In che modo la rigenerazione sta provando a cambiare l’Italia? Risponde la newsletter Render

Artribune's newsletter "Render" is set to release its 57th issue on May 11, featuring stories on urban regeneration projects across Italy. Highlights include a new library under construction in Latisana near the train station, a square-shaped island in the Venice lagoon transformed into an exhibition space after decades of abandonment, participatory tactical urbanism initiatives in Torre Annunziata funded by a Ministry of Social Policies and Labor grant, and a post-war complex in Rome poised to become a cultural hub. The issue will also profile the Peruvian architecture duo Barclay & Crousse ahead of their exhibition at the Politecnico di Milano and include a reflection on contemporary green spaces inspired by a visit to a private English park.

At the Venice Biennale there is a pavilion of shit! Luxembourg participates with a project that talks about poop

Alla Biennale di Venezia c’è un padiglione di merda! Il Lussemburgo partecipa con un progetto che fa parlare la cacca

The Luxembourg Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale features an installation titled "La Merde" by artist Aline Bouvy, centered on a cinematic manifesto that uses excrement as a metaphor to explore shame, social classification, and bodily discipline. The immersive environment includes a film, spatialized sound composition, and a steel-and-mirror architecture, with an anthropomorphic talking, walking, and farting excrement puppet interacting with visitors. The work also includes a sculptural alter ego titled "E.T. The Excremential," blending Bouvy's body with Spielberg's extraterrestrial figure.

Libri d’arte. 7 novità in libreria tra saggi, racconti e fotografie

This article from Artribune presents seven new art book releases in Italy, all united by a common theme of bringing marginalized subjects back into focus. Featured titles include Johnny L. Bertolio's "L'ha scritto lei, ma…" which examines why female authors are excluded from Italian school curricula, and Carla Rossi's "Oltre i margini," a rigorous study of European female miniaturists from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Other works address queer representation in museums, children's voices on Gaza, photographic portraiture by Lorenzo Cicconi Massi, a collective volume on the Bertolucci family, and a theatrical project by Kepler-452 set in the central Mediterranean.

A review of the 2026 Venice Biennale without naming a single artist

Una recensione della Biennale di Venezia 2026 senza nominare neppure un artista

This review of the 2026 Venice Biennale describes an exhibition that overcame dire circumstances—the death of curator Koyo Kouoh early in preparations, losses of key artists, and international political controversies—to deliver a surprisingly joyful and engaging show. Titled "In Minor Keys," the Biennale features a well-conceived, flowing presentation across the Giardini and Arsenale that prioritizes beauty, craftsmanship, and hope over a punitive or documentary tone.

1990s pop icon Jewel is the protagonist in Venice with an exhibition that rewrites the geographies of the feminine

L’icona pop Anni ‘90 Jewel è protagonista a Venezia con una mostra che riscrive le geografie del femminile

Singer-songwriter Jewel, a 1990s pop icon with four Grammy nominations, is presenting her largest exhibition to date in Venice. Titled "Matriclysm: An Archaeology of Connections Lost," the immersive show runs from May 6 to November 22, 2026, at the Salone Verde, coinciding with the 2026 Venice Biennale. Curated by Joe Thompson, the exhibition blends painting, textiles, sculpture, sound, and installation to explore themes of femininity, motherhood, care, and intergenerational knowledge, drawing on forgotten rituals and marginalized mythologies.

Ministry of Culture inspectors present report on Biennale: Russia pavilion will remain closed

Gli ispettori del Ministero della Cultura in Biennale presentano relazione: il padiglione Russia resterà chiuso

Italian Ministry of Culture inspectors have submitted a report to the Prime Minister's office regarding Russia's participation in the 2026 Venice Art Biennale. The report concludes that Russia did not receive a formal invitation from the Biennale Foundation to participate, nor did it sign the participation agreement—a situation shared by other countries with permanent pavilions. While Russia submitted a project and appointed a commissioner, its pavilion will remain closed to the public due to EU sanctions, though a private vernissage may proceed. The report finds no serious violations that would cancel Russia's participation, but notes critical issues that warranted more caution. The international jury resigned en masse after announcing it would not consider countries whose leaders are accused of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, including Russia and Israel, and after an Israeli artist threatened a discrimination lawsuit.

Morocco is for the first time with a Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale. Homage to the weaving of Amina Agueznay

Il Marocco è per la prima volta con un Padiglione alla Biennale d’Arte di Venezia. L’omaggio alla tessitura di Amina Agueznay

Morocco is participating for the first time with an official national pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale, presenting a monumental installation by artist Amina Agueznay. Titled "Asǝṭṭa" (2026), the site-specific work at the Arsenale's Artiglierie space explores ritual weaving and the transmission of traditional craftsmanship, using sewn panels to create a second skin over the 300-square-meter pavilion. Curated by Meriem Berrada, the project draws on Agueznay's two-decade-long research in dialogue with Moroccan artisan communities, including spinners, embroiderers, basket makers, and goldsmiths.

16th-Century Rome Through the Eyes of a Foreigner: The Exhibition

La Roma del Cinquecento vista con gli occhi di uno straniero. La mostra

Fabio De Chirico has been appointed as the new director of the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica in Rome, with a mission to boost research, strengthen international dialogue, and enhance the institution's collections. His tenure opens with the exhibition "Maarten van Heemskerck e il fascino di Roma: percorsi visivi della Città Eterna," curated by Tatjana Bartsch, Rita Bernini, and Giorgio Marini, running until June 7, 2026. The show features drawings by the 16th-century Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck, on loan from the Kupferstichkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, alongside over sixty works from the institute's own holdings—including prints, engravings, and archival photographs—plus loans from the Bibliotheca Hertziana, the Musei Capitolini, and the Istituto Archeologico Germanico di Roma.

The Dutch Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is a political protest (also against the Biennale itself)

Il padiglione dei Paesi Bassi alla Biennale di Venezia è una contestazione politica (anche della Biennale stessa)

The Dutch Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, titled "The Fortress" by artist Dries Verhoeven and curator Rieke Vos, transforms the modernist Rietveld Pavilion into a fortress-like enclosure. Inside, a rotating group of thirteen international performers will stage a series of performances throughout the Biennale, focusing on themes of geopolitical uncertainty, social disorder, and the search for stability in an unbalanced world. This marks the first time the Netherlands has used the Rietveld Pavilion for a performance-based project.

Creating Variety in Contemporary Rome: The Story of the Conventicola degli Ultramoderni on Sky Arte

Fare varietà nella Roma contemporanea: la storia della Conventicola degli Ultramoderni su Sky Arte

On Sunday, May 3, Sky Arte will premiere the documentary "Ultramoderni," which chronicles the rise of the Conventicola degli Ultramoderni, a unique artistic collective in Rome. Founded by Sior Mirkaccio and Madame de Freitas, who met in 2011, the group operates from a small hidden venue in the San Lorenzo district, blending music, cabaret, burlesque, and contemporary variety shows with a retro-futuristic aesthetic. The documentary, filmed in their Roman space, features interviews with the duo and excerpts from their performances, tracing how they built a diverse community of enthusiasts around their reinvention of past traditions.

Art can officially be a form of therapy. Interview with Undersecretary of Culture Lucia Borgonzoni, godmother of the project

L’arte può essere ufficialmente una forma di cura. Intervista al Sottosegretario alla Cultura Lucia Borgonzoni madrina del progetto

The Italian Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Health have signed a formal protocol recognizing art as a form of therapy and care. The agreement, championed by Undersecretary of State for Culture Lucia Borgonzoni, mandates that museums, libraries, archives, and cultural institutions play a central role in developing therapeutic pathways using art to improve individual and community well-being. Borgonzoni, who has advocated for this initiative for nearly a decade, traces its origin to a 2018 study at the Sanctuary of Vicoforte that measured cortisol levels in visitors before and after viewing frescoes, showing significant stress reduction.

The first of May starts a new issue of Pax. Previews of the newsletter on cultural tourism (subscribe)

Il primo maggio parte una nuova uscita di Pax. Le anticipazioni della newsletter sul turismo culturale (abbonatevi)

The article previews the upcoming May 1st issue of Pax, a newsletter by Artribune focused on cultural tourism. It highlights a feature on Italy's colorful villages, explaining how bright colors historically aided sailors and fishermen, and how white facades served hygienic purposes. The issue also covers off-the-beaten-path destinations like Bolsena, which recently opened a contemporary art space in Palazzo Cozza Caposavi, and explores slow tourism practices such as barefooting, discussed with its founder Andrea Bianchi. Additional content includes a roundup of cultural initiatives from Berlin to Naples, Budapest's Citadella reopening, and the Sussex forest's Winnie-the-Pooh centenary.

For the 2026 Venice Biennale, the RojoNegro duo brings a collective ritual to the Mexico Pavilion

Per la Biennale Arte 2026 il duo RojoNegro porta nel Padiglione del Messico un rituale collettivo

The article announces that the RojoNegro collective, formed by María Sosa and Noé Martínez, will represent Mexico at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026 with a project titled "Actos invisibles para sostener el universo." Curated by Jessica Berlanga Taylor, the installation combines organic materials, sound, video, and performance to create a ritualistic space that invokes invisible presences, memories, and energies. The work draws on decolonial perspectives, centering Indigenous and Afro-descendant cosmogonies as living knowledge systems, and aims to activate a dialogue between situated ritual practices and the global context of the Biennale.

The Forgotten Eligibles. Protest over the Ministry of Culture's ranking of 200 art historians

Gli idonei dimenticati. Protesta per la graduatoria dei 200 storici dell’arte del Ministero della Cultura

The CISDA (Committee of Qualified Art Historians) has issued a strong protest against the Italian Ministry of Culture's intention to let the ranking list from a 2018 public competition for Art Historian Officials expire on May 30, 2026, without extension. This would invalidate the eligibility of 204 qualified candidates who passed rigorous selections. The protest has escalated into a parliamentary inquiry directed at Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli, and a public demonstration is scheduled for April 28 in front of the Ministry's headquarters in Rome.

Working in Art: Opportunities from Roma Capitale, Fondazione Cariplo, Municipality of Milan and Fucine Vulcano

Lavorare nell’arte: opportunità da Roma Capitale, Fondazione Cariplo, Comune di Milano e Fucine Vulcano

This article lists five current job and funding opportunities in Italy's cultural sector. These include a call for live performance projects for Rome's Museum Night at the Civic Museums, the "Luoghi Plurali" grant from Fondazione Cariplo for urban regeneration through cultural reuse of disused spaces, a public art commission for a new library in Milan, a call for artists to access the workshops at Fucine Vulcano in Milan, and a search for cultural mediators by the Provincial Museums of South Tyrol.

Interview with Dries Van Noten who opens his foundation on art & craftsmanship in Venice

Intervista a Dries Van Noten che apre la sua fondazione su arte&artigianato a Venezia

Fashion designer Dries Van Noten is launching a new foundation dedicated to craftsmanship and art in Venice. The Dries Van Noten Foundation, opening on April 25, 2026, will be a hub for the exchange and transmission of knowledge, focusing on skills like glassmaking, textiles, ceramics, and goldsmithing. Its inaugural presentation, 'The Only True Protest is Beauty,' curated with Geert Bruloot, will fill twenty rooms of a Venetian palazzo with over two hundred works spanning fashion, glass, ceramics, design, and photography.

Art of resistance: Immigrant children share pain and strength in Tucson exhibit

An exhibition titled "Arte de la Resistencia" (Art of Resistance) was held from May 13 to May 17 at Free Associates gallery in Tucson, Arizona. Curated by a psychologist who uses the pseudonym Rosa for safety reasons, the show featured artwork created by immigrant children aged 7 to 19, many of whom are affected by deportation, family separation, and ICE enforcement. The pieces, including works like "Adiós Tucson" and "Silencio," express pain, grief, and resilience, with identities kept anonymous to protect the young artists. Proceeds from sales of original works and prints directly benefit the children's families.

Alton's Elysian Gallery to close, reopen as art cafe and cultural hub

Elysian Gallery in Alton, Illinois, is closing its original location at Mineral Springs Mall on May 10, 2026, to relocate and expand into a new concept called Elysian Gallery and Cafe at 419 E. Broadway. Owner Jeff Bohnert, a photographer, is transforming the 500-square-foot gallery into a larger, pet-friendly cultural hub featuring a cafe serving Goshen Coffee, a book nook, workspaces, and art exhibitions. The new space will open with a soft launch on May 30 during Alton Main Street's Pup Crawl, followed by a grand reopening on June 6. Bohnert and his girlfriend Janel Freeman originally opened the gallery in August 2025.

Two Visitors’ Lions have been established for the Biennale Arte 2026

La Biennale di Venezia has announced the establishment of two Visitors' Lions for the 61st International Art Exhibition, following the resignation of the International Jury appointed by curator Koyo Kouoh. The awards ceremony, originally scheduled for May 9, has been moved to November 22, the final public day, echoing a similar shift during the 2021 Architecture Exhibition due to COVID-19. The Visitors' Lions will be voted on by ticket holders who visit both exhibition venues between May 9 and November 22, with one award for the Best Participant in the exhibition "In Minor Keys" by Koyo Kouoh and another for the Best National Participation.

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.

Four Latin American Voices Around the Montevideo Curatorial Intensive

CUATRO VOCES LATINOAMERICANAS EN TORNO AL INTENSIVO CURATORIAL DE MONTEVIDEO

Independent Curators International (ICI) held the Montevideo Curatorial Intensive in March 2026, in partnership with the ESTE ARTE fair and the Faculty of Arts at the University of the Republic (Udelar). This was the first time the program took place in Uruguay, bringing together twelve emerging curators from Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, and the United States for eight days of seminars, debates, and mentorship. Led by independent curator Marina Reyes Franco, the intensive included visits to local cultural spaces such as CasaMario, SUBTE, and the Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo, as well as a trip to Punta del Este to tour galleries and artist studios. The program featured presentations by international faculty including Ionit Behar, Victoria Noorthoorn, Maya Juracán, and Keyna Eleison, and concluded with a public symposium at the Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales (MNAV).

MARILYN BOROR BOR, SEBA CALFUQUEO, JULIETH MORALES. PERFORMANCE Y DISIDENCIAS

On April 18, 2026, the performance cycle "Atravesar el lago" (Crossing the Lake) took place in open spaces of Casa del Lago UNAM in Chapultepec Park, curated by Adonay Bermúdez. Artists Marilyn Boror Bor, Seba Calfuqueo, and Julieth Morales activated performances that destabilize dominant knowledge frameworks and confront narratives imposed by colonial modernity. Boror Bor's "Lo que el cemento no puede cubrir" turned the body into a living archive summoning ancestral memories; Calfuqueo's "Guardo mis semillas para el futuro" opened fissures in imposed borders; and Morales's "Enchumbarnos: Cuerpo, Norma y Territorio. Ritual para dos cuerpos" configured a threshold of listening and transformation. The article includes a curatorial text fragment exploring water as a dissident force, drawing on Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui's thought.

NEYRA PÉREZ: RETURN TO ROEBIRI

NEYRA PÉREZ: RETORNO A ROEBIRI

Neyra Pérez, an Iskonawa artist, presents her exhibition "El retorno del Roebiri" at the Centro Cultural Ricardo Palma in Lima, Peru, running until May 9, 2026. The show features her distinctive kené designs, which she creates using natural materials like yakuchapana resin and virgin clay on raw canvas, fixed through sunlight and river washing. The works reference Roebiri, a mountain in the Amazonian Sierra del Divisor that was the ancestral territory of the Iskonawa people, from whom they were displaced in the late 1950s by missionaries and the military. Since 2018, Pérez has been part of a cultural revitalization effort led by anthropologist Carolina Rodríguez to recover these traditional designs and practices.

Aldine ISD Student Artists to Featured in Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Exhibition

Aldine Independent School District (ISD) student artists from Hall Success Academy and Eisenhower High School will have their work featured in an exhibition titled "The Sequence Is Yours," hosted by the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. The opening reception is scheduled for May 8, 2025, at ARTECHOUSE Houston, and the promotional image features a photograph by an Eisenhower High School artist. The students were guided by art educators Ketsia Hamilton of Hall Success Academy and Óscar Medina of Eisenhower High School, with Hamilton also serving on the museum's Teacher Advisory Group.

The 81st May Show fills Mansfield Art Center with Ohio creativity

The 81st May Show has opened at the Mansfield Art Center in Ohio, featuring over 100 works selected from nearly 600 submissions by guest juror Wendy Earle, curator of the Akron Art Museum. The exhibition, which runs through the end of May, showcases a diverse range of mediums from Ohio artists aged 16 to their late 80s. Awards include the Fred "Fritz" Culler Award for Best of Show to Bradley Wallace for "Venus 1K Views," the Mechanics Bank Award of Excellence to Barbara Morejon and Luanne Bole-Becker, and the Jeff McBride & Maura Teynor Emerging Artist Award to high school senior Katerina Prykodko.

Reading artists exhibit work in new partnership with cafe

The Reading Guild of Artists (RGA) has partnered with Honesty Café in Thames Quarter, Reading, to host monthly art exhibitions by its members. The first display features vibrant prints by artist Mark Burden, launched at an event on April 16. This initiative follows other RGA projects at Reading Museum and Royal Berks Hospital, expanding the guild's community outreach.

Carmichael Artist to Exhibit Paintings in Davis Art Studio Tour

Carmichael artist Amanda Cadelago will exhibit her paintings in the Davis Art Studio Tour on May 16-17, 2026. The free, self-guided tour features 48 artists from the region opening their studios to the public, offering opportunities to view and purchase a range of artwork including sculpture, painting, printmaking, and photography. Cadelago, who rediscovered painting during the pandemic after a career in marketing and graphic design, will show her work alongside her mother, Cathie James-Robinson of Davis.

‘Rightstarter’ art exhibit at Antioch revisits hip-hop’s golden era

The Herndon Gallery at Antioch College is opening a group exhibition titled 'Rightstarter: Resistance, Rap and the Golden Era,' curated by artist Joshua Whitaker. The show, launching with a reception on May 9, explores the rap counterculture of the late 1980s and early 1990s, featuring works by artists from Dayton and beyond. It includes drawings, paintings, sculpture, installations, video, and performance, with a live jazz performance by G. Scott Jones and the Freedom Ensemble. The exhibition highlights how hip-hop served as a platform for social commentary against the backdrop of Reaganomics, the crack epidemic, the war on drugs, and the AIDS crisis.

American Popular Art Museum Educates Young Art Mediators for the 2026 Popular Arts Encounter in Cerrillos

The American Popular Art Museum Tomás Lago (MAPA) in Chile has trained a group of children as art mediators for the 2026 Popular Arts Encounter in Cerrillos. The program, called "Art Mediators in Your School," began after the school Pedro Aguirre Cerda hosted its first community art encounter in 2022, initiated by educator Sandra Ramírez and local organizers. Ten children received training in cultural mediation and art appreciation at MAPA, then guided their peers through the exhibition. The collaboration has deepened, with MAPA now also contributing to curating and exhibit design for the 2026 edition.

20th edition of Hammer Days

20e édition des Journées Marteau

The 20th edition of the Journées Marteau (Hammer Days) will take place from May 26 to 31, 2026, across Paris and France. Organized by the Symev, the event invites the public to discover how auctions work and to have objects, jewelry, and artworks appraised. For this anniversary edition, auctioneers are highlighting the color red through a curated selection of lots, while workshops, conferences, and meetings will illuminate the mechanisms of the art market.