Roberta Weir and Jerry Garcia exhibit to open at Vallejo Art Walk

The City Arts Gallery in Vallejo will open a special exhibition featuring the work of local artist Roberta Weir and limited edition prints by Grateful Dead musician Jerry Garcia. The show, opening during the Vallejo Art Walk on February 13, highlights Weir's four-decade career in oil painting and Garcia's lesser-known visual art, stemming from their mentorship and friendship that began when Garcia visited Weir's Berkeley gallery in the late 1980s.

Monumental sculpture honours women’s service in US Coast Guard during Second World War

A monumental sculpture titled "Reflection" by French-born artist Prune Nourry has been installed at Ocean Terrace Park in Miami Beach, honoring the women of the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve (Spars) who served during World War II. The 21.3-foot sculpture features a half-face resting in water, completed by its reflection, with a mangrove tree sprouting from the side of the head. It was unveiled on October 30 and is Nourry’s first public art project in the U.S. The work uses the likeness of Yeoman Third Class Nellie Locust, a Cherokee woman who served in the Spars, with permission from her family. The sculpture was created in collaboration with landscape architect Raymond Jungles.

Community news: Scholars at OPRF, art exhibition in Western Springs, more

A community news roundup from the Chicago area reports on multiple local events, including a National Merit Scholarship announcement at Oak Park and River Forest High School, a two-day art exhibition and silent auction hosted by the First Congregational Church of Western Springs, a drive-in movie screening at Triton College, a Halloween brunch at Brookfield Zoo Chicago, a fall carnival in Darien, and a Zumba dance fundraiser for breast cancer research in Franklin Park. The art exhibition features works by about 20 church members and friends, with a watercolor workshop for children led by artist Jess Root and proceeds benefiting charities.

Sawhorse Peeks Into Photographer and Innkeeper Ray Reiss’ Art Collection

The article profiles photographer and innkeeper Ray Reiss, offering a glimpse into his personal art collection. It explores the unique intersection of his dual careers, highlighting how his work as an innkeeper influences his perspective as a collector and how his photographic eye informs the pieces he acquires.

Should UK museums display mummies? One institution is asking its visitors for their view

Manchester Museum in the UK is asking visitors whether the mummified remains of Asru, an Egyptian woman who lived around 2,700 years ago, should remain on display. The public consultation, running until the end of August, invites comments online or in a box next to her case. The museum notes that Asru's body was acquired in the early 1800s by the sons of a man who profited from slavery, shipped to Manchester, and unwrapped in 1825.

Tretchikoff’s ‘Lady from the Orient’ sets new South African auction record

Vladimir Tretchikoff's painting *Lady from the Orient* (1954–1956) sold for R31,110,000 at a Strauss & Co modern and contemporary art auction in Johannesburg, setting a new national auction record for the artist. The portrait of a young Indonesian woman in traditional attire was purchased by a telephone bidder, and the sale highlights the enduring market demand for Tretchikoff's vivid portraiture from his classic period.

How UK museums are rallying to support trans communities following supreme court ruling on biological sex

Following the UK Supreme Court's 16 April ruling that the terms "woman" and "sex" in the Equality Act refer only to biological sex, UK museums are publicly reaffirming their support for transgender communities. The Museum of Transology, which houses the world's largest collection of trans, non-binary, and intersex artefacts, had recently marked its tenth anniversary with the exhibition Transcestry at Central Saint Martins' Lethaby Gallery. Smaller institutions like London's Vagina Museum quickly posted statements of solidarity, while larger bodies such as Arts Council England await a revised code of practice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

'Everything you will see is the fruit of her work': Venice Biennale 2026 will follow late curator Koyo Kouoh's vision

The 2026 Venice Art Biennale will proceed exactly as planned by its curator, Koyo Kouoh, who died earlier this month at age 57. Titled "In Minor Keys," the edition is scheduled to open on May 9, 2026. At a press conference in Venice, Biennale press head Maria Cristiana Costanzo confirmed that Kouoh had intensively developed the curatorial concept, selected artists and works, and defined the exhibition's theoretical framework, graphic identity, and spatial design before her death. Her core team will complete the show in strict accordance with her plan, with full support from her family. Collaborators read texts she prepared and displayed images she selected during the presentation.

‘An immense void in the world of contemporary art’: Koyo Kouoh, curator of the 2026 Venice Biennale, has died, aged 57

Koyo Kouoh, the acclaimed Cameroonian-born curator who was appointed to organize the 2026 Venice Biennale, died on Saturday at a hospital in Basel, Switzerland, at age 57. Her husband confirmed she died of cancer following a recent diagnosis. Kouoh had been selected in December to become the first woman from Africa to curate the prestigious international exhibition, and the Biennale's statement mourned her loss as leaving "an immense void in the world of contemporary art."

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Whose Paintings Were Saturated in Black, Dies at 84

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, an artist and activist known for her monumental canvases saturated in the darkest pigments she could find, has died at age 84. Her work, deeply informed by her identity as a Black woman and her involvement in the civil rights movement, gained prominence for its bold abstraction and political resonance.

Spotlighting the Woman Who Brought European Modernism to California

The article spotlights Galka Scheyer, a largely overlooked figure who introduced European modernism to California in the early 20th century. A new exhibition in Pasadena brings her story to the foreground, highlighting her role in championing artists who later became famous.

KU students, teachers to show off form-defying ceramics at Off-Site Art Gallery exhibition

University of Kansas students and teachers are showcasing ceramics that defy gravity and traditional form at Off-Site Art Space in Lawrence. The exhibition, titled “Almost a Body: Not Quite a Thing,” features works by artists-in-residence Seuil Chung and SunYoung Park alongside their students, including pieces like Natalie Slutsky’s “Vital Exchange,” an anatomical heart with arteries forming a Möbius strip. The show highlights innovative techniques such as using sand-filled brick boxes for firing, French cleat mounting systems, and beeswax finishes inspired by natural forms from the McGregor Herbarium.

A Painting by the Master of the Blue Jeans Joins a Museum in Ticino

Un tableau du Maître de la toile de jean rejoint un musée dans le Tessin

The Pinacoteca cantonale Giovanni Züst in Rancate, Switzerland, has acquired 'Woman Begging with Two Children,' a significant work by the anonymous 17th-century artist known as the Master of the Blue Jeans. The painting was notably featured in a landmark 2010 exhibition at Galerie Canesso that helped define the identity of this Lombard artist, famous for depicting lower-class subjects wearing indigo-dyed denim-like fabric.

design ralph lauren home naiomi tyler glasses navajo

Siblings Naiomi and Tyler Glasses, Diné weavers from a seven-generation lineage, have collaborated with Ralph Lauren on the Canyon Road Collection, a home goods line featuring traditional Navajo motifs like eye-dazzler diamonds and Spider Woman crosses. The collection, which includes bedding and dishware, marks Naiomi's second artist-in-residence partnership with the brand and aims to translate Indigenous craftsmanship into contemporary design.

art young photographer iva sidash

Iva Sidash, a Ukrainian photographer based in Kharkiv, has been recognized for her ongoing project "Seeing the Unseen," which documents everyday life on the frontlines of the Ukraine war. This year, she won an Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant and the Women Photograph Fellowship. Her work focuses on intimate, fragile moments—such as a woman folding laundry in a ruined apartment—rather than conventional images of destruction, aiming to preserve the humanity of those living through conflict.

Pictures: Castle Drogo hosts powerful women’s history art exhibition this March

The Herding Cats Arts Collective is presenting a month-long exhibition titled 'A Woman’s Place' at Castle Drogo, a National Trust property on Dartmoor. The exhibition, running throughout March 2026, features contemporary works that explore the domestic and social structures governing the lives of women connected to the estate during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through research conducted with castle historians, the artists utilize domestic materials and imagery to highlight the often-overlooked histories of both the working-class staff and the upper-class residents of the fortress.

The Aussie ‘messenger girls’ who changed art

Nora Heysen became the first woman to win the Archibald Prize in 1938, yet the media response focused on her domestic life. This weekend, the Art Gallery of South Australia opens an exhibition highlighting Heysen and other local female artists who traveled to Europe before World War II, showcasing their portraits and still lifes that helped catalyze the modernist art movement in Australia.

Older women artists go it alone as new report reveals how the traditional art world is failing them

A new report commissioned by the grant-giving body Anonymous Was A Woman and authored by journalists Charlotte Burns and Julia Halperin reveals that museums and galleries are failing women artists, particularly those over 65. Based on a survey of 1,263 female artists (91% based in the US), the report finds that 63% cite a lack of museum backing and 59% cite a lack of gallery support as hindering their careers. As a result, 55% of all respondents are selling work independently, with women over 65 leading the way—59% have sold directly to collectors in the past five years. The report also highlights that female artists work 49 hours per week but spend only 38% of that time making art, with the rest consumed by administrative tasks and other paid work, and that art sales provide only 16-18% of household income.

March 14: ‘WomanWise’ group exhibition artist reception at Mosaic Art Collective

The Mosaic Art Collective in Manchester, New Hampshire, is hosting a group exhibition titled "WomanWise" from March 9 through March 30, 2026. Presented in partnership with The Equality Health Center, the show features 31 original works by local artists that explore themes of womanhood, empowerment, and community. A public reception on March 14 will feature the announcement of three best-in-show prizes selected by guest juror and artist-in-residence Shaylee Elliette-French.

nat ward ditch plains beach monograph

Photographer Nat Ward has published a new book titled "Ditch: Montauk, NY 11954," featuring panoramic images taken over four summers at Ditch Plains Beach in Montauk, New York. The project began during a residency at the Edward F. Albee Foundation in 2018, using a medium format panoramic camera to capture the diverse human interactions on the crowded beach. Ward's photographs document strangers becoming neighbors, political tensions dissolving under umbrellas, and the raw honesty of beachgoers, including a woman in a red MAGA hat and a young man confident in his desirability.

‘Light from the Inner Soul’ exhibition celebrates women’s unheard artistic voices in Cumilla

A three-day art exhibition titled “Light from the Inner Soul” is being held at Cumilla Shilpakala Auditorium in Bangladesh, showcasing paintings and handcrafted works by eight women with no formal art training. Organized by Jannatul Ferdous Twonni, the exhibition features a range of media including calligraphy, metal art, wax art, glass painting, canvas works, and AI-inspired pieces, with participants ranging from a 16-year-old to a 90-year-old woman.

Jolkonya’s Mother’s Day special exhibition opens in Dhaka

Jolkonya, a women's art organization, has opened a six-day group exhibition titled "Every Woman is a Mother" at Safiuddin Shilpalay in Dhaka to celebrate Mother's Day. The show features 35 artworks by 12 artists using watercolor, acrylic, and coffee-based mediums, and was inaugurated by painter-sculptor Ivy Zaman and singer Mehreen. The City Bank PLC is the title sponsor, and artist Ashok Karmaker curated the exhibition.

Park Soo-keun's Early Recognition and Record-Breaking Art Sales

A newly discovered 1931 newspaper article reveals that the renowned Korean artist Park Soo-keun (1914–1965) received early public recognition as a teenager in the Chosun Ilbo, which described him as the "only painter in Yanggu." The article traces his artistic journey from his first selection at the Chosun Art Exhibition in 1932 with his watercolor *Spring Arrives* to his later success in the 1950s and 1960s, including winning awards at the National Art Exhibition and being appointed a judge. It also notes that his painting *The Laundry Place* recently sold for 4.7 billion won, setting a record at a domestic art auction.

Hazleton Art League prepares for new exhibit

The Hazleton Art League will present "Potpourri," a one-woman retrospective featuring over 99 paintings by artist Marcy Lanza Oldham. The exhibition opens with a gallery reception from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, May 1, and runs through May 24, with an artist talk scheduled for May 3. The show is free and open to the public at the Hayden Family Center for the Arts in Hazleton.

Ojai artist Pam Grau debuts solo exhibition at Santa Paula Art Museum

Ojai-based artist Pam Grau is presenting her first solo exhibition at the Santa Paula Art Museum. The show marks a milestone in her career, bringing together a body of work that reflects her artistic practice and connection to the local landscape.

NJCU Gallery to Unveil "HOME HERE," a Site-Specific Installation by 11 Women Artists on February 5

New Jersey City University (NJCU) Galleries will open "HOME HERE," a site-specific installation featuring 11 women artists from Jersey City, on February 5, 2026. Curated by NJCU alumna Lucy Rovetto, the exhibition runs through March 5 and explores themes of history and memory through overlapping, boundary-less works. Featured artists include Laia Cabrera, Nicole DeMaio, Isabelle Duverger, Jaz Graf, Katelyn Halpern, Jin Jung, Pat Lay, Tina Maneca, Cheryl R. Riley, and Jennifer Roberts, with a tribute to former NJCU art department chair Ward Mount.

What's on in Leamington this weekend: Run club, markets and art exhibition

This weekend in Leamington, the Friday market continues with local produce, clothing, handmade items, and baked goods, organized by CJ's Events Warwickshire. Additionally, the 'Childish Things' exhibition is on display at Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, featuring artworks and objects from the museum's collection that explore childhood, including Anne Finlay's 'Study For A Woman's Life', alongside toys, games, and social history objects. The exhibition runs from October 24 to February 1, 2026, and is free to attend. A run club hosted by Sculpt also takes place on January 8.

Slidell announces call for student artists for Salad Days 2026 juried exhibition

The City of Slidell and the Slidell Commission on the Arts have announced a call for student artists for the Salad Days 2026 juried exhibition, open to K–12 students ages 5–19 who live in or attend school in St. Tammany Parish. Submissions are due by March 16, 2026, with awards including $50 prizes for first-place winners in four age groups. The juror is Joshua B. Wichterich, an award-winning artist, illustrator, and founder of Blue Wing Press, whose work has been featured in local publications and exhibitions.

Woman whose botched Jesus fresco became a viral sensation dies, aged 94

Cecilia Giménez Zueco, the Spanish woman whose botched 2012 restoration of a 19th-century fresco of Jesus Christ became a global internet sensation, has died at age 94. The fresco, *Ecce Homo* by Elias Garcia Martinez, was housed in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza. Giménez's amateur repainting, which made the figure's head resemble a hairy monkey, earned the nickname "Monkey Christ" and spawned viral memes, including a Twitter account. Initially distraught by the backlash, she later saw the town of Borja benefit from a surge in tourism.

Spanish woman who found fame for botching fresco restoration dies

Cecilia Giménez, the Spanish woman who accidentally became famous in 2012 for her botched restoration of a 19th-century fresco of Ecce Homo by Elías García Martínez, has died. The painting, housed in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza, was severely deteriorated when Giménez, then 81, attempted to repaint it with the permission of the local priest. Her amateur restoration transformed the original into a viral internet meme dubbed "Monkey Christ," drawing global ridicule but also unexpected tourism to the quiet town of Borja.