The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco has opened 'Chiharu Shiota: Two Home Countries,' the first solo exhibition in the Bay Area for the Japanese-born, Berlin-based artist. The show features her signature immersive installations of red thread, weaving together personal objects and exploring themes of memory, displacement, and identity.
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) held its 2026 gala, a major fundraising event attended by prominent figures from the city's art, philanthropy, and social circles. The event featured notable attendees including artist Andy Goldsworthy, museum director Thomas Campbell, and major donors like Dede Wilsey and Mayor Daniel Lurie.
The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore has debuted "Douriean Fletcher: Jewelry of the Afrofuture," a major exhibition dedicated to the self-taught metalsmith known for her costume designs in the film Black Panther. The showcase features large-scale gold and brass pieces alongside a recreation of Fletcher’s original workbench and personal ephemera, such as family photos and her mother’s Bible. The exhibition highlights her journey from working at a social justice nonprofit to becoming an international figure in narrative jewelry.
The Norton Museum of Art is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its "Recognition of Art by Women" (RAW) series with a solo exhibition by painter Danielle Mckinney titled "Shelter" and a retrospective of past participants. Since its inception in 2011, the RAW initiative has provided a significant platform for mid-career women artists, featuring notable figures such as Jenny Saville and Rose B. Simpson. Mckinney’s exhibition, curated by J. Rachel Gustafson, explores themes of domestic and mental interiority through intimate, spotlighted paintings that often reference art historical canon.
Theaster Gates has transformed the Smart Museum of Art into a personal sanctuary for his first major solo institutional exhibition in Chicago, titled "Unto Thee." The immersive installation features vast archives from Gates's personal collections, including African artifacts, funerary objects, and a significant vinyl record collection that provides a continuous sonic backdrop to the space. Key works on display include the monumental "Black Still Life #3" and the ongoing series "Walking Prayer," which consists of black books embossed with golden phrases that explore the complexities of Black identity and collective memory.
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has launched "Dear America," a major exhibition commemorating the United States' 250th anniversary. Featuring over 100 prints, drawings, and photographs from the museum’s permanent collection, the show spans from the late 18th century to the present day. The exhibition is organized into three thematic sections—"Land," "Community," and "Freedom"—showcasing works by iconic artists such as Andy Warhol, Ansel Adams, and Richard Avedon alongside contemporary voices like Tom Jones of the Ho-Chunk Nation.
A group of 74 artists and curators invited to the 61st Venice Biennale have issued an open letter to the institution's president, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco. The signatories are protesting the decision to relocate the Israeli Pavilion to the Arsenale, placing it in close proximity to the central exhibition 'In Minor Keys' curated by the late Koyo Kouoh. The letter demands the exclusion of official delegations from countries accused of war crimes—specifically Israel, Russia, and the United States—and accuses the Biennale of complicity through its silence on global atrocities.
Major museums across Europe are launching a series of high-profile fashion retrospectives for the Spring 2026 season. Highlights include the first official exhibition dedicated to Helmut Lang at MAK Vienna, a comparative study of Azzedine Alaïa and Christian Dior in Paris, and a comprehensive Vivienne Westwood retrospective at The Bowes Museum. Additionally, the V&A in London is hosting the UK’s first-ever Schiaparelli exhibition, while Charleston explores the literary influence of the Hogarth Press through a collaboration with designer Kim Jones.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) have launched a massive joint exhibition titled "A Nation of Artists," featuring over 1,000 works spanning from 1700 to 2026. The collaboration utilizes a chronological approach at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and a thematic framework at PAFA, showcasing a diverse array of objects including colonial teapots, a New Mexican "death cart," and works by masters like Georgia O'Keeffe and Horace Pippin. The project also incorporates significant loans from the private collection of Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton.
The High Museum of Art has launched the first solo museum exhibition for American photographer Mimi Plumb, titled "Blazing Light." Spanning five decades of work, the exhibition features over 100 photographs across three major series: "The White Sky," "Landfall and The Golden City," and "The Reservoir." These gritty, black-and-white images document the evolving landscape of the American West, specifically California, while capturing the psychological tension of a society grappling with environmental decay and economic instability.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has announced a comprehensive suite of exhibitions and programs to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. The programming centers on the museum's unique history as America’s first national art museum, founded through the 1906 bequest of Charles Lang Freer. Key highlights include the exhibition "A Museum in the Making," which examines the institution's Detroit origins, and three major shows dedicated to the collections of American women philanthropists featuring Indian paintings, Chinese textiles, and Japanese lacquerware.
The Parrish Art Museum is hosting a special panel discussion on April 18 to coincide with Earth Day and the centennial of Robert Rauschenberg. The event features Helen Hsu from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and various contemporary artists featured in the museum's current exhibition, "Regeneration: Long Island’s History of Ecological Art and Care." The conversation will explore Rauschenberg’s environmental legacy—including his design of the first Earth Day poster in 1970—alongside modern artistic approaches to ecological activism.
Artists Space in New York is hosting the first comprehensive U.S. survey of photographer David Armstrong, featuring over 90 works spanning three decades. While often associated with Nan Goldin and the Boston School, the exhibition highlights Armstrong’s distinct evolution from raw black-and-white 1970s downtown portraits to his later blurred landscapes and Renaissance-inspired color photography.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has launched the eleventh annual New York City Scholastic Art & Writing Awards exhibition, titled "Filling in the Gaps." Hosted at the Uris Center for Education, the showcase features 316 artworks and 300 literary pieces from local students in grades 7–12 who earned the prestigious Gold Key distinction. The exhibition highlights original works in painting, printmaking, and drawing, while providing digital access to the winning writing entries.
Southwest Florida’s outdoor art season culminates this weekend with the Sarasota Fine Art Show and the 38th Annual Naples Downtown Art Fair. These regional staples will feature over 200 exhibitors across Sarasota Art Museum’s grounds and Naples’ Cambier Park, offering a mix of commercial vendor stalls and high-caliber fine art.
The global art calendar for March 2026 features a surge of major openings, with Istanbul emerging as a significant hub alongside traditional art capitals. Key highlights in Istanbul include a retrospective of Ottoman painter Halil Paşa at the Pera Museum, Bedri Baykam’s dialogue with Picasso at Piramid Sanat, and a politically charged group show curated by Vahap Avşar at G-Art Gallery. Simultaneously, major European institutions are launching high-profile exhibitions, including a Nan Goldin retrospective at the Grand Palais and Jenny Saville’s large-scale figurative works in Venice.
Kent County Council is facing sharp criticism for the deaccessioning and sale of 168 lots from its art collection, including a significant archive of 33 photographs by the influential postwar British photographer Tony Ray-Jones. The auction, held at Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers, also features works by Andy Goldsworthy and Sidney Nolan. The council cited financial pressures and a lack of viable storage as the primary reasons for the sale, admitting that the works were not offered to local museums or galleries before being sent to auction.
Southwest Florida’s museum landscape is featuring a robust schedule this March, with 36 exhibitions on display across institutions from Sarasota to Naples. Key highlights include the Sarasota Art Museum’s centennial celebration of Art Deco through 100 rare posters from the Crouse Collection, alongside contemporary showcases such as Selina Román’s photographic explorations of the human form and Molly Hatch’s massive site-specific ceramic installation, "Amalgam."
Frieze Los Angeles week kicked off with a flurry of high-profile events, celebrity sightings, and charitable initiatives across the city. Key highlights included the Felix Art Fair, where RF. Alvarez’s painting inspired by the queer hockey drama 'Heated Rivalry' drew significant attention, and a major benefit auction led by Simon de Pury that raised over $500,000 for natural disaster relief. The week also featured a prestigious gathering at a private James Turrell Skyspace to celebrate the Serpentine Americas Foundation.
The 2026 Venice Biennale has unveiled the artist list and framework for its international exhibition, "In Minor Keys." The project, which was the final vision of the late curator Koyo Kouoh, is being realized by a collaborative team following her death last year. The exhibition aims to explore themes of minor histories and global narratives through a diverse roster of international artists.
Three major art exhibitions are debuting in the Washington, D.C. area, headlined by Nick Cave’s largest-ever single-artist commission at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The immersive installation, titled "Mammoth," features a 70-foot illuminated table and bronze sculptures. Other significant openings include a survey of American masters at Glenstone and a massive showcase of female artists from the Shah Garg Collection at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Tracey Emin has unveiled her major new exhibition, "Second Life," at Tate Modern, marking a significant departure from the tradition of living British artists showing at Tate Britain. The exhibition, curated by Harry Weller alongside Tate’s Maria Balshaw, Alvin Li, and Jessica Baxter, eschews a traditional retrospective format in favor of a thematic exploration of Emin's personal history. During the press preview, Emin addressed her multicultural heritage—including Turkish Cypriot, Sudanese, and Romanichal roots—and criticized the rise of jingoism and divisive politics in the UK.
Mashonda Tifrere, a former singer turned curator and art advisor, discusses her journey from the music industry to becoming a prominent figure in the visual arts. Through her organizations ArtLeadHER and Art Genesis, she has curated over 40 exhibitions focusing on women and underrepresented artists, including a recent Faith Ringgold show at the University of California, San Diego.
The Mandeville Art Gallery at UC San Diego is presenting the exhibition "Faith Ringgold: Full Circle – The Teachings and Her Legacy," curated by Mashonda Tifrere. The show, which opens on February 28, 2026, features 19 works spanning from 1976 to 2023, tracing the artist's evolution as a multidisciplinary storyteller and her influential tenure as a professor at the university.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) will open its new David Geffen Galleries building on April 19. Designed by architect Peter Zumthor, the 900-foot-long structure spans Wilshire Boulevard and will house the museum's permanent collection, featuring a non-hierarchical, single-level display of approximately 2,500-3,000 objects. The opening will be marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony and two weeks of priority access for members.
The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth is presenting 'The Holy Sepulcher: Treasures From the Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem,' an exhibition of opulent 17th-century liturgical objects from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The collection, featuring gifts from European rulers like King Louis XIII of France and King Philip IV of Spain, includes gold, silver, and jewel-encrusted pieces such as vestments, a throne, and a sanctuary lamp, and is on view from March 15 to June 28.
A series of major exhibitions are on view in Doha, coinciding with the Art Basel Qatar event. These include Rirkrit Tiravanija's interactive bakery installation at MIA Park, two major surveys of architect I.M. Pei's work at AlRiwaq Gallery and the Museum of Islamic Art, and a group show titled "we refuse_d" at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art.
Several San Francisco museums are experiencing a period of transition and challenge in February 2026. Key exhibitions are closing soon, including "Manet and Morisot" at the Legion of Honor and Suzanne Jackson's first career retrospective at SFMOMA, both ending March 1. New shows are opening, such as "Video Craft" at the Museum of Craft & Design and "Echoes in the Small Mountain: Park Dae-sung and the West Coast" at the Asian Art Museum. Meanwhile, the city's cultural landscape faces strain, with the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts suspending operations, representing a significant loss of community programming.
Sonia Boyce, the Golden Lion-winning British artist, will create a new permanent work for University College London's historic Bloomsbury campus as part of the institution's bicentenary celebrations. The commission, known as the UCL Legacy Commission, will engage with the campus's history and forward-thinking ethos.
The Kanal-Centre Pompidou, a major new modern and contemporary art museum in Brussels, will open on November 28. Housed in a converted 1930s Citroën garage, the €230m institution will launch with ten exhibitions, including a 350-work show drawn from the Centre Pompidou's collection in Paris and installations by artists like Otobong Nkanga.