First gallery for Pan-African contemporary art in San Francisco to open in 2026.

San Francisco’s first gallery dedicated entirely to Pan-African contemporary art, the Art of Contemporary Africa (AOCA), will open on February 12, 2026, at the Minnesota Street Project in the Dogpatch neighborhood. Founded by industry veteran Craig Mark and South African photographer Clint Strydom, the gallery represents both leading and emerging African artists working across various media. Its inaugural group exhibition, “Afropop,” features artists including Dr. Esther Mahlangu, Ayanda Mabulu, Noria Mabasa, Willie Bester, Clint Strydom, Médéric Turay, and Samuel Allerton. AOCA is the sister gallery to The Melrose Gallery in Johannesburg and has already participated in major art fairs such as Expo Chicago, 1-54 New York, the Seattle Art Fair, and the Atlanta Art Fair.

The City’s only Pan-African contemporary art gallery opens soon

A new gallery called Art of Contemporary Africa (AOCA) will open on February 12, 2026, at San Francisco's Minnesota Street Project in the Dogpatch neighborhood. Founded by gallerist Craig Mark and artist Clint Strydom, it is the city's first and only gallery dedicated to contemporary Pan-African art. The inaugural exhibition, “Afropop,” will feature works by artists including Esther Mahlangu, Denis Mubiru, Ayanda Mabulu, Samuel Allerton, and Vusi Beauchamp. The gallery builds on the founders' decade of experience running The Melrose Gallery in South Africa, which will become AOCA's sister site.

Southern Guild gallery to close in Los Angeles, open in New York

Southern Guild, a gallery founded in Cape Town, South Africa, is closing its Los Angeles location, which opened in February 2024, and will open a new 4,000-square-foot space in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood in March 2026. The gallery is making its debut at Art Basel Miami Beach this week, featuring works by artists including Zizipho Poswa, Marcus Leslie Singleton, Zanele Muholi, Chloe Chiasson, and Ambrose Rhapsody Murray. Director Andréa Delph, who led the LA outpost, will relocate to New York to head the new space.

From New York to Cape Town: Discover 9 new galleries at Art Basel Paris

Art Basel Paris returns to the Grand Palais in 2025 with 206 exhibitors from 41 countries, including 29 first-time participants. The article highlights nine new galleries in the main sector, such as Stevenson (Cape Town), Lodovico Corsini (Brussels), Crèvecœur (Paris), Jan Kaps (Cologne), The Approach (London), and 47 Canal (New York), each presenting distinctive artists and works that reflect global contemporary art trends.

Local artists transform waste into striking art at the Melrose Gallery

The Melrose Gallery in Johannesburg is hosting "Junkyard Dogs," an exhibition featuring South African artists Dr. Willie Bester and Prof Pitika Ntuli, running until October 31. The show transforms discarded materials into sculptures, paintings, and installations that address social and political issues, including apartheid and post-colonial identity. Curated by Ashraf Jamal and Tumelo 'Tumi' Moloi, the exhibition includes a soundscape, children's workshops, poetry sessions, and guided walkabouts, all free to the public.

Timely rediscoveries await at Independent 20th Century

The fourth edition of Independent 20th Century fair takes place at Casa Cipriani from September 4-7, featuring 31 exhibitors and works by around 40 overlooked 20th-century artists. Highlights include solo presentations of visionaries like Gertrude Greene, Jacci Den Hartog, and Judy Pfaff, alongside lesser-known works by icons such as Pablo Picasso and Edvard Munch. New exhibitors like Mariposa Gallery (devoted to queer icon Peter Berlin) and established names like Gmurzynska (showcasing Dan Basen) join the fair, which emphasizes self-taught artists and politically poignant themes.

Another gallery gone: Anderson-Brickler space closes after 9 years on Adams Street

Dr. Celeste Hart, a Tallahassee endocrinologist and daughter of the late Dr. A.D. Brickler, is closing the Anderson-Brickler Gallery after nine years on Adams Street. Opened in 2016, the gallery focused on Modern and Contemporary artists of the African Diaspora, hosting exhibitions by artists such as Joe Roache, Romare Bearden, and Kabuya Bowens-Saffo, as well as lectures, workshops, and thesis shows for Florida State University fine arts students. The space will be taken over by Stan J. Johnson, a professional photographer and FAMU professor, who plans to rename the gallery and continue exhibiting paintings while expanding into spoken word and music.

Reclaiming Narratives: Rowan’s Art Gallery & Museum Announces 2025-2026 Exhibitions

Rowan University Art Gallery & Museum has announced its 2025-2026 exhibition season, featuring four solo shows by artists vanessa german, Qualeasha Wood, Devan Shimoyama, and Jazlyne Sabree. The exhibitions explore themes of healing, identity, African folk culture, the Black LGBTQ experience, and ancestral resilience through diverse media including sculpture, digital tapestry, painting, and collage. All exhibitions are free and open to the public at the gallery's location in Glassboro, New Jersey.

Christie’s Third Arab Art Summer Exhibition Marwan: A Soul in Exile 16 July – 22 August - Christie's

Christie’s will host its third annual Arab Art Exhibition, titled "Marwan: A Soul in Exile," at its London headquarters from 16 July to 22 August 2025. The non-selling retrospective features over 150 works on loan from museums, institutions, and private collections across Europe and the Middle East, spanning paintings, drawings, works on paper, and editions. Curated by Dr. Ridha Moumni, Chairman of Christie’s Middle East & Africa, the exhibition traces the six-decade career of Syrian-born artist Marwan Kassab Bachi (1934–2016), known for his facial landscapes that blend German expressionism with Syrian identity and Arab political themes.

Tsedaye Makonnen’s ‘Sanctuary’ at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, United States

The Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art opened 'Tsedaye Makonnen — Sanctuary' on December 13, 2024, featuring towering light sculptures by Ethiopian American artist Tsedaye Makonnen. The central installation, 'Senait & Nahom: The Peacemaker & The Comforter', comprises 50 illuminated boxes named for individuals lost to violence, transforming grief into remembrance and hope. The exhibition also includes works from the museum's permanent collection by artists such as Alexander 'Skunder' Boghossian and Aïda Muluneh, and aligns with the museum's mission of cross-cultural understanding.

The Humboldt Forum is Already Under Fire

"Das Humboldt Forum wird schon beschossen"

The architectural firm J. Mayer H. and partners Jürgen Mayer H. and Hans Schneider have won the eighth 'Kunst-am-Bau' competition for Berlin’s Humboldt Forum. Their winning installation, titled "Südpfeil" (South Arrow), features a 3.6-meter-long abstract arrow embedded high in the building's facade. The work references the 19th-century discovery of 'Pfeilstörche'—migratory storks that returned to Europe with African arrows in their bodies—which provided the first scientific proof of global migration routes.

art la art fair art palm beach january 2026

The LA Art Show and Art Palm Beach, both produced by Fine Art Shows under director Kassandra Voyagis, are set to open the 2026 art fair season. The LA Art Show, now in its 31st edition, runs January 7–11 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, featuring over 90 galleries including first-time participants from Ireland and San Francisco, alongside a solo exhibition of Sylvester Stallone's abstract paintings and works by Dr. Esther Mahlangu. Art Palm Beach follows January 28–February 1 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, debuting a large-scale installation by Eugenia Vargas-Pereira as part of the DIVERSEartPB program curated by Marisa Caichiolo, and highlighting Latin American artists through Building Bridges Art Exchange.

National Assembly Unanimously Votes on Law for Restitution of Looted Colonial Works, but with Restrictions

L’Assemblée vote à l’unanimité la loi sur la restitution des œuvres pillées pendant la colonisation, mais avec des restrictions

The French National Assembly has unanimously passed a landmark law establishing a permanent legal framework for the restitution of cultural property looted during the colonial era. Moving away from the previous requirement for case-by-case legislation, the new law allows the government to return artifacts via decree following consultations with scientific and parliamentary commissions. This shift fulfills a long-standing promise to simplify the return of African heritage currently held in French public collections.

1815, a Key Year for the Question of Art Restitution at the Heart of an Enlightening Book

1815, année clé de la question des restitutions d’œuvres d’art au cœur d’un ouvrage éclairant

Art historian Bénédicte Savoy has released a new book, "1815, le temps du retour," which examines the massive wave of art restitutions following the collapse of the Napoleonic Empire. Between 1794 and 1811, French revolutionary and imperial forces seized thousands of artworks and cultural objects from across Europe to fill the Louvre under the guise of creating a universal museum. After Napoleon's defeat in 1815, the subsequent return of these works sparked a global debate involving intellectuals and politicians regarding national identity, cultural property, and the legal status of looted heritage.

Brooklyn Museum Plans $13 Million Overhaul for New African Art Galleries

The Brooklyn Museum has announced a $13 million renovation project to create new Arts of Africa galleries, set to open in Fall 2027. The 6,400-square-foot space on the museum's third floor will display 300 works from its 4,500-piece collection, spanning from antiquity to the present day. The project, led by architectural firm Peterson Rich Office, will repurpose latent storage space and reconnect galleries architecturally.

"In Minor Keys" Hits All the Right Notes

The 61st Venice Biennale's international exhibition, titled "In Minor Keys," opened with a somber curatorial press conference, as artistic director Koyo Kouoh, who died in May 2024 at age 57, was not physically present. The exhibition features 110 invited participants across the Arsenale and Giardini, including works by Buhlebezwe Siwani, Johannes Phokela, Wangechi Mutu, Ebony G. Patterson, and Kambui Olujimi. Protests marked the opening, with gatherings at the temporary Israeli pavilion and Pussy Riot's presence at the Russian pavilion, while the exhibition itself asks viewers to look closer at overlooked forms of representation and consider innovative models of measuring the world.

Artists Pay Tribute to Koyo Kouoh in Poetry Caravan at Venice Biennale

At the Venice Biennale on May 7, 2026, Cuban artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons led a poetry caravan across seven locations in the Giardini to honor Koyo Kouoh, the late curator of the Biennale's main exhibition "In Minor Keys," who died of cancer at age 57 in 2025. The procession, inspired by a 1999 voyage Kouoh took with nine African poets from Dakar to Timbuktu, featured performances by poets Natalie Diaz, Robin Coste Lewis, Batool Abu Akleen, and Anne Waldman, kora player Saliou Cissokho, and Kouoh's husband, Swiss saxophonist Philippe Mall, who played a composition dedicated to her. The event was organized by a team of Kouoh's assistants and advisers, including Marie Hélène Pereira, who served as stand-in lead of the 2026 Biennale.

Leonardo Madriz’s Monuments to the Precarity of Now

Artist Leonardo Madriz presents his solo exhibition 'Do Not Be Afraid' at Parent Company, featuring five totemic sculptures constructed from rope, resin, and found objects. These works, which Madriz calls 'sentinels,' use materials like rebar, barbed wire, a fake Rolex, and a fragment of a US flag made in Vietnam to create anthropomorphic forms that appear weary and burdened.

Selome Muleta at b-side

Selome Muleta presents a solo exhibition at b-side gallery in Jakarta, running from April 1 to May 3, 2026. Curated by 47 Canal, the show features works by the artist, with images provided courtesy of Muleta and Roh Projects, Jakarta. The exhibition is documented on Contemporary Art Daily with five images and no videos.

Raymond Saunders at David Zwirner

The David Zwirner gallery in Los Angeles is presenting "Raymond Saunders: Notes from LA," a solo exhibition of the late artist's work. The show, curated by Ebony L. Haynes, runs from February 24 to April 25, 2026, and features works courtesy of the artist's estate.

What We Throw Away Does Not Disappear

Was wir wegwerfen, verschwindet nicht

The Museum Ostwall at the Dortmunder U in Dortmund has opened a new exhibition titled "Müll – die globalen Wege des Abfalls" ("Waste – The Global Paths of Garbage"), curated by Christina Danick and Michael Griff. Featuring around 50 international artworks from the 20th and 21st centuries, including two newly commissioned pieces, the show uses art to explore waste as material, motif, and aesthetic strategy. Key works include Kader Attia's "Los de Arriba y Los de Abajo," which addresses power imbalances through the lens of garbage in Hebron, and historical pieces by César Baldaccini, Arman, and HA Schult. The exhibition also highlights contemporary issues such as e-waste, global waste trafficking, and the environmental impact of industrial nations on the Global South.

‘What Color is Your Sky Today?’: The Becoming of the Image

Armineh Negahdari, a Bordeaux-based artist, presents her first institutional solo exhibition in France at the Fondation Louis Vuitton's Open Space series. Titled 'What Color is Your Sky Today?': The Becoming of the Image, the show features a new body of drawings that use charcoal, pastel, and oil paint to explore unstable morphologies between human, vegetal, and animal forms. The works resist narrative closure, emphasizing drawing as an event rather than representation, with lines that accumulate, falter, and begin again. The exhibition is on view at Gallery 8 until 30 August 2026.

WURUS – Light catches before form does.

Artist Caroline Gueye presents 'WURUS', a new installation for the Senegal Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale. Curated by Massamba Mbaye, the work is a shifting field of brass and polymer bronze elements, using mirrors and light to create an environment where perception is contingent on the viewer's movement and position. The title invokes gold, opening onto histories of extraction, but the work deliberately resists singular meaning.

Rewiring the System: Jean Katambayi Mukendi.

Congolese artist Jean Katambayi Mukendi presents his first solo exhibition in Germany, 'Ratio,' at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin. The exhibition features drawings, sculptural installations, and works made from recycled materials that examine technological systems, energy infrastructures, and mineral extraction.

Château-Chinon unveils the astonishing gifts of President François Mitterrand

Château-Chinon déballe les étonnants cadeaux du président François Mitterrand

The Cité des présents-François Mitterrand, formerly the Musée du Septennat, has reopened in Château-Chinon, France, after a renovation. The museum displays thousands of diplomatic gifts received by President François Mitterrand during his 14-year tenure (1981–1995), including a portrait of Prince Charles, a vermeil oasis from the king of Saudi Arabia, and taxidermy lions from the Central African Republic. The collection of 4,800 objects spans 80 countries, with one-third donated by French citizens. The site also houses a fashion museum featuring 5,000 pieces from the 17th century to contemporary designers like Alexis Mabille and Yves Saint Laurent.

For the 61st Venice Biennale, a quest for beauty despite a troubled world

Pour la 61e Biennale de Venise, une quête de beauté malgré un monde troublé

Koyo Kouoh, the Swiss-Cameroonian curator who was set to become the first African woman to direct the Venice Biennale, died suddenly on May 10, 2025, at age 57, just weeks before the opening of the 61st edition she had conceived. Titled "In Minor Keys," the exhibition at the Giardini and Arsenale will proceed posthumously based on her detailed directives, featuring 111 artists including Laurie Anderson, Wangechi Mutu, and Kader Attia, with a focus on beauty, resilience, and radical emotional connection amid global turmoil.

6 Artworks That Define the 2026 Venice Biennale’s Main Exhibition

The 2026 Venice Biennale's main exhibition opens this week, curated by Koyo Kouoh—the first African woman to hold the role—who was announced in 2024 but passed away suddenly in 2025. The article highlights six artworks that define her curatorial vision, which connected the international art world to artists and institutions from Africa and the Global South.

The Founders of Open Restitution Africa (ORA) on Their New Open Data Platform

On March 31, the research initiative Open Restitution Africa (ORA) launched the ORA Open Data Platform, a database providing information on the restitution of African artifacts and ancestral remains. Developed over six years by ORA’s all-woman, pan-African team, the site uses case histories and AI-powered tools to offer practical insights into the return process, available in French and English. It presents 25 case histories spanning 200 years, using data visualizations, essays, and interactive tools to help individuals and communities develop their own restitution strategies. ARTnews interviewed founders Chao Tayiana Maina and Molemo Moiloa about the project's origins and goals.

Venice Biennale strike sees more than 15 pavilions temporarily or partially close

On 8 May, more than 15 national pavilions at the Venice Biennale temporarily or partially closed in a coordinated strike organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA). The protest opposes Israel’s participation in the event, which organizers say normalizes what they call genocide and exploits precarious labor. Participating countries include Austria, Lebanon, Slovenia, Egypt, Poland, and the Netherlands, whose artist Dries Verhoeven stood outside his shuttered pavilion with a Palestinian flag. Some pavilions, like Japan’s, remained open but suspended interactive elements. The strike follows earlier controversies, including the resignation of the prize jury and an open letter demanding the Israeli pavilion’s cancellation.

Gabrielle Goliath Discusses Her Canceled South African Pavilion as She Shows New Work in a Venice Church

South African artist Gabrielle Goliath’s planned pavilion for the South Africa Pavilion at the Venice Biennale was canceled by culture minister Gayton McKenzie, who deemed it “highly divisive.” Despite the cancellation, Goliath has installed her work, a multi-screen iteration of her ongoing performance series *Elegy*, at the Chiesa di Sant’Antonin, half a mile from the Giardini. The new piece mourns victims of atrocities including South African femicide, the Herero and Nama genocide, and the death of Gazan poet Hiba Abu Nada, killed by an Israeli airstrike. Goliath stated that McKenzie explicitly demanded removal of the Palestinian content while deeming the other subjects acceptable.