Photographer Rich-Joseph Facun documents life in Athens, Ohio, in his project '1804,' focusing on the profound influence of Ohio University on the town. His images and interviews capture the socioeconomic and cultural dynamics, including strained housing markets, a nightlife economy driven by students, and the town's identity as a "company town" shaped by the university's calendar and employment.
unt leaders canceled anti ice show texts
Internal communications from the University of North Texas (UNT) reveal that administrators canceled an exhibition featuring anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) artwork due to concerns over political backlash and potential funding threats. The text messages and emails show leadership discussing the "political sensitivity" of the work and the risk of alienating state legislators, leading to the abrupt closure of the show before its scheduled run.
The San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), a 149-year-old institution, announced last month that it would shut down its degree programs and stop enrolling new students after the current semester, signaling what many believed was the end of the school. However, the board of trustees has now voted to keep the school open in a limited capacity, suspending degree programs but offering studio art classes, public education programs, and grant-funded exhibitions while launching a campaign to reinvent its business model and raise philanthropic funds.
Glow Nanshan, a light-art festival in Shenzhen's Nanshan district, has transformed the city's coastline into an outdoor museum of light art through installations, projections, and interactive works. The event, which serves as the heart of the larger Glow Shenzhen festival, coincides with the 45th anniversary of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the 15th Five-Year Plan. Highlights include 'Island of Light' by Even Space, 'Anooki: Les Complices' by French studio Inook, and 'COSMOS' by Heyl & Van Dam Studio, alongside works by SKGPLUS in collaboration with Epson. The festival runs through March 3, 2026.
Tenured University of South Dakota art professor Michael Hook, who faced termination for social media comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, has been reinstated after dropping his lawsuit. Hook posted remarks on September 10 calling Kirk a "hate-spreading Nazi" after the activist was shot dead, then apologized and deleted the post. South Dakota political leaders including Governor Larry Rhoden called for his firing, and USD placed Hook on administrative leave on September 12. Hook sued the university and the South Dakota Board of Regents on September 23, arguing his comments were protected by the First Amendment. Students organized a petition with nearly 22,000 signatures supporting his reinstatement. On October 3, USD president Sheila Gestring withdrew the termination notice, citing Hook's apology and employment record. Hook then dismissed the lawsuit as moot.
Archaeologists at the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily have uncovered a mosaic in the frigidarium (cold bath) of the southern baths featuring a pair of flip-flops and the inscription "Treptona bibas," likely referencing a woman involved in managing the complex. The discovery was made during the University of Bologna's Summer School ArchLABS program, which trains students from 11 countries in modern excavation techniques. The flip-flop motif, known from other Late Roman bath decorations across Spain, Cyprus, Jordan, and Asia Minor, signals the aristocratic and cosmopolitan character of the baths.
The Trump administration threatened to block Harvard University from enrolling international students and revoked its SEVIS certification, a move frozen within 24 hours by a judge. The administration also announced plans to aggressively revoke visas of Chinese students, raising concerns for US art schools, which are heavily dependent on international enrollees—many with higher percentages of international students than Harvard, such as the School of Visual Arts (50%), Parsons School of Design (35%), and CalArts (30%).
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo School Art Auction set new records at its 2026 event, with student artworks attracting unprecedented bids from donor groups. The grand champion piece, a painting titled 'Between Boots and Moccasins' by Pasadena Memorial High School senior Joshua Washington, sold for a record $525,000, nearly doubling the previous year's top sale. The auction, held at NRG Arena, showcases artwork selected from a statewide competition involving over 200,000 students, highlighting the program's scale and impact on young Texas artists.
The Da Vinci Festival Student Art Show has returned to the Broome County Public Library in New York after a nearly ten-year hiatus. Organized by Chenango Valley art teacher Matthew Wilson, the exhibit features artwork from students in kindergarten through 12th grade across 18 schools in seven districts. The festival had not been held since 2017 due to a coordinator stepping down and subsequent delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jamea Richmond-Edwards presents her solo exhibition “Another World and Yet the Same” at Hamilton College’s Wellin Museum of Art. The show features the artist’s mixed-media works that explore themes of Black womanhood, Afrofuturism, and historical narratives through collage, painting, and drawing.
The Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester is presenting a series of summer exhibitions running from late May through July 2026. Featured shows include "Photosynthesis XXI," a collaboration between Burlington and Winchester high schools; "Atelier 40," showcasing emerging and advanced photographers from a year-long portfolio course; "Caleb Cain Marcus: A Thousand Rectangles: On Design and the Expression of Art"; "Cassidy Thurber: I Want the Sun to Shine Down on You," the winner of the 2025 Carolyn Harder Scholarship; the 16th Annual Photobook Exhibition; a Handmade Photobook show; and "Visionary." A satellite location at Griffin Museum @WinCam will host Ellen Feldman's "WE PROTEST" from June 16 to September 1.
Artist Amadour presents his first solo institutional show in Nevada, titled *Nevada Proscenium*, at Truckee Meadows Community College’s Main Gallery from May 18 to June 18. The exhibition reexamines Nevada’s landscape through the lens of mining history, labor, and cultural memory, using layered geometric forms to challenge frontier myths and highlight overlooked Latinx histories. A public reception is scheduled for June 10.
The article is a photo gallery showcasing the senior art exhibition 'sonder' at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). It features the work of graduating art students, highlighting their individual projects and creative processes as part of their final academic showcase.
The Santa Monica College (SMC) Emeritus Art Gallery will host the SMC Emeritus Annual Student Art Exhibition 2026 – Part 1 from May 14 to June 19, with a free opening reception on May 14 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The exhibition features works by 47 student artists from SMC's noncredit Emeritus program for older adults, which was founded in 1975 and serves over 3,000 students annually. Due to high participation, the exhibition is split into two parts, with Part 1 displayed in the gallery and Part 2 opening online on June 11.
The Norman Firehouse Art Center in Norman, Oklahoma, will present "Sohail & Co.," a summer exhibition focused on figure drawing and sculpture, on view from May 13 to August 7, 2026. The show brings together artists connected to the University of Oklahoma School of Visual Arts, exploring how the human figure evolves from observation to finished form across drawing, ceramics, and sculpture. An opening reception on May 13 will also feature the unveiling of "Rooted," a new public sculpture by undergraduate student Isabella Clark, installed in the Firehouse park as part of the Lions Park Sculpture Garden initiative.
81C in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, is presenting "Krankie II: Middle of the Food Chain," an immersive contemporary art exhibition by collaborative duo Emily Braswell (strawberriemilk) and Jenna Rees (warmmilkwithsugar). Opening on May 15, 2026, the show features painting, video, sculpture, and installation that construct a cinematic, psychologically charged world centered on a fictional 1980s movie star, offering absurdist commentary on fame in the pre-internet era versus today. The exhibition is a dual-location activation, also including a component at the XIIID Research and Strategy Innovation Center at the University of the Virgin Islands, with a free opening reception featuring DJ Carbar.
The Santa Monica College Emeritus Art Gallery will present Part 1 of its 2026 Annual Student Art Exhibition from May 14 through June 19, featuring works by student artists from SMC's noncredit Emeritus program for older adults. A free opening reception will be held May 14, and due to high participation, the exhibition is split into two parts, with Part 2 opening online on June 11. The show includes 47 artists, each contributing one piece.
Afton's Third Friday Night Art Exhibits return for the 2025 season, running from May 15 through November at 146 Main Street in Afton, New York. The monthly events, held in the HUG/HALos building (formerly the Great American Food Store), feature rotating selections of artwork from local artists, with the first exhibit showcasing youth art from Afton students. Gallery curator and artist Michael Bolde, who launched the series three years ago, organizes the shows in a community room provided free of charge by Joyce Humphrey, founder of the HALos grief counseling program. Artists who sell work contribute a 20% commission to HALos, far below the typical 50% gallery split, supporting both creators and local programming.
Cerritos College opened its 2026 annual Student Art Exhibition on April 23 at the Cerritos College Art Gallery, featuring over 150 student artworks selected by faculty from the college's art, design, and photography programs. The opening night included an award ceremony introduced by Gallery Director James Mac Devitt and a speech by Dr. Jose Fierro. Juror Kim Abeles, an established L.A. artist, presented five awards across seven categories including Ceramics/3D Design, Painting/Life Drawing, Freehand Drawing, Printmaking/2D Design, Graphic Design/Digital Illustration, Photography, and 3D Modeling/Motion Picture Editing. Faculty also gave honorable mentions in each category. Approximately $7,000 in awards was distributed, supported by the Associated Students of Cerritos College, the Cerritos Foundation, and donors including former student John DeMott.
Pelham Art Center will host 'Relics: Ancient to Modern,' a teen-curated exhibition organized by its Teen Artist Council, from May 7 through May 31. The show opens with a public artist talk on May 7 and a reception on May 9, featuring works by over 50 artists from the United States and abroad, including Pakistan. The council, composed of high school students, developed the theme, issued an open call, and curated the final selection under the guidance of Gallery and Teen Programming Coordinator Fiona Agababian.
The Clymer Museum of Art in Ellensburg reopened on Friday after renovations, featuring a new exhibition titled "Plastic Souls" by Margot Massey, a junior at Central Washington University pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts. The show explores themes of artificiality and performance in social media, with paintings depicting actors, cowboys, showgirls, and rodeo clowns, and will later include two life-size figurative sculptures. The museum closed in January for renovations, which expanded wall space by roughly 30% and created a new gallery near the entrance for rotating student exhibitions.
Penn State Wilkes-Barre's Friedman Art Gallery will open a new exhibit titled "Artistic Gems from the Past" on May 1, featuring artwork by current and former students, including pieces created over 25 years ago. The exhibit includes works from two courses taught by Jonathan Pineno—Art History 112 and Integrative Arts 001—where students created art using recycled materials and techniques inspired by Bob Ross. Unattributed works from the 1990s are also on display, and the gallery is asking the public to help identify the original student artists.
The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art in Tarpon Springs, Florida, has launched a dynamic spring 2026 exhibition season featuring four shows that highlight regional artists and student creativity. Exhibitions include "Richard Heipp: Reliquaries & Artifacts" (through July 26), which uses hyper-realistic paintings to explore how museums shape cultural memory; "Dallas Jackson: Unsung Heroes, The Fabric of America" (through June 14), a mixed-media tribute to overlooked community figures; and "David Anderson: Now and Again" (through June 14), presenting eight newly acquired works never before publicly exhibited. The season also includes student-focused programming from kindergarten through middle school.
The Lawrence Art Center's Hang12 program, a group of high school students who curate art shows and events, unveiled 32 new pieces of art in the New Hampshire Street parking garage in Lawrence, Kansas. The artworks, designed by Lawrence High School juniors Wren Jay and Rilo Scholz, celebrate native Kansas plants and animals and were collectively painted and assembled by Hang12 members. A ribbon-cutting ceremony featured remarks from multidisciplinary artist Mona Cliff, who completed a mural in the same garage in 2025, and a tour of the new works.
Art students from a local university, under the guidance of assistant professor Dawn Kramlich, collaborated with the Elmhurst Art Museum after an assignment inspired by a visit to the museum's "Living with Modernism" exhibition featuring artist Kelli Connell. The museum shared the students' resulting artwork on Instagram and invited several to exhibit in the new Emerging Artists Pavilion at the Art in Wilder Park festival. Students received private tours and one-on-one feedback from museum director Allison Peters Quinn, deepening their professional experience.
Eight students from Deer Park schools have been selected to have their artwork featured in an exhibition at a Long Island museum. The students' pieces were chosen from a larger pool of submissions, highlighting their creative talents and the support of their school's art program.
The Cobre Valley Center for the Arts in Arizona is hosting a month-long Desert Art Show through April, featuring hand-painted items, paintings, and photography from local and international artists including Debbie Yerkovich, Amanda Moore, Jessica Goodwin, Ivan Macarambon, and Wanda Mitchell-Tucker. During the same period, the Center celebrated the 'Week of the Young Child' with a special elementary student display titled 'A Joyful World,' showcasing artwork by local schoolchildren that explores themes of joy, family, and community. The children's exhibit also serves as a tribute to Carolyn Haro, a former key figure at the Center who had long envisioned such a display.
The USC Fisher Museum of Art is hosting the "Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation," a traveling exhibition of rare founding-era documents from the U.S. National Archives. The show, which runs through May 3, includes items such as a rare engraved copy of the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris (1783), and a Senate markup of the Bill of Rights (1789). USC is the only university stop on the eight-city national tour, and the documents arrived in Los Angeles on a special Boeing 737. The exhibition has drawn history students, faculty, and the public, with USC Distinguished Professor Peter C. Mancall bringing his class to study the documents up close.
The Arts Council of Wales has announced a 19-strong team of early-career artists, curators, and students who will travel to Venice this summer to support Wales' presence at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, running from May 9 to November 22, 2026. As part of the Invigilator+ programme, participants will spend at least one month in Venice acting as ambassadors for the Wales in Venice exhibition, an official collateral event. The exhibition, titled Sownd, is led by artists Manon Awst and Dylan Huw, jointly organized by Oriel Myrddin in Carmarthen and Oriel Davies in Newtown, with Steffan Jones-Hughes as Curator and Catherine Spring as Exhibition Project Director. The invigilators include Lily Tonkin Wells, Robert Oros, Ophelia dos Santos, Grace Springer, Cerian Wilshire Davies, Megan Evans, Howl Hubbard, Temeka Davies, Llyr Evans, Chloe Goodwin, Abby Pouslon, and Niamh O'Dobhain, while student team members come from Cardiff Metropolitan University, University of Wales Trinity St David, Wrexham University, and Aberystwyth University.