Science inspired art on display at White City

Eight artworks created live during the Great Exhibition Road Festival, as part of the annual science-art project Paint Lab, will go on display at Imperial College London's White City campus from July 16 to September 18. The large-scale paintings were produced by local London artists collaborating with Imperial scientists, drawing inspiration from research topics such as space weather prediction, plant self-preservation, early Parkinson's detection, and human connection during cancer treatment. The festival, organized by Imperial in partnership with the Science Museum, Natural History Museum, and V&A, attracted 55,000 visitors.

A new art show brings L.A. climate inequities to life at Descanso Gardens

Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles opens a new exhibition titled “Roots of Cool: A Celebration of Trees and Shade in a Warming World,” co-curated by climate researcher Edith de Guzman and artist Jolly de Guzman. The all-women show features outdoor installations and gallery works that address shade equity—the unequal access to cooling shade across urban neighborhoods. Highlights include Leslie K. Gray’s three-part “Bus Stop” series depicting the climate challenges of female bus riders, Chantée Benefield’s “Cool Canopy” of suspended umbrellas (a recreation after her original was lost in the Eaton fire), and works by Kim Abeles and Diana Kohne inside the Sturt Haaga Gallery and Boddy House.

Newly designed gallery for Applied Arts of Europe opening at Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago will open the newly designed Eloise W. Martin Galleries for the Applied Arts of Europe on July 11, 2025. The 4,500-square-foot space will display over 300 objects from the museum's collections of furniture, silver, ceramics, and glass dating from 1600 to 1900, with 40% more objects on view than previously. Highlights include a carved chair made by Indian artisans for a European merchant, rare Chinese porcelain vases mounted in gilded bronze, and a neo-Gothic sideboard by William Burges. The galleries, designed by Barcelona-based architects Barozzi Veiga, follow a chronological narrative exploring design, craftsmanship, and commerce amid geopolitical shifts and colonialism.

100 Years of Leighton House

Leighton House in London has announced a year-long centenary program for 2026, marking 100 years since the house opened as a museum. The centerpiece is "The Arab Hall: Past and Present" (21 March – 4 October 2026), featuring three site-specific installations by artists Ramzi Mallat, Kamilah Ahmed, and Soraya Syed, a short film by Syrian filmmaker Soudade Kaadan, and an exhibition of original designs by George Aitchison, William De Morgan, and Walter Crane, alongside new research by Dr. Melanie Gibson published in a fully illustrated book. The museum is also collecting public memories and memorabilia for a Centenary Archive, and has formed an Advisory Panel to inform the exhibition.

Art Kids Summer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) has launched its annual Art Kids Summer program, running from July 5 through August 24, 2025. The initiative offers drop-in art-making, family tours, workshops, and monthly family festivals centered on the theme "Paper, Prints, and Play!" and inspired by the exhibition "Brand X Editions: Innovation in Screenprinting." Activities include printmaking with local artists, silk screen printing, still life sketching, and performances by groups like Ninth Planet and ILL DOOTS. Visitors 18 and under are admitted free.

Renowned Chicago Sculptor’s Work Comes Home to Chicago this Summer

Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) in Chicago will host "Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt" from July 11 to November 15, 2025, a major exhibition celebrating the late sculptor Richard Hunt (1935–2023). The show features sculptures, maquettes, tools, books, photographs, prints, and video interviews, tracing Hunt’s 70-year career from his early days at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to international renown. For the first time, it pairs two pivotal works: "Hero’s Head" (1956), created after the funeral of Emmett Till, and "Hero Ascending," a monument designed for Till’s childhood home. The exhibition includes a catalogue with contributions from Christina Shutt, Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, curator Ross Stanton Jordan, biographer Jon Ott, and historian Timothy J. Gilfoyle.

Wereldmuseum Amsterdam ponders space to ‘respectfully’ house human remains

The Wereldmuseum Amsterdam has announced it will no longer publicly exhibit any human remains from its colonial-era collection, which includes around 4,000 body parts such as skulls and a preserved Surinamese newborn. At the opening of the exhibition "Unfinished past: return, keep, or…?", director of content Wayne Modest suggested the museum may create a dedicated space for "ritual practices" where descendants can respectfully engage with ancestral remains until a permanent repatriation solution is found. The exhibition features contemporary artworks, including Pansee Atta's "To Make One Particle," which reproduces each body part as a small wooden token, and draws on a four-year research program called Pressing Matter.

New videos of African cultural sites add contemporary context to Rockefeller Wing’s historical artefacts at the Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newly reopened Michael C. Rockefeller Wing features a series of short documentaries by Ethiopian American filmmaker Sosena Solomon, commissioned to add contemporary context to the wing’s historical artifacts from Africa, Oceania, and the ancient Americas. Solomon spent two years traveling to 12 sites across sub-Saharan Africa, creating videos that highlight royal burial grounds in Uganda, ancient rock paintings in Botswana, bronze casters in Benin City, and the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and Tigray in Ethiopia. Three of the videos are displayed on screens in the wing, while others are accessible via QR codes and online.

Behind the Uniform Art Exhibition

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities gallery in Washington, D.C., is hosting "Behind the Uniform," an exhibition featuring artwork by 125 artists, including several Capitol Hill veterans. Curated by Kasse Andrews-Weller, an Army and Air Force veteran, and co-curated by Moira McGuire, the show presents works that express wartime experiences and personal stories, with many artists using art as a means of healing from trauma. Highlights include a large quilt by the Treasured Piece Makers, led by Anne Crouch, made from uniform fabric and mission logos, and a painting by Jeremiah Foxwell honoring his bomb-disposal partner Kevin Powell.

Erster Teil des Pergamonmuseum öffnet im Juni 2027

The first section of Berlin's Pergamon Museum will reopen to the public on June 4, 2027, after years of renovation. The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) announced the date, ending months of uncertainty. The museum has been completely closed since autumn 2023 for comprehensive refurbishment, and the reopening will finally make the famous Pergamon Altar accessible again. However, the south wing, housing the Ishtar Gate and Babylonian Processional Way, will remain closed until 2037, with full museum access expected that year.

In Venice, the Wagner Museum changes status

À Venise, le Musée Wagner change de statut

The Wagner Museum in Venice, currently a discreet institution housed within the Casino di Venezia in the Ca' Vendramin Calergi palace on the Grand Canal, is set to join the network of the Fondazione dei Musei Civici di Venezia (MUVE) by 2027. An agreement signed in March 2025, after thirty years of discussions, between MUVE, the Casino, and the Richard Wagner Association will make the museum the fourteenth institution under MUVE's management, alongside the Museo Correr, Ca' Pesaro, and the Museo Fortuny. The museum, established in 1995 in the rooms where Richard Wagner stayed and died in 1883, holds significant collections including the Josef Lienhart and Walter Just collections, making it one of the most important private Wagnerian collections outside Bayreuth, Germany.

Beyond the Mona Lisa: MOSI’s Leonardo da Vinci exhibit showcases the ‘original innovator’ in Tampa

MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry) in Tampa, Florida, is hosting an exhibition titled "Machines in Motion" that features 20 working machines built from Leonardo da Vinci's 15th-century designs. Created by Italian engineers using period-appropriate materials, the interactive display includes inventions such as ball bearings, an olive oil press, a printing press, and wartime weapons. MOSI President & CEO John Graydon Smith describes da Vinci as "the original innovator" and notes the exhibit aims to inspire creativity in both children and adults. The temporary exhibition runs until May 3.

Solvang Fine Art opens in heart of tourist district

A new gallery called Solvang Fine Art has opened at 482 First Street in Solvang, California, specializing in historic fine prints by American and European artists like Rembrandt and Salvador Dalí. It will also feature contemporary landscape paintings by prominent California artists, particularly those from the Central Coast.

A unique chance to immerse yourself in the world of engravings at Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery

Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery is hosting "A Simple Line," a specialized exhibition dedicated to the history and craft of engraving. The show features a prestigious selection of works ranging from 17th-century Dutch masters like Gerard Douw to 18th-century Italian printmaker Giovanni Battista Piranesi and the celebrated English landscape painter J.M.W. Turner. Visitors can view rare pieces such as Turner’s mezzotint of Dunstanburgh Castle and architectural etchings of Pompeii, alongside a concurrent "Festival of Arts" showcasing local regional talent.

Blood, mud and cobwebs create ache of heartbreak at Asian Art Museum

Artist Rina Banerjee has opened a major solo exhibition, "Make Me a Summary of the World," at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. The immersive installation features fantastical sculptures and environments constructed from materials like blood-red resin, mud, feathers, and synthetic cobwebs, exploring themes of migration, colonialism, and diaspora.

VISION brings 15 global artists to Siam Paragon’s new Art Jewel space

A new exhibition titled VISION has opened at the recently launched Art Jewel gallery space within Bangkok's Siam Paragon shopping mall. The show features works by fifteen artists from around the world, including notable figures like Japanese artist Kohei Nawa and Thai artist Pinaree Sanpitak, presenting a diverse range of contemporary art in a high-traffic commercial setting.

Raja Ravi Varma Becomes The Highest Value Modern Indian Artwork At Auction

Raja Ravi Varma’s 1890s masterpiece "Yashoda and Krishna" has set a new record for the most expensive Indian artwork ever sold at auction. During Saffronart’s Spring Live Auction, the painting fetched Rs 167.2 crore (approximately $18 million), far exceeding its pre-sale estimate of Rs 80–120 crore. The work was acquired by billionaire Dr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla, chairman of the Serum Institute of India, who has pledged to make the national treasure available for periodic public viewing.

TCNJ exhibit ‘What Images’ explores the art-making process in a world of digital saturation

The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Art Gallery has opened a new exhibition titled 'What Images,' curated by faculty member and artist John O'Connor. The show features works by nine contemporary artists—including John O'Connor, John Baldessari, and Penelope Umbrico—that examine the nature of image creation and consumption in an era of overwhelming digital proliferation.

Mexico City street market gallery makes art accessible

Artist Luis Valverde launched Galería Tianguis Neza in 2021 at Mexico City's La Lagunilla street market, selling artworks directly from artists at affordable street-market prices. The project, born during the pandemic to generate income for artists, operates every Sunday and features a rotating selection of artists, including Tania Candiani, Teresa Margolles, and photographer Pim Schalkwijk, who set up an improvised photo studio using a gelatin silver process.

New documentary provides an inside look at the Harlem Renaissance

A new documentary, *Once Upon a Time in Harlem*, is screening at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, offering an intimate look at the Harlem Renaissance. The film is assembled from 28 hours of 16mm footage shot in 1972 by the late filmmaker William Greaves at Duke Ellington's home in Harlem, capturing a gathering of key figures from the movement. Greaves's son David, who was one of the original cameramen, completed the film after his father's death. The footage includes interviews and reflections from artists, writers, musicians, and activists such as Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglas, James Van Der Zee, Eubie Blake, and Arna Bontemps.

Model masterpieces by Eduardo Paolozzi to be auctioned this week

Several works by Scottish-Italian artist Eduardo Paolozzi, gifted to his longtime collaborator and model maker Ray Hardinge Campbell Watson, are being auctioned at Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh. The collection includes a bronze statue titled *Hermes/Mondrian Head – 1996* (estimate £10,000–£15,000), along with plaster sculptures, prints, and folio sets, many bearing personal inscriptions. The sale reflects a creative partnership that spanned over thirty years, during which Paolozzi and Watson collaborated on major projects such as the Tottenham Court Road murals for London Underground and a Pizza Express mural in the late 1960s.

''Eternal Picasso'' Immersive Exhibition Opens, Exploring Art, Muses, and Emotion

Taiwan's first immersive art exhibition, "Eternal Picasso: Art, Muses, and Companions," has opened at Hall 1 of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, running from January 1 to April 6, 2026. The show uses large-scale projections, surround sound, and spatial storytelling to reinterpret Pablo Picasso's career, focusing on his muses and emotional life through key periods including the Blue Period, Rose Period, and Cubism.

Gurugram art gallery honours Krishen Khanna at 100 | Hindustan Times

Antarang Art Gallery in Gurugram has opened an exhibition titled “The Centenarian Master” honoring Indian modernist Krishen Khanna on his 100th birthday. Running until January 4 at the Camellias, DLF Golf Links, the show features a rare selection of paintings, drawings, and sculptures spanning over seven decades of Khanna’s career. Several works sold on opening day, marked by red dots, and the event included bagpipers welcoming guests.

Live conservation reveals hidden surprises of unfinished Spencer painting

A new exhibition at the Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham, titled *Revealing Genius, Conserving Art: Stanley Spencer’s Final Masterpiece*, offers visitors a rare chance to watch conservator Olivia Leake work on Spencer’s unfinished painting *Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta*. The large canvas, which Spencer labored over for over a decade but left incomplete at his death in 1959, has been lowered from its usual high hanging for live conservation. Using UV light and paint analysis, Leake has discovered surprising details: extremely thin paint layers, a green water area later overpainted in blue, and multiple changes to underdrawings—contradicting anecdotes that Spencer never altered his initial drawings.

In pictures: p(art)y people at the Frieze London VIP preview

Celebrities and art world figures gathered at Regent’s Park in London for the VIP preview of Frieze London 2025. The event featured appearances by arts broadcaster Kate Bryan, artists Young In Hong, Kimsooja, David Shrigley, Thomas J Price, Elsa James, Larry Achiampong, Michael Landy, Gillian Wearing, and Ryan Gander, alongside curator Fatoş Üstek, curator Zoé Whitley, architect Kulapat Yantrasast, model Claudia Schiffer, and musician Neil Tennant. Photographs by David Owens captured the scene.

Glimpsing the future: William Kentridge opera has its New York premiere in Brooklyn

William Kentridge's award-winning chamber opera *Waiting for the Sibyl* (2019) makes its New York premiere this week at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn, as part of the inaugural Powerhouse: International arts festival. The opera, which won an Olivier Award in 2023, features an original score by Nhlanhla Mahlangu and Kyle Shepherd, and incorporates Kentridge's animated ink drawings, collages, text projections, and sculptures. Inspired by the Cumaean Sibyl of ancient legend, the work explores themes of fate and uncertainty, with paper leaves from texts like Dante's *Divine Comedy* symbolically blowing through the action. The production was originally commissioned by the Rome Opera as a companion piece to Alexander Calder's 1968 *Work in Progress*.

3 New Galleries to launch at No.1 Poultry

Hypha Studios has announced the launch of three new galleries at No.1 Poultry, the iconic James Stirling-designed postmodern building in the City of London. Opening on 24 September with celebratory events, the galleries will host a year-long programme of culture, each presenting eight unique exhibitions. Galleries 1 and 3 will feature contemporary artists and curators, while Gallery 2, in partnership with recessed.space, will focus on exhibitions related to the living environment. The inaugural shows include "The Turn" curated by Shakthi Shrima, featuring artists such as Cajsa von Zeipel and Janine Antoni, and a group exhibition led by maker Nina Oltarzewska from Blackhorse Lane Makers.

Longtime Grounds for Sculpture resident artist Clifford Ward has first exhibition on view there

Clifford Ward, a longtime artist-in-residence at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, has opened his first solo exhibition at the venue, titled 'I'll Make Me A World.' The show, on view in the Museum Building through January 11, 2026, features his 'Animism' series—24 large-scale figures standing six to nine feet tall, created over twelve years using plaster bandage. Ward, who began his art career around age 40 and has been at Grounds for Sculpture since 1997, draws inspiration from indigenous cultures, the African diaspora, Native American traditions, and the Māori people of New Zealand.

In 'Football City, Art United,' Artists and Athletes Reimagine the Beautiful Game

A new group exhibition titled 'Football City, Art United' has opened at Aviva Studios in Manchester, pairing 11 legendary footballers with 11 contemporary artists to create original artworks inspired by the sport. Co-curated by footballer Juan Mata, curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, and filmmaker Josh Wilding, the show features painting, video, performance, architectural interventions, and playable installations, including highlights such as Stefano Boeri's immersive arena 'The Playmaker' and Paul Pfeiffer and Edgar Davids' sound-light installation 'Crowds and Power.' The exhibition runs through August 24, 2025.

Inside the Former ‘Underworld’ Where Ai Weiwei Makes Art (Published 2025)

The New York Times profiles Ai Weiwei’s current studio, located in a former underground nightclub or 'underworld' space. The article offers a rare look at the artist’s working environment, his creative process, and the large-scale installations and political works he continues to produce there in 2025.