mellon foundation emergency funding state councils neh cuts 1234740188

The Mellon Foundation, the largest funder of the arts and humanities in the U.S., announced $15 million in emergency funding to the Federation of State Humanities Councils (FSHC). The funds will be distributed to state councils in all 50 states and six jurisdictions, with each council receiving a $200,000 one-time grant totaling $11.2 million, plus $2.8 million in challenge grants requiring local matching. This comes after the Trump administration cut $65 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities budget that was earmarked for these councils, threatening severe deficits or closures. The cuts were justified by the federal government as necessary for fiscal priorities, with $17 million redirected to a Trump-designated National Garden of American Heroes.

‘Exclusion can only satisfy the ego’: Venice Biennale president hits out at critics amid Russia and Israel controversy

Venice Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco defended the institution against critics at a conference on May 6, three days before the public opening, amid controversy over Russia's return to the event for the first time since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and ongoing disputes over Israel's participation. He accused critics of “narcissism” and “censorship,” while Italian culture minister Alessandro Giuli sent inspectors to investigate whether Russia's involvement breached sanctions; a report was submitted to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office. Meanwhile, the Biennale faces legal threats from the artist representing Israel over alleged discrimination, and protests have erupted, including a demonstration by Art Not Genocide Alliance and a Pussy Riot action at the Russia pavilion.

Venice exhibition of site-specific films aims to capture the hyper stimulating times we are living in

The Fondazione In Between Art Film presents "Canicula," the third and final exhibition in its Trilogy of Uncertainties, opening on 6 May at the Complesso dell’Ospedaletto in Venice. Curated by Leonardo Bigazzi, the show features eight newly commissioned site-specific films that explore themes of excess, sensory overload, and geopolitical tension. Works include Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk's "Affirmations" (2026), depicting fictional deathbed testimonies of Russian soldiers, Lawrence Abu Hamdan's "450XL: The Story of a Fugitive Sound" (2026) about a sonic attack in Belgrade, and Maya Watanabe's "Jarkov" (2025-26) reflecting on Arctic ice melt and Pleistocene remains.

What Did Happen or What Might Have Happened or What Can Never Happen. Dustin Hodges by Nick Angelo

Dustin Hodges presents a new body of work across two exhibitions, "Barley Patch" at 15 Orient in New York and "Barley Patch 2" at Sebastian Gladstone in Los Angeles. The artist utilizes thin layers of pigment, color glazing, and distemper on linen to create compositions that superimpose cartoon motifs, such as black crows and characters from the "Arthur" series, over complex grids. His process involves a cyclical layering that drives a wedge between the logic of the image and the materiality of painting, resulting in works that feel both choreographed and visceral.

south africa venice biennale court 2739102

South Africa's culture minister Gayton McKenzie canceled artist Gabrielle Goliath's selected presentation for the country's national pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, prompting Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo to file a constitutional court challenge on January 22. The artist's work, *Elegy*, commemorates victims of injustice including women, queer people, and victims of the Herero and Nama genocide, and was to address deaths of Gazan women and children since October 2023. McKenzie described the work as "highly divisive" and canceled the exhibition on January 2, despite an independent committee's binding selection. The minister now plans to replace it with a project by the collective Beyond the Frames titled "Shameless Rebellions: a South African Chorus."

reindeer hunting facility found in melted ice norway 2713876

Melting ice in Norway has revealed a 1,500-year-old reindeer hunting facility, preserved beneath centuries of snow and ice. Archaeologists from the University Museum of Bergen and Vestland County uncovered wooden mass-capture fences, marked antlers, iron spearheads, arrow shafts, wooden spears, a crafted antler brooch, and a mysterious decorated pine oar at the site on the mountain plateau of Aurlandsfjellet. The trap, composed of hundreds of tree branches stacked into two fences, was likely used around the middle of the 6th century at the start of a cold period, when year-round snow and ice made it unusable yet ideal for preservation.

bernini the ecstasy of saint teresa 2659785

Gian Lorenzo Bernini's iconic Baroque sculpture *The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa* (1647–1652) is examined in detail, depicting the Spanish Carmelite nun Saint Teresa of Ávila in a moment of divine rapture as an angel pierces her heart with a golden arrow. The artwork, housed in the Cornaro Chapel at Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome, was commissioned by Cardinal Federico Cornaro and remains one of Bernini's most celebrated and controversial masterpieces, blending theatricality, religious fervor, and virtuosic marble carving.

department of homeland security thomas kinkade 2664233

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a painting by the late artist Thomas Kinkade titled *Morning Pledge* on social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and X, with the caption “Protect the Homeland.” The painting depicts an idealized American small town with midcentury cars, a schoolhouse, and an American flag. Kinkade, known for mass-producing sentimental, conservative scenes and dubbed the “painter of light,” was widely dismissed by the mainstream art world as kitschy. The DHS post coincided with the opening of a new ICE detention center in the Florida Everglades, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” built to imprison immigrant detainees, and with the passage of a controversial bill expanding ICE funding while cutting healthcare and food benefits.

‘We’re attached to this land like a tree is rooted in soil’: unexpectedly timely exhibition speaks up for the people of south Lebanon

An exhibition titled 'Forget Me Not: South Lebanon in Memory and Motion' was held at London's Palestine House earlier this month. It featured archival news footage from 2000, photographs, audiovisual materials, and children's drawings to document the history, culture, and resilience of southern Lebanon, a region experiencing renewed conflict.

The Little Prince Exhibition At Bugis Has Dreamy Projections For An Immersive Storytelling Sesh

The Little Prince: The Journey of Stars, an immersive exhibition retelling Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's classic children's book, is now open at Parkview Square in Bugis, Singapore, hosted by the GROUNDSEESAW SINGAPORE art gallery. The experience runs through 31 July 2025 and features a film recap, interactive zones, and 3D projections of iconic characters like The Fox and The King, with sessions lasting about an hour. Tickets start at $15 for children and $22 for adults, with an early bird 50% discount available until 7 July 2025.

art selma selman young artist

Selma Selman, a 34-year-old artist based in New York, Berlin, and Amsterdam, is featured in Cultured's 2025 Young Artists list. Growing up in a Roma community in Bosnia, she helped her family strip precious metals from discarded items at their scrapyard—a ritual she now performs at venues like MoMA PS1 and the Venice Biennale, melting down the metal to create sculptures that explore value, labor, and exchange. She has participated in Manifesta 14, Documenta 15, and the 2025 Istanbul Biennial. In the interview, she discusses her professor Veso Sovilj, her foundation Get the Heck to School that supports Roma girls' education, and an upcoming performance destroying a Mercedes-Benz as a tribute to her late father.

Art exhibits to check out in May and June

A roundup of art exhibitions opening in May and June 2026 across Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio, highlights solo shows by Teresa Olavarria, Tony Foster, Nathan Foley, Mina Kim, and Eunshin Khang, along with group exhibitions including SOS ART 2026, 'Voices of Kenya: Social and Cultural Reflections,' and 'Elizabeth Hawes: Radical American Fashion.' Venues include The Contemporary Dayton, The Dayton Art Institute, Rosewood Arts Center, the Art Academy of Cincinnati, and Kennedy Heights Arts Center.

All the Poetry of the Sky on Show in a Rome Grand Hotel, Reminding Us of Our Own Complexity

Tutta la poesia del cielo in mostra nel grand hotel di Roma per ricordarci la nostra stessa complessità

Artist Giovanni Ozzola has opened a solo exhibition titled 'Il Cielo Dentro' (The Sky Within) at the Galleria Continua's space within The St. Regis hotel in Rome. The show features works centered on the sky as a metaphor for the vastness both outside and within the human experience, exploring the tension between internal and external horizons through light and abandoned architectural spaces like bunkers.

Conceptual artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s gets expansive tribute in California show

The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) is presenting *Theresa Hak Kyung Cha: Multiple Offerings*, the first survey of the late conceptual artist’s work in over two decades. Running from January 24 to April 19, the exhibition draws on BAMPFA’s substantial holdings of Cha’s art and archives, showcasing her multidisciplinary practice—including concrete poetry, mail art, textiles, ceramics, performance, and film. Curator Victoria Sung, alongside curatorial associate Tausif Noor, aims to de-emphasize Cha’s best-known work, *Dictée*, and instead highlight the fluidity of her process, revisiting themes across different media from the early 1970s to the early 1980s. The show features a recreation of her 1980 film *Exilée*, documentation of performances such as *Réveillé dans la Brume* (1977), and early ceramics and textiles never before shown publicly.

AT THE ART GALLERIES

Jag Gallery in Key West has announced an open call for its 7th annual "Poolside" juried exhibition, seeking 2D and 3D original artwork with swimming pools as the subject. The show opens with a reception on August 5, and selected artists will be notified by July 12, with an entry fee of $35 per artwork and a 50/50 commission split. The article also highlights current shows at other local Key West venues: Harrison Gallery is featuring vibrant paintings by Santa Fe artist Melinda K. Hall, Shade Ceramics and Shutter Photography is displaying pottery by Mark Klammer and landscape photography by Sarah Carleton, and it notes the legacy of the late textile artist Suzie dePoo.

Flowers laid after Bondi terror attack will form new work of art at Sydney Jewish Museum

Floral tributes left at Bondi Beach after a deadly terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration in December 2024 have been collected and will be transformed into an art installation at the Sydney Jewish Museum. Jewish Australian artist Nina Sanadze, born in Georgia and based in Melbourne, is working with volunteers to dry and process the flowers in a Sydney warehouse, experimenting with resin, bronze casting, and composted materials to create a work that may depict beachgoers fleeing the attack. The museum, currently closed for redevelopment, plans to feature the installation in a special exhibition when it reopens in 2027.

CAM Perennial Artists Selected for 2026 Exhibition in San Antonio

Contemporary Art Month (CAM) has announced the eight artists selected for its flagship CAM Perennial exhibition in March 2026. The artists are Eva Gabriella Flynn (Las Cruces, NM), Brenda Melgoza Ciardiello (Fort Worth), Tina Linville (Waco), Adrienne Simmons (Houston), Jesselyn Gordon and Daniela Oliver de Portillo (San Antonio), and Yuliya Lanina and Matt Rebholz (Austin). In celebration of its 40th anniversary, CAM invited past Perennial curators to nominate artists from their regions. CAM board members Casie Lomeli and Leslie Moody Castro selected the finalists and will co-curate the exhibition across five San Antonio venues: Casa Pink, Outrider Gallery, Rojo Gallery, Sala Diaz, and Un Grito Gallery.

Exhibit Explores the Stories Behind the Quilts in the UWS American Folk Art Museum's Collection

The American Folk Art Museum in New York is presenting "An Ecology of Quilts: The Natural History of American Textiles," an exhibition of 30 quilts from its collection of over 600 pieces. Co-curators Austin Losada and Emelie Gevalt highlight the materials and labor behind the quilts, including indigo dye and cotton, while featuring works by Malissia Pettway of Gee's Bend and Japanese artist Tomie Nagano, the only living artist in the show.

Grace Rosario Perkins: Circles, Spokes, Zigzags, Rivers

The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York is presenting "Grace Rosario Perkins: Circles, Spokes, Zigzags, Rivers," an exhibition of nine recent paintings and a large-scale sculpture by the Akimel O’odham/Diné artist (b. 1986, Santa Fe). The show runs from October 18, 2025, to February 8, 2026, and is organized by senior curator Adrienne Edwards and curatorial assistant Rose Pallone. Perkins’s densely layered works incorporate acrylic, spray paint, found materials, and textual fragments, drawing on petroglyphs, ancestral storytelling, and personal experience to explore themes of grief, love, and hope while resisting reductive representations of Indigenous identity.

Exhibition featuring 24 Otoe-Missouria artists to open Sept. 5

The Great Plains Art Museum at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln will open “Reflections of Our People, Our Ways, Our Land” on September 5, the first-ever exhibition centered on Otoe-Missouria artists. Featuring 24 artists from the tribe, the show spans traditional to contemporary mediums and runs through December 20. The exhibition is part of the Walking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors project, funded by the Mellon Foundation, which aims to promote healing and reconciliation by reconnecting the tribe to its Nebraska homelands.

Contemporary Art Month in San Antonio Announces Open Call for Texas Artists

Contemporary Art Month (CAM) in San Antonio has announced the open call for its 40th anniversary CAM Perennial exhibition, inviting Texas artists to apply. The 2026 edition will be curated by Casie Lomeli and Leslie Moody Castro, both CAM Board Members, and will take place citywide at multiple artist-run spaces during March. The exhibition is not limited to local artists; past Perennial curators will also nominate artists from cities including El Paso, Dallas, Las Cruces, and Mexico City. Studio visits are planned for fall 2025, and the application deadline is September 26.

Chinese Dissident Artist Badiucao on His First Solo Gallery Show

Chinese dissident artist Badiucao has opened his first solo gallery show, titled “Disagree Where We Must,” at Goldstone Gallery in Melbourne, Australia, his adopted hometown. The exhibition features nearly three dozen works, including canvases and conceptual pieces that critique developments in mainland China and Hong Kong, as well as geopolitical tensions involving Russia and the Middle East. Badiucao, who has faced threats and censorship for his criticism of the Chinese Communist Party, previously held institutional exhibitions in Europe but had never before had a solo show at a commercial venue.

‘I see hidden codes within the everyday’: Sandra Poulson’s first museum exhibition explores material histories of global exchange

The article features an interview with Angolan artist Sandra Poulson about her first museum exhibition, 'Este quarto parece uma República! (This bedroom looks like a republic!)', on view at MoMA PS1 in Queens until October 6. The exhibition, originally commissioned by Jahmek Contemporary Art in Luanda and shown at Sadie Coles HQ during Condo London 2025, uses wood and found furniture to explore how symbols in everyday objects reflect postcolonial legacies, global trade, and power structures. Poulson discusses her father's Portuguese phrase that inspired the title, the material history of wood from Dutch colonies, and the use of institutional logos on T-shirts in Angola as a form of propaganda.

GRACIELA ITURBIDE: EYES TO FLY

GRACIELA ITURBIDE: OJOS PARA VOLAR

The C/O Berlin gallery is presenting "Eyes to Fly With (Ojos para volar)," the first major retrospective in Germany of renowned Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide. The exhibition, curated by Sophia Greiff and Melissa Harris in close collaboration with Iturbide, runs from February 7 to June 10 and features her iconic works like "Nuestra Señora de las Iguanas" alongside lesser-known series on fashion, the cholo community in Los Angeles, and her travels in India and Bangladesh.

Behind the Scenes of ‘The Sopranos’: A New Exhibition Revisits TV’s Favorite Mob Drama

The Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) in New York has opened a new exhibition titled 'Stories and Set Designs for The Sopranos.' The show delves into the creation of the landmark HBO series, featuring original research materials, concept art, ground plans, and scripts that reveal the intense preparatory work by creator David Chase and his team. It reconstructs key locations like the Soprano home, the Bada Bing strip club, and Dr. Melfi's office to illustrate the show's transition from pilot to full series production.

May art guide: Exhibitions in Dayton, Cincy, Columbus and more

May’s art guide highlights several exhibitions across Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus, including "The Future of Female" at the Dayton Society of Artists, a juried show exploring women-identifying artists' perspectives; "At This Moment" at the Main Library's 2nd Floor Gallery, reflecting on contemporary life; "Teresa Olavarria: Lichen" at The Contemporary Dayton, featuring works in vitreous enamel and bronze; and a color-themed collaborative exhibition at the Edward A. Dixon Gallery in partnership with Dayton Collaboratory. The guide also features a 35mm film series by photographer Jake Schneider documenting Greenville’s Swinging 8’s Square Dance Club.

À Berlin, le Musée de Pergame rouvrira partiellement en 2027

Berlin's Pergamon Museum, closed since October 2023, will partially reopen in June 2027, with only the north wing and central section accessible. The renovation and expansion project, launched in 2012, has faced repeated delays and its budget has ballooned to €1.5 billion. The partial reopening coincides with the bicentenary of Berlin's Museum Island and will bring back the Pergamon Altar, unseen for over a decade, along with redesigned permanent exhibitions for the Museum of Islamic Art and the Museum of the Ancient Near East. However, major attractions like the Ishtar Gate and the Market Gate of Miletus will remain closed until the 2030s, with full museum completion now estimated between 2037 and 2043.

From DJing club nights to gallery walls, Scots artist returns home for major show

Francis Dosoo, a self-taught Scottish artist now based in Vienna, is mounting his first solo show at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) titled "Portrait Of Dorothy Gale." Dosoo began his career in nightlife, running club nights and DJ sets that blended into performance and installation art. His practice spans sound, film, and visual art, with past collaborations including Joanne Dawson, Aniela Piasecka, and Alberta Whittle, and commissions from the Glasgow Film Festival and Edinburgh Art Festival. The DCA exhibition draws on the 1978 film *The Wiz*, reimagining *The Wizard of Oz* with an African-American cast, focusing on star Diana Ross's career and personal life at the time.

Art News: A Preview Of The Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art and A Roberta Flack Auction at Julien’s

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a 300,000-square-foot institution designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec, will open in Los Angeles' Exposition Park on September 22. The 11-acre campus includes a park by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA and will feature over 1,200 objects across 30 galleries, showcasing narrative art from ancient sculptures to modern cinema, drawn from the museum's founding collection. Separately, Julien's Auctions will host "Roberta Flack: Style, Art & Music," a no-reserve auction celebrating the singer's life and cultural impact, including her Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand Piano.

New exhibition at Buxton reveals insights into Chinese conceptual art

The University of Melbourne's Buxton Contemporary has opened a new exhibition titled "Poetry goes no further than language," which examines the emergence of conceptual art in China during the mid-1980s and early 1990s. Featuring works by the Beijing collective New Measurement Group and Shanghai artist Qian Weikang, the show also includes a new commission by Victorian College of the Arts graduate Darcey Bella Arnold. Curated by Dr. Carol Yinghua Lu, Director of Beijing's Inside-Out Art Museum, together with artist Liu Ding, the exhibition brings previously inaccessible or little-known works to Australia for the first time.