The Next Wilmington Art Loop Opens Friday, June 6, 2025

The next Wilmington Art Loop, a free citywide art exhibition, opens on Friday, June 6, 2025, from 5–9 PM. Now in its 38th year, the event is a partnership between the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and Out & About Magazine. Participating venues include The Delaware Contemporary (featuring RADIUS and ARC 25 exhibitions), Wilmington’s Redding Gallery (hosting the City of Wilmington Employee Juried Art Show and a display on the Tubman-Garrett statue), The Mezzanine Gallery (showcasing Jen Hintz Eggers), MKT Gallery (presenting Troy Jones’s “Ancestral Echoes: Masks We Wear”), and Bridge Art Gallery. A free shuttle, provided by the City of Wilmington Parks & Recreation Department, will run from The Delaware Contemporary parking lot, with riders voting on additional gallery stops.

Can we practice for crises in art?

"Können wir in der Kunst für die Krisen üben?"

Belgian theater director Miet Warlop is presenting her work "It never SSST" at the Belgian Pavilion during the Venice Biennale. The installation combines performance, sculpture, a radio show, and objects, featuring six performers, musicians, dancers, and a sculptor who periodically calls "Freeze" to capture movements in plaster reliefs. Warlop, known for her physically exhausting ritualistic performances like "One Song," discusses the piece's themes of ceaseless activity and the body as a resource, as well as the challenge of engaging visitors who often rush through the pavilion.

Mexico faces sales of pre-Columbian art

Le Mexique face aux ventes d’art précolombien

The Mexican government is facing ongoing legal and diplomatic hurdles in its attempts to halt the sale of pre-Columbian artifacts in Paris. Despite formal protests from the Mexican embassy citing national heritage laws from 1827, auction houses like Millon continue to proceed with sales, generating millions in revenue. French authorities and legal experts maintain that Mexican national laws do not supersede French jurisdiction, which largely adheres to the 1970 UNESCO Convention regarding the illicit import and export of cultural property.

design cultured at home magazine

CULTURED magazine has launched a new special edition titled "CULTURED at Home," which explores how artists and designers create expressive, non-neutral domestic spaces. The issue features intimate explorations of homes, ruined gardens, and interiors, with contributions from critics, novelists, filmmakers, performers, and designers, aiming to capture the improvisational magic and sensory richness of everyday life.

Gallery openings and exhibits in Central Oregon this week

This article lists numerous gallery openings and ongoing exhibits across Central Oregon, including venues such as Amejko Artistry, Art Adventure Gallery, Artists’ Gallery Sunriver, and the High Desert Museum. Featured shows include nomadic woven artwork by Anna Amejko Peterson, a 40th anniversary exhibition of Jefferson County artists, “A Man Named York” at the Belknap Exhibit Center, and “Drawn West — A History of Promoting Place” at the High Desert Museum, among many others spanning pottery, photography, fiber art, and historical displays.

Artists in Action: Supporting Salem-area artists for a quarter-century

Artists in Action (AiA), a nonprofit organization supporting Salem-area artists, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a public reception on May 3, 2026, at Elsinore Framing & Fine Art Gallery in Salem, Oregon. Founded by Diane Trevett and about five other artists, the group began as a small support network for struggling artists and has grown into an established arts organization with around 65 active members. AiA hosts monthly openings, critique sessions, open-call shows, and special events like Paint and Write the Town, providing opportunities for artists to exhibit and sell their work across various mediums.

OpenAI Scraps Sora, Its Controversial A.I. Video App

OpenAI is shutting down its Sora text-to-video generation platform, discontinuing both its consumer app and its internet service for creatives. The closure, announced via a company statement on X, marks a strategic reversal after the platform's 2024 launch and the subsequent release of Sora 2 in late 2025.

Tom Vattakuzhy’s Mumbai exhibition follows the feeling a story leaves behind

Tom Vattakuzhy's new exhibition "Where Words End" opens in Mumbai from May 3–17, 2026, at ICIA Gallery in Kalaghoda. The show presents a series of "story paintings" that explore the emotional residue left behind after reading a narrative, focusing on moods and sensations rather than plot or illustration. Vattakuzhy, who began his career as an illustrator, shifts here toward open-ended scenes where figures appear mid-gesture and rooms feel charged with unspoken meaning, drawing from literary sources as points of departure rather than literal subjects.

Al Museo Egizio di Torino ora c’è un centro di ricerca per studiare la scrittura dell’Antico Egitto attraverso tremila anni di storia

The Museo Egizio di Torino has launched ME-Scripta, a new research center dedicated to the study, restoration, and digitization of ancient Egyptian written sources, including papyri, ostraca, and Coptic bindings. Funded by a €3 million grant from the Fondazione CRT, the center will operate under the direction of Susanne Töpfer and employ a dedicated team of curators, collaborators, a data manager, and an apprentice. ME-Scripta will pursue three major projects: reassembling and studying papyri from Assiut and Gebelein, analyzing ostraca, and restoring 17 Coptic bindings, with a goal of launching an integrated digital platform by 2034.

In Venice you can adopt a magazine to support the periodicals library of the Querini Stampalia Foundation

A Venezia puoi adottare una rivista per sostenere l’emeroteca della Fondazione Querini Stampalia

The Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice has launched an initiative called 'Adotta una rivista' (Adopt a Magazine) to support its periodicals library (emeroteca). The campaign invites individuals to sponsor subscriptions to the approximately 200 Italian and international magazines the library receives annually, covering topics from art and architecture to politics and society. The goal is to double the number of donors and ensure the continuity of this dynamic resource for students, scholars, and readers.

EastEnders' Jake Wood forced to close art exhibit amid 'abusive behaviour'

EastEnders actor Jake Wood has closed his art exhibition at Indelible Fine Arts in Brighton after a furious backlash over the inclusion of AI-generated imagery in his works. The gallery announced the decision, citing “abusive” messages directed at them and stating that the exhibition’s original message had been “lost.” Wood, known for playing Max Branning on the BBC soap, had curated the show to raise funds for Dementia UK, but controversy erupted when viewers discovered that some pieces—including portraits of Attenborough and Trump—incorporated pre-existing AI source imagery.

Q&A with Sarah Koff, an environmental artist with an exhibition at AVA Gallery

Sarah Koff, a woodblock printmaker and environmentalist based in New Hampshire, discusses her exhibition “Object Permanence” at AVA Gallery in Lebanon, which runs from July 11 to August 9. Koff, a 2024 Juror Recognition Award winner from the Alliance for the Visual Arts Gallery, creates intricate prints that explore local environmental issues, such as invasive species like Japanese Knotweed and chemical pollution. She describes her slow, tactile process of woodcutting and her commitment to non-toxic printmaking through her work with Zea Mays Printmaking.

BOX 13 ArtSpace in Houston Announces Open Call for Exhibition Proposals

BOX 13 ArtSpace, an artist-run studio and gallery venue in Houston’s East End neighborhood, has announced an open call for exhibition proposals for its 2026 season. The call invites self-directed artists to submit proposals for four gallery spaces within the building: the Front Gallery, Back Gallery, Window BOX Gallery, and Upstairs Gallery. Applicants must be prepared to install their own work or arrange for local assistance, as the space has no staff or budget for shipping, travel, or equipment. The deadline for proposals is September 30, 2025, with notifications by October 28, 2025. Virtual and in-person information sessions are scheduled for September 17 and 20, respectively.

Art, museum exhibits in Kenosha, Racine counties this week

This article provides a weekly listing of art and museum exhibits in Kenosha and Racine counties in Wisconsin, including details on hours, locations, and current or permanent exhibitions. Featured venues include the Anderson Arts Center, Artists Gallery, Carthage College Art Gallery, Civil War Museum, Dinosaur Discovery Museum, Kenosha History Center, Kenosha Public Museum, Lemon Street Gallery, OS Projects, and Photographic Design Gallery & Framing.

April 2026 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists

Colossal's monthly list for April 2026 details numerous open calls, grants, and residencies for artists worldwide. Key opportunities include the Earth 2026 Art Awards, the Hopper Prize grants totaling $13,000, and the Fleurieu Biennale Art Prize in Australia, alongside calls for fiber art, gallery exhibitions, and magazine publications.

Egypt Unveils a Hidden Tomb of 3,500-Year-Old Coffins at Luxor’s Abu el-Naga

An Egyptian archaeological mission excavating at the Abu El-Naga necropolis near Luxor has uncovered a cache of ten well-preserved painted wooden coffins hidden in the courtyard shaft of the tomb of Baki. The coffins span multiple periods, including the 18th Dynasty, the Ramesside period, and the Late Period, with inscriptions naming individuals such as Merit, a chantress of the god Amun, and Padi-Amun, a priest in the Temple of Amun. The team also discovered the tomb of a purification priest named A-Shafi-Nakhtu, decorated with funerary scenes, and a burial site containing over 30 mummified cats from the Ptolemaic Period. The discoveries were announced by Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, with the excavation season beginning in November 2025.

Iran has not withdrawn from 2026 Venice Biennale, pavilion commissioner says

Iran has denied withdrawing from the 2026 Venice Biennale, despite the Biennale's announcement that the country would not participate. Aydin Mahdizadeh Tehrani, director-general of visual arts at Iran's ministry of culture and Islamic guidance and the country's pavilion commissioner, stated that Iran requested more time rather than submitting a withdrawal. He cited the US-Israel war with Iran, political and economic challenges, and a sharp currency devaluation that tripled projected costs as reasons for the delay. Iran proposed a shorter two-to-three-month participation, which was rejected, but has since sent a letter insisting on opening its pavilion even after the opening. The foreign ministry has intervened to support Iran's participation, and a final response from the Biennale is expected soon.

Today’s war, tomorrow’s loot: attempts at stemming the illicit trade in art

The article examines the ongoing challenge of preventing the illicit trade in cultural property looted from conflict zones. It discusses the Hague Convention of 1954 and its protocol, which require signatory countries to prevent theft and pillage during armed conflict and to seize and repatriate unlawful exports. However, the protocol only applies to situations of 'occupation,' leaving a gap for looting that occurs in the chaos of war beyond formal occupation. The article also notes UN Security Council Resolutions that restrict unlawfully removed cultural property from Iraq and Syria, but no similar consensus exists for countries like Afghanistan, Libya, Ukraine, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, and Iran. EU Regulation 2019/880 is highlighted as a measure that prohibits introducing goods removed unlawfully from their place of origin into the EU, though its scope has expanded beyond its original anti-terrorist financing purpose.

UK’s Brighton & Hove Museums to return 45 artefacts to Botswana

Brighton & Hove Museums in southern England will return 45 artefacts to Botswana. The objects, including clothing, accessories and hunting implements, were acquired by English reverend William Charles Willoughby in the 1890s and will be housed at the Khama III Memorial Museum in Serowe, where they will form part of a permanent exhibition opening on 27 May. A team from Brighton & Hove Museums is working with Botswanan curators on the return, which is scheduled for April.

Archaeologists Discover 19th-Century Shipwreck in Copenhagen Harbor

Marine archaeologists from Denmark's Viking Ship Museum have discovered the wreck of the 18th-century Danish warship Dannebroge in Copenhagen harbor. The ship was destroyed during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, when the British fleet under Admiral Horatio Nelson attacked to dismantle the League of Armed Neutrality. Divers have recovered cannons, uniform fragments, bottles, and sailors' remains from the site.

What Did Pompeii Smell Like? A New Study Analyzes Its Ancient Incense

A team of international researchers has published the first scientific analysis of ritual incense residues from Pompeii. By examining ash from two ancient censers—one from an inn and another from a domestic shrine—they identified charred plants like oak and laurel, as well as evidence of imported frankincense from India.

Canadian foundation with ties to Israel’s biggest real-estate company ceases funding for Toronto Arts Foundation following protests

The Azrieli Foundation, a major Canadian philanthropic organization with ties to Israel's largest real-estate company, has ended its funding agreement with the Toronto Arts Foundation. The decision follows a sustained two-year protest campaign by the group Artists Against Artwashing, which included disruptions at a major Toronto arts event and an open letter signed by over 450 artists and cultural workers.

Comment | Climate change is forcing tough choices—how much heritage can we save before it is too late?

Climate change is accelerating the degradation of archaeological sites worldwide, forcing archaeologists to make urgent, difficult choices about what to save. From thawing permafrost in the Canadian Arctic threatening Inuit heritage to landslides endangering ancient Buddhist temples in Nepal, researchers are now deploying innovative technologies like ground-penetrating radar, 3D scanning, and even cosmic-ray muon detectors to digitally document and monitor at-risk sites before they are lost.

in leaked transcript unt dean cites politics as the reason behind cancelation of show with anti ice art show 1234774374

University of North Texas (UNT) Dean Karen Hutzel revealed in leaked transcripts that the cancellation of artist Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez’s exhibition was an "institutional directive" driven by political pressure. The show, titled “Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá,” featured art critical of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and was abruptly shut down shortly after opening. Hutzel warned faculty that the university is "vulnerable" to retaliation from Texas state officials who have previously targeted academic programs and funding at other state institutions over ideological disagreements.

object museum oldest egyptian drilling tool found 1234772829

A small copper-alloy object, excavated nearly a century ago from a predynastic cemetery at Badari in Upper Egypt, has been re-identified as the world's oldest known Egyptian bow drill. Dating to the late 4th millennium BCE, the tool pushes back the earliest evidence for this technology in Egypt by about 2,000 years, revealing that Egyptian craftspeople mastered efficient rotary drilling much earlier than previously thought.

craft as protest 2741909

Craft-based activism is surging in the U.S. as a form of protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policies and operations under President Trump's second term. Projects include the "Melt the ICE" hat, a red beanie pattern that has sold over 65,000 copies and raised over $600,000 for immigrant-support nonprofits, and origami rabbits for a detained five-year-old boy, drawing direct parallels to historical craft-as-resistance movements like the Norwegian topplue worn against Nazi occupation.

roman mosaic trojan war alternate scene 2726514

In the summer of 2020, a British family discovered a Roman mosaic on their farmland in Rutland, England, depicting scenes from the Trojan War. Archaeologists from the University of Leicester later uncovered three panels showing the battle between Achilles and Hector, dating to the 4th century C.E. The mosaic, named the Ketton Mosaic, is the first known depiction of the Trojan War in a British mosaic and was originally part of a Roman villa's dining room floor.

easter island 3d map carved statues 2721596

Researchers from Binghamton University, at the request of an indigenous community group on Easter Island, have created a high-resolution 3D model of the Rono Raraku quarry, where 95 percent of the island's moai statues were carved. Using drone flights and over 11,000 overlapping photographs stitched together via photogrammetry, the model documents the quarry in unprecedented detail, including 133 quarried voids, 400-plus unfinished moai, and evidence of 30 distinct clan-based carving areas. The model is freely available online and was motivated by a 2022 wildfire that threatened the site.

after museum heist syrian cultural authorities face scrutiny over lack of transparency 1234761570

Syria's Ministry of Culture briefly published details of artifacts stolen from the Damascus National Museum, including six Roman-era marble statues of Venus and gold ingots, only to delete the post hours later. The theft occurred on Sunday night and was discovered Monday morning when a broken door was found. International media reported the theft citing anonymous sources, and the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) confirmed an investigation but provided no further details. The museum, which houses thousands of antiquities, had reopened in January after closing during the civil war and the fall of the Assad regime.

the rubin names 2025 art prize research and art projects grants 1234756495

The Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, which closed its New York physical space in 2024 to become a "global museum," has announced the winner of its 2025 Himalayan Art Prize: Khadhok – Tibetan Artists’ Collective, a Dharamshala-based group founded in 2023. The prize includes a $30,000 purse, the largest of its kind for Himalayan artists. Additionally, the museum named 15 recipients of its 2025 Research and Art Projects grants, distributing $200,000 total among projects ranging from $3,000 to $25,000, selected from 132 applications.