1990s pop icon Jewel is the protagonist in Venice with an exhibition that rewrites the geographies of the feminine

L’icona pop Anni ‘90 Jewel è protagonista a Venezia con una mostra che riscrive le geografie del femminile

Singer-songwriter Jewel, a 1990s pop icon with four Grammy nominations, is presenting her largest exhibition to date in Venice. Titled "Matriclysm: An Archaeology of Connections Lost," the immersive show runs from May 6 to November 22, 2026, at the Salone Verde, coinciding with the 2026 Venice Biennale. Curated by Joe Thompson, the exhibition blends painting, textiles, sculpture, sound, and installation to explore themes of femininity, motherhood, care, and intergenerational knowledge, drawing on forgotten rituals and marginalized mythologies.

Ministry of Culture inspectors present report on Biennale: Russia pavilion will remain closed

Gli ispettori del Ministero della Cultura in Biennale presentano relazione: il padiglione Russia resterà chiuso

Italian Ministry of Culture inspectors have submitted a report to the Prime Minister's office regarding Russia's participation in the 2026 Venice Art Biennale. The report concludes that Russia did not receive a formal invitation from the Biennale Foundation to participate, nor did it sign the participation agreement—a situation shared by other countries with permanent pavilions. While Russia submitted a project and appointed a commissioner, its pavilion will remain closed to the public due to EU sanctions, though a private vernissage may proceed. The report finds no serious violations that would cancel Russia's participation, but notes critical issues that warranted more caution. The international jury resigned en masse after announcing it would not consider countries whose leaders are accused of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, including Russia and Israel, and after an Israeli artist threatened a discrimination lawsuit.

Morocco is for the first time with a Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale. Homage to the weaving of Amina Agueznay

Il Marocco è per la prima volta con un Padiglione alla Biennale d’Arte di Venezia. L’omaggio alla tessitura di Amina Agueznay

Morocco is participating for the first time with an official national pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale, presenting a monumental installation by artist Amina Agueznay. Titled "Asǝṭṭa" (2026), the site-specific work at the Arsenale's Artiglierie space explores ritual weaving and the transmission of traditional craftsmanship, using sewn panels to create a second skin over the 300-square-meter pavilion. Curated by Meriem Berrada, the project draws on Agueznay's two-decade-long research in dialogue with Moroccan artisan communities, including spinners, embroiderers, basket makers, and goldsmiths.

In an exhibition in Naples it is possible to get lost without urgency in an unstable balance. The review

In una mostra a Napoli è possibile perdersi senza urgenza in un equilibrio instabile. La recensione

The exhibition "A Gentle Collapse," curated by Marta Ferrara at Andrea Nuovo Home Gallery in Naples, explores the contemporary psychic state through a spatial and perceptual construction. Featuring works in photography, painting, engraving, and installation, the show creates a sense of instability, with meaning emerging gradually through shifts between familiar and altered forms. Artists include Dorottya Vékony, Matteo Silverii, Flora Villaumié, and Zoë Pelikan, whose works engage with themes of genetic engineering, serial accumulation, and subtle disorientation across two gallery levels.

16th-Century Rome Through the Eyes of a Foreigner: The Exhibition

La Roma del Cinquecento vista con gli occhi di uno straniero. La mostra

Fabio De Chirico has been appointed as the new director of the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica in Rome, with a mission to boost research, strengthen international dialogue, and enhance the institution's collections. His tenure opens with the exhibition "Maarten van Heemskerck e il fascino di Roma: percorsi visivi della Città Eterna," curated by Tatjana Bartsch, Rita Bernini, and Giorgio Marini, running until June 7, 2026. The show features drawings by the 16th-century Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck, on loan from the Kupferstichkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, alongside over sixty works from the institute's own holdings—including prints, engravings, and archival photographs—plus loans from the Bibliotheca Hertziana, the Musei Capitolini, and the Istituto Archeologico Germanico di Roma.

The new TAILOR newsletter is coming out: luxury crisis, new creative generations, and mental health (subscribe!)

Sta per uscire la nuova newsletter TAILOR tra crisi del lusso, nuove generazioni creative e salute mentale (abbonatevi!)

Artribune has launched a new edition of its newsletter TAILOR, which examines the transformation of the global fashion system amid a luxury crisis, the rise of new creative generations, and the growing structural importance of mental health in the industry. The newsletter features a focus on five emerging designers shifting fashion from product to narrative, an exclusive interview with influential stylist Tom Eerebout, and the debut in Italy of the project "One Person. One Voice" as part of the Mental Health in Fashion campaign, created by Florian Müller with artist Claudia Malecka.

The Dutch Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is a political protest (also against the Biennale itself)

Il padiglione dei Paesi Bassi alla Biennale di Venezia è una contestazione politica (anche della Biennale stessa)

The Dutch Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, titled "The Fortress" by artist Dries Verhoeven and curator Rieke Vos, transforms the modernist Rietveld Pavilion into a fortress-like enclosure. Inside, a rotating group of thirteen international performers will stage a series of performances throughout the Biennale, focusing on themes of geopolitical uncertainty, social disorder, and the search for stability in an unbalanced world. This marks the first time the Netherlands has used the Rietveld Pavilion for a performance-based project.

Creating Variety in Contemporary Rome: The Story of the Conventicola degli Ultramoderni on Sky Arte

Fare varietà nella Roma contemporanea: la storia della Conventicola degli Ultramoderni su Sky Arte

On Sunday, May 3, Sky Arte will premiere the documentary "Ultramoderni," which chronicles the rise of the Conventicola degli Ultramoderni, a unique artistic collective in Rome. Founded by Sior Mirkaccio and Madame de Freitas, who met in 2011, the group operates from a small hidden venue in the San Lorenzo district, blending music, cabaret, burlesque, and contemporary variety shows with a retro-futuristic aesthetic. The documentary, filmed in their Roman space, features interviews with the duo and excerpts from their performances, tracing how they built a diverse community of enthusiasts around their reinvention of past traditions.

Art can officially be a form of therapy. Interview with Undersecretary of Culture Lucia Borgonzoni, godmother of the project

L’arte può essere ufficialmente una forma di cura. Intervista al Sottosegretario alla Cultura Lucia Borgonzoni madrina del progetto

The Italian Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Health have signed a formal protocol recognizing art as a form of therapy and care. The agreement, championed by Undersecretary of State for Culture Lucia Borgonzoni, mandates that museums, libraries, archives, and cultural institutions play a central role in developing therapeutic pathways using art to improve individual and community well-being. Borgonzoni, who has advocated for this initiative for nearly a decade, traces its origin to a 2018 study at the Sanctuary of Vicoforte that measured cortisol levels in visitors before and after viewing frescoes, showing significant stress reduction.

The first of May starts a new issue of Pax. Previews of the newsletter on cultural tourism (subscribe)

Il primo maggio parte una nuova uscita di Pax. Le anticipazioni della newsletter sul turismo culturale (abbonatevi)

The article previews the upcoming May 1st issue of Pax, a newsletter by Artribune focused on cultural tourism. It highlights a feature on Italy's colorful villages, explaining how bright colors historically aided sailors and fishermen, and how white facades served hygienic purposes. The issue also covers off-the-beaten-path destinations like Bolsena, which recently opened a contemporary art space in Palazzo Cozza Caposavi, and explores slow tourism practices such as barefooting, discussed with its founder Andrea Bianchi. Additional content includes a roundup of cultural initiatives from Berlin to Naples, Budapest's Citadella reopening, and the Sussex forest's Winnie-the-Pooh centenary.

Future cultural professionals in Africa will be trained by six Italian museums

I futuri professionisti della cultura in Africa saranno formati da sei musei italiani

The fourth edition of the International School of Cultural Heritage (Scuola Internazionale del Patrimonio Culturale) is underway, with 23 cultural professionals from 12 African nations participating in a hands-on training program hosted by six Italian museums. After online modules and a week of lectures in Rome, the residential phase runs from April 27 to May 22, 2025, placing participants at the Museo delle Civiltà (MUCIV), the Archaeological Parks of Praeneste and Gabii, the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto (MArTA), the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN), the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria (MArRC), and the National Archaeological Museum of Agro Falisco and Forte Sangallo in Civita Castellana. The program, titled "Managing Art Collections: from ancient to contemporary," focuses on collection management, conservation, and public programming, linking archaeological heritage with contemporary practices.

For the 2026 Venice Biennale, the RojoNegro duo brings a collective ritual to the Mexico Pavilion

Per la Biennale Arte 2026 il duo RojoNegro porta nel Padiglione del Messico un rituale collettivo

The article announces that the RojoNegro collective, formed by María Sosa and Noé Martínez, will represent Mexico at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026 with a project titled "Actos invisibles para sostener el universo." Curated by Jessica Berlanga Taylor, the installation combines organic materials, sound, video, and performance to create a ritualistic space that invokes invisible presences, memories, and energies. The work draws on decolonial perspectives, centering Indigenous and Afro-descendant cosmogonies as living knowledge systems, and aims to activate a dialogue between situated ritual practices and the global context of the Biennale.

Il duo di artisti internazionali Gawęda/Kulbokaitė sono a Roma per la prima volta con una mostra su identità e percezione

The international artist duo Dorota Gawęda and Eglė Kulbokaitė present their debut exhibition in Rome, titled "Spit and Image," at the Basement gallery. The show, on view until July 10, 2026, features sculptures, installations, and videos that explore identity construction in the digital age, using mirrors, fragmented bodies, and olfactory elements. Works like "Yield (twinning)" (2025) and "Spit and Image 1 and 2" (2025) evoke surveillance, metamorphosis, and duplication, while the Slavic vampire figure of the upiór serves as a metaphor for fluid, non-binary identities.

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.

Exhibition | Su Meng-Hung, 'The Flowers of Coromandel' at Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan

The article describes an exhibition titled 'The Flowers of Coromandel' by artist Su Meng-Hung, held at Tina Keng Gallery in Taipei, Taiwan. The exhibition showcases Su Meng-Hung's works, likely exploring themes related to the historical Coromandel Coast and its cultural intersections, presented through the artist's unique visual language.

Exhibition | Huang Hankang, 'The Sky Remains as the Bird Departs' at Arario Gallery, Shanghai, China

Arario Gallery Shanghai presents Huang Hankang's solo exhibition 'The Sky Remains as the Bird Departs,' running from May 15 to July 4. The show uses Shanghai as a dynamic 'processing system' where images, histories, and cultures are constantly received, translated, and reorganized. Through installations and paintings, the exhibition compresses multiple visual and historical threads, featuring works such as 'Gate of Flesh and Soul,' which juxtaposes Giuseppe Castiglione's hybrid visual language with the Cathay Theatre and fragments of George Washington's dentures, and 'Overlaid Life,' which contrasts a Song Dynasty crystal rabbit with cultivated orchids. Other pieces like 'Void Resonance' and 'Nameless Mark' explore perception, the body, and cultural mediation.

TWAC presents ‘ENTWINED’ Exhibition by Artist-Educators Bob Mosier and Karen Fearon

The Woodlands Arts Council (TWAC) presents 'ENTWINED,' its first exhibition featuring a married couple, artist-educators Bob Mosier and Karen Fearon. The show, on view from May 12 to August 6, 2026, highlights their individual practices—Mosier's intricate thread paintings that evolve into three-dimensional fabric sculptures, and Fearon's expressive drawings, paintings, and assemblages rooted in intuitive mark-making. Both artists incorporate found and reclaimed materials, and their work explores light, form, and the yin-yang of creative process. An opening reception is scheduled for June 18, 2026.

NICOLÁS GÓMEZ ECHEVERRI: “LA TRASCENDENCIA DEL MUSEO ES VULNERABLE A LA IMPOSICIÓN DE MODAS POR PARTE DEL ALGORITMO”

Nicolás Gómez Echeverri, director of the Unidad de Artes y Otras Colecciones at the Banco de la República de Colombia, reflects on the challenges facing museums in Iberoamérica in an interview published for International Museum Day. He oversees institutions including the Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia (MAMU), the Museo Botero, and the Casa de Moneda. Gómez Echeverri describes the museum as a "radar" that captures decentralized artistic practices and integrates them into collective narratives, while emphasizing the need for mediation, public debate, and long-term cultural projects amid economic constraints and the pressures of digital immediacy.

Announcement

Air de Paris, a highly influential Parisian gallery known for representing many of the most significant contemporary artists, has become one of the earliest supporters of Contemporary Art Daily's parent organization, Contemporary Art Library. The announcement, made by Contemporary Art Daily, highlights Air de Paris's pioneering role in elevating the gallerist's activities into a form of artistic expression, and positions the gallery as a model for the entire field.

National Museum opens 'Pioneers of Omani Art' exhibition in Russia

The National Museum of Oman has opened an exhibition titled "Pioneers of Omani Art" at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia. Running until 16 August, the show features 23 works by 17 Omani artists, highlighting how they draw inspiration from their culture, heritage, history, and environment. The exhibition traces the journey of fine art in Oman, from prehistoric rock art to the modern art movement, shaped by historical commercial and cultural exchanges with European artists.

Tutte le ‘Sicilie’ di Armando Rotoletti all’Antiquarium di Centuripe in un viaggio tra memoria e visione

The article reports on the exhibition "Sicilia. Un’isola, tante Sicilie. Fotografia, memoria e patrimonio culturale nell’opera di Armando Rotoletti" at the Antiquarium Comunale di Centuripe in Sicily, running until September 27, 2026. The show features over thirty years of black-and-white photographic research by Armando Rotoletti (born 1958 in Messina), a photojournalist who left Sicily for London and Milan but maintained a deep connection to his homeland. His work captures the island's plural, complex identity through rituals, daily gestures, and cultural resistance to standardization, with images that blur past and present.

How an unsuspecting couple found £11,000 worth of cat paintings in a skip

An unsuspecting couple in their sixties from Pembrokeshire, South Wales, discovered two paintings by 19th-century cat artist Louis Wain in a skip while walking their dog. The works—'Blue Cat Among the Flowers' (estimated at £5,000) and 'Psychedelic Cats' (a double-sided piece valued at £6,000)—were initially considered as a gift for their cat-loving daughter-in-law. The paintings are now being auctioned by Rogers Jones Auctioneers & Co as part of the British and European Fine Art Sale in Cardiff on May 21.

New art gallery Visual Feast now open in Hoover

A new art gallery called Visual Feast Gallery has opened in the Patton Creek Shopping Center in Hoover, Alabama. Founded by 78-year-old abstract artist Rose Cook, the space features her original abstract paintings, handmade jewelry, vintage finds, and works by traditional artists. The gallery also offers art classes, creative workshops, and rentals for small events. Cook moved to Birmingham in 2025 and has been creating art professionally since 1986, previously running a successful handmade jewelry business.

Window to the past: Worcester history on show in Denholm installation

A new public art installation titled “Uniquely Worcester: Celebrating Worcester’s Past & Present” has opened in the windows of the Denholm Building in Worcester, Massachusetts. The exhibition features work from 10 local artists across eight front windows, highlighting the city’s history through themes such as sports, the arts, and notable figures like rocket pioneer Robert Goddard, Valentine card popularizer Esther Howland, and smiley face creator Harvey Ball. One window showcases Abu Mwenye’s vibrant paintings inspired by his Kenyan and Tanzanian heritage, while another displays musical instruments spanning 250 years, including a rope drum from the American Revolution and a guitar made at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The installation runs throughout 2026 and was organized by project manager Melissa Mattson.

Frank O’Hara and the end of the ‘American Century’

Frank O’Hara, the poet and curator at the Museum of Modern Art, was a central figure in the mid-20th-century effort to promote American high art globally as a cultural counterpart to U.S. military and economic power. The article examines how O’Hara’s work, alongside the Abstract Expressionists and other artists, helped establish New York as the capital of the art world, projecting American cultural influence abroad through exhibitions, poetry, and institutional support.

A Milano c’è una mostra di bambole giapponesi. Un tempo prodotti industriali oggi pezzi da collezione

A new exhibition in Milan at the gallery N.51 presents the work of Japanese artist Shigeru Arai, known as NAGNAGNAG, who is celebrated for transforming industrial soft vinyl dolls (Sofubi) into unique art objects. The show, titled "Shigeru Arai Tribute Exhibition," marks the first time his work is displayed in Italy, tracing the history of Sofubi from its post-WWII origins in Japan—where it replaced dangerously flammable cellulose toys—to its elevation as a collectible art form through Arai's distinctive techniques, including biting the soft vinyl and applying multiple layers of paint.

Beppe Madaudo on display in Pietrasanta: matter, memory and suspended figures

From May 3 to June 28, 2026, Art Studio La Marina gallery in Pietrasanta hosts "Anteprima," a solo exhibition by Italian artist Beppe Madaudo (born Palermo, 1950), curated by Diego Ferrante. The show presents works where animals, human figures, and hybrid forms emerge from layered matter, exploring themes of memory, tension, and transformation. Key pieces include a depiction of the fish St. Peter, whose profile is outlined in red while its interior is built from threads, combustions, and fragments, and two horse paintings on contrasting ash gray and burnt red backgrounds that alter the visual weight of the same silhouette.

The paintings Jannis Psychopedis never let go

Seventy works kept for decades in the studio of painter Jannis Psychopedis form the core of a new retrospective at the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation Museum in Athens, tracing the artist’s journey from 1962 to the present. Titled 'Jannis Psychopedis: Landscapes of Memory. The Ones I Kept,' the exhibition gathers paintings and mixed-media works that rarely appeared in public and were never intended as an archive. Psychopedis said he always saved 'two or three works from every period,' preserving them as 'support for the next movement' and as a record of life, art and experience. Emerging during the liberal climate of the 1960s, the artist belonged to the pioneering New Greek Realists and painted the tensions of a society shaped by advertising, consumerism and political upheaval.

Gryphon Gallery presents "Absence of Gravity" - a Robin Love solo exhibition

Robin Love's solo exhibition "Absence of Gravity" opens at Gryphon Gallery in Califon, New Jersey, on May 30, 2026, running through September 27. The show features 22 small-format oil-on-paper paintings created over the past year, half of which were made during a residency in Orquevaux, France, along with larger works and a selection of oil-on-linen paintings. It marks Love's first solo exhibition of oil paintings, following a career as a photographer and co-founder of a multidisciplinary design studio with her late partner David Derrick.

Meet Leslie Anne

Leslie Anne, a self-taught multidisciplinary artist based in Atlanta, shares her journey from pencil portraits to digital mixed media and acrylic painting. She began making art 15 years ago, transitioned to digital tools like Procreate during the pandemic, and now creates bold, colorful works centered on Black women, queer identities, and overlooked historical figures. She sells her work through her website and Etsy, participates in local exhibitions, and takes commissions for custom portraits and music cover art.