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.

Artist's calming painting session during hurricane prep prompts art exhibition

A Florida artist, while preparing for an approaching hurricane, decided to paint a calming scene of a sailboat on a peaceful bay as a form of stress relief. This spontaneous act, captured in a video that went viral, has now led to a full-fledged solo exhibition of her work at a local gallery.

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.

A Free Home for San Francisco Artists, From Dave Eggers and Friends

Writer Dave Eggers and artist JD Beltran have launched a new initiative called Art + Water in San Francisco. The project provides free studio space for 30 artists, hosts exhibitions, and offers community events, creating a dedicated hub for local artistic production and engagement.

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.

Pond Gallery in Fayetteville, Arkansas

Pond Gallery, a new artist-run exhibition space, has opened in the basement of a former flower shop on the downtown square in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Founded in May 2024 by artist-friends Taylor Loftin, Ty Barnes, and Christian Schultz, the gallery operates on a DIY model, with the founders handling construction, curation, and rent. Its programming, including recent shows by Akeylah Imani Wellington and Natalie Conway, focuses on creating a communal hub for local artists.

Pavlina Vagioni Oikeiōsis: A Greek Artist Asks Venice to Remember How to Belong

Pavlina Vagioni's exhibition *Oikeiōsis*, presented by the Hellenic Diaspora Foundation at the Venice Biennale, takes its name from a Stoic concept about recognizing belonging and expanding care outward. The show is structured in two rooms: the first, named Neikos (strife), features a fragmented plexiglass cube that reflects visitors in multiplied form, evoking separation. The second, Philotes (harmony), contains warm rock-salt seats and a layered vocal soundscape that activates the Tartini effect—a psychoacoustic phenomenon where two frequencies produce a phantom third tone, symbolizing collective kinship. The salt seats will physically change over the Biennale's six-month run, accumulating the memory of each visitor.

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.

How Do You Curate an Exhibition on Genocide? Faisal Saleh and the Palestinian Question That Crosses the Venice Biennale

“Come si cura una mostra sul genocidio?”: Faisal Saleh e la domanda palestinese che attraversa la Biennale di Venezia

At the 2026 Venice Biennale, a collateral exhibition titled “Gaza – No Words – See the Exhibit” presents 100 embroidered works using the traditional Palestinian technique of Tatreez. Curated by artist Faisal Saleh, founder of the Palestine Museum US, the show transforms embroidery from decoration into political testimony, reconstructing scenes from Gaza over the past two and a half years: shrouded bodies, killed children, mothers bidding farewell, bombed hospitals. The exhibition is housed at Palazzo Mora and has been called by many visitors “the real Palestinian Pavilion” of the Biennale, though it is not an official national pavilion.

Today’s war, tomorrow’s loot: attempts at stemming the illicit trade in art

The article examines the ongoing challenge of preventing the illicit trade in cultural property looted from conflict zones. It discusses the Hague Convention of 1954 and its protocol, which require signatory countries to prevent theft and pillage during armed conflict and to seize and repatriate unlawful exports. However, the protocol only applies to situations of 'occupation,' leaving a gap for looting that occurs in the chaos of war beyond formal occupation. The article also notes UN Security Council Resolutions that restrict unlawfully removed cultural property from Iraq and Syria, but no similar consensus exists for countries like Afghanistan, Libya, Ukraine, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, and Iran. EU Regulation 2019/880 is highlighted as a measure that prohibits introducing goods removed unlawfully from their place of origin into the EU, though its scope has expanded beyond its original anti-terrorist financing purpose.

Comment | All hail the rise of the art internship

Sotheby's auction house and Sotheby's Institute of Art, through their parent company Edconic, have launched a formalized, paid fellowship program. The initiative places 20 master's students from the Institute's New York program into 12-week paid internships at the auction house, with plans to expand to London and eventually involve 60 students. The program aims to provide practical, credit-earning work experience directly within the art market.

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 art institute will stay open 1847172

The San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), a 149-year-old institution, announced last month that it would shut down its degree programs and stop enrolling new students after the current semester, signaling what many believed was the end of the school. However, the board of trustees has now voted to keep the school open in a limited capacity, suspending degree programs but offering studio art classes, public education programs, and grant-funded exhibitions while launching a campaign to reinvent its business model and raise philanthropic funds.

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.

woodmere art museum sues trump administration canceled imls grant 1234750513

Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the unlawful termination of a $750,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The grant, awarded in 2024 through the IMLS's 'Save America's Treasures' program, was intended to revamp the museum's catalog system and digitize works for its 'America 250' exhibition honoring the nation's 250th anniversary. After President Trump signed an executive order calling for the IMLS to be eliminated, the agency ceased distributing funding, leaving Woodmere with only about $195,000 of the grant received and scrambling to fulfill contracts already in place. The museum is seeking an injunction to stop the IMLS and the Office of Management and Budget from following the executive order.

new 2025 survey galleries art fair model first thursday 1234749459

A new report from First Thursday, a London-based sales intelligence company, reveals widespread frustration among gallerists over the rising costs and high risks of participating in art fairs. Surveying 56 commercial galleries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, the inaugural Art Fair Report found that nearly half of galleries spent over £30,000 ($40,000) per fair, with 24% spending between £50,000 and £100,000. High participation costs were cited by 83% of respondents as the biggest challenge, followed by sales uncertainty (77%). As a result, 31% plan to attend fewer fairs, shifting investment to digital platforms and marketing.

berlin artists studio protest 333123

During Berlin Art Week, a group of artists from the Alliance of Endangered Studio Spaces (AbBA) staged a protest at Alexanderplatz on September 16, calling on the Berlin Senate to repurpose abandoned properties for artistic and cultural use. The demonstration highlighted that five studio cooperatives housing about 150 artists were shut down by private owners in 2014 and 2015, with many more studios threatened by foreclosure due to rising rents and gentrification.