Denver Art Museum digs into its closet for fun fashion show

The Denver Art Museum has unveiled "Conversation Pieces: Stories from the Fashion Archives," an exhibition composed entirely of works from its permanent collection. Featuring approximately 60 mannequins, the show highlights high-fashion garments from the past century, many of which have never been publicly displayed. The curation includes iconic pieces by legendary designers such as Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and Elsa Schiaparelli, alongside contemporary works by Alexander McQueen and Carla Fernández.

‘In Her Place’: Female artists fill the Frist for its 25th anniversary

The Frist Art Museum in Nashville is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a major exhibition titled “In Her Place: Nashville Artists in the Twenty-First Century.” Occupying the museum's largest gallery space through April 26, the show features nearly 100 works including paintings, sculptures, and textiles by women artists based in the city. The exhibition is organized into three thematic sections—“Materiality and Memory,” “Scenes and Dreams,” and “Patterns and Abstraction”—highlighting the diverse generations, ethnicities, and styles that define Nashville's contemporary art scene.

DePaul Art Museum Closing In June: ‘It’s A Huge Loss’

DePaul University has announced the permanent closure of the DePaul Art Museum (DPAM), effective June 30, 2025. University leadership cited the need for long-term financial sustainability and ongoing budget planning as the primary reasons for the decision. The closure follows a period of significant financial strain for the institution, which has already resulted in over 100 staff layoffs and cutbacks to other campus facilities like the Loop library.

Biennale Arte 2026: the invited artists

The Venice Biennale has officially announced the list of invited artists for its 61st edition in 2026. The selection features a diverse global cohort including established figures like Laurie Anderson, Nick Cave, and Carsten Höller, alongside influential collectives such as fierce pussy and blaxTARLINES KUMASI. The list also includes significant posthumous inclusions like Marcel Duchamp and Beverly Buchanan, signaling a curatorial approach that bridges contemporary practice with historical legacies.

Venice Biennale Names 111 Artists for International Exhibition

The Venice Biennale has officially announced the 111 artists, duos, and collectives selected for the 61st International Art Exhibition, titled "In Minor Keys." The exhibition follows the vision of the late Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh, who passed away in May 2024 after conceptualizing the show and selecting the majority of its participants. The roster features a diverse global lineup including Wangechi Mutu, Kader Attia, Khaled Sabsabi, and Laurie Anderson, with a curatorial focus on quiet resistance, poetic improvisation, and the "lower frequencies" of social and psychic life.

UNT cancels prominent street artist's exhibit on campus featuring ICE-related work

The University of North Texas (UNT) abruptly canceled and removed the exhibition 'Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá' by street artist Victor 'Marka27' Quiñonez from its College of Visual Arts and Design gallery. The university terminated its loan agreement with Boston University Art Galleries, which organized the show, and covered the gallery windows with brown paper without providing a public reason for the cancellation.

Frist Art Museum opens “In Her Place” a group exhibition featuring 28 women artists; Vanderbilt Art faculty among the exhibitors

The Frist Art Museum in Nashville opened a major group exhibition titled "In Her Place" to mark its 25th anniversary. The show features nearly one hundred works by 28 women artists with strong ties to the Nashville community, including painting, sculpture, textile, and installation. The artists, such as María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Alicia Henry, and Marilyn Murphy, represent an intergenerational group whose practices have significantly impacted the local art scene.

New York Galleries: Openings and Closings (02/09-02/15)

A comprehensive list of gallery exhibitions opening and closing in New York City for the week of February 9-15, 2026, has been published. The schedule includes openings at major galleries like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and Matthew Marks, featuring artists such as Michael Heizer, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, and Anish Kapoor, alongside shows at smaller spaces. The list also notes the final weekend to see exhibitions at venues including Tanya Bonakdar Gallery and Alexander Gray Associates.

LACMA sets opening date for highly anticipated David Geffen Galleries

LACMA has announced that its David Geffen Galleries, the centerpiece of a two-decade campus transformation, will open to the public on April 19, 2025, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and priority member access, followed by general admission starting May 4. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor, the $720-million Brutalist building spans Wilshire Boulevard and houses 110,000 square feet of exhibition space across 90 galleries, organized thematically rather than by medium or chronology. The inaugural installation will use global bodies of water as an organizing framework, featuring works such as Georges de La Tour's "The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame," Vincent van Gogh's "Tarascon Stagecoach," and Henri Matisse's "La Gerbe." The project was funded largely by private donors, including a record $150-million donation from David Geffen, with $125 million from L.A. County.

LACMA’s new galleries have an opening date(s). Here’s when you can visit.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has announced the opening schedule for its long-awaited David Geffen Galleries, a new single-building replacement for its eastern campus. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 19, 2026, will kick off two weeks of previews for members and donors, with general public access beginning on May 4. The building, designed by architect Peter Zumthor, will feature a mix of returning collection highlights, recent acquisitions, and new commissions.

Your country needs you(r content): National Gallery of Art in Washington DC launches social media open call

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. has launched an open call for 50 digital content creators to produce short videos reinterpreting 100 selected works from its collection. The campaign, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States, offers a $3,000 honorarium to each selected creator and will feature their work on the museum's social media channels and within the museum itself.

Sonia Boyce to make new work to mark 200 years of University College London

Sonia Boyce, the Golden Lion-winning British artist, will create a new permanent work for University College London's historic Bloomsbury campus as part of the institution's bicentenary celebrations. The commission, known as the UCL Legacy Commission, will engage with the campus's history and forward-thinking ethos.

herzog & de meuron-designed memphis art museum takes shape ahead of 2026 opening

The Memphis Art Museum, designed by Herzog & de Meuron in collaboration with archimania and OLIN, is taking shape ahead of its December 2026 opening. The 11,475-square-meter building along the Mississippi River features a glass facade, a public plaza shared with the historic Cossitt Library, a shaded courtyard, flexible gallery spaces, and a rooftop sculpture garden. The museum is among the first major US museums to use laminated timber construction. Updated renderings and construction images by Houston Cofield have been released, along with details of a curatorial shift that will organize the collection into 18 exhibitions focused on lived experience rather than traditional art historical chronologies.

U.S. Museums And Major Expansions Opening Across The Country In 2026

A roundup of major U.S. museum openings and expansions scheduled for 2026 highlights several high-profile projects across the country. These include the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, the Hip Hop Museum in New York City, and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. Additionally, the Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History opens in Newport, Rhode Island, in June; the San Mateo County History Museum in Redwood City, California, completes a $23.5 million expansion in the fall; and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland finishes a $175 million expansion adding 50,000 square feet.

New York Galleries: Openings and Closings of the Week (12/15—12/21)

Noah Davis's exhibition

The Philadelphia Museum of Art announces a landmark survey of the late American artist Noah Davis (1983–2015), bringing together over 60 works across painting, sculpture, works on paper, and curating. The exhibition marks the final stop of an international tour organized with DAS MINSK in Potsdam, the Barbican in London, and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Highlights include "40 acres and a unicorn" (2007), "Isis" (2009), "Savage wilds" (2012), and the "Pueblo del rio" series (2014). Curated by Eleanor Nairne and Wells Fray-Smith, the show is accompanied by a catalog co-published by Prestel with contributions from Tina M. Campt, Claudia Rankine, and others.

Renovated Whitsell Auditorium reopens as a destination for PAM CUT programming in film, new media, and visual storytelling

The renovated Whitsell Auditorium at the Portland Art Museum will reopen on January 10, 2026, as PAM CUT @ The Whitsell, marking the final phase of the museum's $116 million campus transformation. The 293-seat auditorium features upgraded seating, cinema projection, sound, and streaming capabilities, and is paired with the new Blair Family Gallery, which opens with Marco Brambilla's exhibition "Maximalist Dreamscapes." The space will host weekly screenings curated by Amy Dotson and Joanna Sokolowski, with guest curators including Carrie Brownstein and Lance Bangs, and partnerships with Criterion.

Crocker’s new leader secures famous art for Sacramento: ‘Everyone’s looking for Frida’

Agustín Arteaga has become the new CEO of the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, taking over the role on July 1 after a global career leading museums in Mexico, Argentina, and Texas. In a major early achievement, he secured Frida Kahlo's 1947 painting "Self-Portrait with Loose Hair" for the museum's exhibition "Making Moves: A Collection of Feminisms"—the first time a Kahlo original has ever been displayed at the Crocker. The painting is on loan from a private collection through May 3, 2026, and has drawn record crowds to the museum.

Did Qatar’s Courbet acquisition short-circuit French export licence process?

Qatar Museums has acquired Gustave Courbet's early self-portrait *Le Désespéré* (1843-45) from a French collector for €50 million, bypassing the standard French export licence process. The Musée d'Orsay revealed the purchase at a private event in October, announcing the painting will be lent to the museum for five years before moving to Qatar's future Art Mill Museum (opening by 2030). The sale was conducted without an export certificate, with the justification that the work will remain in France for most of the time, using temporary export licences for exhibitions in Doha. Critics, including heritage campaigner Julien Lacaze, argue this exemption is being misused, as it was intended for one-off exhibitions, not recurring rotations.

Museum Friends Tour of Pissarro's Impressionism

The Denver Art Museum and the Museum Barberini in Potsdam have co-organized "The Honest Eye: Camille Pissarro's Impressionism," an exhibition dedicated to the work of the pioneering Impressionist painter. The show is presented by a wide array of donors including Jana and Fred Bartlit, Barbara Bridges, Bridget and John Grier, the Kristin and Charles Lohmiller Exhibitions Fund, and Craig Ponzio, with additional support from foundations, corporate sponsors, and the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).

New Exhibition is a Compelling Rummage Through the Relics of an Artist's Radical Life

The New Mexico Museum of Art's Vladem Contemporary has opened "Lucy Lippard: Notes from the Radical Whirlwind," an exhibition curated by Alexandra Terry that showcases artworks gifted to the influential art critic and activist Lucy R. Lippard by artists she championed. The show features pieces by Melanie Yazzie, Ana Mendieta, and others, tracing Lippard's journey from a young art history graduate working at MoMA to a writer for Artforum and Art International, and ultimately to a vocal advocate for social justice who merged art with activism.

Spring 2026 Exhibitions Opening Celebration

The Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University has announced its Spring 2026 exhibitions lineup, featuring works by Vitória Cribb, Ximena Garrido-Lecca, Eric N. Mack, Hew Locke, and Naeem Mohaiemen. Highlights include Cribb's 'echoes of a wet finger,' commissioned by Sharjah Art Biennial 16 and Mercosul Biennial 14, and solo presentations by Garrido-Lecca, Mack, and Locke, as well as Mohaiemen's film and video works. The season is supported by a range of funders including the American Electric Power Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

December 2025 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists

This article compiles a list of open calls, residencies, and grants for artists and photographers with deadlines in late 2025 and early 2026. Opportunities include the Rotterdam Photo 2026 open call themed 'Echoes of Silence—War in the Artist’s Soul,' offering exhibition space in multiple European cities; the Innovate Grant awarding $1,800 each to one visual artist and one photographer; the Ah Haa School for the Arts' HAHA 2026 immersive installation opportunity; Decagon Gallery's Sanctuary open call with cash prizes; the Biafarin Awards providing $4,000 CAD in grants plus global exposure; PeepSpace's exhibition proposal call; and All About Photo's Nature Photography Contest.

These 16 Miami Art Week 2025 Exhibitions Are Already Creating Buzz Among Collectors

Miami Art Week 2025 is set to take place December 3–7, headlined by Art Basel Miami Beach (public days December 5–7) and concurrent fairs including Design Miami (20th anniversary) and NADA Miami. The article highlights 16 must-see exhibitions across venues such as the Miami Beach Convention Center, Wynwood, and the Miami Design District. Featured galleries include Pace Gallery (presenting Alexander Calder, Elmgreen & Dragset, James Turrell), Locks Gallery (Louise Bourgeois, Isamu Noguchi), Southern Guild (debuting at Art Basel with Zizipho Poswa and others), and Leon Tovar Gallery (focusing on Latin American women modernists).

Fast-rising Montana art organisation to take over century-old theatre

Tinworks Art, a non-profit contemporary art space in Bozeman, Montana, is expanding from its original industrial campus to the historic Rialto Theater downtown. Opening November 21, Tinworks at Rialto will debut with Matthew Barney's 2018 film *Redoubt*, on view until February 1, 2026, marking the organization's first year-round venue for installations, talks, screenings, and performances. The Rialto, which opened as a theater in 1924, was donated to Tinworks by its previous owners. Additionally, Tinworks is restoring its deteriorating mill building on the northeast campus, set to open in October 2026, which will add flexible gallery spaces, a visitor center, and offices, extending programming beyond its current June-to-October schedule.

Portland Art Museum to unveil $116m transformation with Mark Rothko at its heart

The Portland Art Museum (PAM) will unveil a $116 million expansion and renovation on November 20, the largest single-organization arts investment in Oregon history. The centerpiece is the new Mark Rothko Pavilion, a multi-story glass structure designed by Hennebery Eddy Architects and Vinci Hamp Architects, which bridges the museum's 1932 building with a former Masonic Temple. The project adds 100,000 square feet of renovated space, including new plazas with sculptures by Ugo Rondinone, Roy Lichtenstein, Anthony Caro, and Clement Meadmore. The Rothko family is lending major paintings from their private collection for display over two decades, with a promised gift at the end of that period, and made a six-figure donation to the museum's $146 million capital campaign.

With end of US government shutdown, National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian museums start reopening

Federal museums in Washington, DC, including the National Gallery of Art and multiple Smithsonian Institution branches, began reopening after the longest US government shutdown in history ended on Wednesday night (12 November). The National Gallery of Art reopened its West Building and sculpture garden on 14 November, with the rest of the campus following on 15 November. Its postponed exhibition *The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art* opened on 15 November instead of 18 October. Three Smithsonian museums reopened on 14 November, five more on 15 November, and all remaining venues—including the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York—by 17 November. The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibition *Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work* was postponed from its original 24 October opening.

The Interview: Thelma Golden

Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, is interviewed ahead of the museum's reopening in a new Adjaye Associates-designed building following a $300 million capital campaign. Golden reflects on her career, including curating the politically charged 1993 Whitney Biennial and the landmark exhibition "Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art" (1994–95), as well as her influential 2001 show "Freestyle," which introduced the concept of "post-Black" art. The article also highlights the museum's first exhibition in the new building, focusing on artist Tom Lloyd, whose work was featured in the museum's inaugural show in 1968.

Arts Playlist: Delaware Art Museum's 'Imprinted: Illustrating Race'

The Delaware Art Museum has opened 'Imprinted: Illustrating Race,' an exhibition co-curated by University of Delaware professor Robyn Phillips-Pendleton that examines how race and identity have been depicted in popular illustration over more than a century. The show, which previously ran at the Norman Rockwell Museum, features works from books, magazines, advertising, trade cards, posters, and even a cookie jar, tracing the evolution of racial representation in American visual culture. It includes a notable shift by Norman Rockwell, who after decades of depicting predominantly white family scenes for the Saturday Evening Post, turned to socially relevant topics like civil rights in the 1950s.

Opening date for London’s V&A East Museum announced

The V&A East Museum in London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will open on 18 April 2026, completing the institution's east London cultural campus. Designed by O'Donnell + Tuomey, the five-story museum will feature two free permanent "Why We Make" galleries co-curated with local youth groups, showcasing over 500 objects from the V&A collection alongside contemporary works by artists including Yinka Ilori, Tania Bruguera, Carrie Mae Weems, and Thomas J. Price. The opening exhibition, "The Music Is Black: A British Story," will chart the influence of Black British music from 1900 to the present.