This art exhibition wants to leave you ‘a bit happier’

Architect and artist François Valentiny, together with his wife Edith Burggraff, has opened a joint exhibition titled "L'art en partage" at the Valentiny Foundation in Remerschen, Luxembourg. Running until 10 May, the show features paintings and sculptures by the couple and is accompanied by concerts, workshops, and community events. Valentiny, known for designing landmarks like KPMG Luxembourg's headquarters and the Bijou building, studied architecture in Vienna and splits his time between Luxembourg and Austria.

'It's something we should all be concerned about' - Belfast studio moves to temporary hub amid rising costs

Vault Artist Studios, a Belfast-based arts collective with over 100 members including musicians, circus performers, and visual artists, has moved into a temporary hub at Bankmore House on Bedford Street after spending three years at Victoria Street and the Shankill Mission building. The collective, formed in 2017 to transform derelict buildings into affordable studio space, now provides studios for 30 artists plus a gallery and project space, with further space opening soon in a former Masonic Lodge on the lower Newtownards Road. Their first exhibition in the new space, titled 'Mayday Mayday', serves as both a distress signal and a rallying call for workers.

YVC student art show at Larson Gallery

Yakima Valley College (YVC) art students are showcasing their work in the annual Student Art Show at Larson Gallery. The exhibition features artwork created for class assignments from spring and fall quarters of 2025 and winter quarter of 2026, spanning mediums such as ceramics, painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, and design. Awards and honorable mentions were presented at the opening reception on May 5, and many pieces are available for purchase. The show runs through Saturday, May 30, with free admission.

La storica discoteca Paradiso di Rimini si trasforma in un polo per l’arte. La storia

The historic Paradiso nightclub in Rimini, Italy, which opened in 1957 and became one of Europe's most famous discos, is being transformed into a cultural hub. Acquired at auction in 2018 by Filo Srl after years of abandonment, the site underwent extensive renovation beginning in 2023. The new venue, named Casa Paradiso Art Gallery, is set to open between October and November 2026. It will feature art exhibitions, fashion shows, and corporate events, housed in a sustainable building that retains symbolic elements of its past, such as the iconic entrance gate.

Rome: A new cultural space opens in Trastevere (there's also an art radio station)

Roma: apre a Trastevere un nuovo spazio culturale (c’è anche un radio sull’arte)

A new cultural space called ASIF has opened in Rome's Trastevere district at Via della Lungara 24, launching on May 8 with an exhibition titled "Educazione sentimentale per architetti" by artist and illustrator Chiara Carrer, running until June 20. The space is distinguished by an accompanying radio station that extends its reach through programs exploring art and the city, with a team including Yasmin Rosciglione, Arturo Zanaica, Novella Hoffer, Iacopo Taddia, Monica Dell'acqua, Edoardo Taddia, and Blanca Castro Xiques. The inaugural show, curated by Bonvini 1909 (named Artribune's gallery of the year in 2025), features over sixty works including collages, engravings, and sculptures centered on the theme of dwelling.

Chiamata aperta ad artisti e architetti under 35 a Roma. Obiettivo? Progettare un’opera in dialogo col Gazometro

A new open call for artists and architects under 35 has been launched in Rome, inviting proposals for a public artwork in dialogue with the iconic Gazometro (gasometer) in the Ostiense district. The initiative is promoted by Spazio Taverna in collaboration with Eni and ROAD – Rome Advanced District, and was announced on May 21 during the event "ON THE ROAD – Distretti di Innovazione." Participants are asked to design a monument, pavilion, or installation that engages with the former industrial complex, now a creative hub hosting the cultural program Arte al Gazometro since 2024. A jury including Marco Bassan, Ludovico Pratesi, Mattia Voltaggio, Claudio Quaternato, and Lorenza Baroncelli will select the winner, who will receive a €3,000 prize; the ten finalists will be published on Artribune and gain access to a Masterclass at the School of Vision. Submissions are open from May 21 to July 31, 2026, with results announced in September.

Buongiorno Ceramica! 2026 is underway. All the unmissable events of the twelfth edition

Al via Buongiorno Ceramica! 2026. Tutti gli eventi da non perdere della dodicesima edizione

The twelfth edition of "Buongiorno Ceramica!" will take place on May 23-24, 2026, transforming historic centers, museums, and workshops across Italy into open-air laboratories. The event spans from Piedmont to Sicily, featuring exhibitions, installations, guided tours, performances, tastings, and gastronomic events. Highlights include the Ceramiche Sonore competition in Castellamonte, the Museo della Ceramica's tribute to Marco Levi in Mondovì, and open studios in Montelupo Fiorentino, with participation from 60 cities organized by the Associazione Italiana Città della Ceramica.

20 artisti lavoreranno in 20 paesini remoti di 20 regioni italiane. La rassegna che porta l’arte contemporanea nei borghi torna per il settimo anno

The seventh edition of "Una Boccata d'Arte," an initiative by Fondazione Elpis, will bring contemporary art to 20 remote villages across all 20 Italian regions. Twenty artists, each paired with a curator, will create site-specific projects that will be inaugurated simultaneously on June 20-21, 2026, and remain on view until October 4. A key innovation this year is that artists and curators spent extra time engaging with local communities before designing their works, fostering deeper connections. Examples include Greek artist Vasilis Papageorgiu transforming a traditional tablecloth from a resident of Tredozio, and Francesco Alberico collaborating with a socio-health facility in Bressanone to create a bird-themed installation.

Santarcangelo Festival 2026: The Village Fills with Performances, Speaking of the Body as a Political Space Under Pressure

Santarcangelo Festival 2026, il borgo che si riempie di performance parlando di corpo come spazio politico sotto pressione

The 56th edition of the Santarcangelo Festival, titled "Deep Pressures," will take place from July 3 to 12, 2026, in the historic town of Santarcangelo, Italy. Curated by Tomasz Kirenczuk in his final year as artistic director, the festival transforms the town into a "city-festival" with over 100 events including performances, concerts, and participatory practices. The program explores the body as a political space under pressure—from geopolitical conflict and colonial legacies to emotional and social tensions. Key works include "In relation to whom?" by Palestinian artists Marah Haj Hussein and Nur Garabli, "When I Saw the Sea" by Lebanese choreographer Ali Chahrour, and "Homem Novo" by Mozambican artist Yuck Miranda, among others. The festival was presented at Mambo in Bologna, with Kirenczuk emphasizing that the role of the festival is to be unsettling, not reassuring.

C’è un museo di Torino che cerca 100 lampade per realizzare una grande installazione. Ecco come partecipare

The MAO – Museo d’Arte Orientale in Turin has launched an open call titled "We need your light," inviting the public to lend up to three lamps each for a large-scale collective installation. Participants can deliver their lamps on May 17-18, 2026, by booking a time slot via Eventbrite; the museum will collect the objects, rewire them for safety, and incorporate them into a site-specific artwork debuting during Turin's Art Week in October 2026. The museum also encourages lenders to share the story behind their lamp, which will be filmed and included in the exhibition.

The Biennale and the Weight of Flags. What Is the Point of National Pavilions?

La Biennale e il peso delle bandiere. Che senso hanno i padiglioni nazionali?

The article examines the inherent contradiction within the Venice Biennale: its historical structure of national pavilions, a legacy of 19th-century world fairs and state-sponsored art, clashes with the transnational, post-identity vision of the international exhibition curated by Koyo Kouoh. The return of the Russia Pavilion amid geopolitical conflict and the international show titled "In Minor Keys," which rejects national belonging as an interpretive criterion, highlight this tension. The piece also addresses the controversy over the lack of Italian artists in the main exhibition, questioning whether a Biennale hosted in Italy should guarantee national representation.

During the Venice Biennale there is also the Ibiza Pavilion, inside a takeaway pizzeria

Durante la Biennale di Venezia c’è anche il Padiglione Ibiza, dentro una pizzeria da asporto

During the Venice Art Biennale, an independent project called the Ibiza Pavilion opens from May 7 to 9, 2026, inside Pizza al Volo, a popular takeaway pizzeria in Campo Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro. Conceived and curated by Margherita Chiarva with support from Victoria Genzini and Gabriele Della Maddalena, the three-day initiative features a group exhibition, performances, collective embroidery, tarot readings, and somatic practices by international artists connected to Ibiza through experience or collaboration, including Noemi Manser, Beatrice Dettori, Liz Kueneke, COSIMA, and Maria Giulia Alvigini.

Story of Stampé is the new social atelier in Turin: art gallery, workshop, laboratory of ideas and participation

Storia di Stampé è il nuovo atelier sociale di Torino: galleria d’arte, bottega, laboratorio di idee e di partecipazione

Stampé, a new community atelier in Turin, Italy, has opened at Via Stampatori 5, a historic street once home to printers. The space is a hybrid cultural hub combining an art gallery, a workshop, a showroom for artisanal and food products, and a social enterprise incubator. It launched with a group exhibition featuring seven cultural associations and the communication agency Hello Tomorrow, showcasing works by emerging artists and graphic artworks from past events. The initiative is part of the "Piani Generativi 2" social enterprise development project, funded by the city of Turin and the Compagnia di San Paolo foundation.

The arrival of the Orient Express hotel in Venice reopens the historic Palazzo Donà Giovannelli (filling it with contemporary art)

L’arrivo dell’hotel Orient Express a Venezia riapre lo storico Palazzo Donà Giovannelli (riempiendolo di arte contemporanea)

Palazzo Donà Giovannelli, a 15th-century Venetian palace, has reopened as the flagship Orient Express hotel after an eight-year restoration led by architect and interior designer Aline Asmar d’Amman. Located in the Cannaregio district, the 5-star luxury hotel features 47 rooms, suites, and residences, blending historical frescoes and neogothic details with contemporary sculptures, Murano glass chandeliers, and custom furnishings. The property, owned by Arsenale Group since 2019, includes a transformed courtyard lobby, a secret garden, and a rotating selection of contemporary artworks displayed in a passage called Calle Meraviglia.

Here's what the much-talked-about Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale looks like. Photos and video

Ecco com’è il chiacchieratissimo Padiglione Russia della Biennale di Venezia. Foto e video

The Russian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale has opened amid intense controversy over its unauthorized participation. The pavilion, housed in a 1914 building recently restored by Italian architects 2050+, features a program of musical improvisations, ensemble performances, techno concerts, and interactive actions, including free used clothing. The space is designed as a fragrant flower shop with a chill-out room featuring a conifer grove and video installations. The exhibition, titled "L’Albero Radicato nel Cielo" (The Tree Rooted in the Sky), is organized by young poets, musicians, and philosophers who prefer to remain anonymous as a collective, coordinated by the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music. However, due to sanctions, the pavilion is only open from May 5 to 8, as organizers cannot obtain the necessary permit to operate beyond the private opening.

Jury or Public? The Biennale Is Not an Algorithm, But Neither Is It a Liturgy

Giuria o pubblico? La Biennale non è un algoritmo, ma neppure una liturgia

The article critically examines the proposal for "Visitor Lions" (Leoni dei Visitatori) at the Venice Biennale, arguing that the idea is a fragile, quick-fix response to a deeper crisis. It questions whether replacing expert juries with public voting would truly improve the selection process, noting that both systems have significant flaws: juries are not necessarily neutral, often rushed and filtered, while public voting risks favoring accessible, easily consumable works and reinforcing existing hierarchies.

Artribune's Agendissima for the 2026 Venice Biennale. The complete guide to events to download

L’Agendissima di Artribune in occasione della Biennale Arte 2026. La guida completa agli eventi da scaricare

Artribune has released its "Agendissima" guide for the 61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, running from May 9 to November 22, 2026, across the Giardini, Arsenale, and various venues in Venice. The guide provides schedules, addresses, and recommendations for openings, pavilions, exhibitions, and evening events during the preview days, available for online consultation, download, and printing.

Where to eat and take a break in Venice during the 2026 Art Biennale?

Dove mangiare e prendersi una pausa a Venezia durante la Biennale Arte 2026?

The article provides a curated guide to dining and refreshment spots in Venice during the 61st edition of the Venice Biennale, which runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026. It lists several recommended venues—including ABC Zattere, Bea Vita, QuasiPronto, Adriatico Mar, Bancogiro, and Osteria Da Pampo—each described with details on location, atmosphere, and specialties, from cicchetti and tramezzini to natural wine and traditional Venetian dishes.

Golden Lions of the Biennale voted by the public? 7 reasons why they cannot work

Leoni d’Oro della Biennale votati dal pubblico? 7 motivi per cui non possono funzionare

On April 30, 2026, the International Jury of the Venice Art Biennale resigned en masse. In response, the Biennale Foundation hastily announced a new initiative called the "Visitor Lions" (Leoni dei Visitatori), where paying visitors would vote to award the Golden Lions for best artist and best national participation. The voting system would rely on ticket tracking to verify attendance at the main venues, the Giardini and the Arsenale. However, just a week before the public opening, no further details had been released, raising numerous practical concerns about the mechanism's feasibility.

Veneto: In Place of a Liberty Café in Recoaro Terme, a Contemporary Art Center Opens. Interview with the Curator

Veneto: al posto di un caffè liberty di Recoaro Terme apre un centro d’arte contemporanea. Intervista alla curatrice

The historic Palazzo Caffè Nazionale in Recoaro Terme, a small spa town in the Veneto region of Italy, is being transformed into a contemporary art center called Cantiere del Contemporaneo, set to open on May 2, 2026. The project, curated by Elisabetta Bacchin, will focus on artist residencies, with the inaugural group including Romesh Bothalage, Pietro Chiarello, Francesco Pizzocchero, and Virginia Stevenin, who will work for two months in the converted spaces. The initiative is part of a broader regeneration plan funded by the National Plan for Borghi and the European Union's PNRR funds, aiming to revitalize the town's cultural and economic identity through contemporary art.

First Friday Art Walk set this weekend in Sequim

The First Friday Art Walk in Sequim, Washington, will take place this weekend from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., featuring an aqua-themed self-guided tour of downtown venues. Highlights include a reception for "May Flowers" at Blue Whole Gallery with works by Jolene Sanborn and Rick George, a fiber arts exhibit at Sequim Museum & Arts, and new works at A. Milligan Art Studio and Gallery by Lyn Conlan and Anne Pfeiffer, along with live music and local artisan offerings at multiple participating businesses.

Seafront gallery hosts major exhibition of local artists

The Fishing Quarter Gallery on Brighton seafront hosted the Bright On Open Call Exhibition, featuring works by 65 local artists. Curated by seascape painter Emma Christopherson, the exhibition presented a visual tour of Brighton from the sea through the city to the South Downs, including seascapes, portraits, and landscapes. Most works were available for purchase, and visitors could meet the artists. This is the second year Christopherson has organized the event, with plans to continue next year.

China Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia: Dream Stream

The China Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia has been announced under the title "Dream Stream." The pavilion will be part of the prestigious Venice Biennale, one of the world's most important contemporary art exhibitions, and is organized by the Chinese government or cultural authorities. The announcement was made via a press release distributed by PR Newswire, highlighting China's continued participation in this global art event.

Arte Museum launches immersive BTS exhibition inspired by 'Arirang'

Arte Museum in Las Vegas has opened "Arte Museum X BTS The City Arirang," an immersive exhibition created in partnership with Hybe's citywide fan experience project "The City." The show, launched on Wednesday ahead of a BTS concert in the city, centers on BTS's fifth studio album "Arirang" and translates its themes into multisensory visual installations. Operated by Seoul-based digital design company D'strict, the exhibition features five signature media artworks including "No. 29" and a new edition of the iconic "Wave" installation titled "Arirang Wave." The exhibition will travel to Busan and New York after its Las Vegas run through June 17.

Western Spirit Museum highlights student artists during Youth Art Month exhibit

Western Spirit Museum, Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, partnered with the Arizona Art Education Association to present a Youth Art Month exhibition from March 15 to March 28, 2025. The show featured 109 original works by students in kindergarten through 12th grade from 22 schools across Arizona, spanning multiple mediums and styles. The exhibit concluded with a student artist reception on March 28, drawing families, educators, and community members. Teachers submitted student artwork, which was reviewed and selected by the Arizona Art Education Association Youth Art Month board.

Call for artists issued for Laredo anniversary exhibit

A call for artists has been issued for a commemorative exhibition celebrating Laredo's 271st anniversary. The Mexican Cultural Institute in Laredo, in collaboration with the Consulate General of Mexico, the Webb County Heritage Foundation, and the city of Laredo, invites local and regional artists to submit original artwork reflecting the city's identity. Submissions will be accepted May 4-8 at the Consulate General of Mexico, with selected works displayed May 15 through June 5 at the Mexican Cultural Institute. The exhibit will focus on five themes: history, culture, people, landscapes, and heritage.

UW Art Museum presents ‘Global Collection: Masks of the World’

The University of Wyoming Art Museum will open 'Global Collection: Masks of the World' on Saturday, May 2. The exhibition features 28 masks from the museum's permanent collection, spanning diverse regions and cultural contexts, and explores masks as cultural agents, works of art, and objects shaped by circulation and interpretation. The show is drawn from donations made over the past 50 years and was curated with assistance from UW Honors College intern Carter Coggins. Funding comes from the Barbara J. and V. Frank Mendicino Endowment for Collection Conservation and the Patricia R. Guthrie Special Exhibitions Gallery Endowment.

ARTIUM RECOVERS THE SILENCED DISSIDENCE OF JUANA CIMA

Artium museum in Vitoria, Spain, has opened a retrospective exhibition titled "Juana Cima: Una mirada disidente" dedicated to Cuban-born artist Juana Fernández Cima (b. 1951). The show traces her career from the late 1970s through the 1990s, highlighting her pioneering work on identity, gender, and ecology, which was progressively marginalized from the dominant artistic narrative. The exhibition is organized around five conceptual territories—Bilbao, mythical ecofeminist landscapes, insular identity, spirituality via India and Buddhism, and mountain retreat—and runs until August 30, 2026.

CAB EXPLORES LANDSCAPE AS LIVING MEMORY IN MATIAS ERCOLE S WORK

The CAB / Centro de Arte Caja de Burgos in Spain has opened "Me olvidé de mis ojos" (I Forgot My Eyes), an exhibition by Argentine artist Matías Ercole. The show explores landscape as a living memory, blending Latin American and European visual traditions through the artist's signature sgraffito technique, which reveals hidden layers of light and color. The works are arranged as architectural elements, guiding viewers through a reflective journey on identity, memory, and cultural construction.