Polar icebergs and North Devon cliffs meet with powerful new art exhibition at The Burton

Royal Academician Emma Stibbon opens a new exhibition, "Melting Ice | Rising Tides," at The Burton at Bideford on May 10. The show features monumental drawings and prints inspired by field trips to Svalbard and the Weddell Sea, alongside a five-metre-wide installation responding to erosion in Bideford Bay. It includes a film with contributions from Andy Bell, Caroline Lucas, and Dr. Dylan Rood, and a limited edition print, "Atlantic Edge" (2025), priced at £390 to support the gallery.

The Sky Lives in Us Still, Resistance and Imagination Take Flight.

Vanessa German has unveiled a major new installation at the Speed Art Museum titled '…do you remember when you were the sky?', marking the inaugural project of the Sam Gilliam Visiting Artist Program. The exhibition features German’s signature assemblage sculptures, which utilize diverse materials like cowrie shells, quilts, and skateboards to create hybrid figures representing young girls in states of transformation. The body of work is the result of months of community engagement and research into local histories, specifically focusing on the narratives of the Colored Girls Dormitory in Louisville.

Tribeca Gallery Night brings together more than 80 spaces

On Friday, May 15, more than 80 galleries in New York's Tribeca neighborhood will stay open late for Tribeca Gallery Night, from 6pm to 8pm. Three new galleries are joining the event: Tappeto Volante Gallery (opening at 4 Cortlandt Alley with a show of painter Angelo Vasta), Gratin (opening at 15 White Street with a solo show for Spanish artist Mónica Mays), and Southern Guild (relocated from Los Angeles to 75 Leonard Street, featuring solo shows for Usha Seejarim and Mmangaliso Nzuza).

Latino community organisation opens $33m arts centre in Boston

On 15 May, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA), a Latino-founded nonprofit community development corporation, will open La Casa, a $33 million, 26,000-square-foot cultural center in Boston's South End. The largest Latino cultural center in New England, La Casa is designed by local firms Studio Enée and Annum Architects and features a terracotta-colored facade, energy-efficient design, and flexible spaces for civic engagement, education, and artistic expression. Initial programming includes artist residencies, workshops, and a mural by local artist Alvin “Acóma” Colon honoring Boston’s Puerto Rican residents. The building incorporates salvaged elements from the original turn-of-the-century Lutheran church that IBA repurposed in the 1960s.

The Newest Docent at This Historic Italian Palace Is a Robot

Palazzo Madama in Turin, Italy, has introduced a four-foot-tall robot named R1 as a docent for its Baroque collection. The robot, developed by the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) under Project Convince with €4 million in EU funding, guides visitors through the former royal apartments, narrating the history of the House of Savoy and detailing paintings, tapestries, and furniture. R1 can interact with visitors via LED eyes, answer questions, and autonomously navigate the museum's first floor, though it cannot climb stairs. It has been learning on the job since 2025, completing 30 tours in December 2025, and uses corrective software to relocalize itself if lost.

Philadelphia’s New Art Fair Is Betting Big on Community

Philadelphia is set to launch a new contemporary art fair called Elsewhere on June 4, organized by Megan Galardi, founder of Blah Blah Gallery. The fair will take over the Yowie Hotel, a pair of 1900s rowhouses, featuring 26 galleries from cities including Los Angeles, Toronto, and London. Booth prices are kept low—around $3,000 for the largest rooms—and some exhibitors can sleep in their spaces to reduce costs. Participating galleries include Harlesden High Street, DARLA, and Blah Blah Gallery, with artists such as Patricia Renee’ Thomas, Emmanuel Massillon, and Qualeasha Wood. The fair also includes panels, DJ sets, reciprocal museum tours, and VIP studio visits.

MoMA PS1’s “Greater New York” Is Gritty, Stunning, and Gutting

MoMA PS1 has launched the sixth edition of "Greater New York," a quinquennial survey featuring over 50 artists living and working in the city. Coinciding with the museum’s 50th anniversary, the 2026 iteration focuses on artists in the formative stages of their careers, emphasizing a gritty, raw aesthetic over the polished, market-driven surfaces often found in major biennials. The exhibition highlights photography and installation work that reflects the city's complex immigrant narratives and evolving urban identity.

Ruins of ‘unique’, circular water temple discovered in Egypt

Archaeologists in northern Sinai have unearthed the ruins of a unique circular water temple at the site of ancient Pelusium, dating back to the second century. Initially mistaken for a political senate building, the structure features a 35-meter wide basin and brick walls characteristic of Roman construction, suggesting it was used for religious rituals linked to the local fertility god Pelusius.

Sharjah’s Barjeel Art Foundation Is Building its First Museum

The Barjeel Art Foundation has officially broken ground on its first permanent museum in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, with a scheduled opening for January 2028. Founded by Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, the 38,750-square-foot facility will be designed by Abdelmoneam Essa of Architecture Corner Consultants, featuring a design inspired by the traditional architecture of the Al Rigga neighborhood.

1,000-year-old Toltec altar with four human skulls found in Mexico

Archaeologists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have discovered a 1,000-year-old Toltec altar during salvage work for a new high-speed rail line between Mexico City and Querétaro. The stone structure, known as a momoztli, dates back to AD 900-1150 and was found with four human skulls and leg bones arranged at its base, suggesting ritual or sacrificial use. Located near the ancient site of Tula Chico, the find also included ceramic objects and obsidian artifacts within a compound likely belonging to the local elite.

Art Cologne heads to the beach with revived Mallorca edition

Art Cologne is relaunching its satellite fair in Mallorca nearly two decades after a brief, unsuccessful attempt in 2007. Scheduled for April 9–12 at the Palau de Congressos de Palma, the revived Art Cologne Palma Mallorca will feature 88 galleries, with a significant emphasis on Spanish and local Balearic participants rather than just German exports.

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The 2026 Hong Kong International Cultural Summit convened global museum leaders and policymakers at the M+ museum and the Hong Kong Museum of Art to discuss the city's evolving role as a cultural hub. Amidst geopolitical shifts, the summit saw the signing of several memoranda of understanding between Hong Kong and international institutions, including the Misk Art Institute and the Czech Academy of Visual Arts. Key announcements included a five-year partnership renewal with Art Basel and the upcoming launch of the West Kowloon Academy, an incubator for arts professionals.

France Returns Looted Talking Drum to Côte d’Ivoire

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France has officially returned the Djidji Ayôkwé, a historic "talking drum," to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire during a ceremony at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. The 940-pound artifact, which was used by the Atchan people to communicate across distances and warn of colonial troop movements, was seized by French authorities in 1916 to suppress local resistance. After decades in French collections, the drum is being transferred to the Museum of Civilizations in Abidjan following a specific vote by the French parliament.

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Isaiah Zagar, the visionary mosaic artist behind the landmark Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, died on February 19 at age 86 due to complications from heart failure and Parkinson’s Disease. A Pratt Institute graduate and former Peace Corps volunteer, Zagar transformed Philadelphia’s South Street neighborhood over five decades, creating more than 200 public murals and a sprawling, immersive environment of tunnels and grottos made from glass, tile, and found objects.

Minneapolis Artists Respond to ICE, DHS After Killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti

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Federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, led by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and ICE under Operation Metro Surge, have resulted in the deaths of two American citizens, poet Renee Good and nurse Alex Pretti, near major art institutions. The violence and subsequent shelter-in-place orders have directly impacted the local arts community, forcing school closures, remote learning, and causing widespread fear.

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The Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) announced it would remain closed on Sunday for safety reasons after a Border Patrol agent shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, during an ICE operation in Minneapolis on Saturday. The shooting occurred just blocks from the museum, and MIA had already closed early on Saturday following the news. The closure was part of a broader Day of Truth and Freedom protest against ICE operations in Minnesota, and the NBA also postponed a Timberwolves game in response to the incident.

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The Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Art closed on January 20, 2026, in protest of escalating Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the Twin Cities. The closures follow the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, which sparked nationwide outrage. The museums canceled scheduled events, including a performance by Nile Harris, and joined a broader one-day economic blackout called "A Day of Truth and Freedom" organized by Minnesota union leaders and community groups. Other cultural institutions participating include the Bakken Museum, the Minnesota Museum of American Art, the Weisman Art Center, and the Museum of Russian Art.

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UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced a £1.5 billion arts funding package on Wednesday, urging London-based national institutions like the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery to extend their reach across the country. The package includes £600 million for national institutions, £425 million for a Creative Foundations Fund supporting capital projects at arts venues nationwide, £160 million for local and regional museums, £230 million for the heritage sector, £27.5 million for public libraries, and an additional £80 million for national portfolio organizations. Nandy praised the Royal Shakespeare Company’s outreach as a model and framed the investment as the largest reset in the arts for a generation, comparable to post-World War Two cultural rebuilding.

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New York City Mayoral-Elect Zohran Mamdani has signed an open letter supporting roughly 1,000 workers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art who filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to form a bargaining unit. The vote is scheduled for January 13 and 15, 2026, and if approved, the Met would become the largest unionized museum in the country. The letter, released December 18 by the United Auto Workers (UAW), was also signed by Comptroller Elect Mark Levine and Manhattan Borough President Elect Brad Hoylman-Sigal, among other officials. The proposed union would cover curators, conservators, educators, and retail staff, citing long-term pay inequities, lack of job protection, and increasing workloads.

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Over 600 artifacts were stolen from a storage building housing the Bristol Museum’s British Empire and Commonwealth collection in the early hours of September 25. The items included an ivory Buddha, copper medallions from the Emancipation campaign of 1838, a carved elephant ornament, and a copper and brass ship lantern. Local authorities have released descriptions of four suspects and images of stolen objects, appealing to the public for help in recovering the items and identifying the thieves.

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Sasha Suda, the former director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, has filed a lawsuit against the institution less than a week after her abrupt firing. The legal complaint alleges breaches of contract, bad faith, unfair treatment, and abuse. Suda, who served for three years, is seeking two years' severance and damages, represented by high-profile art world attorney Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel. Her ouster came shortly after the museum unveiled a controversial rebranding, changing its name from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the acronym PhAM and introducing an unpopular griffin logo. The museum has stated the lawsuit is without merit. Louis Marchesano, deputy director of curatorial affairs and conservation, is currently serving as interim leader.

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The American Numismatic Society (ANS), a 166-year-old organization dedicated to coin collecting and research, is relocating from Lower Manhattan to the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio. The move, set for 2028, will see the ANS occupy a four-story Art Deco building on the museum's campus, where it will establish a new home featuring a library, auditorium, and education center. The partnership will integrate the ANS's collection of 800,000 coins, medals, and monetary objects into the museum's reinstallation of its collection galleries in 2027, with the ANS mounting its own exhibitions starting the following year.

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On Monday, Local 2110 of the United Auto Workers (UAW) filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize roughly 1,000 salaried and hourly workers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The union cites long-term pay inequities, lack of job protection, and increasing workloads as motivations. The Met currently has two smaller unions for security guards and projectionists, and a museum spokesperson expressed respect for the right to seek representation. Employees reportedly first reached out to Local 2110 in 2022, and the drive has gained momentum in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Jonny Tanna, founder of the London gallery Harlesden High Street, has launched a pop-up project in Mayfair during Frieze Week, in collaboration with Düsseldorf- and Berlin-based gallery Setareh. The inaugural exhibition, “Forces of Nature,” features London-based artists Abbas Zahedi and Jamiu Agboke, presenting conceptual installation and atmospheric painting. Tanna emphasizes that this is not a permanent relocation but an itinerant extension of his gallery, which exclusively shows artists of color and is known for its community-focused, unvarnished approach.

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Joanna Mytkowska, director of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (MSN Warsaw) since 2007, discusses the museum's first year in its new building designed by American architect Thomas Phifer. Located in Warsaw's Central Square near the Palace of Culture and Science, the white modernist structure opened last fall with performances and the collection exhibition "The Impermanent." Mytkowska reflects on the museum's controversial reception among local audiences, its role in Poland's political debates—including being mentioned during the recent presidential election campaign—and the institution's long-standing ambivalence toward artistic canons rooted in its close ties to Warsaw's progressive artistic community.

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The Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine, is repatriating 17 items—including a human tooth and funerary objects such as tools, animal hides, and fabric—to the Wabanaki Nations, a confederation of four local tribes (Penobscot Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Mi’kmaq Nation, and Houlton band of Maliseet Indians). The objects, many excavated by Warren K. Moorehead in the late 19th century, passed through the R.S. Peabody Museum, the Bangor Historical Society, and the Abbe Museum, with some lost due to undocumented loans. A Field Register notice from the National Park Service, published September 11, 2025, details their complex provenance. The repatriation is set to occur on or after October 14, 2025.

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Workers at the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) are moving to unionize through Local 2110 of the United Auto Workers (UAW), a first in the organization's history. Staff cited a lack of transparency, unfair wages, and unsustainable working conditions as reasons for the push, with support from unions representing workers at major New York cultural institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum.

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A new contemporary art triennial is set to launch in 2026 in Medina, a small village in Western New York with a population of about 6,000. The Medina Triennial will feature approximately 50 site-responsive works created by invited artists across indoor and outdoor locations, including former industrial buildings and spaces along the Erie Canal. The exhibition is co-directed by Kari Conte and Karin Laansoo, with associate curator Ekrem Serdar, and is conceived by the New York Power Authority and the New York State Canal Corporation to revitalize the canal and highlight its significance. A steering committee includes major regional institutions such as the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, the Burchfield Penney Art Center, the University at Buffalo, the Memorial Art Gallery, and the Corning Museum of Glass. The inaugural edition runs from June 6 to September 7, 2026, with a hub opening in September 2025 for public programs.

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The Trump administration laid off approximately 100 employees from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) on June 10, part of a broader reduction in force that has left fewer than 60 staff remaining at the agency. The cuts follow earlier funding freezes and a $65 million budget reduction by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with funds redirected to President Trump’s National Garden of American Heroes. The NEH’s union, the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403, has condemned the restructuring as an existential threat to institutions that rely on NEH grants for research, preservation, and education.

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Open Restitution Africa (ORA), an African-led research organization, has compiled case studies including the Ngadji drum, a sacred instrument confiscated from Kenya's Pokomo people by British colonial officers in 1902 and now held by the British Museum. With a $600,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation, ORA provided microgrants to scholars like William Mutta Tsaka of the National Museums of Kenya, who documented the drum's cultural significance and the community's ongoing struggle for repatriation. The project aims to fund independent researchers and community activists across Africa, covering fieldwork costs often neglected by larger provenance grants.